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每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報。
Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

Tip # 3 – Putting it to Work
訣竅三：實踐精進

Finding your voice is not just finding a writing identity. It is finding effective academic expression in terms that come naturally to you. This is important. Too often, writers who try to write outside themselves in the style of another academician encounter mental blocks. They get stuck and can’t proceed. Writers who have developed an individual voice navigate around these obstacles more easily because their thinking and writing are in harmony. While this advantage sometimes is underappreciated, writers who find their own voice know the difference.
尋找自己的表達方式不只是發展個人寫作特色，而是在寫學術文章時，用你自然想到的詞句，讓表達更簡潔有力。這一點很重要，常有人想以其他學者的風格寫作，結果妨礙了思考，讓自己困在原地無法繼續。如果能發展出自己的表達方式，代表思考與寫作風格能一致，如此就比較容易越過障礙。有些人無法了解其中的好處，但找到自己表達方式的人就知道箇中分別。

Whatever voice you have discovered as your own, continue to refine it as your academic career advances. If your voice is didactic—that is, instructive in tone and delivery—help it grow to where you smoothly lead your readers to a conclusion rather than harangue them. If it is vigorous in tone, make sure you don’t wear out your readers with uncontrolled energy. If it is vibrant in its language, guard against overpowering readers with too much imagery and color. Above all, keep your voice active, direct and purposeful. A passive voice will put a reader to sleep every time.
無論你發現自己屬於哪一種表達方式，記得在學術生涯中不斷精進表達。如果你的表達屬於教導式，也就是語調說法是在指導人怎麼做，要加強表達，將讀者自然導向結論，而不流於冗長的說教。如果你語調鏗鏘有力，切記不要過分熱切，讓人讀到疲乏。如果你的語言生動活潑，小心別使用過多意象與色彩，讓人讀到招架不住。最重要的是，表達方式要積極、直接、言之有物，消極被動的表達肯定會讓人讀到睡著。

A personal style of writing is the final piece in a well-organized, thoroughly researched and carefully cited paper. Academic writing is, of course, first “academic” and secondarily “writing.” In other words, a paper’s content, organization, citations, and originality constitute the critical mass in determining its success. Yet writing carries the biggest burden. It transcends all the rest. Writing that is effective and identifiably yours can partly mask a paper’s shortcomings in structure and sourcing, but only partly. Never rely on an authentic voice to sell a poor paper.
一篇論文如果結構嚴謹、研究透澈、引用清楚，再運用個人獨特的表達方式，就能畫龍點睛。學術寫作首要自然還是「學術」，其次才是「寫作」。換言之，一篇論文的內容、架構、引用、原創性最重要，決定了論文成敗。不過寫作凌駕其他部分，肩負表達文章主旨的大任。如果寫作清楚準確，並有你自己獨有的表達方式，可以掩蓋論文結構與引用資料的部分缺點，但也只是部份而已。千萬別想靠獨創的表達方式來掩蓋論文的拙劣。

Dear Fans,

Put away the books on Jan. 30! Chinese New Year’s Eve is for celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Horse, not for studying. Lavish some love on loved ones and treat yourself well, too. May your year be successful in every way…

TPS Team

卓越的學者通常都是有自信的人，他們相信自己的貢獻對學術知識有價值。

自尊自重讓他們能堅持下去，並在選擇研究方法，或組織材料、有條有理地表達時，能更有信心。

TPS 本月份最新刊登的「3 Tips to Finding an Authentic Voice Tip # 2 – In Search of the Genuine 找出獨創表達方式的三大訣竅之二：找到自我」，幫助你了解如何反覆試驗，發展出個人獨特、有力的寫作風格！

每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報。
Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

Tip # 2 – In Search of the Genuine
訣竅二：找到自我

Scholars whose work generally is recognized as superior are confident people. They may be humble, but they are not awed by peers or predecessors. They have personal faith in the value of their own contributions to academic learning. In short, they believe in themselves. This self-esteem sustains them in their search for elusive truth or a critical source. It reassures them as they consider an approach to a subject or as they organize their material for coherent presentation. More to the point, it guides them as they express in their own words what they have discovered.
卓越的學者通常都是有自信的人。他們可能為人謙遜，但不會畏懼同儕或前輩，他們相信自己的貢獻對學術知識有價值。簡單來說，他們相信自己。自尊自重讓他們能堅持下去，尋求難以捉摸的真理或重要的資料來源，並讓他們在選擇研究方法，或組織材料、有條有理地表達時，能更有信心。更重要的是，自尊自重引導他們用自己的話說明研究發現。

