英语专业毕业论文目录（Contents） 是论文撰写的一个有机组成部分，可视为论文的一扇窗口，它不仅映射论文的主要内容，而且反映论文的学术质量甚至学术价值。因此，切不可小看论文目录的撰写。
然而，在指导毕业论文的写作过程中，笔者发现不少学生撰写的目录存在比重失调、层次不清、结构混乱等不规范现象。那么如何才能撰写好英语专业毕业论文的目录呢？ 经分析研究，笔者认为，明确格式是前提，理清层次是基础，统一体例是保障。本文就此分述如下。
一、明确目录格式。
英语论文目录格式尽管因学校要求有所不同，但大同小异。总体说来，目录格式以分层次均衡排列为佳，否则会造成比重失调，下级标题项数要么不均衡，要么欠完整。例如一篇题为“Difference Between Chineseand Western Dietary Culture”的论文目录：
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
此目录中尽管一级标题和二级标题格式正确，但三级标题不当，即在2. Different Dietary History下的2. 1 Historyof American cooking和2. 2 History of Chinese cooking分别只有一项三级标题：2. 1. 1 Food in American culture和2. 2. 1 Foodin Chinese culture.按照《MLA科研论文写作规范》，目录中标题数字和字母标号应一致，若无项数2就不应使用项数1,若无项数b就不应使用项数a.上例中的三级标题2. 1. 1和2. 2. 1恰恰与之相悖。当目录下级标题出现一个时，应采用合并，将其整合归属于其上级标题。这样，不妨将该目录的2. 1. 1和2. 2. 1直接删去。经此删改后，会使目录各级标题均衡得当。
再如一篇题为“Language Features of AdvertisingEnglish”的论文目录：
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
该目录一级标题中的2. Lexical Features和3. Syntac-tical Features都有二级标题阐述其异同，但其中的4.Discourse Features下的二级标题空缺，致使目录中二级标题不完整。就此问题，《英语写作手册》一书中指出： 论述甲的项目多于论述乙的项目（ 如：I. A,B,C,D;II. A,B） ,这是比较与对照文章的一个常犯的错误。笔者认为，该目录中的这种二级标题完全空缺也可归属该类常犯错误。为使该目录完整，可再在其4. Discourse Features下增补4. 1 Similarities和4. 2 Differences两个二级标题即可。
二、理清层次关系。
在撰写目录的同时，还应注重理清层次关系，即：遵循同级标题表达同一层次相互并列内容的原则进行排列各级标题，不然就会出现层次混淆、脉络不清等问题。例如一篇题为“Cultural Similarities and Differ-ences of Connotations Between Chinese and English Ani-mal Vocabulary”的论文目录：
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
本目录的问题在于层次多处混淆。一是3. TheSimilarities and Differences of Animal Words Between English andChinese这个一级标题与该论文题名大体相似，这与题名应大于一级标题的观点不相符。同样，3. 2. 2 Culu-tral differences of animal words between English and Chinese这个三级标题与3. 2 The differences of animal words between Eng-lish and Chinese这个二级标题大体相同，也不规范。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这两个一级标题意思相近，内容重叠，且无下级标题。三是3. 3Losses of cultural connotations in different languages这个二级标题与另外两个同级标题3. 1 The similarities of animal wordsbetween English and Chinese和3. 2 The differences of animalwords between English and Chinese在内容上不属于相互并列的同一层次，而从属于3. 2 The differences of animal wordsbetween English and Chinese.3. 2. 1 National cultural charactersof animal words这个三级标题与同级标题3. 2. 2 Culutraldifferences of animal words between English and Chinese也非并列关系。
根据Gibaldi的观点，目录标题之间的关系不是并列关系就是从属关系。并列关系用于表达同等重要的思想，从属关系则表述不同等级的思想。为此，笔者认为，可采用删减、整合和理顺等方法理清目录层次不清的问题。删减在此是指把与论文题名或与上级标题相同的标题直接删去。这样删减一级标题3和三级标题3.2. 2后，再对其下属各级标题分别作相应的提升，从而避免了一级标题与论文题名的混淆，同时也避免了下级标题与上级标题的混淆。
整合在此是指把两个同级关联的标题合并为一。Marius和Wiener指出： 一旦发现有重叠或重复就要删减，或找出更佳表达方法。此处可采用整合法，即将原2. The Significance of Comparison and Contrast of Animal WordsBetween English and Chinese合 并 入1. Introduction; 将 原4. The Importance of Knowlege About Cultuarl Similarities andDifferences合并入原5. Conclusion,并将序号作相应调整。
这样，在Introduction中引出英汉动物词汇之比较对照的重要性，在Conclusion中总结英汉动物词汇的文化异同，引言和结论相互照应，既避免了同级标题的重叠，又避免了比重失调的问题。
理顺在此是指理顺隶属关系或并列关系。从逻辑上讲，原3. 3 Losses of cultural connotations in different languages二级标题应从属于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应从属于原3. 2. 1 National cultural characters of animalwords作此调整后，各级标题关系明确，层次清楚。经修改后的目录如下：
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
需说明的是： 为使目录简洁明了，大多数论文目录仅需二、三级标题即可。
三、统一标题体例。
在理清层次关系的基础上，还要做到目录标题体例一致，即结构相似。否则会出现短语句子混用、结构不一等不规范现象。例如一篇题为“The Art of AskingQuestions in English Classes”的论文目录：
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
此目录中既有句子式，又有短语式，如：4. 1,4. 2和4. 3三个二级标题属句子式，除此之外，其他各级标题均为短语式。而且，5. Strategies of Questioning的下一级标题5. 1,5. 2和5. 3的短语结构也不一致。5. 1 Carefulpreparations for questioning为名词短语，5. 2 Grasp right oppor-tunity to ask questions为动词短语5. 3 Handling the speed,density and angle of questioning properly为分词短语。
丁往道等在提纲写作时强调：提纲的两种形式---短语式和句子式，不能混合使用。这一规则同样适用于论文目录撰写。朱金花等也认为目录中的标题应遵循提纲的写作原则。因此，应避免在目录中混合使用短语和句子。丁往道等还进一步指出，同一等级的标题要用相同的结构表示。大标题下的小标题不但应该同等重要，而且要与大标题有关联，并按逻辑顺序排列。
石坚和帅培天也指出： 同级标题要用平行结构表示，使用相同的完整句、从句、短语、或单个单词结构表示。因此，上述目录的修改要么采用全短语式，要么使用全句子式。
笔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：论文中的致谢（Acknowledge-ments）、摘要（Abstract） 等部分应列入目录中，尽管其页码标记各校要求不一，但一般阿拉伯数字页码标记从正文开始计数。
四、结语。
目录在英语专业毕业论文撰写的实施过程中可谓举足轻重。论文撰写前，它能帮助组织论文材料； 论文撰写中，它能检查落实论文进展； 论文修改中，它能审视推理论文逻辑。目录的撰写及修订应从目录格式、层次关系、标题体例这三方面入手，着重核查目录中的各级标题是否比重均衡、层次清晰、结构得当。只有这样，才能确保论文的目录质量、乃至论文的学术水平。
