This is not academic writing 學術文章不是這麼寫的
並非所有與學術議題相關的文章，就能稱之為「學術文章」。本篇專欄將節錄不同學術議題的內容，分析常見的寫作錯誤，並分享潤修與寫作的技巧。
Not all articles written on academic topics are written in proper academic English. This column examines short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and to explain how to correct them.
Unacceptable 不被認可的文章
“Setting up an observation post, the group of young scientists prepared to study the planet Saturn as it dramatically rose in the night’s sky. The person chosen to lead the group went out and carefully selected the night’s observation platform, which was a gently sloping cleared area in the Rocky Mountains in the vast interior of the United States. The scientists were extremely hopeful of capturing some crystal-clear shots of Saturn because the April sky was cloud-free and the clearing far enough from municipal lighting to escape its ugly glare. The last telescope had been set up and focused when someone shouted: “Oh, no! A cloud bank!”
This prelude to a report of an astronomy outing is appealing in its detail and drama. However, the writer lapsed into cliché and the writing falls well short of being smooth. It reads, in fact, like a draft rather than a final version of a paper. Scientists who study the stars and planets are astronomers, for example, yet they are never called such in this passage. The group has assembled to study “the planet Saturn,” which is wordy: “Saturn” says it all. That the planet “dramatically rose” is subjective and hackneyed phrasing and that it did so in “the night’s sky” is tongue-twisting; “nighttime sky” reads more comfortably. These are examples of marred writing.
在細節和戲劇性方面，作者拉開一趟天文郊遊序幕的寫作手法相當吸引人。然而，作者的失敗之處在於過度陳腔濫調以及寫作內容過短。事實上，閱讀起來就像是一篇草稿，而非完成作品。舉例而言，一般研究星星以及星球的科學家稱為天文學家，但這些專家在文章段落中卻不是這麼稱呼的。小組被指派研究的「土星星球」顯得太過累贅。直接寫「土星」即可。這句「星球戲劇性地升起」主觀且陳腔濫調，尤其後面接著寫「夜晚的星空」，念起來相當拗口。「夜空」應該較為恰當。這裡列舉的都是一些有缺陷的寫作例子。
Acceptable 認可的文章
“Setting up an observation post, the young astronomers prepared to study Saturn as it ascended in the nighttime sky. The designated field trip leader had carefully selected the observation platform—a gently sloped clearing in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the western United States. The scientists hoped to capture sharply defined photographs of Saturn because the April sky was crystalline and the mountain slope sufficiently distant from municipal lighting. The last telescope had been set up and calibrated when a cry went up: “Oh, no! A cloud bank!”
Not all articles written on academic topics are written in proper academic English. This column examines short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and to explain how to correct them.
Unacceptable 不被認可的文章
“Setting up an observation post, the group of young scientists prepared to study the planet Saturn as it dramatically rose in the night’s sky. The person chosen to lead the group went out and carefully selected the night’s observation platform, which was a gently sloping cleared area in the Rocky Mountains in the vast interior of the United States. The scientists were extremely hopeful of capturing some crystal-clear shots of Saturn because the April sky was cloud-free and the clearing far enough from municipal lighting to escape its ugly glare. The last telescope had been set up and focused when someone shouted: “Oh, no! A cloud bank!”
This prelude to a report of an astronomy outing is appealing in its detail and drama. However, the writer lapsed into cliché and the writing falls well short of being smooth. It reads, in fact, like a draft rather than a final version of a paper. Scientists who study the stars and planets are astronomers, for example, yet they are never called such in this passage. The group has assembled to study “the planet Saturn,” which is wordy: “Saturn” says it all. That the planet “dramatically rose” is subjective and hackneyed phrasing and that it did so in “the night’s sky” is tongue-twisting; “nighttime sky” reads more comfortably. These are examples of marred writing.
在細節和戲劇性方面，作者拉開一趟天文郊遊序幕的寫作手法相當吸引人。然而，作者的失敗之處在於過度陳腔濫調以及寫作內容過短。事實上，閱讀起來就像是一篇草稿，而非完成作品。舉例而言，一般研究星星以及星球的科學家稱為天文學家，但這些專家在文章段落中卻不是這麼稱呼的。小組被指派研究的「土星星球」顯得太過累贅。直接寫「土星」即可。這句「星球戲劇性地升起」主觀且陳腔濫調，尤其後面接著寫「夜晚的星空」，念起來相當拗口。「夜空」應該較為恰當。這裡列舉的都是一些有缺陷的寫作例子。
Acceptable 認可的文章
“Setting up an observation post, the young astronomers prepared to study Saturn as it ascended in the nighttime sky. The designated field trip leader had carefully selected the observation platform—a gently sloped clearing in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the western United States. The scientists hoped to capture sharply defined photographs of Saturn because the April sky was crystalline and the mountain slope sufficiently distant from municipal lighting. The last telescope had been set up and calibrated when a cry went up: “Oh, no! A cloud bank!”
Posted at 2013-01-22 11:09:34
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