英語專業畢業論文目錄（Contents） 是論文撰寫的一個有機組成部分，可視為論文的一扇窗口，它不僅映射論文的主要內容，而且反映論文的學術質量甚至學術價值。因此，切不可小看論文目錄的撰寫。
然而，在指導畢業論文的寫作過程中，筆者發現不少學生撰寫的目錄存在比重失調、層次不清、結構混亂等不規范現象。那么如何才能撰寫好英語專業畢業論文的目錄呢？ 經分析研究，筆者認為，明確格式是前提，理清層次是基礎，統一體例是保障。本文就此分述如下。
一、明確目錄格式。
英語論文目錄格式盡管因學校要求有所不同，但大同小異。總體說來，目錄格式以分層次均衡排列為佳，否則會造成比重失調，下級標題項數要么不均衡，要么欠完整。例如一篇題為“Difference Between Chineseand Western Dietary Culture”的論文目錄：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. Different Dietary History …………………………………………………………………………………………2
2. 1 History of American cooking ……………………………………………………………………………………3
2. 1. 1 Food in American culuture …………………………………………………………………………………3
2. 2 History of Chinese cooking ……………………………………………………………………………………4
2. 2. 1 Food in Chinese culutre ……………………………………………………………………………………4
3. Different Dietary Concept …………………………………………………………………………………………5
3. 1Sumptuous and luxurious feasts vs. simple and plain meals……………………………………………6
3. 2Collctivism vs. individualism …………………………………………………………………………………7
4. Different Table Etiquette …………………………………………………………………………………………8
4. 1 Attendance time ……………………………………………………………………………………………………9
4. 2 Table taboos ………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
4. 3 Tableware …………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
5. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
此目錄中盡管一級標題和二級標題格式正確，但三級標題不當，即在2. Different Dietary History下的2. 1 Historyof American cooking和2. 2 History of Chinese cooking分別只有一項三級標題：2. 1. 1 Food in American culture和2. 2. 1 Foodin Chinese culture.按照《MLA科研論文寫作規范》，目錄中標題數字和字母標號應一致，若無項數2就不應使用項數1,若無項數b就不應使用項數a.上例中的三級標題2. 1. 1和2. 2. 1恰恰與之相悖。當目錄下級標題出現一個時，應采用合并，將其整合歸屬于其上級標題。這樣，不妨將該目錄的2. 1. 1和2. 2. 1直接刪去。經此刪改后，會使目錄各級標題均衡得當。
再如一篇題為“Language Features of AdvertisingEnglish”的論文目錄：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
1. 1 Rationale of the study …………………………………………………………………………………………1
1. 2 Definition of advertising ………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. Lexical Features ……………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. 1 Classification of advertising and its audience …………………………………………………………2
2. 2 Similarities at the lexical level ……………………………………………………………………………3
2. 3 Differences at the lexical level ……………………………………………………………………………6
3. Syntactical Features ………………………………………………………………………………………………8
3. 1 Similarities ………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
3. 2 Differences ………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
4. Discourse Features …………………………………………………………………………………………………11
5. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
該目錄一級標題中的2. Lexical Features和3. Syntac-tical Features都有二級標題闡述其異同，但其中的4.Discourse Features下的二級標題空缺，致使目錄中二級標題不完整。就此問題，《英語寫作手冊》一書中指出： 論述甲的項目多于論述乙的項目（ 如：I. A,B,C,D;II. A,B） ,這是比較與對照文章的一個常犯的錯誤。筆者認為，該目錄中的這種二級標題完全空缺也可歸屬該類常犯錯誤。為使該目錄完整，可再在其4. Discourse Features下增補4. 1 Similarities和4. 2 Differences兩個二級標題即可。
二、理清層次關系。
在撰寫目錄的同時，還應注重理清層次關系，即：遵循同級標題表達同一層次相互并列內容的原則進行排列各級標題，不然就會出現層次混淆、脈絡不清等問題。例如一篇題為“Cultural Similarities and Differ-ences of Connotations Between Chinese and English Ani-mal Vocabulary”的論文目錄：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. The Significance of Comparison and Contrast of Animal WordsBetween English and Chinese …1
3. The Similarities and Differences of Animal Words BetweenEnglishand Chinese ……………………2
3. 1 The similarities of animal words between Enlgish andChinese ………………………………………2
3. 1. 1 The same word in two languages expressing thesame meaning ……………………………………3
3. 1. 2 The same cultural connotation of different animalwords …………………………………………4
3. 2 The differences of animal words between English andChinese ………………………………………4
3. 2. 1 National cultural characters of animal words ………………………………………………………5
3. 2. 2 Culutral differences of animal words betweenEnglishand Chinese ……………………………7
