1、A Sample Prospectus for MA Thesis1外交学院英语语言文学、外国语言学与应用语言学硕士学位论文开题报告Prospectus论文题目：English 和中文Probing into the Defining Element of A GenreUsing American Presidents Radio Addresses to the Nation as the Corpus of Data中文题目缺研究生：So and So导师：Professor So and So选题缘由：1. I acquired a strong interest in genre t
2、heory during the course of English Stylistics lectured by Prof. Yang Xueyan. 2. I have been a big fan of former US President Bill Clinton for his eloquent speeches. 研究现状：A number of functional linguists have explored this domain and made discourse analysis of a variety of genres. However, there stil
3、l exists no universally accepted theory on the defining element of a genre. For example, based on her study on service encounter, Ruqaiya Hasan concludes that the three values in the contextual configuration of the “context of situation”, i.e. “field”, “tenor” and “mode”, especially the value of “fi
4、eld”, as the decisive element in defining a genre. Drawing on Michael Gregorys further classification of the concept of “tenor” into “personal tenor” and “functional tenor”, James R. Martin advocates that “functional tenor” underlies “field”, “personal tenor” and “mode” and is realized through them.
5、 Thus “functional tenor” is considered as a defining variable that constrains “field”, “personal tenor” and “mode” and is renamed “genre”.选题意义：1. Genre theory is becoming a prevailing approach in Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) studies. This thesis aims to make some contribution to the developm
6、ent and application of genre theory.2. Radio address constitutes a unique genre among the sub-varieties of public speeches due to its special features like channel and medium of communication.3. American Presidents radio addresses to the nation are ideal objects for SFL studies for its salient socia
7、l functions as a powerful means of mass communication between the US administration and the general public. They also provide important data for the study of US domestic and foreign policies. However, few people have touched upon this sub-variety in previous studies.研究基础：With the guidance of Prof. Y
8、ang Xueyan during the course of English Stylistics, I studied the two prevailing genre models proposed by James Martin and Ruqaiya Hasan, upon which I have constructed the theoretical framework of my M.A. thesis. In order to get a better understanding of the genre theories of the two functional ling
9、uists, I have also read relevant works by the two scholars and personally attended a lecture on genre theory given by Prof. James Martin during the 6th Systemics Week at Beijing Normal University, during which I managed to keep track of the development of his genre theory and improve the theoretical
10、 basis of my thesis. Along my undergraduate study as an English major, I always regarded Bill Clintons speeches as a valuable A Sample Prospectus for MA Thesis2databank of eloquent speeches and a powerful means of communication. During my study of the course of English Stylistics, I came to realize
11、the linguistic value of Clintons speeches, particularly the radio addresses he delivered to the nation as US President, and selected a number of his speeches as the corpus of data for my genre research. In order to gather more linguistic material and have a thorough understanding of this genre, I ha
12、ve also constantly visited the website of Clinton Foundation for more texts of Clintons speeches and subscribed to the email service provided by the White House so that I can keep track of the weekly radio addresses delivered by the incumbent US President George W. Bush and compare them with those d
13、elivered by Bill Clinton. 研究方法：In order to fulfill my research objective, i.e. to probe into the defining element of a genre, the author designs the analytical procedures as follows:Step 1: analyze the textual structure of every radio address in the corpus of data;Step 2: use Hasans model to analyze
14、 the specific values of “field”, “tenor” and “mode,” especially the “field” of every radio address;Step 3: analyze the relationship between the textual structure of every radio address and its Contextual Configuration to verify Hasans model;Step 4: use Martins model to analyze the “functional tenor”
15、 of every radio address in the corpus of data;Step 5: analyze the relationship between the textual structure of every radio address and its “functional tenor” to verify Martins model;Step 6: compare the findings of the genre models proposed by Hasan and Martin to find out which element determines th
16、e genre of radio addresses.论文要点：My M.A. thesis aims to find out the most prominent element in defining a genre by comparing the validity and applicability of the genre models proposed by Ruqaiya Hasan and James Martin, two of the most prominent functional linguists, in analyzing the generic structur
17、e of an existing genre-American Presidents radio addresses to the nation. After that, this thesis goes on to explore how the genre models of Ruqaiya Hasan and James Martin could be applied in different ways to genre study.论文框架：My M.A. thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 is the introductory p
18、art. A literature review of the current genre theories, particularly the genre models proposed by Hasan and Martin, are introduced in Chapter 2 to lay a theoretical foundation and provide analytical models for my genre research. In Chapter 3, the research methodology, or analytical procedures to be
19、more specific, is described in a step-by-step manner. First, the textual structure of every radio addresses in the corpus of data is analyzed. Then the genre models of Hasan and Martin are applied respectively to analyzing the relationship between the textual structures of the radio addresses and th
20、eir “contextual configurations” or “functional tenors”. On the basis of the findings of the genre models of Hasan and Martin, the thesis goes on to compare the theoretical structures of the two models and finds out which element determines the radio addresses generic structure and defines its genre.
