Principles of Principles of WritingWriting

臺灣人英文寫作常犯的九項錯誤

(Wallace Academic Editing. www.editing.tw Tel: 03-579-5136 ( 新竹 )

1 。 太常使用被動語態2 。 使用過多名詞而非動詞3 。 使用強 / 弱勢動詞4 。 過於使用” It” 及” There”5 。 不清楚的代名詞6 。 多餘和無用的詞句7 。 動詞時代變化8 。 不完整的對照比較9 。 主詞和動詞無法對應

• The objective of scientific writing is to :

– Inform

– Communicate the most amount of information in the

least amount of reading time

– Persuade

– Present logical arguments in the most convincing

manner

• Using language effectively is essential in scientific writing.

We use language effectively by :– Being Precise– Being Clear– Being Forthright– Being Familiar– Being Concise– Being Fluid

• Being Precise

• This is the most important goal of language, especially

scientific language, where you are trying to communicate

exactly what you did and what you learned. It is important

to choose the right word and the appropriate level of

accuracy.

– Choose the right word, because technical words have

specific meanings.

• Weight – Mass

• Density – Specific Gravity

– Many ordinary words also have specific meanings,

so you have to get used to using the correct English

word. Here are a few examples of similar words that

are often confused and have different meanings :

• comprise = include

• compose = make up

Ex: The procedure comprises treatment with an acid

composed of hydrogen and chlorine.

• continual = repeated

• continuous = without interruption

Ex: The continual pulsing of pressure has less effect

than would continuous application of the same level

of pressure.

• affect = to influence

• effect = result

Ex: Exposing the samples to water affected their

moisture content, with the effect that their elastic

properties were reduced.

• principal = main, most important• principle = law, rule

Ex: The principal investigators in the project are very familiar with the principles of research procedure.

• Avoid synonyms in specific cases

– They may have an inexact meaning for the situation

concerned. Their meaning depends on situation in

which they are used. Therefore, use a dictionary, not a

thesaurus. For examples:

• dense may mean compact or solid or luxuriant,

which have different connotations and be

inappropriate for the situation.

• If one describes conditions as “adequate”, this

means a far different set of criteria for airplane

safety than for marking out a baseball field.

• Being Clear - Avoid needless complexity in words, phrases, sentences

The following paragraph uses needlessly complex words :

The objective of this study is to develop an effective commercialization

strategy for solar energy systems by analyzing the factors that are

impeding early commercial projects and by prioritizing the potential

government and industry actions that can facilitate the viability of the

projects.

This could better be rewritten as :

This study will consider why current solar energy systems have not

yet reached the commercial stage and will evaluate the steps that

industry and government can take to make these systems

commercial.

• Watch out for needlessly complex sentences if :

– The sentence seems too long.

– It contains many prepositional phrases.

– It presents more than one idea.

– It wanders from point to point.

– It contains participial phrases.

• Avoid ambiguity

– Ambiguity in Word Choice

Many English words have multiple

meanings. This can appear in many ways.

In the following examples, the prepositions

as and since may be interpreted in different

ways :

• T cells, rather than B cells, appeared as (because/while?) the lymphocytes migrated to the thymus gland.

This could mean either that T cells appeared because lymphocytes migrated to the thymus bland or that T cells appeared at the same time that lymphocytes migrated to the thymus gland.

• T cells appeared since (because/after?) they were migrating to the thymus gland.

This could mean either that T cells appeared because they were migrating to the thymus gland or that T cells appeared following their migration to the thymus gland.

– Ambiguity in Syntax

Ambiguity can also result from the way words

are arranged in a sentence (syntax). In the

following five sentences, the same words are

arranged in different ways to produce five

different meanings:

– Only I tested the bell jar for leaks yesterday.

– Only I, no one else, tested the bell jar.

– I only tested the bell jar for leaks yesterday.

– The only thing I did yesterday was test the bell jar.

– I tested only the bell jar for leaks yesterday.

– The only thing I tested yesterday was the bell jar.

– I tested the bell jar only for leaks yesterday.

– The only test I made of the bell jar was for leaks.

– I tested the bell jar for leaks only yesterday.

– It was just yesterday that I tested the bell jar.

– Ambiguity in Pronouns

There should be no doubt as to what a

pronoun refers. In the following example, the

pronoun it could mean either the receiver or

the radiometer:

• Because the receiver presented the

radiometer with a high flux environment, it

(?) was mounted in a silver plated stainless

steel container.

– Ambiguity in Punctuation

Punctuation tells the reader when to slow

down and when to stop. It may also have a

major impact on the meaning. The comma is

most important, but other punctuation marks

are essential also. The comma (,) is most

important. In the following sentences a comma

makes a difference in the meaning :

• In our study we examined neat methanol, neat

ethanol, methanol and 10 percent water and

ethanol and 10 percent water.

• In our study we examined neat methanol, neat

ethanol, methanol and 10 percent water, and

ethanol and 10 percent water.

• The panda eats shoots and leaves.

• The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

• Being Forthright

– Scientific writing should be sincere and

straightforward. Control the tone by avoiding

pretentious words, such as:

• facilitate ( cause, bring about)

• implement (put into effect, carry out)

– Avoiding arrogant phrases, such as:

• as is well known

• results clearly demonstrate

– Use strong nouns to provide a helpful image of the

subject.

– Reduce abstract nouns, such as ability, factor,

methods, criteria.

– Use strong verbs to express action.

• Being Familiar– Use language your readers will understand. Your

words are designed to inform them, not puzzle or

mystify them.

– Avoid jargon (initials, nicknames) unless they are clear

to readers.

– Define unfamiliar terms.

– Incorporate examples and analogies.

– Be especially careful to avoid initials of processes or

materials that might not be familiar.

• Being Concise“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should have no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.” (Strunk’ On Writing Well)

• Eliminate redundancies

• Avoid needless repetition of a word within a sentence

• Eliminate writing zeroes

(as a matter of fact; it is noteworthy that; that fact that;

it is significant that; the presence of…)

• Being Fluid

– All of this might give the impression that

scientific writing becomes so flat and dull that

it is painful to read. Good scientific writing

does not have to be dull. Several techniques

may be used to make scientific writing

interesting to read.

1. Vary sentence rhythms by varying sentence

openers, lengths, or structure.

2. Vary sentence openers by a clear subject-verb

connection.

3. By using a prepositional phrase

4. By using transitional words

5. By using a participial phrase

6. Vary sentence length

7. Vary sentence structure

Au revoir!Au revoir!