| Acknowledgements | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-8页 |
| Abstract | 第8-10页 |
| 1. Introduction | 第13-16页 |
| 1.1 Background of the study | 第13-14页 |
| 1.2 Purpose and significance of the study | 第14-15页 |
| 1.3 Organization of the paper | 第15-16页 |
| 2. Literature Review | 第16-31页 |
| 2.1 Theoretical foundation—three rhetorical appeals | 第16-19页 |
| 2.2 Related studies of three appeals | 第19-22页 |
| 2.2.1 Related studies abroad | 第19-21页 |
| 2.2.2 Related studies at home | 第21-22页 |
| 2.3 Overview of recommendation letters | 第22-25页 |
| 2.3.1 Classification of recommendation letters | 第22-23页 |
| 2.3.2 Function and purpose of recommendation letters | 第23-25页 |
| 2.4 Related studies of recommendation letters | 第25-29页 |
| 2.4.1 Studies of recommendation letters abroad | 第25-27页 |
| 2.4.2 Studies of recommendation letter at home | 第27-29页 |
| 2.5 Summary and research gap | 第29-31页 |
| 3. Research Methodology | 第31-42页 |
| 3.1 Research questions | 第31页 |
| 3.2 Research procedures | 第31-32页 |
| 3.3 Data collection | 第32-33页 |
| 3.4 Realization of three appeals | 第33-42页 |
| 3.4.1 Realization methods of ethical appeal | 第34-36页 |
| 3.4.2 Realization methods of rational appeal | 第36-39页 |
| 3.4.3 Realization methods of emotional appeal | 第39-42页 |
| 4. Results | 第42-61页 |
| 4.1 Statistics of three appeals in recommendation letters | 第42-50页 |
| 4.1.1 Statistics of three appeals in English recommendation letters | 第42-45页 |
| 4.1.2 Statistics of three appeals in Chinese recommendation letters | 第45-47页 |
| 4.1.3 Comparison about three appeals in two corpora | 第47-50页 |
| 4.1.4 Summary | 第50页 |
| 4.2 Statistics of realization of three appeals | 第50-59页 |
| 4.2.1 Statistics of realization of three appeals in English recommendationletters | 第50-52页 |
| 4.2.2 Statistics of realization of three appeals in Chinese recommendationletters | 第52-54页 |
| 4.2.3 Comparison about realization methods of three appeals in two corpora | 第54-59页 |
| 4.3 Summary | 第59-61页 |
| 5. Discussion | 第61-70页 |
| 5.1 Discussion on similarities and differences in three appeals | 第61-62页 |
| 5.2 Discussion on similarities and differences in realization of three appeals | 第62-69页 |
| 5.2.1 Discussion on differences in realization methods of three appeals | 第62-67页 |
| 5.2.2 Discussion on similarities in realization methods of three appeals | 第67-69页 |
| 5.3 Summary | 第69-70页 |
| 6. Conclusion | 第70-74页 |
| 6.1 Major Findings | 第70-71页 |
| 6.2 Implications of this study | 第71-72页 |
| 6.3 Limitations and suggestions | 第72-74页 |
| Bibliography | 第74-80页 |
| Publications during Postgraduate Study | 第80页 |
