| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-8页 |
| 1 Introduction | 第11-15页 |
| 1.1 Research background | 第11-12页 |
| 1.2 Research significance | 第12-14页 |
| 1.2.1 Theoretical significance | 第12-13页 |
| 1.2.2 Practical significance | 第13-14页 |
| 1.3 Layout of the thesis | 第14-15页 |
| 2 Literature Review | 第15-21页 |
| 2.1 Studies on Rhetorical Structure Theory and its applications | 第15-18页 |
| 2.1.1 Studies on Rhetorical Structure Theory and its applications abroad | 第15-17页 |
| 2.1.2 Studies on the Rhetorical Structure Theory and its applications at home | 第17-18页 |
| 2.2 Studies on English writing | 第18-20页 |
| 2.3 Summary and research gap | 第20-21页 |
| 3 Theoretical Framework | 第21-28页 |
| 3.1 An introduction to Rhetorical Structure Theory | 第21页 |
| 3.2 Assumptions of the Rhetorical Structure Theory | 第21-28页 |
| 3.2.1 Relation, function and hierarchy | 第21-24页 |
| 3.2.2 Definitions for span, schema and structure | 第24-28页 |
| 4 Research Methodology | 第28-38页 |
| 4.1 Research questions | 第28页 |
| 4.2 Data source | 第28-29页 |
| 4.3 Data collection and analysis | 第29-38页 |
| 4.3.1 Sampling | 第29-30页 |
| 4.3.2 Analytical procedures of RST | 第30-38页 |
| 5 Results and Discussion | 第38-58页 |
| 5.1 Distribution of rhetorical relations | 第38-43页 |
| 5.1.1 General distribution of rhetorical relations | 第38-40页 |
| 5.1.2 The analysis of the similarities and differences in the general distribution between Proficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第40-43页 |
| 5.2 Similarities and differences in preferred rhetorical relation types betweenProficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第43-47页 |
| 5.2.1 The analysis of the similarities in preferred rhetorical relation types | 第43-45页 |
| 5.2.2 The analysis of the differences in preferred rhetorical relation types | 第45-47页 |
| 5.3 Similarities and differences in rhetorical relation types with low frequency between Proficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第47-50页 |
| 5.3.1 The analysis of the similarities in rhetorical relation types with low frequency | 第47-49页 |
| 5.3.2 The analysis of the differences in rhetorical relation types with low frequency | 第49-50页 |
| 5.4 Top structure of the RST diagrams in Proficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第50-58页 |
| 5.4.1 The analysis of the similarities of top structure of the RST diagrams in Proficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第53-54页 |
| 5.4.2 The analysis of the differences of top structure of the RST diagrams in Proficient Group and Less-proficient Group | 第54-58页 |
| 6. Conclusion | 第58-62页 |
| 6.1 Major findings | 第58-59页 |
| 6.2 Pedagogical implications | 第59-60页 |
| 6.3 Limitations and suggestions | 第60-62页 |
| Bibliography | 第62-65页 |
