留學生dissertation獨創表達方式的三大訣竅

 

每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最后集結于 TPS 學術電子報。

Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

 

Tip # 1 – The Importance of You 

訣竅一：知道自己的重要

 

Academia celebrates the great body of knowledge that has been accumulated through the centuries. A scholar’s twin mission is to recognize and access all of that knowledge—and to add to it. This is a grand work that can overwhelm a new scholar, who quite naturally is awed by the work of the many great academicians who preceded him. Consequently, some academic writers try to imitate the best of the writing styles they discover in their research. While emulating greatness is good, subverting one’s own identity in the process is not. You should write as you.

學術界龐大的整體知識，是基于數百年來的累積。每位學者都有兩項使命，一項是了解、運用學術知識，另一項是繼續累積新的知識。新手學者對第二項使命可能力有未逮，因為學術前輩留下的許多巨作自然令人感到仰之彌高。因此，寫作學術文章時，有些人會模仿研究中發現最出色的寫作風格。仿效杰作固然不錯，寫作時卻不該放棄個人獨到之處。你應該用自己的表達方式寫作。

 

Why is this desirable? For one thing, you may be the next great academic writer, but the world will never know it if you don’t write as yourself! Recognizing greatness that emerged in the past does not preclude introducing greatness in the present. Nothing in the academic tradition requires today’s thinkers and writers to be obeisant to yesterday’s. Quite the opposite. Today’s scholars are expected to be stimulated by scholars of the past. As one of today’s scholars, you should use all of your faculties—including your writing intelligence—and become a bridge to the future.

為什么要用自己的表達方式寫作？首先，你可能是學術寫作的下一個新星，但如果你不表現自我，沒有人會發現你的出色之處。了解過去的成就，不代表現在不能創造成就。學術傳統并未要求思想家或作者對前人恭順服從；剛好相反，如今的學者應該受到過去前輩鼓舞驅策。如今你身為學者，應該竭力發揮所能，運用自己的寫作技巧，成為通往未來的橋梁。#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The fact is, if you imitate a favorite scholar-writer of yesteryear, you cannot do your best work. It is impossible to maximize your talent if a portion of it is left undeveloped. After all, it is your interests that lead you to an academic topic. Research progresses according to the values you place on the key elements of a paper. If you subsequently write in the style or voice of another person, the result will be an academic mish-mash because the writing is not congruent with the thinking behind it. A muddle results. You cannot effectively divorce yourself from your writing.

實際上，如果你一味模仿喜歡的學術前輩，就無法寫出最好的作品。如果有些才華受到壓抑，你就無法盡情發揮。畢竟，你是基于自己的興趣鉆研某個學術主題，并根據你自己重視的部分推動研究發展。如果你之后卻用另一個人的風格或表達方式寫文章，結果可能只得到一篇學術雜燴。如果文章無法貼合背后的思想，結果就是一團混亂。人的思考想法很難與文字脫節。

 

訣竅之二：找到自我

每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最后集結于 TPS 學術電子報。

Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

 

Scholars whose work generally is recognized as superior are confident people. They may be humble, but they are not awed by peers or predecessors. They have personal faith in the value of their own contributions to academic learning. In short, they believe in themselves. This self-esteem sustains them in their search for elusive truth or a critical source. It reassures them as they consider an approach to a subject or as they organize their material for coherent presentation. More to the point, it guides them as they express in their own words what they have discovered.

卓越的學者通常都是有自信的人。他們可能為人謙遜，但不會畏懼同儕或前輩，他們相信自己的貢獻對學術知識有價值。簡單來說，他們相信自己。自尊自重讓他們能堅持下去，尋求難以捉摸的真理或重要的數據源，并讓他們在選擇研究方法，或組織材料、有條有理地表達時，能更有信心。更重要的是，自尊自重引導他們用自己的話說明研究發現。#p#分頁標題#e#

 

How do they peel away self-deception and self-doubt and come to value themselves as valuable academic writers? They test themselves and evaluate the tests. To wit, they introduce metaphors in papers and learn which ones work, and which ones detract. They try various word patterns and phrasing and study the results purely through a reader’s eyes. They use jargon in a fresh way to see if it invigorates a sentence or deadens it. In short, through trial and error, they develop a writing style that is individual and effective as an academic instrument. They develop a voice.

