Whole brain super learning ability

Chapter 29 The rapid increase in writing ability (5)
Step [-]: Prepare a rough outline for the thesis.

The rough outline is your basic plan for organizing your research, pointing out the purpose of the thesis, explaining the issues you plan to demonstrate, and then dividing the topic into several parts simply and naturally.But there is no need to make this outline too detailed, just explain what issues the topic mainly involves.See "James Madison's Contributions to the United States Constitution" below.The rough outline of this topic mainly includes:
①Theme of the thesis: Madison—the "Founder" of the American Constitution.

② Early life.

a.childhood, youth;
b. Madison's activities in the Revolutionary War.

③ How the Constitution was drafted.

a.The Nature of the Confederate Government: Its Downfall;
b.Convocation of the Constitutional Convention;

c.the course of the meeting;

faction;

"confederation";
"The Federalist";
d.Main points raised at the meeting.

④The role of Madison.

a.Madison's faction;
b.His importance in the faction;
c.his contribution;
d.the time of the meeting;

e.The birth of the Federalist proposal;

f.Madison himself proposed.

⑤ The final formation of the constitution.

a.Discussion on the theoretical model of American government;

b.Madison's contribution.

⑥Conclusion.Explain that the purpose of the thesis has been achieved.

Step [-]: List the bibliographies and articles to be read according to the rough outline.

Make a reading list on the card.A quote from a book or an article is written on a card.To use all reference materials in the library reference room, look up the titles of relevant books.The encyclopedia will recommend relevant bibliographies and various indexes to you, such as periodical catalog indexes and so on.In addition, there is a library catalog card.The service personnel in the reference room will also give you necessary help, and they are also the source of information!
When you find a relevant monograph or a relevant article, write your own reminder card.If it is a book, write the author's name, title (including subtitle), publisher, place of publication, and copyright date on the card.

If it is an article, write down the author's name, the title of the article, the title of the journal, the issue date of the magazine, and the number of pages in the article.If it is an article in an encyclopedia, follow the method of book description.These bibliographic cards will contain all the material you need to make footnotes and bibliography.

Step [-]: Read the selected books and materials and make notes.

Notes should be made on cards of 5 x 8 cm or 4 x 6 cm, and one card should record one item.If you can't remember a card, write another, but don't use the other side of the card.In this way, on the one hand, there is room for future additions, and on the other hand, there is no need to turn over when using it on the table, so as to concentrate energy and save time.

Write the abbreviation of the title of the citation and the specific page number of the citation at the top of each card.Copy the text directly if necessary, otherwise it is best to take notes in your own words.Keep the card in a box or pocket and never lose it.

Step [-]: Start writing the detailed outline of the thesis, the more detailed the better.

Ideas and viewpoints should be arranged in a clear and logical manner.

Step Seven: Organize and arrange the cards in the order of the outline, and then start writing the first draft.

Step [-]: After the first draft is completed, it should be revised repeatedly until you are satisfied.

Step Nine: Copy the thesis according to the specific requirements of the teacher.

当你接到撰写论文的任务之后，第一件事就是制定计划。要根据撰写论文的九个具体步骤的实际情况分配好时间；头四步占总计划时间的1／3；另外1／3的时间用于阅读有关图书资料和做笔记；最后的1／3时间用来正式组稿，即第六步至第九步。

When allocating planning time, it is necessary to calculate backward from the stipulated delivery time.For example, if your history teacher assigns you to write a paper that is due no later than the last day of term, you have about 9 weeks.

You can make a writing plan as shown in the table below.Write the due date in the front column of step 3, the date [-] weeks before the end of the period in the front column of step [-], and then fill in the date [-] weeks before the end of the period in the front column of step [-].

After dividing the planning time into large chunks, subdivide the time required for each step.In the example we have given, you have a total of 9 weeks to complete the entire dissertation.Then, your time allocation is roughly as follows: in the 3 weeks allocated to the first stage, that is, the first step to the fourth step, you can use about 5 days for general browsing and two days for topic selection.Spend another two weeks to write a rough outline and build a bibliography.In the 3 weeks allocated for soliciting manuscripts or formally writing papers, it takes about 5 days to write the outline, 5 days to draft, 6 days to revise, and 5 days to finalize the draft.

Completion date of each section, nine steps, content of each step, completion status of each step
　1 general browsing

　2 topics
　3 write a rough outline

　4 Create a bibliography
　5 reading, notes

　6 Write a detailed outline

　7 Draft

　8 modified
　9 Transcribe the finished manuscript
Once the planning is done, it's time to get started.When conducting general and broad browsing, being systematic is the key to the success of the paper.All available general literature on the subject should be carefully consulted.Then, when you build your bibliography, do it systematically as well.When you take reading notes, you should also be organized and systematic.Make sure that every note is clear, especially page numbers.This way you don't have to rework yourself because you can't remember where a good idea came from.

