Scientific Writing的几个建议

hmg2008

最近写PhD的proposal，狠狠看了之后，狠狠批了一顿。于是重新认真搜索了一些关于scientific writing的指导，这里是其中杜克大学学校网站提供的，分享给还在备考GRE的童鞋们。
参考链接：https://cgi.duke.edu/web/sciwriting/index.php  
Lesson 1


1.     Put actions in verbs
2.     Put characters in subjects
3.     Keep subjects near verbs
principle 1 （Put actions in verbs）强调的是要表述行为和动作的时候，尽量用动词形式，而非动词的名次形式。
表1是几个动词和其对应的名词形式：
举个例子：    1）We performed an analysis on the data.
                        2) We analyzed the data.      
            上面这两个句子都是表达一个意思，但很明显，句子要传达的动作是analyze 而非 perform，我们不关心perform得如何，只关心analyze和其对象，所以句子2显得更直接明白些。

Principle 2 （Put characters in subjects）强调的是把动作的执行者放在主语中。
举个例子：    1）The movement in the liquid medium of the bacteria was accomplished by micro-flagella.
                        2） The bacteria move themselves in the liquid medium with micro-flagella.

句子1中movement的执行者是bacteria， 这个句子我们要强调的是move这个动作，而非accomplish，所以最好用bacteria作为主语（句子2）.
            在实际写作中，主语具体选用什么取决于句子在段落中的地位。一个段落一般要么讨论一个话题，要么讲述几个相关的话题，为让读者更容易读懂，句子前后的连贯性显得很重要。而连贯性就体现在主语的选取上，这一般有两种可能情况：
1.     Maintain a common subject throughout a one-topic paragraph.
2.     Shift the subject appropriately according to the story.

举个例子：
To understand human evolution, genomes from related primates are necessary. For example, several primate genomes are needed to identify features common to primates or unique to humans. Fortunately, such genome-wide exploration is now a reality; in the past 5 years, genome sequences of several nonhuman primates have been released.

这个例子中主语（黑体）在变化，但段落的话题保持一致，句子的意思流很清晰。举个反例，如果我们改写成这样：
To understand human evolution, genomes from related primates are necessary. For example, identification of features common among primates or unique to humans will require several primate genomes. Fortunately, scientists can now do such genome-wide exploration; in the past 5 years, the community has released several nonhuman primate genome sequences.
这个段落的主语也在变换，但显而易见，不如前一个例子易懂。

Principle 3 （Keep subjects near verbs）强调的是主语名/代词和谓语动词要尽可能靠近些。在科学写作中经常会遇到很长很复杂的句子，在GRE中称之为长难句，这种句子在写作时特别需要注意主语和谓语的位置。举个例子：
Farmers that understand the difference between the soil requirements of plants when they are seedlings and their requirements when they are mature are in high demand.

主语farmers和系动词are之间修饰成分过长，影响了读者的阅读体验。可以尝试修改为：
Farmers are in high demand if they can understand the difference between the soil requirements of plants when they are seedlings and their requirements when they are mature.

再比如：
Peanuts, shrimp, almonds, milk or anything else with lactose, and wheat or anything with gluten all represent things that people are commonly allergic to.
这个句子显得很凌乱。其实句子核心意思就是要说：
People are commonly allergic to things like peanuts, shrimp....