Come scrivere con chiarezza nei testi accademici

Soggetto + verbo prima:

Chi o che cosa ha fatto che cosa. Poi la limitazione, il metodo o l'eccezione.

L'azione nel verbo:

Non «l'implementazione di X ha portato a Y», ma «X ha fatto Y».

Familiare, poi nuovo:

Informazione vecchia all'inizio della frase. Il risultato, il numero o l'affermazione alla fine.

Termine al primo uso:

Nome completo (ABBR), poi ABBR. Corsivo sul primo termine chiave che definisci subito (APA §6.22).

Taglia, non decorare:

Elimina “the fact that,” “it should be noted that” e “it is interesting that” (UNC Sciences). Tieni la proposizione che resta.

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.

Preciso:

population density is positively correlated with disease transmission rate

Meno preciso:

population density is positively related to disease transmission rate

Parola usata male:

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

Revisione:

Cree Indians were a homogenous culture.

Connotazione indesiderata:

I sprayed the ants in their private places.

Revisione:

I sprayed the ants in their hiding places.

Gergo:

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

Revisione:

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

Carico:

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.

Nominato:

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.

Revisione:

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

Pila di attenuazioni:

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

Revisione:

Most people think that puppies are cute.

Coppia ridondante:

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

Revisione:

Adrienne fulfilled all our hopes when she saved the planet.

Elusivo:

Potrebbe essere possibile suggerire che ci potrebbe forse essere qualche relazione tra queste variabili.

Cautela appropriata:

I dati suggeriscono una relazione tra queste variabili.

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.

Originale pubblicato:

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.

Revisione di prova se la definizione da 207-nt è 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.

Revisione di prova se quella definizione è un inciso:

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

Il paragrafo su cui si sono fermati (apertura):

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.

Complesso:

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.

Più chiaro:

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.

Verboso:

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.

Revisione:

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

Poco chiaro:

Having finished with studying, the pizza was quickly eaten.

Chiaro:

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.

Pieno di nomi:

The discovery of the aliens was made by the government.

Verbo prima:

The government discovered the aliens.

Apertura vuota:

There is a need for further study of aliens.

Revisione:

We need to study aliens further.

Verbo debole:

The aliens have a positive effect on our ecosystem.

Verbo più forte:

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.

Qualitativo:

development rate was fastest in the higher temperature treatment

Quantitativo:

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

Figurato:

experimental subjects were assaulted with a wall of sound

Specificato:

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

Incompleto:

I partecipanti del gruppo di trattamento hanno ottenuto punteggi più alti.

Completo:

I partecipanti del gruppo di trattamento hanno ottenuto punteggi più alti dei partecipanti del gruppo di controllo.

Lo studio come attore:

Lo studio ha raccolto 40 interviste e ha concluso che i tempi di attesa predicevano le assenze.

I ricercatori come attori:

Abbiamo raccolto 40 interviste. I tempi di attesa predicevano le assenze.

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 parallelo:

Lo studio ha esaminato la motivazione degli studenti, come rendevano sul piano accademico e la loro soddisfazione.

Parallelo:

Lo studio ha esaminato la motivazione, il rendimento accademico e la soddisfazione degli studenti.

he / him poco chiari:

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

Con nome:

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

Versione 1 (vaga):

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

Versione 2 (destinazione più chiara):

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

Versione 3 (termini chiave nell'affermazione):

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.

• Soggetto e verbo sono a una o due parole l'uno dall'altro
• L'azione è un verbo, non un nome che finisce in -tion
• L'informazione familiare è all'inizio; l'affermazione nuova è alla fine
• La frase racconta una storia (topic position) e enfatizza un solo punto nuovo
• Ogni abbreviazione e termine chiave è definito al primo uso
• Una parola familiare ha sostituito una ricercata ovunque la precisione sia sopravvissuta
• I confronti nominano entrambi i lati; le quantità sostituiscono “various” e “higher”
• Studi e teorie non raccolgono, non concludono e non credono
• Le liste sono parallele; ogni they / this / it ha un nome
• Nessun paragrafo è una frase; nessuno è più lungo di una pagina a interlinea doppia
• La bozza ha ancora senso quando viene letta ad alta voce