21、 Finally, the paper compares the validity and applicability of the two models in Chapter 4 and provides a summary and conclusion of the research in Chapter 5.参考书目：Brown, Gillian and George Yule. 1983. Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Halliday, M.A.K. 2000. An Introduction to
22、 Functional Grammar. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Halliday, M.A.K. 2001. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Halliday, M.A.K. and Ruqaiya Hasan. 1985. Language, Context and Text
23、: Aspects of Language in a Socio-A Sample Prospectus for MA Thesis3Semiotic Perspective. Victoria: Deakin University Press.Halliday, M.A.K. and Ruqaiya Hasan. 2001. Cohesion in English. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Hu, Zhuanglin. 1997. “Reflections on A Multi-Level Model of
24、Textual Cohesion and Coherence”, in Hu Zhuanglin and Fang Yan (eds.) 1997: 61-88.Martin, J.R. 1985. “Process and Text: Two Aspects of Human Semiosis”, in Benson and Greaves (eds.) 1985: 248-274.Martin, J.R. and David Rose. 2003. Working with Discourse: Meaning beyond the Clause. London: Continuum.Sw
25、ales, Johan M. 2001. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 方琰，1997，Hasan 的语类结构潜势理论在英语应用文写作教学中的应用， 功能语言学在中国的进展：324-325。方琰，1998，浅谈语类， 外国语总第 113 期：17-22。方琰，2002，语篇语类研究， 清华大学学报增 1 期：15-21。胡壮麟，1994， 语篇的衔接与连贯 。上海：上海外语教育出版社。胡壮麟、方琰主编，
26、1997， 功能语言学在中国的进展 。北京：清华大学出版社。胡壮麟、朱永生、张德禄，1989， 系统功能语法概论 。长沙：湖南教育出版社。黄国文，1998，语篇分析中的语篇类型研究， 外语研究总第 56 期：4-7。李秀英，2000，语篇的图式结构与体裁分析的重要性， 大连理工大学学报第 21 卷，第 3 期：64-67。罗雅琴，2003，一种新的语类结构模式初探, www.languagera.org。秦秀白，1997， “体裁分析 ”概说， 外国语总第 112 期：8-15。秦秀白，2000a ，体裁教学法述评， 外语教学与研究第 1 期：42-46。秦秀白，2000b，体裁分析与体裁教学
27、法， 外语界第 1 期：11-18。徐有志，2005， 英语文体学教程 。北京：高等教育出版社。杨雪燕，2000，文体学与外语教学， 外交学院学报第 4 期：79-85。杨雪燕，2001，社论英语的文体研究， 外语教学与研究第 33 卷，第 5 期：367-373。杨雪燕，2003， “语篇 ”概念与翻译教学， 中国翻译第 24 卷，第 5 期：59-64。于晖，2000，语篇体裁分析与系统网络， 外语与外语教学总第 138 期：2-13。于晖，2001，语篇体裁结构潜势及其应用， 解放军外国语学院学报第 24 卷，第 1 期：6-10。于晖，2003，语篇体裁、语篇类型与外语教学， 解放军外
28、国语学院学报第 5 期：13-17。张德禄，2002a ，语类研究理论框架探索， 外语教学与研究第 34 卷，第 5 期：339-380。张德禄，2002b，语类研究概览， 外国语总第 140 期：13-22。张德禄，2004，系统功能语言学的新发展， 语言文字学2004 年第 7 期：76-84。朱永生、严世清，2001， 系统功能语言学多维思考 。上海：上海外语教育出版社。写作时间安排：Due to the limited time I have for writing my M.A. thesis while participating in an exchange program ab
29、road, I would make my best efforts to accelerate my pace of research doing and thesis composition and try to submit the first draft of my M.A. thesis to my supervisor, Prof. Yang Xueyan, before I leave for the US for my exchange program on August 7, 2006 and make due improvements in the following drafts after I head back to Beijing towards the end of 2006. 开题报告提交时间：A Sample Prospectus for MA Thesis4July 6, 2006导师意见：Okay上报研究生论文协调老师及上报时间：June 1, 2006开题报告审批委员会意见：Approved.研究生班级姓名：So and So of 2005研究生联系方式：*座机： 手机： Email: 签字：
