中國作者撰寫英語論文中的一些常見問題

——STYLE, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND OTHER ISSUES

1、逗號誤用：逗號誤用是指兩個獨立單句（即每個句子都可以是一個單獨的完整句子）間只用逗號相連。獨立單句可使用適當連接詞（例如：and、but）或用分號隔開；或使用句號取代逗號，并開始新的句子。 2、先行詞(antecedent)不清晰：我發現很多個句子中，代詞(pronoun)的先行詞不清晰。意思就是說讀者難于理解代詞所指代的是哪一個名詞或名詞短語。讀者常常會回頭看就近出現的名詞，但有時會出現指代不明的情況。如果使用代詞代替名詞有可能出現誤解，則應重復使用該名詞而不用代詞。 3、盡量避免使用“most”來描述已證實的研究文獻。如果你寫“大部分研究者發現什么什么（most researchers find such-and-such）”實際上你用了統計學的表達，意思是你知道一半以上的研究者已經發現什么什么。

如果對含有“大部分（most of…）”的句子要求你證實其數量你能做到嗎？這就是該單詞（most）所蘊含的意思。你可以使用“many”或“several” 或“a number of”來代替。 4、RESEARCHES（research的復數形式）：Research（研究）是一個集合名詞，一般理解為包括大量的研究工作。因此，它實際上不應該使用復數形式，你可以使用“studies”或“investigations”或其他相似詞來代替。 5、擬人化的名詞：“研究結果（Results）”不會發現（find）任何東西，例如在句子中"our results found that…."；“量表（Scales）”也不能觀察（observe ）任何東西。而應該是研究者發現結果，由結果引出結論。

所以，結果（Results）往往是用“證實（document）”或“顯示（show）”或“表明（demonstrate）”或者是你（由研究結果）得到了什么想法。

對于“報告（report）”的應用也是一樣的道理，“研究結果（Results）”不會報道任何東西，而是由研究者報告的；“量表（Scales）”不能觀察任何東西，而是研究者觀察到的。【PS：意思就是別把一些動詞的主語由“人”誤用為“物（如結果、量表等）”】 6、嵌套括號、背靠背括號：一般來說，不要在括號內再使用括號；也不要使用背靠背的兩組括號以添加不同信息。 7、縮寫和首字母縮寫： 在第一次使用時，對一個縮寫或首字母縮寫要進行定義（即寫出全稱），此后出現即一致使用該縮寫。 8、主謂語不一致：單數主語（名詞或名詞短語）使用單數動詞，復數主語使用復數動詞。一個常見的錯誤是將最靠近的名詞或名詞短語作為主語來使用動詞，這可能是也可能不是真正的主語。 9、當標點符號出現在引用短語結束處時（如：引號出現在句末），句子結束的標點符號（如：逗號、分號、句號或問號）應包括在引號內，比如“…shows A is higher than B.”, “…what is the question?” 10、羅馬數字或數字單詞：一般對10或10以上的數字采用羅馬數字表示；而個位數一般采用數字單詞表示（如“one” 、“six”）。 STYLE, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND OTHER ISSUES

• COMMA SPLICE: A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses (that is, each of them could be a separate complete sentence) are connected only by a comma. Either separate independent clauses with an appropriate conjunction (for example, "and," "but"), or with a semi-colon; or put a period in place of the comma and start a new sentence. There are very many comma splices in this paper. I correct some, but you should proofread the manuscript carefully to correct any I missed.
• UNCLEAR ANTECEDENTS: I found multiple instances of pronouns with unclear antecedents. That means that the reader cannot easily tell to which preceding noun or noun phrase the pronoun is supposed to refer. Typically, the reader looks back to the most recently occurring reasonable noun; sometimes that is ambiguous, though. If there is a possibility of misunderstanding to which noun the pronoun is supposed to refer (i.e., what it's antecedent is), repeat the noun instead of using a pronoun.
• Avoid the use of “most” when describing the state of the empirical literature. If you write “most researchers find such-and-such,” in effect you are making a statistical statement, saying that you know that more than half the researchers have found such-and-such. Could you, if called upon, justify that “most of…” statement with numbers? That’s what the word implies. Instead, use “many,” or “several,” or “a number of.”
• RESEARCHES: Research is a collective noun, generally understood to include a body of work. As such, it really should not be used as a plural (i.e., researches). Instead, use "studies," or "investigations," or some similar word.
• ANTHROPOMORPHIZING NOUNS: Results don't find anything, as in "our results found that…." Scales don't observe anything. Researchers find results; results lead to conclusions. Results therefore document, or show, or demonstrate, or… you get the idea. Ditto for "report:" Results don't report anything; researchers do. Scales don't observe anything; researchers do.
• NESTED PARENTHESES, BACK-TO-BACK PARENTHESES: Generally, do not put parentheses inside parentheses. Generally, do not information in one set of parentheses back-to-back with other information in a second set of parentheses.
• ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS: Define an abbreviation or acronym on its first use in the paper. Once you have defined an abbreviation, use it routinely and consistently.
• SUBJECT-VERB DISAGREEMENT: Singlular subjects (nouns or noun phrases) take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. A common mistake is to have the verb agree with the closest noun or noun phrase, which may or may not be the actual subject of the sentence. There are noticeable instances of subject-verb disagreement throughout this paper. I changed many of them, but you should carefully check to make sure that all your subjects and verbs agree.
• When punctuation occurs at the end of a quoted phrase (e.g., quotation marks occur at the end of a sentence), the end punctuation (e.g., a comma, semi-color, period or question mark) should be enclosed within the ending quotation mark.
• NUMBERS AS NUMERALS vs. NUMBER WORDS: It is common practice to use numerals for numbers 10 or greater and number words (e.g., "one," "six") for single digits.