7 Ways to Pace Yourself through a Paper # 4 – Know your writing strengths and weaknesses 按部就班寫作論文的七大建議之四：了解自己寫作的長短處
A writer peering ahead at an academic writing project should respect the task. It not only will require research and writing abilities, it will tax the writer’s endurance and concentration. Learning to become efficient and self-regulating as a researcher and writer is the reason for this series, “7 Ways to Pace Yourself through a Paper.” Each of the suggestions will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.
若您即將致力於學術寫作專題，應該好好重視這項工作。這不僅需要研究與寫作技巧，也仰賴毅力與專注。「按部就班寫作論文的七大步驟」將教您學會如何自律，提高研究與寫作的效率。每項建議都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲專頁，並在最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報中。
Way # 4 – Know your writing strengths and weaknesses
建議四：了解自己寫作的長短處
The Greeks advised subsequent generations of mankind to “know thyself.” The adage acknowledges the difficulty an individual has in sorting through the many facets of his being and honestly acknowledging his character. We tend to make excuses or to wishfully inflate our abilities. An academic writer is no less prone to glossing over weaknesses. A long-term writing project is no place to fool oneself. Rather, it is when a writer should practice total self-honesty.
希臘人有句忠告流傳後世：「了解你自己」。這句格言說明，一個人要了解自己的特性，坦白面對自己的個性，其實並不容易。人容易為自己找藉口，或一廂情願地誇大自己的能力，寫作學術文章時也不例外，傾向粉飾自己的缺點。但論文寫作需要花很長時間，就不能自欺欺人。此時，作者應該練習完全坦率面對自己的能力。
Do you have the imagination and predisposition to “see” the general outline of a paper as you research it? Some writers can easily extrapolate what they know and roughly project it into a finished written product before they ever begin the actual word-by-word creative process. Or maybe your strength is your vocabulary. If you are word rich, enrich your paper. (Be careful, though, not to lard your paper with so much erudite language that it begins to get in the way.)
研究時，是否有足夠的想像力與天賦，「看出」論文的全貌？有些研究者在逐字撰寫論文前，就能輕鬆從已知推斷論文完稿的樣貌。或者文采是你的強項？若你詞藻豐富，大可用來充實自己的論文（只是要小心，不要堆砌太多深奧的詞彙，以免妨礙閱讀）。
Just as important is to know your weaknesses. Do you have difficulty concentrating for effective lengths of time? Do you write half an hour and then take an hour’s break? This is a problem. Recognize it and either schedule plenty of time for the project or learn to lengthen your focus. Do you habitually and extensively rewrite? Plan to finish a first draft in time to allow for successive ones. In short, pace yourself according to your actual writing skills and habits, not imagined ones.
認識自己的缺點也一樣重要。你是否很難長時間集中精神？會不會每寫半小時就休息一小時？你必須認清這個問題，或預留大量時間完成文章，或學習長時間保持專注。你是否習慣大幅修改重寫？你必須規劃及早完成初稿，後續才有時間修改。簡言之，你不能仰賴自以為是的技巧與習慣，必須根據實際的技巧與習慣，按部就班寫作論文。
若您即將致力於學術寫作專題，應該好好重視這項工作。這不僅需要研究與寫作技巧，也仰賴毅力與專注。「按部就班寫作論文的七大步驟」將教您學會如何自律，提高研究與寫作的效率。每項建議都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲專頁，並在最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報中。
Way # 4 – Know your writing strengths and weaknesses
建議四：了解自己寫作的長短處
The Greeks advised subsequent generations of mankind to “know thyself.” The adage acknowledges the difficulty an individual has in sorting through the many facets of his being and honestly acknowledging his character. We tend to make excuses or to wishfully inflate our abilities. An academic writer is no less prone to glossing over weaknesses. A long-term writing project is no place to fool oneself. Rather, it is when a writer should practice total self-honesty.
希臘人有句忠告流傳後世：「了解你自己」。這句格言說明，一個人要了解自己的特性，坦白面對自己的個性，其實並不容易。人容易為自己找藉口，或一廂情願地誇大自己的能力，寫作學術文章時也不例外，傾向粉飾自己的缺點。但論文寫作需要花很長時間，就不能自欺欺人。此時，作者應該練習完全坦率面對自己的能力。
Do you have the imagination and predisposition to “see” the general outline of a paper as you research it? Some writers can easily extrapolate what they know and roughly project it into a finished written product before they ever begin the actual word-by-word creative process. Or maybe your strength is your vocabulary. If you are word rich, enrich your paper. (Be careful, though, not to lard your paper with so much erudite language that it begins to get in the way.)
研究時，是否有足夠的想像力與天賦，「看出」論文的全貌？有些研究者在逐字撰寫論文前，就能輕鬆從已知推斷論文完稿的樣貌。或者文采是你的強項？若你詞藻豐富，大可用來充實自己的論文（只是要小心，不要堆砌太多深奧的詞彙，以免妨礙閱讀）。
Just as important is to know your weaknesses. Do you have difficulty concentrating for effective lengths of time? Do you write half an hour and then take an hour’s break? This is a problem. Recognize it and either schedule plenty of time for the project or learn to lengthen your focus. Do you habitually and extensively rewrite? Plan to finish a first draft in time to allow for successive ones. In short, pace yourself according to your actual writing skills and habits, not imagined ones.
認識自己的缺點也一樣重要。你是否很難長時間集中精神？會不會每寫半小時就休息一小時？你必須認清這個問題，或預留大量時間完成文章，或學習長時間保持專注。你是否習慣大幅修改重寫？你必須規劃及早完成初稿，後續才有時間修改。簡言之，你不能仰賴自以為是的技巧與習慣，必須根據實際的技巧與習慣，按部就班寫作論文。
Posted at 2012-08-21 10:18:07
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