| 摘要 | 第4-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-7页 |
| Abbreviation | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第14-17页 |
| 1.1 Research background | 第14-15页 |
| 1.2 Purpose and significance of the study | 第15-16页 |
| 1.3 General organization of the thesis | 第16-17页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第17-43页 |
| 2.1 Theoretical framework concerning syntactic complexity | 第17-19页 |
| 2.1.1 Definition of syntactic complexity | 第17-18页 |
| 2.1.2 Explanation of syntactic complexity in writing from a cognitive perspective | 第18-19页 |
| 2.2 Theoretical studies on syntactic complexity in writing | 第19-21页 |
| 2.2.1 Studies on the syntactic complexity features and its development | 第19-21页 |
| 2.2.2 Studies on the relationship between syntactic complexity and writing quality | 第21页 |
| 2.3 Measures of syntactic complexity investigated in present study | 第21-34页 |
| 2.3.1 Complexity measures based on length production units | 第22-23页 |
| 2.3.2 Grammatical complexity ratios | 第23-28页 |
| 2.3.3 Syntactic diversity measures | 第28-30页 |
| 2.3.4 Definitions of measures of syntactic complexity investigated in this thesis | 第30-34页 |
| 2.4 Empirical studies on syntactic complexity in writings | 第34-39页 |
| 2.4.1 Cross-sectional research of syntactic complexity in L2 writings | 第34-37页 |
| 2.4.2 Longitudinal study of syntactic complexity in writings | 第37-39页 |
| 2.5 Synthesis studies on syntactic complexity | 第39-40页 |
| 2.6 A review on holistic scoring technique of ESL writing ability | 第40-41页 |
| 2.7 Summary of this chapter | 第41-43页 |
| Chapter Three Methodology | 第43-48页 |
| 3.1 Research questions | 第43页 |
| 3.2 Research subjects | 第43页 |
| 3.3 Instrument | 第43-45页 |
| 3.3.1 Writing task | 第43-44页 |
| 3.3.2 A face-to-face interview | 第44-45页 |
| 3.4 Data collection | 第45页 |
| 3.5 Data analysis | 第45-48页 |
| 3.5.1 Analysis of syntactic complexity measures | 第46-48页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第48-73页 |
| 4.1 Analysis of changes of syntactic complexity in L2 writing and the change trends | 第48-61页 |
| 4.1.1 Syntactic complexity measures based on length | 第48-50页 |
| 4.1.2 Syntactic complexity measures based on grammatical ratios | 第50-57页 |
| 4.1.3 Analysis of diversity measures | 第57-61页 |
| 4.2 Development features of different proficiency groups in syntactic complexity | 第61-70页 |
| 4.3 Analysis of face-to-face interiew | 第70-71页 |
| 4.4 Summary | 第71-73页 |
| Chapter five Conclusions and Pedagogical Implications | 第73-76页 |
| 5.1 Main research findings | 第73-74页 |
| 5.2 Pedagogical implications | 第74-75页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research | 第75-76页 |
| Reference | 第76-82页 |
| Appendix Ⅰ | 第82-83页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第83-84页 |
| Papers Published in the Study of M.A | 第84页 |