Whether you quote someone else's point of view or the original text, you must indicate the source.Otherwise, you are academically dishonest.Sources for cited ideas may be indicated by appropriate footnotes or endnotes.The required form of footnotes and endnotes is the same, but the location is different.Footnotes, as the name suggests, should be written at the bottom of the page where the citation is located, while endnotes should be at the end of the paper.According to the requirements of the teacher, which annotation method can be used.

Footnotes and endnotes should include:

(Book)

①The name of the author.

②The title of the book.

③Editor or translator (if any).

④ If it is a series of books, it should be indicated, and the volume number of the series should be indicated.

⑤ Edition number (if the book is not the first edition).

⑥ Number of rolls (if more than one roll).

⑦Publication item, fill in the brackets.

place of publication
Publisher

publication date;

⑧Citation start and end page numbers.

(Sentence)
①The name of the author.

②The title of the article (enclosed in double quotation marks).

③The name of the magazine, journal or book that published the article.

④The volume number and issue number of the magazine or journal.In the case of books, the publication date should be given, including all bibliographical entries.

⑤ Citation start and end page numbers.

Here are two examples of footnotes:
John Audubon: The Birds of America, New York: MacMillan 1927, p. 14.

Magazine:

阿兰·德沃：《我们带羽毛的朋友》，载《自然杂志》21卷1931年10月，第21－23页。

In the process of writing a dissertation, it is sometimes necessary to cite the same book or article multiple times for viewpoint material.If you have to write out all the items every time you make a note, it is a waste of time.In order to save time and effort, you can use the abbreviation method.When citing a book for the first time, all items must be written in full, but when continuing to cite the same book in the future, it can be noted in abbreviated form.

Generally, there are two simple ways to make annotations: one is to give the author's name, the abbreviation of the title of the book or article, and the starting and ending page numbers of the citation.Such as:

1. Albert Fermat: The World Inside Me (Princeton University Press, 1939), 84 pages.

2. Fermat: "The World", 84 pages,
The second method is easier. You don't need to write the title of the book or article, just write the name of the author, add a comma, and give the page number.If two or more footnotes refer to the same book or article, the first footnote states all items, and the remaining footnotes simply say "same as above" and state the number of pages (if different).

In practice, there are many other different forms of footnotes, which vary from person to person.Although some are not standardized enough, they can also be used.So be aware of the other footnote forms as well.

Doing footnotes is also like making a bibliography, which can make your paper more interesting and academic.It can not only faithfully reflect your experience and research skills, but also reflect your honesty; dare to explain the source of your thoughts and opinions.Find a few textbooks or scholarly works in the library, and take a good look at how other people do footnotes.

All reference books and literature listed at the end of the paper are called the bibliography.There are two kinds of bibliographies; one includes only the bibliography from which you have cited the original text or ideas (all noted in footnotes of course).The other includes all references and books, not only those from which you cited the original text, but also those that are relevant to your topic but that you did not include as original sources.Be sure to find out exactly which bibliography format your teacher requires.

Like footnotes, bibliography requires a specific format and requirements.It must contain all the necessary items to enable others to find the book or journal in the library.Bibliography entries, content, and footnote entries are slightly different.

(Book)

①The name of the author.

②The title of the book (enclosed with the title number " ").

③ editor or translator.

④ version.

⑤ Number of volumes.

⑥ Publication items.

place of publication, colon,
publisher, comma,

Publication date, period.

(Sentence)
①The name of the author.

②The title of the article.

③ Publication items.

Magazine title (enclosed with book title " ")
volume number.

Date of publication (in brackets).

④ Start and end page numbers.

In general, references can be divided into two parts, with the book first and the article second.Sometimes it is divided into primary material and secondary material.But no matter how they are divided, the arrangement order is the same.Arrange according to the stroke order of the author's surname, or according to the stroke order of the title of the article or the order in which the reference materials appear in the article.

Whoever regards writing a dissertation as a heavy, time-wasting burden will either be dry or stinky and long, and a lack of responsibility and interest can be seen at a glance.Conversely, if he sees writing a dissertation as a challenge and an opportunity to engage in discovery and creativity, his essay will be well-written, reflecting his extensive experience and deep understanding of the material, and using it to The content of knowledge arouses the teacher's interest.

The originality of the essay is important, but as a student you may be graded more on the scope of the essay, i.e. the breadth of reading you did around the topic before you set out to write it.Originality is the same as other creative and inventive abilities, not everyone has it, but every student can read extensively and acquire the necessary knowledge related to the topic.No matter who you are, you must first conduct extensive research in the relevant field before you can think critically and creatively about other people's viewpoints, so as to generate your own new viewpoints.Generally speaking, the emergence of new viewpoints is often the result of re-synthesis and processing of various viewpoints.Therefore, if a student mistakenly believes that he can write a good essay without extensive basic reading, then he will only admit defeat if he tastes the bitter fruit of failing.

(End of this chapter)