本书是“通用学术英语读写系列教材”中的第四部。教材以提高学生英语学术研究论文读写能力为目标，精心挑选阅读素材，巧妙安排各单元的写作重点，循序渐进帮助学生了解研究论文的基本框架、写作原则和写作技巧，最终使学生能独立完成以IMRD格式为标准框架、以APA格式为基本要求的英语研究论文写作任务。
本书根据研究论题进行分类，共包括四大主题：对剽窃的理解、语言学习中字典的使用、跨文化交际和EFL写作。每个主题包括主题导引、两篇相关论文和一个补充阅读。其中两篇论文是重点学习内容，每篇文章即为一个单元，各单元都设计了学习目标、论文阅读、词汇表、课后练习和写作重点五个部分。

Topic One Plagiarism
Unit 1 Exploring University Students'''' Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Focus Group Study
Writing Focus: Overview of the Research Paper
Unit 2 Exploring Staff Perceptions of Student Plagiarism
Writing Focus: Introduction
Supplementary Reading
How College Freshmen View Plagiarism?

Topic Two Dictionary Use in English Learning
Unit 3 Dictionary Use and Vocabulary Choices in L2 Writing
Writing Focus: Literature Review
Unit 4 The Effect of the Computer Dictionary and the Paper Dictionary on L2 Learners'''' Vocabulary Acquisition
Writing Focus: Methods
Supplementary Reading
Dictionary Use by EFL Writers: What Really Happens?

Topic Three Culture Adaptation
Unit 5 Home-School Communication and Expectations of Recent Chinese Immigrants
Writing Focus: Results and Discussion
Unit 6 An Exploratory Investigation of the Effects of a Cultural Orientation Programme on the Psychological Well-being of International University Students
Writing Focus: Title Page and Abstract
Supplementary Reading
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