他們怎么避免蒙騙或懷疑自己，最后看重自己的學術文章？答案是藉由一再測試，并評估測試結果。也就是說，他們會在dissertation中使用譬喻，了解哪些譬喻有用，哪些有害。他們嘗試各種遣詞用字與表達，并完全從讀者的角度出發，探討結果是否理想。他們以創新的方法運用術語，看句子是否更有活力，還是變得死氣沉沉。簡言之，他們反復試驗，發展出個人獨特、有力的寫作風格，作為學術工具──他們發展出自己的表達方式。

 

Some of this development of an authentic writing voice is accomplished privately. But the ultimate test comes when a paper is submitted to an assigning professor. Besides commenting on topic and treatment, a professor evaluates the writing, and a self-assured writer learns from each evaluation. He may adjust his writing to accommodate criticisms. He will come to see which criticisms are valid and which are subjective and, therefore, less valid. After a few submitted papers, a writer will hit his stride and find his voice, his writing style, and perhaps his vocation.

雖然有些人是靠自己發展出獨特的表達方式，但dissertation交給教授后，才是最終的測試。教授除了針對主題與處理給予建議，也會對寫作良莠評價。有自信的作者能從每則評價中學習，也許會根據批評調整文章，并評估哪些評價有道理，哪些較主觀而不具參考價值。交過幾篇dissertation后，作者就能大步前進，找到自己的表達方式、自己的寫作風格、甚至找到自己的志業。

 

每個寫作學術文章的人都是獨特的，他們研究的學科或許相同，但生活經歷、學術背景、個人目標都不一樣，這些獨特之處都應該在文章中表達出來。本專欄探討學者何以該找出個人的表達方式，又該如何進行。每項訣竅都會刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最后集結于 TPS 學術電子報。

Academic writers are individuals. Though they may pursue a common curricular discipline, they are different from one another in life experience, academic background, and personal goals. All of this should come through in their writing. This series explores why and how scholars can identify individual voices. The series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.#p#分頁標題#e#

Tip # 3 – Putting it to Work 

 

Finding your voice is not just finding a writing identity. It is finding effective academic expression in terms that come naturally to you. This is important. Too often, writers who try to write outside themselves in the style of another academician encounter mental blocks. They get stuck and can’t proceed. Writers who have developed an individual voice navigate around these obstacles more easily because their thinking and writing are in harmony. While this advantage sometimes is underappreciated, writers who find their own voice know the difference.

尋找自己的表達方式不只是發展個人寫作特色，而是在寫學術文章時，用你自然想到的詞句，讓表達更簡潔有力。這一點很重要，常有人想以其他學者的風格寫作，結果妨礙了思考，讓自己困在原地無法繼續。如果能發展出自己的表達方式，代表思考與寫作風格能一致，如此就比較容易越過障礙。有些人無法了解其中的好處，但找到自己表達方式的人就知道個中分別。 

 

Whatever voice you have discovered as your own, continue to refine it as your academic career advances. If your voice is didactic—that is, instructive in tone and delivery—help it grow to where you smoothly lead your readers to a conclusion rather than harangue them. If it is vigorous in tone, make sure you don’t wear out your readers with uncontrolled energy. If it is vibrant in its language, guard against overpowering readers with too much imagery and color. Above all, keep your voice active, direct and purposeful. A passive voice will put a reader to sleep every time.

無論你發現自己屬于哪一種表達方式，記得在學術生涯中不斷精進表達。如果你的表達屬于教導式，也就是語調說法是在指導人怎么做，要加強表達，將讀者自然導向結論，而不流于冗長的說教。如果你語調鏗鏘有力，切記不要過分熱切，讓人讀到疲乏。如果你的語言生動活潑，小心別使用過多意象與色彩，讓人讀到招架不住。最重要的是，表達方式要積極、直接、言之有物，消極被動的表達肯定會讓人讀到睡著。

 

A personal style of writing is the final piece in a well-organized, thoroughly researched and carefully cited paper. Academic writing is, of course, first “academic” and secondarily “writing.” In other words, a paper’s content, organization, citations, and originality constitute the critical mass in determining its success. Yet writing carries the biggest burden. It transcends all the rest. Writing that is effective and identifiably yours can partly mask a paper’s shortcomings in structure and sourcing, but only partly. Never rely on an authentic voice to sell a poor paper.#p#分頁標題#e#

一篇dissertation如果結構嚴謹、研究透澈、引用清楚，再運用個人獨特的表達方式，就能畫龍點睛。學術寫作首要自然還是「學術」，其次才是「寫作」。換言之，一篇dissertation的內容、架構、引用、原創性最重要，決定了dissertation成敗。不過寫作凌駕其他部分，肩負表達文章主旨的大任。如果寫作清楚準確，并有你自己獨有的表達方式，可以掩蓋dissertation結構與引用數據的部分缺點，但也只是部份而已。千萬別想靠獨創的表達方式來掩蓋dissertation的拙劣。