How do they peel away self-deception and self-doubt and come to value themselves as valuable academic writers? They test themselves and evaluate the tests. To wit, they introduce metaphors in papers and learn which ones work, and which ones detract. They try various word patterns and phrasing and study the results purely through a reader’s eyes. They use jargon in a fresh way to see if it invigorates a sentence or deadens it. In short, through trial and error, they develop a writing style that is individual and effective as an academic instrument. They develop a voice.
他們怎麼避免矇騙或懷疑自己，最後看重自己的學術文章？答案是藉由一再測試，並評估測試結果。也就是說，他們會在論文中使用譬喻，了解哪些譬喻有用，哪些有害。他們嘗試各種遣詞用字與表達，並完全從讀者的角度出發，探討結果是否理想。他們以創新的方法運用術語，看句子是否更有活力，還是變得死氣沉沉。簡言之，他們反覆試驗，發展出個人獨特、有力的寫作風格，作為學術工具──他們發展出自己的表達方式。

Some of this development of an authentic writing voice is accomplished privately. But the ultimate test comes when a paper is submitted to an assigning professor. Besides commenting on topic and treatment, a professor evaluates the writing, and a self-assured writer learns from each evaluation. He may adjust his writing to accommodate criticisms. He will come to see which criticisms are valid and which are subjective and, therefore, less valid. After a few submitted papers, a writer will hit his stride and find his voice, his writing style, and perhaps his vocation.
雖然有些人是靠自己發展出獨特的表達方式，但論文交給教授後，才是最終的測試。教授除了針對主題與處理給予建議，也會對寫作良莠評價。有自信的作者能從每則評價中學習，也許會根據批評調整文章，並評估哪些評價有道理，哪些較主觀而不具參考價值。交過幾篇論文後，作者就能大步前進，找到自己的表達方式、自己的寫作風格、甚至找到自己的志業。

每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於 TPS 學術電子報。
Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

Tip # 1 – The Importance of You
訣竅一：知道自己的重要

Academia celebrates the great body of knowledge that has been accumulated through the centuries. A scholar’s twin mission is to recognize and access all of that knowledge—and to add to it. This is a grand work that can overwhelm a new scholar, who quite naturally is awed by the work of the many great academicians who preceded him. Consequently, some academic writers try to imitate the best of the writing styles they discover in their research. While emulating greatness is good, subverting one’s own identity in the process is not. You should write as you.
學術界龐大的整體知識，是基於數百年來的累積。每位學者都有兩項使命，一項是了解、運用學術知識，另一項是繼續累積新的知識。新手學者對第二項使命可能力有未逮，因為學術前輩留下的許多鉅作自然令人感到仰之彌高。因此，寫作學術文章時，有些人會模仿研究中發現最出色的寫作風格。仿效傑作固然不錯，寫作時卻不該放棄個人獨到之處。你應該用自己的表達方式寫作。

Why is this desirable? For one thing, you may be the next great academic writer, but the world will never know it if you don’t write as yourself! Recognizing greatness that emerged in the past does not preclude introducing greatness in the present. Nothing in the academic tradition requires today’s thinkers and writers to be obeisant to yesterday’s. Quite the opposite. Today’s scholars are expected to be stimulated by scholars of the past. As one of today’s scholars, you should use all of your faculties—including your writing intelligence—and become a bridge to the future.
為什麼要用自己的表達方式寫作？首先，你可能是學術寫作的下一個新星，但如果你不表現自我，沒有人會發現你的出色之處。了解過去的成就，不代表現在不能創造成就。學術傳統並未要求思想家或作者對前人恭順服從；剛好相反，如今的學者應該受到過去前輩鼓舞驅策。如今你身為學者，應該竭力發揮所能，運用自己的寫作技巧，成為通往未來的橋樑。

The fact is, if you imitate a favorite scholar-writer of yesteryear, you cannot do your best work. It is impossible to maximize your talent if a portion of it is left undeveloped. After all, it is your interests that lead you to an academic topic. Research progresses according to the values you place on the key elements of a paper. If you subsequently write in the style or voice of another person, the result will be an academic mish-mash because the writing is not congruent with the thinking behind it. A muddle results. You cannot effectively divorce yourself from your writing.
實際上，如果你一味模仿喜歡的學術前輩，就無法寫出最好的作品。如果有些才華受到壓抑，你就無法盡情發揮。畢竟，你是基於自己的興趣鑽研某個學術主題，並根據你自己重視的部分推動研究發展。如果你之後卻用另一個人的風格或表達方式寫文章，結果可能只得到一篇學術雜燴。如果文章無法貼合背後的思想，結果就是一團混亂。人的思考想法很難與文字脫節。

