Margo Seltzer 老师提示
我们下面看 Margo Seltzer 老师的提示。
一、引用
参考文献不是名词。这是什么意思？这意味着下面这句是错误的: “In [1], Jack and Jill went up a hill.” Instead, you can say, “Mother Goose reports that Jack and Jill went up a hill [1].”
二、which
Now that Halloween is over, go on a which hunt. In general, everywhere you are using “which,” you should be using “that.” The particular rule is that “which” prefaces a clause that could be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning; if you need the clause to understand the sentence, then you want “that.” A corollary is that if the phrase is preceded by a comma, you probably want “which.”
An example:
The car that is in the garage is broken.
The 1982 Toyota Corolla, which was decomissioned last year, was named Beauregard.
Note the example in the text above. Why is “that” correct instead of “which?”
三、only
Keep “only” close to its clause. If you use the word “only,” push it as close as possible to the clause to which it applies.
四、两个谓词间的逗号
If you have one subject and two predicates, do not separate the predicates with a comma.
五、避免引用列表，而是给出引用文献的内容
Laundry lists of references are often worthless. Avoid things like, “Many people have investigated caching [1][2][3][4][5][6].” Instead, tell us something about what the references actually say. “While many people have studied caching, only one study shows that it is a fundamentally flawed idea [1]. Several others indicate that it is the best thing since sliced bread [2][3][4], and a few authors actually seem to provide an accurate evaluation [5][6].” (Hint: this means that you actually have to have read the related work.)
六、避免 very
Avoid “very.” I believe it was Mark Twain who said, “Substitute d–n every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
七、避免 attempt
While you are at it, avoid “attempts”. You do things in research papers. You might be more or less successful at doing those things, but don’t weasel-word it.
八、避免被动语态
Avoid passive voice. It is significantly easier and more enjoyable to read technical prose written in the active voice.
九、别写成侦探小说
Your paper should not read as a murder mystery. Tell the reader in the beginning, that’s in the abstract, what the significant results of the research are. There is nothing more frustrating than reading a paper wondering the whole time what you’re going to see.
十、区分 fewer 和 less
Use fewer and less appropriately. Fewer implies that you are describing a discrete quantity while less implies a continuous one. So, you might have fewer people or things, but you might have less inclination or less clutter in your room.
十一、区分 like 和 such as
Use ‘like’ and ‘such as’ correctly. Use like only when A) the example you give is not exact or B) if the thing following the like can be properly embellished with a verb (typically do or does). In all other cases, use ‘such as.’ Examples:
Case A: Honeysuckle bushes, like flowers, have a strong aroma. (The bushes are not actually flowers, but we are using flowers as an example.)
Case B: ‘That flower smells like my perfume.’ – the complete sentence could be ‘That flower smells like my perfume does.’
Proper use of ‘such as’ : ‘Graph-processing systems such as GraphChi, Ligra, ….’
十二、避免 impact，用 affect
Impact is probably the most over-used term in technical papers today. People use it as a verb, they use it as a noun. I use it to describe wisdom teeth (impacted). Just avoid it. Use affect(s) and effect(s) (details).
十三、避免“seek to”
Another phrase I despise is “seeks to.” Disks seek to places, but research papers don’t; research projects don’t; and you shouldn’t either.
十四、避免 “aim”，直接说结果
I also find that the word “aim” sneaks into papers these days with alarming regularity. We aim to do this; the system aims to do that; people aim to do something else. Make claims, don’t waffle. We do! Our system does! The other folks do something different. I’m pretty sure that you’re not thinking, “Well, we aimed to do X, but failed.” If you are saying that you aimed for something, you are also claiming that you hit it, so just say that.
十五、用 so 代替 and so
“And so” should almost always be replaced by “so,” and so just do it that way.
十六、别说 Figure 1 visualizes，而说 Figure 1 illustrates
Figures illustrate things; people visualize things. Do not say, “Figure 1 visualizes …” A figure can illustrate something and sometimes it can present a visualization of something, but the figure does not visualize anything.
十七、别说 we argue
Ah yes, another phrase to avoid, “We/I argue …” Don’t argue with your reader. You might point out or note things. You might try to persuade the reader. But mostly you want the prose to do that for you without telling the reader that you’re trying to pull a fast one over on him or her.
十八、拼写检查
Run a spell checker. It won’t catch everything, but it should catch the things that will embarrass you.
十九、先写 statement，再解释
Assume that your readers are going to believe you and agree with you instead of trying to convince them of something before you’ve even presented it. Say, “The sun rises in the East, because the earth rotates in an easternly direction.” instead of, “Because the earth rotates in an easternly direction, the sun rises in the East.” In the first case, if the reader agrees with your statement s/he will skim over your explanation and simply nod. In the latter, you’re providing an explanation out of context and the reader is going to think about it and try to decide if s/he agrees with you before going on to read the point that you actually care about. And the point that you care about is your statement, not the explanation.
二十、区分 compose of 和 comprise
Composed of versus Comprises: A big thing is composed of little things. A bunch of little things comprise a big thing. Get this right.
二十一、避免 incentivize，用 incent
I hate the word incentivize. Incent means the same things and has half the syllables.
二十二、避免 this is because，用 , because
I hate the phrase “This is because …” It typically means that the previous sentence should be combined with this one, using “, because …”
二十三、区分 may，can，might
Use ‘may’, ‘can’, and ‘might’ correctly. In general, ‘may’ implies permissions and is rarely what you mean in technical writing.
二十四、四 C：Concise, Crisp, Clear, and (grammatically) Correct：简洁、扼要、清晰和（语法上）正确
Focus on the four C’s: Writing should be Concise, Crisp, Clear, and (grammatically) Correct.
二十五、避免性别偏向
Tips on avoiding gender-specific writing
二十六、读 Element of Sytle 这本书
Strunk and White (which should probably be read annually)
参考链接
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