Comment écrire clairement dans un article académique

Sujet + verbe d'abord :

Qui ou quoi a fait quoi. Puis la limitation, la méthode ou l'exception.

L'action dans le verbe :

Pas « la mise en œuvre de X a entraîné Y », mais « X a fait Y ».

Familier, puis nouveau :

L'information ancienne au début de la phrase. Le résultat, le chiffre ou l'affirmation à la fin.

Terme à la première occurrence :

Nom complet (ABBR), puis ABBR. Italique sur le premier terme clé que vous définissez aussitôt (APA §6.22).

Coupez, ne décorez pas :

Supprimez “the fact that,” “it should be noted that” et “it is interesting that” (UNC Sciences). Gardez la proposition qui reste.

Check for continuity in words, concepts, and thematic development across the paper. Explain relationships between ideas clearly. Present ideas in a logical order. Use clear transitions to smoothly connect sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.

Choose words and phrases carefully and deliberately. Eliminate wordiness, redundancy, evasiveness, circumlocution, overuse of the passive voice, and clumsy prose.

Do not use jargon, contractions, or colloquialisms.

Avoid overusing both short, simple sentences and long, involved sentences; instead, use varied sentence lengths.

Avoid both single-sentence paragraphs and paragraphs longer than one double-spaced page.

Use clear and precise language. Use a professional tone and professional language.

Do not use jargon, contractions, colloquialisms, or creative literary devices.

Check for anthropomorphistic language (i.e., attributing human actions to inanimate objects or nonhuman animals).

Make logical comparisons using clear word choice and sentence structure.

We argue here that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression.

The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought, but rather its actual communication.

It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind.

But the most important goal of academic writing is not to sound smart—it is to communicate an argument or information clearly and convincingly.

Using simple words does not indicate simple thoughts.

In an academic argument paper, what makes the thesis and argument sophisticated are the connections presented in simple, clear language.

First, remember that your goal in academic writing is not to sound intelligent, but to get your intelligent point across.

When given a choice between a familiar and a technical or obscure term, the more familiar term is preferable if it doesn’t reduce precision.

Précis :

population density is positively correlated with disease transmission rate

Moins précis :

population density is positively related to disease transmission rate

Mot mal employé :

Cree Indians were a monotonous culture until French and British settlers arrived.

Révision :

Cree Indians were a homogenous culture.

Connotation indésirable :

I sprayed the ants in their private places.

Révision :

I sprayed the ants in their hiding places.

Jargon :

The dialectical interface between neo-Platonists and anti-disestablishment Catholics offers an algorithm for deontological thought.

Révision :

The dialogue between neo-Platonists and certain Catholic thinkers is a model for deontological thought.

Chargé :

Society teaches young girls that beauty is their most important quality. In order to prevent eating disorders and other health problems, we must change society.

Nommé :

Contemporary American popular media, like magazines and movies, teach young girls that beauty is their most important quality. In order to prevent eating disorders and other health problems, we must change the images and role models girls are offered.

Cliché :

France bit off more than it could chew in Vietnam, and America’s intervention was too little, too late.

Révision :

As the French faltered in Vietnam, even American intervention could not save the collapsing regime.

Pile d'atténuations :

Most people usually think that many puppies are generally pretty cute.

Révision :

Most people think that puppies are cute.

Paire redondante :

Adrienne fulfilled all our hopes and dreams when she saved the whole entire planet.

Révision :

Adrienne fulfilled all our hopes when she saved the planet.

Évasif :

Il pourrait être possible de suggérer qu'il pourrait peut-être y avoir une certaine relation entre ces variables.

Prudent à bon escient :

Les données suggèrent une relation entre ces variables.

Readers expect a grammatical subject to be followed immediately by the verb.

Anything of length that intervenes between subject and verb is read as an interruption, and therefore as something of lesser importance.

Make subjects short and concrete, ideally naming the character that performs the action expressed by the verb that follows.

Avoid interrupting the subject and verb with more than a word or two.

Put key actions in verbs, not in nouns.

Put information familiar to readers at the beginning of a sentence, new information at the end.

Avoid long introductory phrases: get to a short, familiar subject quickly.

Original publié :

The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L), a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene.

Révision d'essai si la définition de 207-nt est importante :

The smallest of the URF's is URFA6L, a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene; it has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene.

Révision d'essai si cette définition est une parenthèse :

The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L) has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene.

Le paragraphe sur lequel ils se sont arrêtés (ouverture) :

The smallest of the URF's, URFA6L, has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene; but the functional significance of other URF's has been more elusive.

Complexe :

The osmoregulatory organ, which is located at the base of the third dorsal spine on the outer margin of the terminal papillae and functions by expelling excess sodium ions, activates only under hypertonic conditions.

