经典美文背诵 坚持下定有收获.docx
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经典美文背诵坚持下定有收获
UnitOne
Writingresearchreportsforcollegeorworkisoftenfoundfarmoredifficultthanitneedstobe.Thefollowingarticleofferssomeexcellentadviceonhowtomakethetaskeasierandthereportmoreimpressiveandeffective.Whetheryouwritearesearchreportforacollegeprofessororforademandingbossinyourprofession,theauthor'sadvicewillputyouwellonyourwaytobecomingaskillfulreportwriter.
RESEARCHREPORTSFORBUSINESSANDTHECNICALWRITING
WayneLosano
Asurprisingamountofone'stimeasastudentandprofessionalisspentreportingtheresultsofone'sresearchprojectsforpresentationtoteachers,managers,andclients.Indeed,withoutbasicresearchskillsandtheabilitytopresentresearchresultsclearlyandcompletely,anindividualwillencountermanyobstaclesinschoolandonthejob.Theneedforsomeresearch-writingabilityisfeltnearlyequallybycollegestudentsinallfields,engineeringandscienceaswellasbusinessandthehumanities.Graduatestudyoftenmakesgreatdemandsonthestudent'sresearch-writingskills,andmostprofessionscontinuethedemand;education,advertisingandmarketing,economicsandaccounting,scienceandengineering,psychology,anthropology,thearts,andagriculturemayallrequireregularreportingofresearchdata.
ELEMENTSOFTHERESEARCHPAPER
Thestandardresearchreport,regardlessofthefieldortheintendedreader,containsfourmajorsections.Thesesectionsmaybebrokendownintoavarietyofsubsections,andtheymaybearrangedinavarietyofways,buttheyregularlymakeupthecoreofthereport.
ProblemSection.Thefirstrequiredsectionofaresearchreportisthestatementoftheproblemwithwhichtheresearchprojectisconcerned.Thissectionrequiresaprecisestatementoftheunderlyingquestionwhichtheresearcherhassetouttoanswer.Inthissamesectionthereshouldbeanexplanationofthesignificance---social,economic,medical,psychological,educational,etc.---ofthequestion;inotherwords,whytheinvestigationwasworthconducting.Thus,ifwesetout,forexample,toanswerthequestion"WhatistheeffectofregularconsumptionoffastfoodsonthehealthoftheAmericanteenager?
"wemustexplainthatthequestionisthoughttohavesignificantrelevancetothehealthofthissegmentofthepopulationandmightleadtosomesortofregulationsonsuchfoods.
Afrequentsubsectionofthisproblemsectionisareviewofpastresearchonthetopicbeinginvestigated.Thiswouldconsistofsummariesofthecontributionsofpreviousresearchertothequestionunderconsiderationwithsomeassessmentofthevalueofthesecontributions.Thissubsectionhasrhetoricalusefulnessinthatitenhancesthecredibilityoftheresearcherbyindicatingthatthedatapresentedisbasedonathoroughknowledgeofwhathasbeendoneinthefieldand,possibly,growsoutofsomeinvestigativetradition.
ProceduresSection.Thesecondmajorsectionoftheresearchreportdetails,withasmuchdataaspossible,exactlyhowthestudywascarriedout.Thissectionincludesdescriptionofanynecessaryequipment,howthesubjectswereselectedifsubjectswereused,whatstatisticaltechniquewasusedtoevaluatethesignificanceofthefindings,howmanyobservationsweremadeandwhen,etc.Aninvestigationoftherelativeeffectivenessofvariousswim-strokeswouldhavetodetailthenumberofswimmerstested,thenatureofthetestsconducted,theexperienceoftheswimmers,theweatherconditionsatthetimeofthetest,andanyotherfactorsthatcontributedtotheoverallexperiment.Thegoaloftheproceduressectionistoallowthereadertoduplicatetheexperimentifsuchweredesiredtoconfirm,orrefute,yourfindings.
ResultsSection.Thethird,andperhapsmostimportant,sectionoftheresearchreportisthepresentationoftheresultsobtainedfromtheinvestigation.Thebasicruleinthissectionistogivealldatarelevanttotheresearchquestioninitiallyasked.Although,ofcourse,one'snaturaltendencymightbetosuppressanyfindingswhichdonotinsomewaysupportone'shypothesis,suchdishonestyisantitheticaltogoodresearchreportinginanyfield.Iftheexperimentsundertakenfailtoproveanything,ifthedatawasinadequateorcontrarytoexpectations,thereportshouldbehonestlywrittenandascompleteaspossible,justasitwouldbeifthehypothesisweretotallyprovenbytheresearch.
DiscussionSection.Thefinalrequiredsectionofaresearchreportisadiscussionoftheresultsobtainedandastatementofanyconclusionswhichmaybedrawnfromthoseresults.Ofprimaryinterestinbusinessandtechnicalresearchreportsisthevalidityoftheresultsasthebasesforcompanydecisions:
Willourplannedconstructionprojectmeetfederalenvironmentalguidelinesandbeapprovedforbuilding?
