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不是“文学霓虹灯”,而是基本功 精选

已有 11466 次阅读 2009-3-9 03:34 |个人分类:科研论文|系统分类:观点评述

在博客和小木虫网站介绍一些科技写作的书籍和方法后,大多读者说很有用,也有个别读者说我在搞“文学霓虹灯”。我的观点是:不是“文学霓虹灯”,而是基本功!

科技写作不是文学问题,因为科技写作中用的词(除了专业术语外)没有一个超过英语中最基本的5000词的范围,而使用华丽的词藻只能适得其反。如果要说我强调表达是超过正常范围,那只能说自己孤陋寡闻,不知道国际发展形势。

最近牛津大学出版社出版了一本Write Like a Chemist,整本书700页都在教怎样写好化学论文。这里面当然有基本功的训练,比如怎么用字和句子。但是这里也一个部分、一个部分的介绍如何写每一个部分,每一部分的套路是什么。

比如该书讲道写引言部分的时候,在介绍文献背景后,要指出文献中存在什么空缺(Gap),然后指出本文准备用什么手段填补什么空缺。(见下面的英语原话。)

Move 2: Identify a Gap

After the importance of a research has been identified and the relevant background has been summarized, the Introduction section shifts from a focus on what has been done (or learned) to an emphasis on what remains to be done (or learned). This change in emphasis is signaled with a gap statement. This gap statement points out what is lacking in the field and, in so doing, infers the next step that needs to be taken.

Move 3: Fill the Gap

After the gap has been established, the last move of the Introduction is to fill the gap. The authors must show how the current work takes at least a small step forward toward addressing the specific need, problem, or lack of knowledge in the field. The start of the third move is commonly signaled with a new paragraph and a phrase such as "In this paper," or "In this work, we...". Following this phrase, the authors go on, typically in a sentence or two, to tell the readers about the current work.

该书还非常有用地指出如何写讨论部分,把讨论部分分为几个步骤来写,其中最后一个步骤为:

This is followed by a brief narrative that suggests implications and/or applications if the work and addresses at least one of the following questions:

> What are the implications of the work?
> What new insights were gained?
> How has the work increased our fundamental understanding of the research area?
> What are the practical applications of this work?
> How will the work affect the society (e.g., industry, medicine, technology, the environment)?

To answer these questions, authors must look beyond the specific details of their own work and focus instead on the broader goals of the research project. Attaining this broader outlook can be challenging, especially for students who spend most of their time focused on only a small part of a large project. Over time, however, your grasp of the broader picture will improve as you continue to read the literature, attend seminar and conferences, and read and write research proposals in your area of research.

以上那些教科书里的话太妙了,说出了我的心声,也指出不会写作的学生作者和成熟了以后情况的区别。

我的主要观点和以上教科书的说法都是吻合的,没有超出正规的科学写作的范围,从来也没有要别人用华丽的词藻。以前博导(Journal of Physical Chemistry资深编辑、Journal of Molecular Catalysis A十年区域编辑)告诉我说他作为编辑读了很多中国人的文章,发现很多都是堆砌数据。要说数据对不对?也对。但是说明了什么问题?(So what?)你把电灯泡砸开取出钨丝来测反应动力学,数据对不对,对的,但是有什么意义?

为了说明在“文章意义”层次的深层次开掘,为了说明这种做法是国际惯例不是我特别想出来的,我举例子说有篇Nature Materials文章的第二段和最后一段的所谓“文学表述”(其实根本不是文学,而是科研写作的基本功能!)特别好,是画龙点睛之笔。

Tuning Selectivity in Catalysis by Controllong Particle Shape
I. Lee, F. Delbecq, R. Morales, M.A. Albiter, F. Zaera*, Nature Materials 8 (2009) 132-138.
http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v8/n2/full/nmat2371.html

再看看下面两篇文章。别的不用说,事实就是事实,至少别人发了高档次文章。如果不相信这个,只能说明孤陋寡闻。我从来也没有说好的文章不需要好的点子和实验,从来也没有说过。我也从来没有说过写科研论文需要文学,事实上不需要文学,需要的只是“基本功”。问题的焦点在于,什么是“基本功”,对基本功的界定,每个人都不一样。但是既然有国际教科书和好文章摆在哪里,事实摆在哪里,可见国内外的认知、学生和国外教授的认知还是有很大区别的。

Hydrocarbon Chain Growth on V(100) Single-Crystal Surfaces via Vinyl Intermediates
Min Shen, Francisco Zaera*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 6583-6585.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120841455/abstract

Synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts with well shaped platinum particles to control reaction selectivity
I. Lee, R. Morales, M.A. Albiter, F. Zaera*, PNAS, October 7, 2008, vol. 105, no. 40, pp. 15241-15246.
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/40/15241.abstract

《How to Write a Successful Science Thesis》2006年由德国Wiley-VCH出版社(德国应用化学会志的出版社)出版。

p. 38. 说到一段话里面句子和意思的起承转合。"The first sentence in every paragraph warrants special sttention. One of its principal functions is to let the reader know what the ensuing discussion is about, for which reason it is often referred to as the "topic sentence". The corresponsing topic is then pursued in sentences that immediately follow, with the final sentence in the paragraph so crafted that it supplies a bridge to the next paragraph.”

p. 91.说到写结果部分要"tell a story",不要报数据。"Establish the objective of 'telling a story', with a beginning, a gradual unfolding, and a 'happy end', and encourage each thread to envolve naturally from the one preceding it; make sure, incidentally, that episodes related to sideshows (because they have little to do with the central message) are readily recognized as such--or else omitted altogether."

p. 94.说到写结果部分,说什么话,都是要有目的的,不能为了堆数据而堆数据。"Finally, make your objectives clear to the reader throughout your exposition. Don't be one of those writers who seem intent on spewing forth a relentless torrent of isolated facts. Maintain a consistent focus on your goals."

p. 98.说到不必根据真实的实验顺序来描述和讨论数据,而是要有全局观点,想我要反映什么观点,达到什么目的,“卖”什么东西,然后“整理”出一个“故事”来,出的每一张牌都围绕着这个观点。"As you organize your thoughts, make a conscious effort to distance yourself from the actual chronology of the research experience. Experimental work is by definition a journey into the unknown, fraught with detours and dead ends, but all such obstacles are basically irrelevant from a scientific standpoint. Look upon your dissertation--as you would any other research report--not as a memoir documenting and explaining your every activity, but instead as a proclamation of a set of new insights. How you achieved your results may perhaps play some role in your mentor's appraisal of your efforts, but otherwise it will be of interest only to the extent that certain intimate details may be critical from a methodological standpoint."

p. 102说到在讨论部分的结尾该如何使用画龙点睛之笔。"Near the end of your discussion you may want to be bold and suggest interesting avenues for future exploration: promising approaches to resolving remaining uncertainties, ideas for broadening the scope of a methodology you have developed, or ways of possibly refining your results. If so, be sure the suggestions you make are concrete... Of paramount concern in a Discussion is setting your findings in the proper perspective, which entails emphasizing--just as you presumably will in the abstract as well--the novelty and significance of your accomplishments."

所以我的结论是:不是“霓虹灯”,而是基本功!不是文学,而是专业学术底子。没有学术水平,不知道要做什么、有什么意义是写不好文章的。

我并没有说原创性和做实验不重要,我从来也没有说过。至于原创性、做实验和写作哪个更重要更是不值得讨论,因为这全是“假命题”、“文字游戏”,你说哪个不重要?

那么有人问我为什么选择性地在博客“强调”写作方法而不是实验方法?我要说在博客里面写什么都是博主的自由:一则,博主总是写体会深的东西;二则,写具体的实验内容,由于专业不一样,观众还看不懂呢;三则,如果写未发表的东西,岂不是构成泄密?

其实,当博主在介绍写作方法的时候,早就有“隐含的”假设前提(assumption)在里面了,那就是原创性和实验数据也重要的,用中学语文老师的话说:破棉花胎怎么能织成皮夹克?但是,为什么博主不把这些“隐含的”假设前提说出来呢?我的回答是:这是常识,这还需要说吗?不信的话大家看看网上一则关于如何写科研经费申请书的资料,上面有介绍怎么做实验吗?上面有介绍怎么购买、搭建仪器,怎么招研究生吗?不同的文章侧重点不一样,当然都有隐含的假设前提,不能想当然说文章说了什么就代表其它都不重要。http://www2.hrbust.edu.cn/xueyuan/guanli/upload/200911312579.pdf

如果有人说我的关于科研写作的介绍误导了研究生,那我说:那是他自己的事情。河南有很多少林寺武术学校,大多数人练了功夫强身健体,成为警察保安,而少数人练了功夫走火入魔,成为飞檐走壁的坏人,这是练功的人自己的本质问题,和少林功夫没有关系。

至于有人说有的人风气不好,专门把文献漏引或引在角落里面,并恶意夸大成果。那我要说,这和我介绍的东西有什么关系?不能因为星宿老怪使用歪门邪功而否定降龙十八掌吧?


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