學習如何成功寫作碩士論文文獻回顧：以一個台灣碩士班研究生為研究案例

Learning How to Write a Good MA Thesis Literature Review： A Case Study of One Taiwanese Graduate Student

劉珮君(Pei-Chun Liu)

指導教授 ： 張玉櫻

元智大學/人文社會學院/應用外語學系/碩士(2007年)

https://doi.org/10.6838/YZU.2007.00315

摘要

在各類學術寫作當中，論文中的文獻回顧(Literature Review)長久以來一直被研究生視為非常難寫的一個章節。然而，現有的相關文獻不僅為數甚少，僅有的研究，也只有針對論文的作者在寫作文獻回顧上的困難，或是在論文文獻回顧的文本特色上著墨。在文獻蒐集的過程中我們發現，將研究重點放在文獻回顧文本特色上的，只有Kwan (2006)這一篇研究。但是在他研究的文本當中，只有包含以英語為母語的博士班學生所寫的文獻回顧文本。這也因此顯示，似乎很少人分析過那些由非英語母語人士所撰寫的論文文獻回顧。此外，過去針對整篇論文或是論文中的其中一個章節所做的文本分析，大多僅侷限於分析最後的完稿，很少人注意到在不同的文獻回顧草稿中，文字篇章是如何發展的。
因此，為了更清楚了解論文文獻回顧寫作的各個層面，我們針對一位應用語言學研究所的台灣碩士班研究生，仔細觀察他在寫文獻回顧的寫作過程。在此個案研究中，我們蒐集受訪者在不同階段所寫的文獻回顧草稿，並以Kwan (2006)所提出的文獻回顧修辭結構(move structure)做為基礎，分析文本。此外，在不同的寫作階段，受訪者也受邀進行深度訪談，以引出他的寫作困難與他對文獻回顧寫作各個不同層面的評論。在此研究，受訪者與其指導教授的論文指導面談，也被仔細觀察並且詳加記錄。
結果顯示，不同於Kwan所提出的既複雜又多樣的修辭結構，受訪者的文獻回顧修辭結構，在文章發展的過程中則是傾向愈益簡化。此外，分析三個修辭目的(Move)之下所出現的修辭策略(strategy)則透露，受訪者在營造研究利基這一方面表現很弱。此外，在此研究呈現的眾多文獻回顧寫作困難之中，缺乏批判性的學術閱讀能力，似乎是許多其他寫作困難的根基。再者，透過受訪者使用的不同修辭策略與文字特徵，他自己所意識到的寫作困難，例如批判性思考能力與整合寫作能力薄弱等，也呈現在文本上。
在教學方面，本研究結果建議，學術寫作課堂應該要納入更多對批判性閱讀能力的訓練。而對於學科老師，若是希望給予他們的論文指導學生更有效的教學與指導，則建議他們能夠透過參與各種相關研習會，訓練基礎的篇章分析技巧，相信這會對他們在未來指導學生方面極為有利。

關鍵字

學術寫作 ； 論文文獻回顧 ； 寫作困難

並列摘要

In the field of EAP writing, the writing of the literature review (LR) section has long been considered as one of the most challenging tasks for graduate students. However, very few studies have ever focused either on thesis/dissertation writers’ difficulties in LR writing or on the examination of the textual features of thesis/dissertation LRs. In the library search, Kwan (2006) was the only study located that focuses on the analysis of the textual features of LRs. However, the samples examined in that study include only those written by native English-speaking doctoral students. It thus seems that very few researchers have ever analyzed thesis/dissertation LRs written by nonnative English speakers. Additionally, previous textual analyses of theses (or a certain section of a thesis) usually focused only on the final version of the thesis; no special attention has ever been paid to the textual development of different versions of LRs.
Therefore, in order to be able to better understand various aspects of thesis LR writing, I closely observed the LR writing process of a Taiwanese master’s student in applied linguistics. In this case study, different versions of his LR were analyzed based on the move structure proposed in Kwan (2006). In addition, in-depth interviews with the informant at different stages of his LR writing were conducted to elicit his difficulties and his comments on various aspects of LR writing. The meetings between the informant and his advisor were also observed and tape-recorded.
The results suggest that, unlike the complex and various move structures reported in Kwan’s study, the informant’s LR move structures tend to become simplified as the text developed. Additionally, the rhetorical strategies identified from the three moves imply the informant’s weakness in creating his research niche. Among the many LR writing difficulties found in this study, the lack of critical academic reading ability seemed to be the root of many other LR writing difficulties. Moreover, the informant’s perceived difficulties, such as weak critical thinking and synthesizing abilities, were also reflected in the texts through different uses of rhetorical strategies and various textual features.
Pedagogically, the findings suggest that the EAP writing classes should incorporate more training of critical reading ability. For those subject teachers who eager to know how to give more effective instruction and guidance to their thesis/dissertation advisees, it is suggested that the training of basic discourse analysis skills through related workshops might be beneficial to them.

並列關鍵字

academic writing ； thesis literature review ； writing difficulties

參考文獻

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Allison, D., Cooley, L., Lewkowicz, J., & Nunan, D., 1998. Dissertation writing in action: the development of a dissertation writing support program for ESL graduate research students. English for Specific Purposes, 7, 2, 199-217.

Bargar, R. R., & Mayo-Chamberlain, J., 1983. Advisor and advisee issues in doctoral education. Journal of Higher Education, 54, 407-432.

Belcher, D., 1994. The apprenticeship approach to advanced academic literacy: graduate students and their mentors. English for Specific Purposes, 13, 23-34.

Bitchener, J., & Basturkmen, H., 2006. Perceptions of the difficulties of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section. English for Specific Purposes, 5, 4-18.