Willthisnewprogramattractskilledpersonneltoourcompany?
Willthisnewoilrecoverytechniquebefinanciallyfeasible?
Thus,thediscussionsectionoftheresearchreportmustevaluatetheresearchresultsfully:
weretheyvalidlyobtained,aretheycompleteorlimited,aretheyapplicableoverawiderangeofcircumstances?
Thediscussionsectionshouldalsopointoutwhatquestionremainunansweredandperhapssuggestdirectionsforfurtherresearch.
STYLEOFRESEARCHREPORTS
Researchreportsareconsideredformalprofessionalcommunication.Assuch,thereislittleemphasisonalivelystyle,although,ofcourse,thereisnoobjectiontowritingthatispleasingandinteresting.Theprimarygoalsofprofessionalcommunicationareaccuracy,clarity,andcompleteness.Theroughdraftofanyresearchreportshouldbeeditedtoensurethatalldataiscorrectlypresented,thatallequipmentislisted,thatallresultsareproperlydetailed.Asanaidtothereader,headingsindicatingatleastthemajorsectionofthereportshouldbeused,andalldatashouldbepresentedundertheproperheadings.Inadditiontotheirfunctionofsuggestingtothereaderthecontentsofeachsection,headingsenhancetheformalappearanceandprofessionalqualityofthereport,increasetosomedegreethewriter'scredibilitybyreflectingalogicalandmethodicalapproachtothereportingprocess,andeliminatetheneedforwordytransitionaldevicesbetweensections.
Researchdatashouldbepresentedinawaythatplacesproperemphasisonmajoraspectoftheproject.Fordifferentreadersdifferentaspectswilltakeondifferentdegreesofimportance,andsomeconsiderationshouldbegiventostructuringresearchreportsdifferentlyfordifferentaudiences.Management,forexample,willbemostconcernedwiththeresultsofaresearchproject,andthustheresultssectionshouldbeemphasized,probablybypresentingitimmediatelyaftertheproblemsectionandbeforetheproceduressection.Otherresearcherswouldbemostinterestedintheproceduressection,andthisshouldbehighlightedinwritingupresearchprojectsforpublicationinprofessionaljournalsorforpresentationatprofessionalconferences.Fornon-technicalreadersandfederalagencies,theimplicationsoftheresultsmightbethemostimportantconsideration,andemphasisshouldbeplacedonthediscussionofthereportforthisreadership.
Foradditionalclarityandemphasis,majorresultsshouldbepresentedinavisualformat---tables,charts,graphs,diagrams---aswellasinaverbalone.
Beyondcheckingthereportforclarityandaccuracyinthepresentationoftechnicaldata,theauthorofaresearchreportshouldreviewforbasicgrammaticalandmechanicalaccuracy.Shortsentencesarepreferabletolonginthepresentationofcomplexinformation.Listingsshouldbeusedtobreakuplongpassagesofproseandtoemphasizeinformation.Theresearchwritershouldtrytousethesimplestpossiblelanguagewithoutsacrificingtheprofessionalqualityofthereport.Althoughspecializedtermscanbeused,pretentiousjargonshouldbeavoided.Afinishedresearchreportshouldbereadableandusefuldocumentpreparedwiththereaderinmind.
CONCLUSION
Althoughwestrugglewithresearchreportsinhighschool,dreadthemincollege,andareoftenburdenedbytheminourprofessionallive,learningtolivecomfortablywiththemisarelativelyeasytask.Apositiveattitude(i.e.onethatseemtheoralorwrittenpresentationofresearchresultsasofequalimportancetothedata-gatheringprocess);anorderlyapproachwhichincludesprewriting(i.e.,beforeanyactualresearchisdone,theresearchershouldtrytogetdownonpaperasmuchaboutthesubjectunderinvestigationaspossible)andaformalresearchreportstructureastheframeworkfortheinvestigation;andareasonableapproachtotheactualwritingprocessincludingeditingforaccuracyandclarity,willhelponetoproduceeffectiveresearchreportsefficiently.
UnitTwo
AsablackboygrowingupinAmericaintheearly1900s,RichardWrightknewwellthemeaningofracialprejudice.Hewasnotallowedtoplayinaparkorborrowbooksfromalibrary.Whileworkingasanofficeboyinabank,though,hefoundawayintothelibraryanddiscoveredthepowerofthewrittenword.Inthefollowingstory,RichardWrighttellsushowhisthirstforbooksgrewwitheachpassingdayandwhatchangestookplaceinhimashedidmoreandmorereading.
THELIBRARYCARD
RichardWright
OnemorningIarrivedearlyatworkandwentintothebanklobbywheretheNegroporterwasmopping.IstoodatacounterandpickeduptheMemphisCommercialAppealandbeganmyfreereadingofthepress.IcamefinallytotheeditorialpageandsawanarticledealingwithoneH.L.Mencken.IknewbyhearsaythathewastheeditoroftheAmericanMercury,butasidefromthatIknew