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An Analysis of English Majors’ Writing Ability and

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An Analysis of English Majors’ Writing Ability and
RESEARCH PROPOSAL

An Analysis of English Majors’ Writing Ability and
Improvement Strategies: A Case Study on ZUCC English
Majors’ TEM-4/8 Performances

1. Purpose and Significance
Thanks to the globalization, the demand for the bilingual workers is on the rise. As English majors, we believe that what we can do to be more competitive in this increasingly globalized world is to have a solid command of this language. The certificates such as TEM-8 (Test for English Majors Band Eight) are a must but what really matters is what ability the students really have possessed and could be employed at ease. Upon reflecting on the TEM-4 (Test for English Majors Band Four) /TEM-8 scores the seniors have acquired, we clearly learn that there is still quite a room for improvement, especially when it comes to writing. Some students still find it tough to put pen into the paper and work out a satisfactory essay; some are hard-pressed to express themselves smoothly in the writing; still some tend to produce Chin-glish works. Actually, all these are standing in the way of global communication and cultural interaction, which may be a major part in our future work. Therefore, English majors should place high value on honing this skill, not only for juggling exams but also for the sake of our future career.
This paper tries to analyze the writing ability of the English majors, who have spent the four years specializing in English learning, especially ZUCC-ers while focusing on rendering improvement skills and strategies that are feasible and effective. This paper also suggests the gap between what we have achieved and what we should achieve, judging from the standards set in TEM-4/TEM-8 and the test scores the seniors gained in the previous TEM-4/ TEM-8 exams, which, I believe, will not only facilitate our understanding of the goals, the rating standards of TEM-4/TEM-8 and the expectations our educators place on us, but also serve as the guide for our academic advisors, whose



References: [1] Campbell, Cherry. Teaching Second Language Writing: Interacting with Text [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2004. [3] How to Write a Good Thesis Statement. [EB/OL] Writing Tutorial Services. 2008. Indiana University Bloomington. 1March 2010 http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml [7] Oak, Manali. Developing Your Critical Thinking Skills [A]. Buzzle Articles [EB/OL]. 1 Jan. 2010. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/developing-critical-thinking-skills.html [10] Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically [M]. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2004. [11] Twin, Mark [12] Tardiff, Elyssa, and Allen Brizee. Creating a Thesis Statement. [EB/OL] Purdue On-line Writing Lab. 2010. Purdue University. 17 August 2010 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/ [13] Wyrick, Jean. Steps to Writing Well [M]. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth Press, 2005. [14] Wendy, Bishop [15] Xiao Fushou. English Composition Pedagogy: Principles and Strategies [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai University Press, 2007.

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