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不管是自己選擇或教授指定，若要寫作論說式學術文章，必須先做好心理準備。你必須說明個人意見，選定觀點也很重要，結構與表達尤其攸關文章成敗。本專欄介紹六大關鍵準則，讓你寫作時發揮說服力，每項準則都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲專頁，並在最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報。
Whether by choice or assignment, when an argumentative academic paper is the task at hand, the writer must approach it with an appropriate mindset. Subjective values come into play. Point of view becomes important. Organization and presentation become even more critical to success. The elements of successful persuasive writing are explained in this series, “6 Essential Rules for Persuasive Writing.” Each of the rules will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

Rule # 2 – Believe
準則二：宣示信念

More so than some writing projects, persuasive papers must be grounded in conviction. That is, having academic interest in a subject is not sufficient commitment to a written argument, if convincing a reader is the goal. A persuasive writer must believe a thesis to be true, because some readers surely will not. Merely striking a supportive stance—posturing, in a word—is not persuasive, because insincerity inevitably leaks through to undermine any points being made.
相較於一般的文章，論說文更注重可信度。如果要寫論說文說服讀者，僅僅對主題抱持學術興趣還不夠；文章要有說服力，作者必須信奉自己的論點，因為有些讀者必然有不同意見。只在立場上表示同意（也就是表態）無法叫人信服，因為言不由衷的態度往往會在文章中流露出來，削弱各種論點的力道。

So the required mindset is belief. You must openly believe what you are espousing in a persuasive paper. This is difficult for some writers, who have been taught the virtue of objectivity and academic distance in their expository writing. While emotional appeals are not appropriate, fervent factual espousal of a doctrine, policy, or finding is absolutely OK. Stridency can be a turnoff, but resolute testimony is not. Do not be of two minds about your subject.
所以態度上一定要充滿信心，在寫論說文時公開對擁護的論點表達信念。這對有些人來說並不容易，因為他們受過寫說明文的訓練，信奉客觀與學術距離。儘管訴諸情感並不恰當，但根據事實，熱切擁護一項主義、政策或發現，則無傷大雅。咄咄逼人讓人退避三舍，但堅定的聲明不會引起反感。你對主題的立場不能搖擺不定。

Having and expressing convictions in a paper should not be a stretch for a serious academic writer. After all, you are immersing yourself in academics precisely because you appreciate the power of the mind. Papers written to persuade bring all of that power to bear including the considerable energy unleashed by imagination and fresh thinking. Combined with courage, these intellectual assets are the tools for changing the world, one mind at a time. Believe you can.
對認真的學者來說，在文章中展現信心應該不難，畢竟你獻身學術，正是因為你懂得心智的力量。論說文正是用來展現心智的力量，包括由想像力與嶄新思維釋放的強大能量。這些智慧如果能結合勇氣，就能用來逐漸改變世界。要相信自己做得到。

Answer: We believe the sentence is best completed this way:

“The commissioner found the sentiment expressed by the girl disagreeable, partly because the girl’s voice was as whiny as a molly in a cage.”

Public officials are not to be pitied. They generally do all right. But it is true that they must endure conversations with all kinds of people. In this instance, a commissioner admits that the unpleasantly stressed voice of a young woman is not helping her cause. In describing the voice as that of “a molly in a cage,” the writer compares it to a female cat that is loudly objecting to being in an enclosed container of some sort. The keening, incessant cries of a cat in such a situation indeed can be noisome, even though the animal may be a favorite and otherwise quite loveable. By the same token, the appeal of the young woman might be valid, but her presentation is not winning her points. The description is apt in explaining the commissioner’s reaction.
公務員不需要人憐憫，他們通常過得蠻不錯的；不過他們確實得和各式各樣的人打交道。這個句子中，一位長官承認年輕女子尖銳的聲音令人不舒服，無法幫她解決問題。本句以「a molly in a cage」形容女子的聲音，就像母貓被關起來而放聲大叫的聲音。儘管貓咪可能很討人喜歡，平常也很可愛，但如果被關起來，持續不斷尖叫也是很可怕的。同樣地，這位年輕女子儘管很有魅力，但她的表現卻不會為她加分。這句話恰如其分地解釋了長官的反應。

怎麼寫出好句子沒有標準答案，不過起碼我們知道，優秀的句子每個環節都很完美。下面有一句未完成的句子，請用五個字以內完成句子接龍，寫出完整的句子。最先完成句子，並寫出最佳解答的一位TPS 粉絲，將獲得兩百元誠品圖書商場購物禮卷；另增設特別獎一名，頒給符合文意又別具創意的粉絲。接龍解答與獲獎粉絲姓名將在明天公布於本 TPS 專頁，敬請密切鎖定、先睹為快！
No formula exists for the writing of a superior sentence, but this much is known: The best sentence has no weak part. The following sentence is incomplete. In five or fewer words, complete the sentence in a way that strengthens the whole of it. The first TPS Fan to complete the sentence as we believe it is best completed will win a NTD200 Eslite Bookstore and Shopping Mall Gift Certificate. Another Eslite certificate will be awarded to the first Fan to complete it in an alternate way that, in our estimation, also is effective. The explanation and the names of the winners will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page.

