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完美撰題八大原則一：了解研究報告題目
【學術專欄】
8 Ways to Choose a Perfect Research Paper Topic # 1 Understand the assignment 完美撰題八大原則一：了解研究報告題目
在學術寫作中，「完美」是相對的，但也是我們追求的理想。想寫出完美的研究報告，首先選擇題目必須明智。本次學術專欄特別推出「完美撰題八大原則」，為大家介紹選擇題目的原則，每項原則將定期刊登於TPS專頁。
“Perfect” is a relative term in academic writing, but it always is the ideal. The first rule in the pursuit of perfection in a paper is to choose a topic wisely. This essay introduces and explains one guide in selecting a topic. Each guide is contained in “8 Guides in Choosing a Perfect Research Paper Topic” and will be posted on the TPS Fan page as introduced.
# 1 – Understand the assignment
原則一：了解研究報告題目
When a professor assigns a paper to a class, the implicit understanding is that a student will produce a paper in harmony with the assignment. The submitted paper may or may not be competently researched and well-written, but at the very least it is expected to be in the assigned area of research. Yet instructors still are disappointed to receive papers on, say, William Shakespeare’s classic family tragedies when the assignment was on the Bard’s sonnets.
教授指派報告時，通常預期學生的文章必須切合作業題旨。無論學生繳交的文章是否研究周詳、寫作優美，起碼必須符合指定的研究領域。不過，如果教授指派的作業是莎士比亞的十四行詩，收到報告卻討論他的經典家庭悲劇，這份報告還是達不到標準。
Researching and writing a paper that almost meets the assigned criteria isn’t good enough. Professors are the experts in their disciplines and in their classrooms. They are familiar with the many facets of a subject. They intentionally assign papers on one slice of a broader subject in the expectation that students will examine that slice in some depth. When a student chooses to write on another facet of the subject, it not only is disappointing, it portends a failing grade.
研究與寫作報告不能只求差強人意。教授是該學科的專家，也很了解班上的學生。教授對一個主題的諸多面向知之甚詳，如果有意從廣泛的主題中指定一個面向研究，表示期望學生深入探討此面向。學生如果轉而研究主題的另一個面向，作業不但達不到標準，成績大概也不及格。
Sometimes the fault lies with a professor for not clearly laying out the assignment. Sometimes it is the student who fails to grasp an assignment and to question it. As Cool Hand Luke famously said, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” But ultimately it is the student who will suffer the most when such confusion occurs, so it is the student who must clear away the confusion before proceeding. Always know the assignment before beginning to fulfill it.
有時候教授沒有把題目解釋清楚，有時則是學生沒有領會題目，也沒有問清楚，就像《鐵窗喋血》電影中的對白：「我們溝通不良」。但說到底，如果釐不清狀況，受罪的是學生，所以學生在開始寫報告前一定要先釐清題目。記住，開始進行撰寫前，務必確實了解作業題目。
在學術寫作中，「完美」是相對的，但也是我們追求的理想。想寫出完美的研究報告，首先選擇題目必須明智。本次學術專欄特別推出「完美撰題八大原則」，為大家介紹選擇題目的原則，每項原則將定期刊登於TPS專頁。
“Perfect” is a relative term in academic writing, but it always is the ideal. The first rule in the pursuit of perfection in a paper is to choose a topic wisely. This essay introduces and explains one guide in selecting a topic. Each guide is contained in “8 Guides in Choosing a Perfect Research Paper Topic” and will be posted on the TPS Fan page as introduced.
# 1 – Understand the assignment
原則一：了解研究報告題目
When a professor assigns a paper to a class, the implicit understanding is that a student will produce a paper in harmony with the assignment. The submitted paper may or may not be competently researched and well-written, but at the very least it is expected to be in the assigned area of research. Yet instructors still are disappointed to receive papers on, say, William Shakespeare’s classic family tragedies when the assignment was on the Bard’s sonnets.
教授指派報告時，通常預期學生的文章必須切合作業題旨。無論學生繳交的文章是否研究周詳、寫作優美，起碼必須符合指定的研究領域。不過，如果教授指派的作業是莎士比亞的十四行詩，收到報告卻討論他的經典家庭悲劇，這份報告還是達不到標準。
Researching and writing a paper that almost meets the assigned criteria isn’t good enough. Professors are the experts in their disciplines and in their classrooms. They are familiar with the many facets of a subject. They intentionally assign papers on one slice of a broader subject in the expectation that students will examine that slice in some depth. When a student chooses to write on another facet of the subject, it not only is disappointing, it portends a failing grade.
研究與寫作報告不能只求差強人意。教授是該學科的專家，也很了解班上的學生。教授對一個主題的諸多面向知之甚詳，如果有意從廣泛的主題中指定一個面向研究，表示期望學生深入探討此面向。學生如果轉而研究主題的另一個面向，作業不但達不到標準，成績大概也不及格。
Sometimes the fault lies with a professor for not clearly laying out the assignment. Sometimes it is the student who fails to grasp an assignment and to question it. As Cool Hand Luke famously said, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” But ultimately it is the student who will suffer the most when such confusion occurs, so it is the student who must clear away the confusion before proceeding. Always know the assignment before beginning to fulfill it.
有時候教授沒有把題目解釋清楚，有時則是學生沒有領會題目，也沒有問清楚，就像《鐵窗喋血》電影中的對白：「我們溝通不良」。但說到底，如果釐不清狀況，受罪的是學生，所以學生在開始寫報告前一定要先釐清題目。記住，開始進行撰寫前，務必確實了解作業題目。
