:::
Professor Pedantic 教授的考究學問
【學術專欄】
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: A couple of my friends here in school have read my papers and each has said that the papers seem “inconsistent.” They can’t very well explain what they mean and I am left to wonder where I am going wrong. Any ideas about that?
幾個同學讀了我的論文後，說我的文章有點「前後矛盾」，但他們也沒辦法解釋得很清楚，我不知道我的問題在哪裡。你覺得呢？
Friends can mess with your mind. An honest appraisal from someone you trust can knock the struts out from under you. I can’t fault your friends for being frank, but they might consider a more constructive approach to friendship. Still, their comments can be useful to you if you are genuinely interested in improving your writing of academic papers. The perceived inconsistency of your papers could be the result of any number of academic writing errors. It might be something you are doing, or not doing.
朋友的建議常常讓我們思緒大亂，聽到自己信賴的人對文章的直言不諱，的確會讓人從天堂跌到谷底。我不能責怪你朋友說話那麼坦白，不過如果他們的評語有些建設性，對友誼會更有幫助。話說回來，如果你確實想改善論文寫作，他們的建議還是有幫助。論文讀起來前後矛盾可能出自幾個學術寫作的問題，可能是你寫的內容有問題，或因為你沒有寫而造成問題。
Do you switch willy-nilly from first person to third person? Changing perspectives can jar a reader. Do you pick your words less carefully the longer you write? Such sloppiness, usually from haste or laziness, is noticeable. Do you get off track? Readers lose the thread of wandering presentations. Are your papers inconsistent in tone? Perhaps you begin in a formal way, then slip into a more casual mode, then return to a formal, didactic voice before ending with a blatant plea for acceptance of your argument. Horrors!
你是否不經意地從第一人稱換到第三人稱？改變說話立場會讓讀者困擾。你是否寫到後來遣詞用字愈來愈隨意？因為趕時間或怠惰造成的草率馬虎是很明顯的。你是否離題了？拐彎抹角會讓讀者摸不著頭緒。文章語氣是否前後不一？也許語氣一開始正式，後來放鬆了，最後又回到正經八百、諄諄教導的口吻，還冀望讀者接受你的論點。太糟糕了！
Any of these misguided approaches to academic writing reflect ignorance of the purpose of a paper. Do you remember what that is? The purpose is to professionally argue the case for new understanding of a subject via fresh information, preferably unearthed by you. If your writing is not consistent with this central purpose—from beginning to end—and is not coherent both in its information and its written delivery, you probably are guilty as charged by your friends.
這些錯誤的論文寫作方式表示你忽略論文的主旨。還記得論文的主旨是什麼嗎？是讓人感到耳目一新的資訊，最好是由你發現的訊息，提出專業的論證，並從嶄新的方向說明主題。除非你的寫作自始至終都符合中心主旨，訊息與呈現方式皆有條有理，否則你就可能如朋友所說，文章前後矛盾。
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: A couple of my friends here in school have read my papers and each has said that the papers seem “inconsistent.” They can’t very well explain what they mean and I am left to wonder where I am going wrong. Any ideas about that?
幾個同學讀了我的論文後，說我的文章有點「前後矛盾」，但他們也沒辦法解釋得很清楚，我不知道我的問題在哪裡。你覺得呢？
Friends can mess with your mind. An honest appraisal from someone you trust can knock the struts out from under you. I can’t fault your friends for being frank, but they might consider a more constructive approach to friendship. Still, their comments can be useful to you if you are genuinely interested in improving your writing of academic papers. The perceived inconsistency of your papers could be the result of any number of academic writing errors. It might be something you are doing, or not doing.
朋友的建議常常讓我們思緒大亂，聽到自己信賴的人對文章的直言不諱，的確會讓人從天堂跌到谷底。我不能責怪你朋友說話那麼坦白，不過如果他們的評語有些建設性，對友誼會更有幫助。話說回來，如果你確實想改善論文寫作，他們的建議還是有幫助。論文讀起來前後矛盾可能出自幾個學術寫作的問題，可能是你寫的內容有問題，或因為你沒有寫而造成問題。
Do you switch willy-nilly from first person to third person? Changing perspectives can jar a reader. Do you pick your words less carefully the longer you write? Such sloppiness, usually from haste or laziness, is noticeable. Do you get off track? Readers lose the thread of wandering presentations. Are your papers inconsistent in tone? Perhaps you begin in a formal way, then slip into a more casual mode, then return to a formal, didactic voice before ending with a blatant plea for acceptance of your argument. Horrors!
你是否不經意地從第一人稱換到第三人稱？改變說話立場會讓讀者困擾。你是否寫到後來遣詞用字愈來愈隨意？因為趕時間或怠惰造成的草率馬虎是很明顯的。你是否離題了？拐彎抹角會讓讀者摸不著頭緒。文章語氣是否前後不一？也許語氣一開始正式，後來放鬆了，最後又回到正經八百、諄諄教導的口吻，還冀望讀者接受你的論點。太糟糕了！
Any of these misguided approaches to academic writing reflect ignorance of the purpose of a paper. Do you remember what that is? The purpose is to professionally argue the case for new understanding of a subject via fresh information, preferably unearthed by you. If your writing is not consistent with this central purpose—from beginning to end—and is not coherent both in its information and its written delivery, you probably are guilty as charged by your friends.
這些錯誤的論文寫作方式表示你忽略論文的主旨。還記得論文的主旨是什麼嗎？是讓人感到耳目一新的資訊，最好是由你發現的訊息，提出專業的論證，並從嶄新的方向說明主題。除非你的寫作自始至終都符合中心主旨，訊息與呈現方式皆有條有理，否則你就可能如朋友所說，文章前後矛盾。
