by 吳信鳳政治大學英文系 May 15, 2004

by吳信鳳政治大學英文系 May 15, 2004 Writing Research Papers in English英文論文寫作

Writing Research Papers in English • Introduction • Motivation and expectations • Writinig and publishing experience • Writing in Chinese and in English • A process of translation?

Procedures for Writing a Research Paper • Choosing a topic • Collecting information • Outlining the paper • Drafting the paper • Preparing the final copy

Why is it so hard to write a research paper in English? 寫英文論文難在哪裡？

Language 語言文字表達 Organization/Structure 組織結構 Conventions and Format 格式

Language 語言文字表達 • Diction 用字遣詞 • Sentences 句型結構 • Transitions and Coherence 前後銜接 • Ways of expression –表達方式 • Ways of thinking–思考方式 Native Language Interference

Use the Right Word • The Elements of Style: Clarity and Precision • Avoid wordiness - Omit needless words Wordy: the question as to whether Better: whether (the question whether) Wordy: the reason why is that Better: because Wordy: the fact that he had not succeeded Better: his failure (Strunk & White, 1979)

Use Definite, Specific, Concrete Language Vague: A period of unfavorable weather set in. Clear: It rained every day for a week. Vague: He showed satisfaction as he took possession of his well-earned reward. Clear: He grinned as he pocketed the coin. (Strunk & White, 1979)

Use Active Voice Poor: My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me. Better: I shall always remember my first visit to Boston. Poor: It is shown/indicated by the statistics in the following table . . . Better: The statistics in the table below shows/indicates . . .

Parallelism Express coordinate ideas in similar form. Awkward: Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed. Parallel: Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method. Awkward: A time not for words but action. Parallel: A time not for words but for action.

Tenses • Be consistent! • Abstract: Past tense • Literature Review:Past tense or present perfect tense “Smith showed” “Researchers have shown” • Procedures: Past tense Fifty children participated in the study. • Results: Past tense to describe and Present tense to discuss In Experiment 2, response varied (see Figure 4). • Discussions and Conclusion: Present tense (APA, 2001, p. 33)

Common English Errors of Chinese Students Incorrect: I am painful. Correct: I am in pain. Incorrect: According to my opinion, According to all these reasons, Correct: In my opinion, For all these reasons, (Bunton, 1989)

Common English Errors of Chinese Writers (1) Awkward: It is worth noting that the Eoc of the InAs electrode is more positive than the upper edge of its valence. Better: The Eoc of the InAs electrode is notably more positive than the upper edge of its valence. (Knoy 柯泰德,1993)

Common English Errors of Chinese Writers (2) Awkward: Regarding the application history of the engineering plastic industry in Taiwan, there have been 18 and 16 years for nylon and PBY, respectively. Better: Nylon and PBT have found application in the engineering plastic industry of Taiwan for 18 and 16 years, respectively. (Knoy 柯泰德,1993)

Common English Errors of Chinese Writers (3) Awkward: Occasionally, industrial accidents occur whenever necessary precautions are not taken. Better: Industrial accidents occasionally occur whenever necessary precautions are not taken.. (Knoy 柯泰德,1993)

Common English Errors of Chinese Writers (4) Awkward: In comparison with the conventional method, the approach proposed in this study is cheaper. Better: The approach proposed in this study is (comparatively) cheaper than the conventional method. (Knoy 柯泰德,1993)

Common English Errors of Chinese Writers (5) Awkward: In order to reduce the number of industrial accidents, stricter safety regulations should be set up. Better: Stricter safety regulations should be set up so as to reduce the number of industrial accidents. (Knoy 柯泰德,1993)

Ways of Expression 表達方式 (1) 我想他不會來了。 I don’t think he’ll come. 他絕不會撒謊。 He is the last person to tell a lie. 他生性慷慨，因而損失了一萬元。 His generosity cost him ten thousand dollars. 他從沒想過他有責任那樣做。 It has never occurred to him that he is under any obligation to do so. 吳潛誠，1982

Ways of Expression 表達方式 (2) 與其說他是個詩人，不如說他是個夢想家。 He is not so much a poet as a dreamer. 他的失敗不在於無能，而在於大意。 His failure lies not so much in incompetence as in carelessness. His failure lies more in carelessness than in incompetence. 吳潛誠，1982

Ways of Expression 表達方式 (3) 「我們所定義的現狀。」「美國同時也十分憂慮，如果北京認定台灣走向獨立並與中國永遠分離，我們遏阻中國威嚇一事可能失敗」中國時報，2004年4月22日

Ways of Expression 表達方式 (4) “the status quo as we define it” “We have very real concernsthat our efforts at deterring Chinese coercion might fail if Beijing ever becomes convinced Taiwan is embarked on a course towards independence and permanent separation from China.” May 1, 2004. The Strait Times The lure of the status quo over TaiwanByJanadas Devan

Unbiased Language Problematic: Research scientists often neglect their wives and children. Preferred: Research scientists often neglect their spouses and children. Problematic:The client is usually the best judge of the value of his counseling. Preferred:The clients are usually the best judges of the value of the counseling they receive. (APA, 2001, p. 72-73)

Language 語言文字表達 Think in English so that you can write in English.

English LanguageDictionaries • CD-Rom MacMillan English Dictionary Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary • On-line Oxford English Dictionary: http://dictionary.oed.com/

English Languageand Writing Sources On-line • Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus: http://www.m-w.com/ • http://dictionary.reference.com/ • Yahoo! Dictionary:http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/ • Web Concordancer: http://www.edict.com.hk/concordance/WWWConcappE.htm • Quotations:http://www.quotationspage.com/

Research and Documentation on Line http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/ • Humanities • Social Sciences • Finding sources • Documenting sources • Sample APA paper • History • Sciences

Conventions and Format 格式 • Elements of research papers • Systems of documentation • Chicago Manual Style • Modern Language Association Style • American Psychological Association Style (APA)

Elements of a Research Paper • Title Page • Abstract (Outline) • Introduction + Literature Review • Method • Results • Discussion • Implications+Conclusion • References • Notes • Appendices

APA • Quotation • Citation - In text citation • Reference List • Periodicals • Books and Book Chapters • Electronic sources

The End cwu@nccu.edu.tw

by 吳信鳳政治大學英文系 May 15, 2004