3. 2. 2. 1 Good sense in English but bad in Chinese …………………………………………………………7
3. 2. 2. 2 Good sense in Chinese but bad in English …………………………………………………………8
3. 3 Losses of cultural connotations in different languages………………………………………………9
3. 3. 1 The word rich in English cultural denotative meaningbut poor in Chinese …………………9
3. 3. 2 The word rich in Chinese cultural denotativemeaningbut poor in English …………………10
4. The Importance of Knowlege About Cultuarl Similarities andDifferences …………………………10
5. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
本目錄的問題在于層次多處混淆。一是3. TheSimilarities and Differences of Animal Words Between English andChinese這個一級標題與該論文題名大體相似，這與題名應大于一級標題的觀點不相符。同樣，3. 2. 2 Culu-tral differences of animal words between English and Chinese這個三級標題與3. 2 The differences of animal words between Eng-lish and Chinese這個二級標題大體相同，也不規范。二是2. The Significance of Comparison and Contrast of AnimalWords Between English and Chinese和4. The Importance ofKnowledge About Cultuarl Similarities and Differences這兩個一級標題意思相近，內容重疊，且無下級標題。三是3. 3Losses of cultural connotations in different languages這個二級標題與另外兩個同級標題3. 1 The similarities of animal wordsbetween English and Chinese和3. 2 The differences of animalwords between English and Chinese在內容上不屬于相互并列的同一層次，而從屬于3. 2 The differences of animal wordsbetween English and Chinese.3. 2. 1 National cultural charactersof animal words這個三級標題與同級標題3. 2. 2 Culutraldifferences of animal words between English and Chinese也非并列關系。
根據Gibaldi的觀點，目錄標題之間的關系不是并列關系就是從屬關系。并列關系用于表達同等重要的思想，從屬關系則表述不同等級的思想。為此，筆者認為，可采用刪減、整合和理順等方法理清目錄層次不清的問題。刪減在此是指把與論文題名或與上級標題相同的標題直接刪去。這樣刪減一級標題3和三級標題3.2. 2后，再對其下屬各級標題分別作相應的提升，從而避免了一級標題與論文題名的混淆，同時也避免了下級標題與上級標題的混淆。
整合在此是指把兩個同級關聯的標題合并為一。Marius和Wiener指出： 一旦發現有重疊或重復就要刪減，或找出更佳表達方法。此處可采用整合法，即將原2. The Significance of Comparison and Contrast of Animal WordsBetween English and Chinese合 并 入1. Introduction; 將 原4. The Importance of Knowlege About Cultuarl Similarities andDifferences合并入原5. Conclusion,并將序號作相應調整。
這樣，在Introduction中引出英漢動物詞匯之比較對照的重要性，在Conclusion中總結英漢動物詞匯的文化異同，引言和結論相互照應，既避免了同級標題的重疊，又避免了比重失調的問題。
理順在此是指理順隸屬關系或并列關系。從邏輯上講，原3. 3 Losses of cultural connotations in different languages二級標題應從屬于The differences of animal words betweenEnglish and Chinese.原3. 2. 2. 1 Good sense in English but badin Chinese和原3. 2. 2. 2 Good sense in Chinese but bad in Eng-lish應從屬于原3. 2. 1 National cultural characters of animalwords作此調整后，各級標題關系明確，層次清楚。經修改后的目錄如下：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. The Similarities of Animal Words Between Enlgish and Chinese…………………………………………2
2. 1 The same word in two languages expressing the samemeaning …………………………………………3
2. 2 The same cultural connotation of different animal words……………………………………………4
3. The Differences of Animal Words Between English and Chinese…………………………………………4
3. 1 National cultural characters of animal words ……………………………………………………………5
3. 1. 1 Good sense in English but bad in Chinese ……………………………………………………………7
3. 1. 2 Good sense in Chinese but bad in English ……………………………………………………………8
3. 2 Losses of cultural connotations in different languages ……………………………………………9
3. 2. 1 The word rich in English cultural denotative meaningbut poor in Chinese …………………9
3. 2. 2 The word rich in Chiese cultural denotative meaningbut poor in English …………………10
4. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
需說明的是： 為使目錄簡潔明了，大多數論文目錄僅需二、三級標題即可。
三、統一標題體例。
在理清層次關系的基礎上，還要做到目錄標題體例一致，即結構相似。否則會出現短語句子混用、結構不一等不規范現象。例如一篇題為“The Art of AskingQuestions in English Classes”的論文目錄：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. The Functions of Questioning ……………………………………………………………………………………1
2. 1 To achieve smooth transition and get information feedback…………………………………………1