題目Contest Sentence:

“The commissioner found the sentiment expressed by the young woman disagreeable, partly because her voice was as whiny as __ __ __ __ __.”

很多字詞並非表面所見的意思，字詞的組合會產生不同的解釋。這樣的慣用法，我們稱之為「比喻」。一個成功的比喻，作者本身必須相當瞭解字詞的源起。以下的句子為讀者介紹一個比喻及其來源。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed word or set of words is called a “figure of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the word or phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.

“When the provocative suggestion was made a second time, the committee voted to sidestep the entire issue by leaving the matter to the discretion of the chairman.”
「當議會面臨某項具爭議性的提案第二次提出時，議會成員採取投票制來規避整個議題，將此事交由主席裁決。」

When an object too large to ignore suddenly appears in the path of a walking person, the person “sidesteps” it. Sometimes this movement necessarily occurs suddenly because the object—a rolling ball—appears without warning and the walker must dart to the side, as agile bodies are capable of doing. Sometimes the object has been there all along—say, a hole—but the person only notices it at the last minute and must step sideways to avoid it. The idea is to continue in the same general direction by momentarily changing direction in an evasive movement.
當行人在行走時，有個極其明顯的龐然大物擋在路中央，這時行人會「sidesteps」(繞道而行)。有時避開阻擋物的行為會不期然的發生。當有毫無預警出現的物體時，可能是顆滾球，行人只要夠敏捷，就可以閃到路旁；有時物體會一直存在路中央，可能就是個大洞，行人只能在最後一刻發現，然後趕緊閃到一旁避開。本句的概念就是持續往同方向前進，但會不期然的暫時改變行進方向。

When the writer refers to a committee that “sidesteps” an issue, he alludes to this physical act. The committee didn’t stand up from the boardroom table and in unison take a step to one side or the other. Rather, it figuratively avoided addressing an awkward matter by voting to go around it temporarily. The issue was handed (again, figuratively) to the committee chairman for resolution outside the meeting. The vote accomplished two things: (1) The committee was able to continue ahead with its discussion, and (2) the issue was addressed tangentially. Sidesteps are convenient.
作者提到議會成員「sidesteps」（避開）議題的這個行為，也就是倘若議會在討論時並未挺身而出，甚至全體避免傾向某個立場或選邊站，他們會象徵性的避免直接面對某項難決的議題，而是採取投票制來暫時避開此議題。這項議題又(再度象徵性的)回到主席身上，等待會議外來解決。投票的行為意味著兩件事: 1.議會可以繼續進行討論議程。2.這項議題被輕描淡寫的帶過。遇到難解的議題，先避開它是非常便利的手法。

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: I am working hard to master use of English in my academic writing, but I find it very difficult not to write what I call “Chinese English.” Are there any sure methods to learning English composition that is acceptable to a native English writer?
寫學術文章時，我很努力要把英文寫好，但往往寫出中式英文。學習英文寫作時，有沒有什麼可靠的方法，能寫出英文母語者認為合格的文章？

Let me stipulate that the struggle you are having is an admirable one: You want to master a foreign language. The only people who fail in life are those who strive to learn and grow as individuals. It is certain that a person who is content to be fluent in his native language is never going to be embarrassed by his attempts to learn a second one. So, congratulations to you for being willing to risk failure in order to improve yourself. This progressive mindset is sure to help you as an academic as you explore the intellectual edges of current thought and assumptions.
我認為，儘管你現在遇到困難，你想學習一門外語的努力卻值得敬佩。人惟有自己努力學習、成長時才會遇到困難，如果安於說流利的母語、不去學第二種語言，就永遠不會受挫。所以，恭喜你願意冒險以提升自我，這種勇於追求進步的態度，在你推展現有思想與假設時，一定能在學術上讓你獲益良多。

But as a practical matter, it is frustrating to methodically translate a thought into another language and then learn that you have expressed yourself awkwardly or in a way that distracts from the thought being expressed. So-called “chinglish” is the result, the merging of Chinese and English into something puzzling to a native English speaker. Some of the problem is linguistics. The nuances of the English language, such as the forms a takes in varying usages, trip up even experienced Chinese-English translators. English is not an easy language to learn.
但就實務上來說，你按部就班要將想法翻譯成另一種語言，卻發現表達不自然，或表達後與原本的想法不同，確實會讓人沮喪。混合了中文與英文的中式英語就是這樣來的，這種中式英語常令英語母語者摸不著頭腦。有些是文法問題，英語有些細微差異，例如一般動詞在不同用法中有不同形式，即使翻譯經驗豐富的中英譯者也可能出差錯。英文這種語言不容易學習。