Plus clair :

Located on the outer margin of the terminal papillae at the base of the third dorsal spine, the osmoregulatory organ expels excess sodium ions under hypertonic conditions.

...to confirm the nature of electrical breakdown of nitrogen in uniform fields at relatively high pressures and interelectrode gaps that approach those obtained in engineering practice, prior to the determination of the processes that set the criterion for breakdown in the above-mentioned gases and mixtures in uniform and non-uniform fields of engineering significance.

Verbeux :

The reason for the failure of the economic system of the island was the inability of Gilligan in finding adequate resources without incurring expenses at the hands of the headhunters on the other side of the island.

Révision :

Gilligan hurt the economic system of the island because he couldn’t find adequate resources without angering the headhunters.

Peu clair :

Having finished with studying, the pizza was quickly eaten.

Clair :

Having finished with studying, the students quickly ate the pizza.

“Bees disperse pollen” and “Pollen is dispersed by bees” are two different but equally respectable sentences about the same facts. The first tells us something about bees; the second tells us something about pollen.

A sentence is too long when it has more viable candidates for stress positions than there are stress positions available.

Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.

Place in the stress position the “new information” you want the reader to emphasize.

Place the person or thing whose “story” a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.

Place appropriate “old information” (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.

Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb.

In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider anything new.

In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.

Surchargé de noms :

The discovery of the aliens was made by the government.

Verbe d'abord :

The government discovered the aliens.

Ouverture vide :

There is a need for further study of aliens.

Révision :

We need to study aliens further.

Verbe faible :

The aliens have a positive effect on our ecosystem.

Verbe plus fort :

The aliens improve our ecosystem.

Use abbreviations sparingly and usually when they are familiar to readers, save considerable space, and appear at least three times in the paper.

Define abbreviations, including abbreviations for group authors, on first use.

Use italics for the first use of key terms or phrases accompanied by a definition.

Keep technical terms to the places where they are needed. Define abbreviations at first use and use them sparingly.

Write clear and direct sentences. Using the active voice (‘we performed the experiment...’) typically helps readers better understand concepts and results described in a paper.

State the main finding clearly. A reader should be able to understand what you found and why it matters from the title and abstract.

Ask a colleague outside your immediate field to read the title and abstract.

Qualitatif :

development rate was fastest in the higher temperature treatment

Quantitatif :

development rate in the 30°C temperature treatment was ten percent faster than development rate in the 20°C temperature treatment

Figuré :

experimental subjects were assaulted with a wall of sound

Spécifié :

experimental subjects were presented with 20 second pulses of conspecific mating calls

Incomplet :

Les participants du groupe de traitement ont obtenu des scores plus élevés.

Complet :

Les participants du groupe de traitement ont obtenu des scores plus élevés que les participants du groupe de contrôle.

L'étude comme acteur :

L'étude a recueilli 40 entretiens et a conclu que les temps d'attente prédisaient les absences.

Les chercheurs comme acteurs :

Nous avons recueilli 40 entretiens. Les temps d'attente prédisaient les absences.

Use first person pronouns to describe your work and your personal reactions (e.g., “I examined,” “I agreed with”), including your work with coauthors (e.g., “We conducted”).

Ensure items in lists are parallel.

Non parallèle :

L'étude a examiné la motivation des étudiants, comment ils réussissaient sur le plan académique et leur satisfaction.

Parallèle :

L'étude a examiné la motivation, la réussite académique et la satisfaction des étudiants.

he / him peu clairs :

My cousin Jake hugged my brother Trey, even though he didn’t like him very much.

Nommés :

My cousin Jake hugged my brother Trey, even though Jake doesn’t like Trey very much.

Version 1 (vague) :

There are many important river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn.

Version 2 (destination plus claire) :

The contrasting river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn suggest a return to nature.

Version 3 (termes clés dans l'affirmation) :

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

A “reverse” outline is one you make after you have written a draft.

The reverse outline will help you evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both your organization and your argument.

• Le sujet et le verbe sont à un mot ou deux l'un de l'autre
• L'action est un verbe, pas un nom en -tion
• L'information familière est au début ; l'affirmation nouvelle est à la fin
• La phrase raconte une histoire (topic position) et met l'accent sur un seul point nouveau
• Chaque abréviation et chaque terme clé est défini à la première occurrence
• Un mot familier a remplacé un mot recherché partout où la précision a survécu
• Les comparaisons nomment les deux côtés ; les quantités remplacent “various” et “higher”
• Les études et les théories ne recueillent pas, ne concluent pas et ne croient pas
• Les listes sont parallèles ; chaque they / this / it a un nom
• Aucun paragraphe n'est une phrase ; aucun n'est plus long qu'une page à double interligne
• Le brouillon a encore du sens lorsqu'il est lu à voix haute