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This is not academic writing 學術文章不是這麼寫的
【寫作技巧】
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. In this "This is not academic writing" column we examine short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and explain how to correct them.
Unacceptable 不被認可的文章
“The famous Seminole Indians of Florida are not native to the state. They are not even a singular tribe. Rather, the Seminole were formed of many tribes—and named by other tribes and by British authorities on the American continent. This occurred after survivors of genuinely native peoples of Florida fled to Cuba when the Spanish swapped Florida for Cuba in the 18th century. Other ‘Seminoles’ were descendants of runaway American slaves from such African tribes as the Ibo and Ashanti. In ensuing years, this population of displaced Indians and runaway slaves migrated deeper into Florida where they established a shaky hegemony.”
This passage about the Seminole Indians of Florida in the United States is solid, but contains some notable errors. The writer describes the Seminole as “famous.” Famous for what reason? To whom? Because a subject looms large in a writer’s mind does not necessarily mean it does in minds generally. Use such adjectives thoughtfully. In writing “the Seminole were formed…,” the writer makes a classic subject-verb slip-up. “Seminole” in this case is shorthand for “Seminole tribe” and requires a singular verb, was. Or change “Seminole” to “Seminoles” and keep the plural verb. The phrase “in ensuing years” in the last sentence doesn’t work because it is unclear what preceded the years. The phrase either should be dropped or clarified.
本段文章討論美國佛羅里達州的塞米諾族印第安人，寫作出色，但有幾個明顯的錯誤。作者說塞米諾族很「出名」，但是為何出名？又在何處出名？作者心目中重要的主題，對其他人來說未必同樣重要，所以這類形容詞要謹慎使用。此外，“the Seminole were formed” 一句犯了典型的動詞搭配錯誤，在這裡 “Seminole” 是 “Seminole tribe” （塞米諾族）的簡稱，應用單數動詞 “was”，或將 “Seminole” 改成 “Seminoles”（塞米諾人），便可保留原本的複數動詞。最後一句 “in ensuing years” （隨後幾年）不合理，因為並未說明是隨著何種情況之後，此句應刪除或再加以闡明。
Acceptable 認可的文章
“The Seminole Indians of Florida are not native to the state. They are not even a singular tribe. Rather, the Seminole was formed of many tribes—and named by other tribes and by British authorities on the American continent. This occurred after survivors of genuinely native peoples of Florida fled to Cuba when the Spanish swapped Florida for Cuba in the 18th century. Other ‘Seminoles’ were descendants of runaway American slaves from such African tribes as the Ibo and Ashanti. This mixed population of displaced Indians and slaves migrated deeper into Florida where they established a shaky hegemony.”
Not all articles written on academic topics are written in proper academic English. In this "This is not academic writing" column we examine short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and explain how to correct them.
Unacceptable 不被認可的文章
“The famous Seminole Indians of Florida are not native to the state. They are not even a singular tribe. Rather, the Seminole were formed of many tribes—and named by other tribes and by British authorities on the American continent. This occurred after survivors of genuinely native peoples of Florida fled to Cuba when the Spanish swapped Florida for Cuba in the 18th century. Other ‘Seminoles’ were descendants of runaway American slaves from such African tribes as the Ibo and Ashanti. In ensuing years, this population of displaced Indians and runaway slaves migrated deeper into Florida where they established a shaky hegemony.”
This passage about the Seminole Indians of Florida in the United States is solid, but contains some notable errors. The writer describes the Seminole as “famous.” Famous for what reason? To whom? Because a subject looms large in a writer’s mind does not necessarily mean it does in minds generally. Use such adjectives thoughtfully. In writing “the Seminole were formed…,” the writer makes a classic subject-verb slip-up. “Seminole” in this case is shorthand for “Seminole tribe” and requires a singular verb, was. Or change “Seminole” to “Seminoles” and keep the plural verb. The phrase “in ensuing years” in the last sentence doesn’t work because it is unclear what preceded the years. The phrase either should be dropped or clarified.
本段文章討論美國佛羅里達州的塞米諾族印第安人，寫作出色，但有幾個明顯的錯誤。作者說塞米諾族很「出名」，但是為何出名？又在何處出名？作者心目中重要的主題，對其他人來說未必同樣重要，所以這類形容詞要謹慎使用。此外，“the Seminole were formed” 一句犯了典型的動詞搭配錯誤，在這裡 “Seminole” 是 “Seminole tribe” （塞米諾族）的簡稱，應用單數動詞 “was”，或將 “Seminole” 改成 “Seminoles”（塞米諾人），便可保留原本的複數動詞。最後一句 “in ensuing years” （隨後幾年）不合理，因為並未說明是隨著何種情況之後，此句應刪除或再加以闡明。
Acceptable 認可的文章
“The Seminole Indians of Florida are not native to the state. They are not even a singular tribe. Rather, the Seminole was formed of many tribes—and named by other tribes and by British authorities on the American continent. This occurred after survivors of genuinely native peoples of Florida fled to Cuba when the Spanish swapped Florida for Cuba in the 18th century. Other ‘Seminoles’ were descendants of runaway American slaves from such African tribes as the Ibo and Ashanti. This mixed population of displaced Indians and slaves migrated deeper into Florida where they established a shaky hegemony.”