But Mandarin and Cantonese are not easy, so learning English is doable. I will suggest two ways to master composition in the English language (recognizing that British English and American English are not in perfect harmony). First, study English-speaking culture as much as English words. Language draws upon cultural assumptions. The more you understand the framework of a language, the more easily you can frame your thoughts compatibly. Second, have your papers critiqued by a native English speaker. Better that he, rather than a professor, embarrasses you.
話說回來，漢語或粵語也不容易，所以英文還是可以學的。要掌握英文寫作（注意英式英文與美式英文略有不同），我有兩項建議。第一，除了學英文單字，也要學英語文化，語言運用了文化概念，愈能了解一種語言的架構，就愈容易適當組織想法。第二，讓英文母語人士修改你的文章，在這些人面前出醜，總比在教授面前出醜好。

Answer: “When the children swing the jump rope to their left using their left hands, the central arc of the cord ripples more than when the rope is swung to the right using their right hands.”

Sometimes people have subtly different functional levels in left-side and right-side physical manipulation. In this instance, a jumping rope brought out some apparent differences in coordination of its handlers. In saying that the leftward rotation “ripples” the arc more than when the rope is rotated right, the writer describes a smooth path becoming a bucking one, like still water becoming choppy. Some other “r” verbs will work—such as ravels and ricochets. However, few other words describe as well the image of an arc, which by definition is smooth and unbroken, becoming irregular in its motion. The key word to consider then is arc, which is smooth. A rippled surface is not smooth. Superior sentences pull together all their elements.
有時候人身體左右的操控能力稍有不同，本句描寫擺動繩子的人顯然左右動作不協調，從轉動的跳繩就能看出。比起向右甩，向左甩時繩子的弧型「ripple」（起伏）更大，原本平順的弧型產生波折，就像平靜的水面起了波瀾。其他「r」開頭的動詞還有「ravel」（糾結）和「ricochet」（彈跳），但要恰當描寫原本平順、連續的弧型在運動時變得曲折不規律，適合的動詞並不多。此外還要考慮句中「arc」（弧形）一詞，弧形是平順的，表面起伏則代表不平順。要寫出優秀的句子，必須整合所有組成元素。

The sentence below is missing a verb. However, the first letter of the verb is provided. Insert a word that starts with the given first letter and best fits the tenor of the sentence, and then defend your word choice in five or fewer words. The first TPS Fan to respond with the judge’s choice of verb—or the most effective alternate verb— will win a ¬¬¬NTD 200 Starbucks Gift Certificate. The name of the winner will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page. Good luck!
以下句子缺少動詞，請加入一個最符合句子意思且符合空格開頭字母的動詞，以及五個字以內的理由，我們將提供7-11／星巴克咖啡禮券兩百元，頒給第一位想出最佳解答或是最佳替代字的第1位粉絲。解答與獲獎粉絲姓名將在明天公布於本 TPS 專頁。請將答案寫在下方，幸運兒可能就是你！

題目Contest Sentence:

“When the children swing the jump rope to their left using their left hands, the central arc of the cord r______ more than when the rope is swung to the right using their right hands.”

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

“The old hound dog exhibited all the signs of old age, as any aging human watching him would agree. He sighed mightily after straggling to his feet from the sleeping pad on the floor, leaning forward and then backward to see if his backbone would support his old frame. An arthritic hip caused the old dog to wag his rear end as he moved shakily from his bed to his food dish. There the animal paused a moment to gently shake his head sideways as if he were saying, “OK, the neck works; now see if your jowls still work.” Lowering his old head to the hard food, the dog began to crunch his way through another day.”

Man’s best friend, as a dog often is called, is companionable and often nearly becomes part of a human family. Yet this does not excuse formally referring to an animal as “he” or “she” or some variation of the pronouns, as the writer does here. A dog is a non-human, animate object. Giving animals human pronouns is too chummy a reference in this genre of writing. Other than that, the writer made such common errors as choosing a nearly correct word instead of the correct word (“straggling” for “struggling”), overused the adjective “old,” and employed an appealing phrase (“wag his rear end”) that unfortunately in this context suggests happiness instead of physical disability. The writing would receive a “C” in the academic realm.
我們常說狗是人類最好的朋友，能與人為伴，常成為人類家庭的一份子。但狗畢竟不是人，而是有生命的物體，在學術寫作時不能像這段文章一樣，堂而皇之地用「he」、「she」一類的人稱代名詞來稱呼，否則口吻會顯得過度親暱。此外，這段文章還出現一些常見的錯誤，例如錯用相近的詞彙（「straggling」應改為「struggling」）、濫用形容詞「old」，而「wag his rear end」雖然很有感染力，可惜代表的意思是狗很高興，而不是不良於行。就學術寫作而言，這篇文章只能拿到「C」的分數。

Acceptable 認可的文章

“The hound dog exhibited all the characteristics of old age, as any aging human would attest. It sighed after struggling to its feet from the pad on the floor, leaning forward and backward to reacquaint its backbone with the idea of supporting its walking frame. An arthritic hip caused the dog to stumble as it moved unstably from its bed to its dish, where it paused to shake its head from side to side gently as if to say, “OK, the neck works; now see if your jowls still work.” Lowering its head to the hard food, the dog began to crunch its way through another day.”