2. 2 To stimulate students'interest and inspire students to think………………………………………2
2. 3 To promote interactive learning and inquisitive awareness…………………………………………2
2. 4 To develop the sense of participation and the ability ofexpressingin class …………………2
3. Classification of the Questions …………………………………………………………………………………3
3. 1 Convergent questions and divergent questions ……………………………………………………………3
3. 2 Prompting questions and probing questions ………………………………………………………………3
3. 3 Displaying questions and referential questions …………………………………………………………4
4. Problems Existing in Teachers'Questioning …………………………………………………………………6
4. 1 Questions are not related to teaching materials ………………………………………………………6
4. 2 Questions are shallow and dull ………………………………………………………………………………6
4. 3 Teachers ' evaluation to students ' reply is not timely,accurate,or positive ………………6
5. Strategies of Questioning …………………………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1 Careful preparations for questioning ………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1. 1 Setting purpose of questioning ……………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1. 2 Using the art of questioning ………………………………………………………………………………8
5. 2 Grasp right opportunity to ask questions …………………………………………………………………9
5. 3 Handling the speed,density and angle of questioningproperly ……………………………………10
6. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
此目錄中既有句子式，又有短語式，如：4. 1,4. 2和4. 3三個二級標題屬句子式，除此之外，其他各級標題均為短語式。而且，5. Strategies of Questioning的下一級標題5. 1,5. 2和5. 3的短語結構也不一致。5. 1 Carefulpreparations for questioning為名詞短語，5. 2 Grasp right oppor-tunity to ask questions為動詞短語5. 3 Handling the speed,density and angle of questioning properly為分詞短語。
丁往道等在提綱寫作時強調：提綱的兩種形式---短語式和句子式，不能混合使用。這一規則同樣適用于論文目錄撰寫。朱金花等也認為目錄中的標題應遵循提綱的寫作原則。因此，應避免在目錄中混合使用短語和句子。丁往道等還進一步指出，同一等級的標題要用相同的結構表示。大標題下的小標題不但應該同等重要，而且要與大標題有關聯，并按邏輯順序排列。
石堅和帥培天也指出： 同級標題要用平行結構表示，使用相同的完整句、從句、短語、或單個單詞結構表示。因此，上述目錄的修改要么采用全短語式，要么使用全句子式。
筆者在此采用前者修改如下：
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2. The Functions of Questioning ……………………………………………………………………………………1
2. 1 Making transition and getting feedback ……………………………………………………………………1
2. 2 Stimulating students'interest and inspiring thoughts ………………………………………………2
2. 3 Promoting learning and causing inquisitive awareness ………………………………………………2
2. 4 Developing participation and enouraging speaking in class…………………………………………2
3. Classification of the Questions …………………………………………………………………………………3
3. 1 Convergent questions and divergent questions ……………………………………………………………3
3. 2 Prompting questions and probing questions ………………………………………………………………3
3. 3 Displaying questions and referential questions ………………………………………………………4
4. Problems Existing in Teachers'Questioning …………………………………………………………………6
4. 1 Irrelevant questions ……………………………………………………………………………………………6
4. 2 Shallow and dull questions ……………………………………………………………………………………6
4. 3 Untimely,inaccurate and negative evaluation ……………………………………………………………6
5. Strategies of Questioning …………………………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1 Preparing questions carefully …………………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1. 1 Setting purpose of questioning ……………………………………………………………………………7
5. 1. 2 Using the art of questioning ………………………………………………………………………………8
5. 2 Catching questioning opportunities timely ………………………………………………………………9
5. 3 Handling questiones properly …………………………………………………………………………………10
6. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
值得一提的是：論文中的致謝（Acknowledge-ments）、摘要（Abstract） 等部分應列入目錄中，盡管其頁碼標記各校要求不一，但一般阿拉伯數字頁碼標記從正文開始計數。
四、結語。
目錄在英語專業畢業論文撰寫的實施過程中可謂舉足輕重。論文撰寫前，它能幫助組織論文材料； 論文撰寫中，它能檢查落實論文進展； 論文修改中，它能審視推理論文邏輯。目錄的撰寫及修訂應從目錄格式、層次關系、標題體例這三方面入手，著重核查目錄中的各級標題是否比重均衡、層次清晰、結構得當。只有這樣，才能確保論文的目錄質量、乃至論文的學術水平。
