| Abstract in English | 第4-5页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第6-7页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第7-8页 |
| Table of Contents | 第8-11页 |
| Lists of Tables | 第11-12页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第12-16页 |
| 1.1 Background of the research | 第12-14页 |
| 1.2 Proposal of research questions | 第14-15页 |
| 1.3 Content of the remaining chapters | 第15-16页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第16-31页 |
| 2.1 Pragmatic theories | 第16-22页 |
| 2.1.1 Speech act theory | 第16-17页 |
| 2.1.2 Politeness Theory | 第17-20页 |
| 2.1.2.1 The Politeness Principle | 第17-19页 |
| 2.1.2.2 The face view | 第19-20页 |
| 2.1.3 Apology Strategy | 第20-22页 |
| 2.2 Cross-cultural theories | 第22-25页 |
| 2.2.1 Hofstede's dimension of cultural variability | 第22-24页 |
| 2.2.2 Halls'high context and low context communication theory | 第24-25页 |
| 2.2.3 Dominance theory | 第25页 |
| 2.3 Findings in previous research | 第25-31页 |
| Chapter Three Research Methodology | 第31-61页 |
| 3.1 Instrument | 第31-32页 |
| 3.2 Population and sampling | 第32-33页 |
| 3.3 Data-collection | 第33-34页 |
| 3.4 Coding Scheme | 第34-35页 |
| 3.5 Data analysis | 第35-61页 |
| 3.5.1 Apology strategy patterns studied in this research | 第36-50页 |
| 3.5.1.1 Apology strategy pattern of Chinese female undergraduates | 第36-44页 |
| 3.5.1.2 Apology strategy pattern of Chinese male undergraduates | 第44-50页 |
| 3.5.2 Apology strategy patterns quoted from Dr. Rula. F Bataiheh | 第50-61页 |
| 3.5.2.1 Apology strategy pattern of American female undergraduates | 第50-56页 |
| 3.5.2.2 Apology strategy pattern of American male undergraduates | 第56-61页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第61-97页 |
| 4.1 Comparison of apology strategies employed by American and Chinese undergraduates | 第61-73页 |
| 4.1.1 Apology strategies employed by Chinese undergraduates | 第61-68页 |
| 4.1.2 Apology strategies employed by American undergraduates | 第68-70页 |
| 4.1.3 Comparison of apology strategies in terms of culture | 第70-72页 |
| 4.1.4 Discussion of the results | 第72-73页 |
| 4.2 Comparison of apology strategies employed by female and male undergraduates | 第73-87页 |
| 4.2.1 Apology strategies employed by male undergraduates | 第73-80页 |
| 4.2.2 Apology strategies employed by female undergraduates | 第80-84页 |
| 4.2.3 Comparison of apology strategies in terms of gender | 第84-86页 |
| 4.2.4 Discussion of the results | 第86-87页 |
| 4.3 Analysis of the differences in apology strategy | 第87-97页 |
| 4.3.1 Analysis in terms of politeness theory | 第87-90页 |
| 4.3.2 Analysis from the perspective of cross-cultural communcation | 第90-97页 |
| 4.3.2.1 Underlying cultural factors for the differences in apology strategy between American and Chinese Undergraduates | 第90-93页 |
| 4.3.2.2 Underlying cultural factors for the differences in apology strategy between male and female undergraduates | 第93-97页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第97-104页 |
| 5.1 Major findings of the research | 第97-99页 |
| 5.2 Pedagogical implications | 第99-100页 |
| 5.3 Significance of the research | 第100-101页 |
| 5.4 Limitation of this study | 第101-102页 |
| 5.5 Recommendation for future studies | 第102-104页 |
| Reference | 第104-108页 |
| Appendices | 第108-110页 |
| Appendix Ⅰ Questionnaire Quoted from Dr. Rula F. Bataineh's dissertation | 第108-109页 |
| Appendix Ⅱ Questionnaire used in this study | 第109-110页 |