不管是自己選擇或教授指定，若要寫作論說式學術文章，必須先做好心理準備。你必須說明個人意見，選定觀點也很重要，結構與表達尤其攸關文章成敗。本專欄介紹六大關鍵準則，讓你寫作時發揮說服力，每項準則都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲專頁，並在最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報。
When an argumentative academic paper is the task at hand, whether by choice or assignment, the writer must approach it with an appropriate mindset. Subjective values come into play. Point of view becomes important. Organization and presentation become even more critical to success. The elements of successful persuasive writing are explained in this series, “6 Essential Rules for Persuasive Writing.” Each of the rules will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

Rule # 1 – Steel thyself
準則一：鍛鍊自我，迎接挑戰

Unlike expository writing that explains something in great detail, persuasive writing postulates at length on a specific subject. It claims to be the last word on the subject, or the first defensible one. The goal of the writer and the purpose of his paper is not to inform another person’s mind; it is to change a person’s mind. However, a writer’s assertion of final authority can run up against a reader’s assertion to the contrary. Therefore, persuasive writers should expect push-back.
論說文不像說明文，說明文解釋詳細，論說文則以充份的篇幅討論特定主題、發表有力的總結，或率先提出質疑。論說文的目的並非說明資訊，而是改變他人的想法。然而，由於作者的最終主張可能與讀者牴觸，因此讀者可能反彈。

If you are a shrinking violet, persuasive writing is not your garden. Persuasive writers do not mince words. They write using confident, charismatic phraseology that speaks with unqualified authority. Some readers are likely to respond in kind (even professors, who nonetheless should grade a paper on its merits rather than its conclusion) and a writer should not be intimidated by it. Rather, he should inoculate himself in advance by expecting scholarly disagreement.
如果你生性害羞，論說文就不是你表現的舞台。寫論說文時不能吞吞吐吐，遣詞用字應該充滿自信與魅力，語調威嚴。若遇到讀者以牙還牙（教授也可能如此，不過教授應該根據文章內容評分，不應只看結論），你不能就此退縮，應該事先調整心態，準備面對不同的學術意見。

The same high level of professionalism is demanded of every writer, whatever the purpose of his paper. Yet a paper that argues it represents prototypical thinking carries the extra burden of being potentially controversial. Its argumentation could ignite additional scholarly argumentation. Therefore, a persuasive writer should prepare his paper with meticulous care and also prepare himself against strong responses that seldom come to writers of straight-forward exposition.
無論寫作何種學術文章，都應該展現同樣的學術專業，然而一篇文章如果宣稱自己的論證具有代表性，就額外多了爭議性，其論證可能引發更多的學術論證。因此，寫作論說文時，應特別仔細謹慎，並自我鍛鍊，以備面臨直截了當的說明文不會引起的強烈反彈。

Corrected sentence:
“Then the medal-winning skiers turned away; down the hall in their stocking feet they crept, and flew out the lodge’s back door; like children at recess, they squealed.”

When punctuation is removed from a writing sample, it suddenly takes on new properties. Without the natural dividers—punctuation marks—words can be regrouped and meaning sometimes altered. In this example, six punctuation marks bring clarity. “Medal-winning” becomes a hyphenated compound modifier with the addition of a hyphen. A semicolon after “away” isolates the act of turning from the subsequent written passage about creeping down a hall and then flying out a door. A semicolon after “door” closes that scene. An apostrophe in “lodges” clarifies that it is one lodge the skiers are exiting. Finally, a comma after recess ties the squealing to child-like behavior. Other possible sentence groupings don’t work as well as this.
句子的標點如果刪除，會突然產生新的意思。少了標點這種自然的分隔，詞句會重新組合，意義有時也會改變。以上例句使用六個標點符號，能讓意思更清楚－「medal-winning」加上連字號後，成了複合修飾詞；「away」後加上分號，可以分隔「轉身離開」與接下來的「躡手躡腳經過走廊、飛奔出門」；「door」之後加上分號則為事件做結；「lodges」加上所有格符號，說明滑雪選手是從「一間」屋子離開。最後，「recess」之後的逗號則表明尖叫屬於一種幼稚的行為。如果以其他方式組合句子，意思就無法這麼清楚了。