學術界龐大的整體知識，是基於數百年來的累積。

仿效傑作固然不錯，寫作時卻不該放棄個人獨到之處。你應該用自己的表達方式寫作！

TPS下週即將刊登「3 Tips to Finding an Authentic Voice Tip # 1 – The Importance of You  找出獨創表達方式的三大訣竅之一：知道自己的重要」

讓你竭力發揮所能，運用自己的寫作技巧，成為學術寫作的下一個新星！

寫學術論文的人常聽說不要用幽默來表達觀點。雖然這個告誡用心良苦，但完全不用幽默又太過頭了。幽默是有效的溝通方法，而寫作學術論文本就該懂得運用各種溝通方法。本系列文章說明如何用適當的方式，在學術論文中有效運用幽默。文章將刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於電子報。
Writers of academic papers are cautioned against employing humor to communicate their points. The caution is well-intentioned, but outright prohibition of lightly humorous material goes too far. Humor is a valid method of communication and authors of academic papers should have every method at their disposal. This series of columns will describe how humor can be effective and acceptable in scholarly writing. Each part in the series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

4th Humor Guideline – Use it Surprisingly
幽默守則第四條－幽默要出人意表

Comedians or naturally humorous people in social conversation are entertaining because they surprise listeners with something they say. When the mind is expecting to hear one thing and unexpectedly hears something else, it reacts. Researchers who explore how the brain reacts to unexpected stimuli affirm what lay observers already know to be true: Surprise stimulates learning by arousing the brain and drawing attention to a stimulus. Because humor surprises, academic writers should not forfeit it as a tool in stimulating and connecting with readers.
喜劇演員或有幽默天分的人平常聊天時很有趣，因為他們說的話讓人意想不到。如果心裡原本預期聽到某件事，但意外地聽到另一件事，便會有反應。有些研究人員探索大腦如何對意想不到的刺激反應，證實一般人都觀察到的事實：意外能激發大腦注意刺激，可促進學習。幽默讓人意想不到，因此寫作學術文章時，不應排斥用幽默來刺激讀者、和讀者交流。

On the other hand, people who reach for humor all the time in their communication injure their cause: They they accomplish just the opposite: They become too predictable. Surprise and predictability are communication opposites. When listeners or readers suspect that a punch line or a humorous twist is coming, they wait for it like vultures, ready to devour it if it isn’t lively. In the same way, academic writers who regularly inject humor set up themselves for failure. So, surprise readers. Deftly inject some well-chosen, amusing words at critical moments and win them over.
然而，有些人溝通時無時無刻都想表現幽默，反而會妨礙交流、適得其反，因為他們的行為太容易預料了。溝通時，「出人意表」和「不出所料」作用剛好相反，聽眾或讀者如果覺得接下來會出現詼諧笑料或風趣轉折，就會像禿鷲鷹一樣等著，如果幽默不夠活潑就會遭到吞噬。同樣的，寫學術文章一再固定表現幽默，那就是在自討苦吃。所以要出其不意，在關鍵時刻巧妙地加入幾句精心挑選、風趣詼諧的話，這樣就能收服讀者的心。

A professor or academic adviser will react appropriately to an amusing aside—that is, he will instantly become more engaged and more comfortable with the writer. This will happen if the surprise gently lifts his spirits, doesn’t detract from the point being made, and merges seamlessly with the sentences immediately preceding and following. The humor should seem to be natural expression and be thoroughly integrated into the serous flow of the paper. When this happens, a reader will be moved by the engaging sentence without pausing to consider just what moved him.
教授或指導教授讀到穿插的笑話會有適當的反應，讀起文章很快會更加投入、更輕鬆愉快。要有這種效果，幽默必須出乎意料、令人精神一振，也不會轉移讀者對觀點的注意力，並和前後文融合得天衣無縫。幽默要表達地自然，並徹底結合文章的走向脈絡。如此一來，讀者會受生動的文句打動，但不會停下來思索打動他的是什麼。

