| Abstract is a very essential and indispensable part of a thesis, because it is the refinement of the whole paper. The graduates, especially Chinese non-English majors who need to prepare their theses should pay more attention to English abstract writing. However, they are more and more conscious of the fact that it is not easy to make both meaningful and grammatical sentences, and it is even more difficult for them to organize the whole sentences together to construct a complete and cohesive text in a logical way. Therefore, the key point is to use cohesive devices accurately. Since the publication of Halliday and Hasan's Cohesion in English (1976), cohesion and coherence have become the important concepts of discourse analysis. They (1976: 13) point out that cohesion is the foundation of coherence and that is the most important prerequisite for the text. A lot of researchers have explored the effects that cohesion theory exerts on English writing teaching, and have performed many experiments from many-faceted aspects, and their achievements have proved useful in the writing practice. However, little research has been carried out with reference to the application of cohesion theory to the abstracts of Chinese non-English major masters'theses, let alone the studies on cohesion errors on discourse level according to the error analysis theory. Hence, based upon the analysis of the previous studies, the present research will attempt to make a data-based analysis of cohesion errors in English abstract writings of Chinese non-English major masters'theses. The objectives of this study are: (1) To explore the frequently committed cohesion errors of Chinese non-English majors in their English abstract writings of masters'theses, to get the percentage of their using, and to analyze their main features. (2) It makes an attempt to find out the possible causes for the frequently committed cohesion errors.In the light of research objectives, the present study aims to answer the following two research questions: (1) what are the cohesion errors occurring in the abstracts of Chinese non-English major masters'theses, and in what ways are they classified? (2) What are the possible causes for these errors?The thesis is based on Halliday and Hasan's cohesion theory, and meanwhile some modifications and supplements are made to meet the need of this present research in order to focus on the analysis of cohesion errors in the English abstract writings of Chinese non-English major masters'theses. A quantitative analysis of cohesive devices is conducted in 30 random sample English abstract writings which are selected from CNKI written by Chinese non-English majors, including the majors of engineering, business management, journalism, agriculture, economics and arts. The using frequency of cohesive devices, the number of cohesion errors, and the rate of each cohesion error are respectively calculated. At the same time, the qualitative analysis is made to analyze the features of some cohesion errors and to point out the possible causes for the cohesion errors with the aim of heightening the Chinese non-English majors'awareness of using the cohesive devices in abstract writings of masters'theses, and hoping to provide some pedagogical implications for the English teaching in China. Before the whole statistical work, a coding scheme is designed on the basis of the taxonomy of cohesive devices of Halliday and Hasan (1976) with some adaptation, and the way how the research in English abstract writings is conducted is presented by carefully analyzing one sample abstract, and the errors which are related to cohesion are found and classified. Then the method is adopted to analyze the other samples.This thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter One is the introduction of the thesis. It presents the research motivation, research significance, research objectives and the organization of the thesisChapter Two is mainly about the literature review of the related studies on cohesion theory and error analysis at home and abroad. It also states the previous empirical studies in this perspective.Chapter Three is mainly concerned with the research design of the present study. It mainly consists of research questions, research instrument, data collection, research procedure. Additionally, working criterion, i.e. the taxonomy of cohesion proposed by Halliday is elaborately presented in this chapter as well. Meanwhile, a coding scheme and sample analysis is also be showed.Chapter Four is the key component of this research, which principally concentrates on the data analysis and discussion. First, through the working criterion adopted in this research, the grammatical cohesion errors are identified and classified. And the different types of cohesion errors are analyzed with the support of some Tables, Charts and examples. Then the collocation errors of lexical cohesion are clearly elaborated with some instances. The results show that the reference errors account for the top of the four cohesion devices, and it is proved to be the weakest point of Chinese non-English majors in their abstract writings. It is the overuse, underuse and misuse of cohesion devices that directly influence the quality of abstract writings. At last, this chapter analyzes the possible causes for the major cohesion errors in the abstract writings of Chinese non-English major masters'.Chapter Five is conclusion and implications. It summarizes the major findings of the research, indicates the importance of cohesion theory in Chinese non-English major masters'theses, and the practical meaning of teaching and the values of theory are ventured. At the same time, limitations of the present research and suggestions for further study are also raised in this chapter.All in all, the present study offers the valuable implications for EFL teaching and learning in China. On the one hand, the Chinese English teachers should have the acuter sense of teaching practical examples of cohesive devices in class, and foster the students cognition of using cohesive devices; on the other hand, the students should raise the awareness of cohesion in English texts on their own, and practice more in order to improve their comprehensive ability of using English. In addition, the research can also throw some light on the cohesive study of other genres. |
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