Fw: [期刊]Improving science and technical writing
※ [本文轉錄自 PhD 看板 #1JDzQFIn ]
作者: tamasi22 (魂22) 看板: PhD
標題: [期刊]Improving science and technical writing
時間: Sun Mar 30 16:32:11 2014
FYR. "Is" 在英文國際期刊寫作常常會被濫用，標準專業的論文寫作
Is所代表的意義遠超過我們台灣從小英文教育所學的概念，這邊TopSCIedit
資深編輯Patrick想要和您分享一些市面上修改公司常常忽略且沒有講到的深入分析。
Polish-American philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski (1879 - 1950) may
be best known for coining the phrase “the map is not the territory”, used
to describe the relationship between objects and their representation. Over
the past century, Korzybski's work on language, philosophy, and the human
mind has had a wide range of impacts on art, philosophy, and scientific
thinking around the world. In this post, we would like to briefly describe
an effective way to improve your English writing for
scientific, bio-medical, and engineering journals inspired by Korzybski's work.
The Problem with “Is.
“Is” - a form of the basic verb “to be” - represents one of the most
common words in the English language, and can be used to express identity
or predication. In fact, it might be almost impossible to write in English
without ever using the word “is” - however, good scholarly writing depends
on accuracy, and relying too much on “is” can make your writing fail to
meet its potential. What causes the problem, and where do we most often
encounter it? How can we improve our English writing by
avoiding “is”?
Measurements and Classification: The Map is not the Territory.
One key problem stems from the fact that measurements and descriptions –
from units of mass to diagnostic checklists – are used everywhere in
science to describe phenomena, but they are not the phenomena themselves.
For example: “The stone is 20kg.”
Although most English readers will understand the sentence above intuitively,
it describes the object in an illogical way. The object – in this case a
stone – does not possess measurement as an inherent feature. Measurement
is an activity, a process involving the application of common conventions
that we use to describe objects. Therefore, we should use a verb that
acknowledges the activity of measurement.
A revised sentence, “The stone weighs 20kg,” describes the object in more
more accurate, logical, and engaging terms.
For another example, consider this sentence: “The patient is schizophrenic.”
Read more: http://www.topsciedit.com/en/blog/post-1
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※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
※ 轉錄者: tamasi22 (220.137.34.33), 03/30/2014 16:34:08
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