| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-8页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-13页 |
| List of Tables | 第13-14页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第15-21页 |
| ·Research background | 第15-16页 |
| ·Purpose of the study | 第16-17页 |
| ·Significance of the study | 第17-18页 |
| ·Definitions of key terms | 第18-20页 |
| ·General organization of the thesis | 第20-21页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第21-29页 |
| ·Research on syntactic complexity in writing | 第21-24页 |
| ·Research abroad | 第21-23页 |
| ·Research at home | 第23-24页 |
| ·Research on evaluating writing ability | 第24-29页 |
| ·Composition scoring techniques | 第24-27页 |
| ·Objective measures | 第27-29页 |
| Chapter Three Syntactic Complexity and Its Measure | 第29-39页 |
| ·Syntactic complexity | 第29-32页 |
| ·Definition of syntactic complexity | 第29-30页 |
| ·Role of syntactic complexity in writing | 第30-31页 |
| ·Development of syntactic complexity | 第31-32页 |
| ·Measure of syntactic complexity | 第32-36页 |
| ·Complexity measure based on T-unit | 第32-33页 |
| ·Complexity measure based on clauses | 第33-34页 |
| ·Complexity measure based on error-free T-unit | 第34-35页 |
| ·Complexity measure based on sentences | 第35-36页 |
| ·Measure of syntactic diversity | 第36-39页 |
| ·Measure of subordinate clauses | 第36页 |
| ·Measure of passive or sentences with passive | 第36-37页 |
| ·Measure of condensed clauses and phrases | 第37-39页 |
| Chapter Four Methodology | 第39-45页 |
| ·Research questions | 第39-40页 |
| ·Participants | 第40-41页 |
| ·Instrument | 第41-42页 |
| ·Writing exams | 第41页 |
| ·Measure of the variables concerning the syntactic complexity and diversity | 第41-42页 |
| ·Procedure | 第42-43页 |
| ·Data collection and analysis | 第43-45页 |
| Chapter Five Results and Discussion | 第45-68页 |
| ·Results | 第45-59页 |
| ·Comparison of the frequencies of different producing units | 第45-47页 |
| ·Comparison of the lengths of different producing units | 第47-48页 |
| ·Comparison of the ratios of syntactic complexity between groups | 第48-50页 |
| ·Comparison of sentence patterns and clause types between groups | 第50-54页 |
| ·Syntactic complexity and writing quality | 第54-59页 |
| ·Discussion | 第59-68页 |
| ·Developmental trend in syntactic complexity | 第59-64页 |
| ·Trend in syntactic change | 第64-65页 |
| ·Syntactic complexity and writing quality | 第65-68页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusion | 第68-72页 |
| ·Major findings | 第68-70页 |
| ·Implications | 第70-71页 |
| ·Limitations of the present study | 第71页 |
| ·Suggestions for further research | 第71-72页 |
| References | 第72-79页 |
| AppendixⅠ Rating Criterion for the Writing Part of CET-4 | 第79-80页 |
| Appendix Ⅱ Errors Made by Chinese Learners in English Writing (those with a frequency over l% of the total errors) | 第80-81页 |
| Appendix Ⅲ Definitions of T-units, Clauses and Errors (Polio,1997) | 第81-84页 |
| Appendix Ⅳ Topics Chosen for Sample Writing | 第84-85页 |
| Appendix Ⅴ Formulas Involved in Measuring Variables | 第85-86页 |
| Appendix Ⅵ Published Papers and Research Projects in the Study of M.A | 第86页 |
