Professor Pedantic 教授的考究學問
TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: My professor keeps finding mistakes in my papers, such as typos and mistakenly used words, as well as other things I won’t mention. I proof my papers like crazy and still can’t seem to eliminate all the errors. Any suggestions?
我的教授一直從我的論文裡找到錯誤，不管是錯字、用詞不當，還有一些我不想提的錯誤。我拼命檢查，但還是沒辦法找出所有錯誤。可以給我一點建議嗎？
I am curious about the unmentionables, the “other things” wrong with your papers. I presume they fall into the category of silly mistakes, which we all make but usually not in graded or published work. You may be suffering from a lack of commitment to your craft. If you intend to stay in the academic realm, you had better become more prideful in your researched and written finished product. You probably don’t leave your room without double-checking that your pants are on and your socks match. Showing as much concern about your papers is advisable.
我很好奇你沒提的那些錯誤是什麼，我猜大概是一些很好笑的錯誤，這種錯誤我們都常犯，但不會讓它出現在要打分數或發表的文章裡。或許你對自己的專業還不夠投入，如果你想留在學術圈。應該更看重自己研究與寫作的文章。你走出房門前，一定會先檢查褲子有沒有穿好、襪子有沒有配成對；你對自己的文章也該投入同等的關心。
Proofing is not rocket science. It is more like custodial work. You are cleaning up after someone—yourself—with the goal of having a thoroughly clean and ordered piece of writing when you finish. Proofing and double-checking your paper is not a creative work. It is purely a functional labor designed to enhance what you have created by eliminating deficiencies and smudgy mistakes. As in room-cleaning, paper-proofing should be systematic, thorough, and methodical. You should look at every word and paragraph as if seeing them for the first time.
校對沒什麼高深的學問，比較像是看守的工作，你接手某個人（也就是你自己）留下來的工作，好好打理，目標是完工後文章從頭到尾都乾淨整齊、有條不紊。校對、檢查不需要什麼創意，單純注重實際功用，改正文章缺點與錯誤，提升文章品質。校對就像打掃房間，必須運用得宜的方法，有系統地全面進行，你得像第一次閱讀文章一樣，重新讀每個字詞、每段文句。
Finally, it is not a one-person task. You might be a meticulous editor, but proofing your own work is likely to fail. Why? False assumptions you made while writing the piece still are assumed. A re-reading of a sentence is not as revealing as a first reading. Poor sentence structure you worked out in your mind still seems to work when your mind encounters it again; familiarity breeds sloppiness. The way around these problems is to have another set of eyes, another brain, another writer proof your paper. You will be surprised what he finds and what you missed.
最後，校對也不能只仰賴同一個人。不管你作編輯有多仔細，檢查自己的文章還是很可能出錯。為什麼？因為你寫作時可能有些錯誤的假設，而這些假設現在依然存在。重讀句子看到的，不如第一次看到的多。一個差勁的句子結構，如果第一次看不覺得有問題，再看一次還是不覺得有問題，看久你就麻木草率了。要解決這個問題，你得找另一雙眼睛、另一個腦袋、另一個寫作的人，替你校對文章。看到他發現了什麼、你又遺漏了什麼，你一定會很驚訝。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: My professor keeps finding mistakes in my papers, such as typos and mistakenly used words, as well as other things I won’t mention. I proof my papers like crazy and still can’t seem to eliminate all the errors. Any suggestions?
我的教授一直從我的論文裡找到錯誤，不管是錯字、用詞不當，還有一些我不想提的錯誤。我拼命檢查，但還是沒辦法找出所有錯誤。可以給我一點建議嗎？
I am curious about the unmentionables, the “other things” wrong with your papers. I presume they fall into the category of silly mistakes, which we all make but usually not in graded or published work. You may be suffering from a lack of commitment to your craft. If you intend to stay in the academic realm, you had better become more prideful in your researched and written finished product. You probably don’t leave your room without double-checking that your pants are on and your socks match. Showing as much concern about your papers is advisable.
我很好奇你沒提的那些錯誤是什麼，我猜大概是一些很好笑的錯誤，這種錯誤我們都常犯，但不會讓它出現在要打分數或發表的文章裡。或許你對自己的專業還不夠投入，如果你想留在學術圈。應該更看重自己研究與寫作的文章。你走出房門前，一定會先檢查褲子有沒有穿好、襪子有沒有配成對；你對自己的文章也該投入同等的關心。
Proofing is not rocket science. It is more like custodial work. You are cleaning up after someone—yourself—with the goal of having a thoroughly clean and ordered piece of writing when you finish. Proofing and double-checking your paper is not a creative work. It is purely a functional labor designed to enhance what you have created by eliminating deficiencies and smudgy mistakes. As in room-cleaning, paper-proofing should be systematic, thorough, and methodical. You should look at every word and paragraph as if seeing them for the first time.
校對沒什麼高深的學問，比較像是看守的工作，你接手某個人（也就是你自己）留下來的工作，好好打理，目標是完工後文章從頭到尾都乾淨整齊、有條不紊。校對、檢查不需要什麼創意，單純注重實際功用，改正文章缺點與錯誤，提升文章品質。校對就像打掃房間，必須運用得宜的方法，有系統地全面進行，你得像第一次閱讀文章一樣，重新讀每個字詞、每段文句。
Finally, it is not a one-person task. You might be a meticulous editor, but proofing your own work is likely to fail. Why? False assumptions you made while writing the piece still are assumed. A re-reading of a sentence is not as revealing as a first reading. Poor sentence structure you worked out in your mind still seems to work when your mind encounters it again; familiarity breeds sloppiness. The way around these problems is to have another set of eyes, another brain, another writer proof your paper. You will be surprised what he finds and what you missed.
最後，校對也不能只仰賴同一個人。不管你作編輯有多仔細，檢查自己的文章還是很可能出錯。為什麼？因為你寫作時可能有些錯誤的假設，而這些假設現在依然存在。重讀句子看到的，不如第一次看到的多。一個差勁的句子結構，如果第一次看不覺得有問題，再看一次還是不覺得有問題，看久你就麻木草率了。要解決這個問題，你得找另一雙眼睛、另一個腦袋、另一個寫作的人，替你校對文章。看到他發現了什麼、你又遺漏了什麼，你一定會很驚訝。
Posted at 2012-09-21 10:50:57
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