如何做自己？如何找到寫作學術文章的獨創表達方式？

學術寫作首要自然還是「學術」，其次才是「寫作」。然而，一篇論文如果結構嚴謹 ，再加上自己獨特的表達方式，就能讓文章更有吸引力！

喜劇演員或有幽默天分的人平常聊天時很有趣，因為他們說的話讓人意想不到。

寫學術文章要出其不意，在關鍵時刻巧妙地加入幾句精心挑選、風趣詼諧的話，並徹底結合文章的走向脈絡，這樣就能收服讀者的心。

TPS將於11月揭曉幽默守則最後一則－幽默要出人意表(Use it Surprisingly)，讓您與讀者間的互動與交流更生動、有趣，深入人心！

更多內容，請參閱TPS電子報、Facebook與 Blog的最新資訊。


TPS Team

寫學術論文的人常聽說不要用幽默來表達觀點。雖然這個告誡用心良苦，但完全不用幽默又太過頭了。幽默是有效的溝通方法，而寫作學術論文本就該懂得運用各種溝通方法。本系列文章說明如何用適當的方式，在學術論文中有效運用幽默。文章將刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於電子報。
Writers of academic papers are cautioned against employing humor to communicate their points. The caution is well-intentioned, but outright prohibition of lightly humorous material goes too far. Humor is a valid method of communication and authors of academic papers should have every method at their disposal. This series of columns will describe how humor can be effective and acceptable in scholarly writing. Each part in the series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

3rd Humor Guideline – Use it Sparingly
幽默守則第三條－幽默要節制使用

Humor in an academic paper is rare because it is virtually proscribed. Beginning writers are advised—make that… strictly warned—not to employ humor for the sensible reason that it is a difficult communication technique. Consequently, many beginning writers mature without ever having used an amusing aside or light touch. They simply do not use humor. That’s regrettable. Those willing to employ humor in a paper—in such light sprinklings that they almost honor the prohibition—can earn the respect of professors for communicating clearly and engagingly.
學術文章幾乎不許運用幽默，因此很少看到幽默。新手作者都聽過這個建議－應該說是嚴格的告誡－不要運用幽默，因為幽默是個困難的溝通技巧。這個理由很合理。因此許多新手作者在磨練成長中，從來不曾在文章裡穿插風趣或輕鬆幽默的文字，完全和幽默保持距離，實在很可惜。至於願意在論文裡運用幽默的人， 儘管只是輕描淡寫，好像也同意不該用幽默一樣，但卻因為表達清晰生動而能獲得教授青睞。

Here’s an example: In describing the reaction of a laboratory rodent, a writer might straight-forwardly observe, “The mouse smelled the tainted sugar, its nose reacting to the injected block, and returned to its cage.” That is a serviceable statement, but this is better: “The mouse sniffed at the sugar cube, sneezed, and turned tail on the treat.” Nothing in this recounting of the lab experience is frivolous, funny as such, or distracting. Yet the reader is given a gently arresting image that has the power to tease out a smile… that of a scampering, sneezing, retreating mouse.
舉例來說，描述實驗室裡老鼠的行為時可以平鋪直敘：「老鼠聞了加藥的糖，鼻子對注入藥物的方糖起反應，然後回到籠內」。這段描述還可以，但不如下面這段：「老鼠嗅了嗅方糖，打個噴嚏，轉身離開」。這段描述完全不輕浮、滑稽，也不會分散專注力，但意象能吸引讀者，呈現出一隻蹦蹦跳跳、打噴嚏、轉身跑掉的老鼠，讓人忍俊不禁。

A less disciplined writer might have gone overboard and written…”The mouse seemed to suspect the sugar contained a mickey, turned, and ran back to Minnie.” While this allusion to Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse is cutely apt—a “mickey” is a secretly drugged drink or food—it tries too hard to incorporate them. The result is a tangent for a reader, a detour rather than continued forward movement of a narrative. Humor should not be used often, and never employed with a heavy hand, because the result is neither funny nor effective.
如果作者不夠嚴謹，可能會寫得太過火：「老鼠似乎懷疑糖裡藏了米奇，轉身，跑向米妮。」這個迪士尼卡通米奇米妮鼠的譬喻儘管可愛又機智，因為「米奇」（mickey）也指偷偷下了藥的食物飲料，但用在這裡卻斧鑿太深，結果讓讀者分心，干擾敘述而非讓敘述更流暢。幽默不該用得太頻繁，而且絕不能太過火，否則讀起來既不有趣也發揮不了作用。