| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第6-7页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第7-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第10-15页 |
| Chapter One INTRODUCTION | 第15-19页 |
| 1.1 Research Background | 第15-17页 |
| 1.2 Research Aims and Significance | 第17-18页 |
| 1.3 Organization of the Thesis | 第18-19页 |
| Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW | 第19-30页 |
| 2.1 Previous Studies on News Commentaries | 第19-23页 |
| 2.1.1 The linguistic approach | 第19-20页 |
| 2.1.2. The journalistic approach | 第20-22页 |
| 2.1.3 The rhetoric approach | 第22-23页 |
| 2.2 Previous Studies on Appeal to Authority | 第23-28页 |
| 2.2.1 Overseas studies on appeal to authority | 第23-28页 |
| 2.2.2 Domestic studies on appeal to authority | 第28页 |
| 2.3 Summary | 第28-30页 |
| Chapter Three RESEARCH DESIGN | 第30-37页 |
| 3.1 Theoretical Considerations | 第30-34页 |
| 3.1.1 Definition of argumentation in Pragma-dialectics | 第30页 |
| 3.1.2 An Ideal model and rules for a critical discussion | 第30-32页 |
| 3.1.3 Strategic maneuvering between reasonableness and effectiveness | 第32-33页 |
| 3.1.4 Appeal to authority as a subtype of symptomatic argument scheme | 第33-34页 |
| 3.2 Research Questions | 第34-35页 |
| 3.3 Research Methods | 第35-36页 |
| 3.3.1 Reconstructing argumentative discourse | 第35页 |
| 3.3.2 Analyzing strategic maneuvering by appeal to authority | 第35-36页 |
| 3.3.3 Evaluating strategic maneuvering by appeal to authority | 第36页 |
| 3.4 Data Collection | 第36-37页 |
| Chapter Four RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 第37-63页 |
| 4.1 News Commentaries as a Communicative Activity Type | 第37-44页 |
| 4.1.1 Argumentative characterization of news commentaries | 第37-40页 |
| 4.1.2 Differences between editorials and other types of news commentaries26 | 第40-42页 |
| 4.1.3 Institutional preconditions on strategic maneuvering by appeal toauthority | 第42-44页 |
| 4.2 Appeal to Authority in Editorials in China Daily | 第44-53页 |
| 4.2.1 Appeal to invested authority | 第44-48页 |
| 4.2.2 Appeal to professional authority | 第48-51页 |
| 4.2.3 Appeal to experiential authority | 第51-53页 |
| 4.3 Strategic Maneuvering by Appeal to Authority in Making a Convincing Case | 第53-60页 |
| 4.3.1 Strategic maneuvering by appeal to invested authority | 第54-57页 |
| 4.3.2 Strategic maneuvering by appeal to professional authority | 第57-58页 |
| 4.3.3 Strategic maneuvering by appeal to experiential authority | 第58-60页 |
| 4.4 Soundness Criteria for Appeal to Authority in Editorials in China Daily | 第60-63页 |
| 4.4.1 Context-independent soundness criteria | 第60-62页 |
| 4.4.2 Context-dependent soundness criteria | 第62-63页 |
| Chapter Five CONCLUSION | 第63-67页 |
| 5.1 Major Findings | 第63-65页 |
| 5.2 Implications | 第65-66页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research | 第66-67页 |
| REFERENCES | 第67-71页 |
| APPENDIX | 第71页 |
