| Abstract in English | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第7-13页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第13-19页 |
| 1.1 Background of the Research | 第13-16页 |
| 1.1.1 Importance of Improving Junior High School Students’ English WritingAbility | 第13-14页 |
| 1.1.2 Problems in Junior High School Students’ English Writing | 第14-15页 |
| 1.1.3 Previous Researches on the Application of the Thematic Theory toEnglish Writing Teaching | 第15-16页 |
| 1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Research | 第16-17页 |
| 1.3 Structure of the Thesis | 第17-19页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第19-37页 |
| 2.1 Theme-Rheme Structure | 第19-27页 |
| 2.1.1 Definitions of Theme and Rheme | 第19-20页 |
| 2.1.2 Classifications of Themes | 第20-25页 |
| 2.1.3 Marked Theme and Unmarked Theme | 第25-26页 |
| 2.1.4 Functions of Themes | 第26-27页 |
| 2.2 Thematic Progression Patterns (TP Patterns) | 第27-33页 |
| 2.2.1 The Development of TP Patterns | 第27-29页 |
| 2.2.2 Three Main Types of TP Patterns | 第29-31页 |
| 2.2.3 Other Three Types of TP Patterns | 第31-33页 |
| 2.2.4 Functions of TP Patterns | 第33页 |
| 2.3 Thematic Theory and Students’ Coherent English writing | 第33-35页 |
| 2.3.1 The Relationship Between Coherence and English Writing | 第33-34页 |
| 2.3.2 The Relationship Between Thematic Theory and Coherence | 第34-35页 |
| 2.3.3 Application of Thematic Theory in Students’ Coherent English Writing | 第35页 |
| 2.4 Summary | 第35-37页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Methodology | 第37-45页 |
| 3.1 Hypotheses and Research Questions | 第37页 |
| 3.2 Research subjects | 第37-38页 |
| 3.3 Research Instruments | 第38-39页 |
| 3.3.1 Questionnaires | 第38页 |
| 3.3.2 Experiments | 第38-39页 |
| 3.4 Research Procedure | 第39-42页 |
| 3.4.1 Before the Experiment | 第39页 |
| 3.4.2 During the Experiment | 第39-42页 |
| 3.4.3 After the Experiment | 第42页 |
| 3.5 Data Collection | 第42-45页 |
| 3.5.1 Data Getting from the Questionnaires | 第42-43页 |
| 3.5.2 Data Getting from the Test Papers | 第43-45页 |
| Chapter 4 Research Results and Discussion | 第45-60页 |
| 4.1 Results and Analysis of the Questionnaires | 第45-48页 |
| 4.1.1 Results and Analysis of the Experimental Groups’ Pre-testQuestionnaire | 第45-46页 |
| 4.1.2 Results and Analysis of the Experimental Groups’ Post-testQuestionnaire | 第46页 |
| 4.1.3 A Comparison of Experimental Groups' Two Questionnaires | 第46-48页 |
| 4.2 Results and Analysis of the Experiments | 第48-57页 |
| 4.2.1 A Comparison of Distribution of Scores | 第48-51页 |
| 4.2.2 A Comparison of Distribution of Theme Types | 第51-55页 |
| 4.2.3 A Comparison of Distribution of TP Patterns | 第55-57页 |
| 4.3 Discussion | 第57-60页 |
| 4.3.1 On Students’ Interests in English Writing | 第57-58页 |
| 4.3.2 On Students’ English writing Performance | 第58-59页 |
| 4.3.3 On the Relationship Between Thematic Theory and Coherence ofStudents’ English Writing | 第59-60页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第60-65页 |
| 5.1 Major Findings and Implications | 第60-63页 |
| 5.1.1 Major Findings | 第60-61页 |
| 5.1.2 Implications for Teachers and Students | 第61-63页 |
| 5.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Research | 第63-64页 |
| 5.2.1 Strengths of the Research | 第63页 |
| 5.2.2 Limitations of the Research | 第63-64页 |
| 5.3 Suggestions for Further Research | 第64页 |
| 5.4 Summary | 第64-65页 |
| Bibliography | 第65-67页 |
| Appendix I: Pre-test Questionnaire and Post-test Questionnaire | 第67-70页 |
| Appendix II : Evaluation Criterions for Writing in the Senior High School EntranceExamination of Shanghai | 第70-71页 |
| Appendix III: Samples of Students’ Writings | 第71-75页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第75页 |
