| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Academic Achievements | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-10页 |
| List of Figures and Tables | 第10-11页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第11-12页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-16页 |
| ·Research Background | 第12-13页 |
| ·Purpose of the Research | 第13-14页 |
| ·Framework of the Thesis | 第14-16页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第16-28页 |
| ·Introduction to Discourse Markers | 第16-17页 |
| ·Classification of Causal Markers | 第17-20页 |
| ·Hallidy and Hasan’s Classification | 第17-18页 |
| ·Fraser’s Classification | 第18-19页 |
| ·Mo’s Classification | 第19页 |
| ·Causal Markers Discussed in the Thesis | 第19-20页 |
| ·Previous Studies on the Use and Acquisition of Causal Markers by EFL Learners | 第20-23页 |
| ·Previous Studies in China | 第20-22页 |
| ·Previous Studies in Western Countries | 第22页 |
| ·Remaining Issues for the Present Study | 第22-23页 |
| ·Relevance and Causal Markers in Argumentative Composition Writing | 第23-28页 |
| ·Relevance Theory | 第23-25页 |
| ·Relevance and Discourse Markers | 第25-26页 |
| ·Functions of Causal Markers in Argumentative Compositions | 第26-28页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Design and Methodology | 第28-38页 |
| ·Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis | 第28-29页 |
| ·The Methodology of Corpus-based Analysis | 第29-30页 |
| ·Introduction to the Corpora Used in the Present Study | 第30-31页 |
| ·CLEC | 第30页 |
| ·WECCL | 第30-31页 |
| ·LOCNESS | 第31页 |
| ·Sampling and Corpora Building | 第31-33页 |
| ·Introduction to the Retrieval Software | 第33-34页 |
| ·Retrieval Procedures of Causal Markers in the Present Study | 第34-38页 |
| ·Data Retrieval | 第34页 |
| ·Identification of the Right Causal Markers | 第34-36页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis | 第36-38页 |
| Chapter 4 Results and Discussions | 第38-56页 |
| ·Comparison of Causal Markers between Non-English Majors and English Majors | 第38-43页 |
| ·Different Features of Using Causal Markers by Non-English Majors and English Majors | 第38-42页 |
| ·Explanations for the Different Usage Patterns | 第42-43页 |
| ·Comparison of Causal Markers between Chinese College Students and Native College Students | 第43-52页 |
| ·Macro Analysis of the Causal Markers Used by Chinese College Students | 第43-46页 |
| ·Micro Analysis of the Overused and Underused Causal Markers | 第46-49页 |
| ·Micro Analysis of the Misused Causal Markers | 第49-52页 |
| ·Causes for the Problems of Using Causal Markers by Chinese College Students | 第52-56页 |
| ·Negative Transfer of the Language | 第53-54页 |
| ·Limited Exposure to the Target Language | 第54-55页 |
| ·Lack of Stylistic Awareness | 第55-56页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第56-59页 |
| ·Major Findings of the Present Study | 第56-57页 |
| ·Pedagogical Implications of the Present Study | 第57-58页 |
| ·Limitations of the Present Study | 第58-59页 |
| References | 第59-60页 |
