학술 논문을 명확하게 쓰는 법

주어 + 동사를 먼저:

누가 또는 무엇이 무엇을 했다. 그다음 한계, 방법, 예외.

행위를 동사에:

“the implementation of X resulted in Y”가 아니라 “X did Y.”

익숙한 것, 그다음 새로운 것:

문장 앞에 옛 정보. 발견, 수치, 주장은 끝에.

첫 사용에서 용어:

정식 명칭(ABBR), 그다음 ABBR. 바로 정의하는 첫 핵심 용어는 이탤릭(APA §6.22).

꾸미지 말고 지우기:

“the fact that”, “it should be noted that”, “it is interesting that”를 삭제하십시오(UNC Sciences). 남은 절을 유지하십시오.

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.

정확:

population density is positively correlated with disease transmission rate

덜 정확:

population density is positively related to disease transmission rate

오용된 단어:

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

수정:

Cree Indians were a homogenous culture.

원치 않는 함의:

I sprayed the ants in their private places.

수정:

I sprayed the ants in their hiding places.

전문 은어:

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

수정:

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

하중 있음:

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.

이름 붙임:

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.

The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones.

장황(14단어):

The politician talked about several of the merits of after-school programs in his speech

간결(8단어):

The politician touted after-school programs in his speech.

진부한 표현:

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

수정:

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

한정어 더미:

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

수정:

Most people think that puppies are cute.

중복 쌍:

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

수정:

Adrienne fulfilled all our hopes when she saved the planet.

회피적:

이들 변수 사이에 어떤 관계가 있을지도 모른다고 시사할 수 있을 가능성이 있다.

적절히 신중:

데이터는 이들 변수 사이의 관계를 시사한다.

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.

공개된 원문:

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.

207-nt 정의가 중요할 때의 시험 수정:

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.

그 정의가 곁가지일 때의 시험 수정:

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

그들이 정착한 단락(첫머리):

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.

복잡:

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.

더 명확:

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.

장황:

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.

수정:

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

불명확:

Having finished with studying, the pizza was quickly eaten.

명확:

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.

Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do not occur at random intervals because it takes time to accumulate the strain energy for the rupture.

Large earthquakes The rates Therefore...one subsequent mainshocks great plate boundary ruptures the southern segment of the San Andreas fault the smaller the standard deviation...

In our experience, the misplacement of old and new information turns out to be the No. 1 problem in American professional writing today.

Put in the topic position the old information that links backward; put in the stress position the new information you want the reader to emphasize.

Readers expect the action of a sentence to be articulated by the verb.

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

명사 과다:

The discovery of the aliens was made by the government.

동사 먼저:

The government discovered the aliens.

빈 도입부:

There is a need for further study of aliens.

수정:

We need to study aliens further.

약한 동사:

The aliens have a positive effect on our ecosystem.

더 강한 동사:

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.

질적:

development rate was fastest in the higher temperature treatment

양적:

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

비유적:

experimental subjects were assaulted with a wall of sound

구체화:

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

모호한 공식 예:

You have higher odds of being injured by a vending machine than a cat.

의미 1, by를 반복:

You have higher odds of being injured by a vending machine than by a cat.

의미 2, 고양이에게 동사를 더함:

You have higher odds than a cat does of being injured by a vending machine.

Anthropomorphism occurs when writers attribute human actions to inanimate sources or to nonhuman animals, as demonstrated in the following table.

올바름:

Rat pairs lived in the same enclosure.

잘못:

Rat couples lived in the same enclosure.

올바름:

The theory addresses

잘못:

The theory concludes

A theory might address, indicate, or present, but researchers (not theories) conclude.

If a construction is in widespread use and its meaning is unambiguous, it is usually not anthropomorphic.

허용되는 구문:

The results suggest

The study found

The data provide evidence that

This paper focuses on

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.

병렬 아님:

이 연구는 학생 동기, 그들이 학업에서 어떻게 수행했는지, 그리고 그들의 만족을 검토했다.

병렬:

이 연구는 학생 동기, 학업 수행, 만족을 검토했다.

불명확한 he / him:

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

이름 붙임:

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

1판(모호):

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

2판(목적지가 더 명확):

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

3판(주장에 핵심 용어):

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.

There are two kinds of transitions: (a) transitional words and phrases that are used at the start of a sentence to show how the sentence connects with the previous sentence and (b) transitional sentences that are used at the start of a paragraph to show how the paragraph logically connects with the previous paragraph.

Although transitional words and phrases can be very helpful, they can also be overused.

If you have transitions at the beginning of every (or nearly every) sentence, look for places to remove some.

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.

• 주어와 동사가 한두 단어 안에 있다
• 행위가 동사이고 -tion으로 끝나는 명사가 아니다
• 익숙한 정보는 앞, 새 주장은 끝
• 문장은 하나의 이야기(주제 위치)를 하고 하나의 새 점을 강조한다
• 모든 약어와 핵심 용어가 첫 사용에서 정의된다
• 정밀도가 남는 곳마다 화려한 단어를 익숙한 단어로 바꿨다
• 비교는 양쪽을 이름 붙이고, 수량이 “various”와 “higher”를 대체한다
• 이론은 결론하지 않는다. 의미가 모호하지 않으면 “The study found”는 허용된다
• 목록은 병렬이다. 모든 they / this / it은 명사 하나를 가리킨다
• 단락이 한 문장이 아니고, 이중 간격 한 쪽보다 길지 않다
• 소리 내어 읽어도 초고가 통한다