The Most Common Habits from more than 200  English Papers written by Graduate Chinese Engineering Students

By Felicia Brittman

这篇文章通过示例，一对一的指出原文写法错误是什么，应该怎么写，为什么会出现这个错误，并给出一些修改建议。可以作为自己写作前指导或写作后检查指导。并且有斯坦福视频写作课可以同步提高。

错误或不合适的写法用删除线删掉以示区分，修改的位置高亮显示Incorrect 

Introduction部分也删掉了，无外乎强调现状不好、此文章有意义。下面直入正题。

最常见错误用法

a, an, the 冠词的漏用、错用

下面的这个articles单词看着头疼，在这儿它的含义是 冠词。

The single most common habit is the omission of articles a, an, and the. This occurs because Mandarin has no direct equivalent of articles and the rules for using them are somewhat complicated for a non-native speakers.

Articles signal that a noun will follow and that any modifiers between the article and the noun refer to that noun (a big blue bicycle / the first award). A and an are indefinite articles; the is a definite article. Every time a singular noncount noun, a common noun that names one countable item, is used the noun requires some kind of determiner.

Mistake: The, a, and an are 1) omitted where they are required, 2) used where they are not needed or contribute to wordiness 3) used wrongly in place of the correct article.

Examples of incorrect usages:

• Figure 2 shows the distribution of relative velocity on surface of main and splitter blades.

• Figure 2 shows the distribution of relative velocity on the surface of the main and splitter blades.

• The software PowerSHAPE is chosen to be a 3D modeling tool; it is good at dealing with free surfaces and curves.

• The software PowerSHAPE is chosen to be the 3D modeling tool; it is good at dealing with free surfaces and curves.

Note: There was only one 3D modeling tool used in this study, therefore ‘3D modeling tool’ is specific and requires the article the.

• A theoretical method for calculating the inner flow-field in centrifugal impeller with splitter blades and investigation of the interactions between main and splitter blades is presented in this paper. The vortices are distributed on the main and splitter blades to simulate the effects of flows. Systematical study of number and distribution of vortices is conducted.

• A theoretical method for calculating the inner flow-field in a centrifugal impeller with splitter blades and an investigation of the interactions between main and splitter blades is presented in this paper. The vortices are distributed on the main and splitter blades to simulate the effects of flows. A systematical study of the number and distribution of vortices is conducted.

• Theoretically, remanufacturing could fully take advantage of resources contained in EOF product thereby minimizing impact on environment to the greatest extent compared to landfill or recycling of materials; consequently it contributes greatly to resource conservation.

• Theoretically, remanufacturing could fully take advantage of resources contained in an EOF product thereby minimizing the impact on the environment to the greatest extent compared to landfill or recycling of materials; consequently it contributes greatly to resource conservation.

Definitions:

Articles: Also called determiners or noun markers, articles are the words a, an, and the. A and an are indefinite articles, and the is a definite article. Articles signal that a noun will follow and that any modifiers between the article and the noun refer to that noun. ( a cold , metal chair/ the lightning-fast computer).

Determiners：A word or word group, traditionally identified as an adjective, that limits a noun by telling how much or how many about it. (expression of quantity, limiting adjective, marker) They tell whether a noun is general (a tree) or specific (the tree). The is a definite article. Before a noun, the conveys that the known refers to a specific item (the plan). A and an are indefinite articles. They convey that a noun refers to an item in a nonspecific or general way (a plan).

Common nouns：A noun that names a general group, place, person, or thing: dog, house.

Count noun：A noun that names an item or items that can be counted: radio, streets, idea, fingernails.

Noncount nouns：A noun that names a thing that cannot be counted: water, time.

Specific noun：A noun understood to be exactly and specifically referred to; uses the definite article the.

Nonspecific noun：A noun that refers to any of a number of identical items; it takes the indefinite articles a , an.

Very long sentences句子太长

Very long sentences are especially common in Chinese-English writing because the writers often translate directly from Chinese to English. Although, in Chinese writing it is acceptable to put several supporting ideas in on sentence to show their relationship, in English,the main idea and each supporting idea is typically written in separate sentences.

One can usually recognize a very long sentence by its length – sixty words or more. However, sentences of smaller lengths can also be too long if they contain multiple statements that confuse the main idea. Long sentences can be avoided by limiting each sentence to one or two topics. Semicolons should be used where the writer really wants to emphasize the relationship between ideas.

• According to the characteristic of fan-coil air-conditioning systems, this paper derives the cooling formula of fan-coil units based on the heat transfer theories and puts forward a new method to gauge cooling named Cooling Metering on the Airside, which can monitor the individual air-conditioning cooling consumption during a period of time by detecting the parameters of inlet air condition – temperature and humidity – of the fan-coil air-conditioning system as well as the parameters of inlet cooling water provided by the chiller.

• This paper derives the cooling formula of fan-coil units based on the characteristics of fan-coil air-conditioning systems and heat transfer theories, and puts forward a new method to gauge cooling called Cooling Metering on the Air-side. The new method can monitor individual air-conditioning cooling consumption during a period of time by detecting the condition of inlet air – temperature and humidity – of the fan-coil air-conditioning system as well as the parameters of the inlet cooling water provided by the chiller.

• The gear transmission is grade seven, the gear gap is 0.00012 radians, the gear gap has different output values corresponding to any given input value, nonlinearity of the gear gap model can be described by using the phase function method, the existing backlash block in the non-linear library of the Matlab/zdimulink toolbox can be used, the initial value of gear gap in the backlash block is set to zero.

• The gear transmission is grade seven. The gear gap, which is 0.00012 radians, has different output values corresponding to any given input value. The nonlinearity of the gear gap model can be described by using the phase function method. The existing backlash block in the non-linear library of the Matlab/zdimulink toolbox can be used; the initial value of gear gap in the backlash block is set to zero.

这个不是太长，而是一逗到底，常见到多个句子用逗号连接的情况，造成一句话很多谓语

Another type of super-long sentence that frequently occurs in technical papers is that of a list. The writer wants to give a large amount of data, usually parameter values, and puts this information into one long, paragraph-sized sentence. However, the best way to give such type and quantity of information is to tabulate it (put it in a bulleted list).

The clear height of the case is 6.15 meters; the thickness of the roof is 0.85 meters; the thickness of the bottom is 0.90 meters, the overall width is 26.6 meters, the overall length of the axial cord is 304.5 meters, the length of the jacking p is about 148.8 meters; the weight of the case is about 24127 tons.

Right way

• Case clearance height    6.15 meters

• Roof thickness    0.85 meters

• Bottom thickness    0.90 meters

• Overall width    26.6 meters

• Overall length of the axial cord    304.5 meters

• Length of the jacking p    148.8 meters (approx.)

• Weight of the case    24127 tons (approx.)

Prefacing the main idea of a sentence by stating the purpose,location or reason first 重点突出的语句在前

Chinese writers often preface the main topic of a sentence by first stating the purpose, location, reason, examples and conditions as introductory elements. However, this has the effect of demoting the importance of the main idea and making the reader think the author is indirect. Bring the main idea to the beginning of the sentence stating any locations, reasons, etc., afterwards.

• For the application in automobile interiors, this paper studies the nesting optimization problem in leather manufacturing.

• This paper studies the nesting optimization problem in leather manufacturing for application in automobile interiors.

这个即便在CNS里面，也会有这么写的。模仿CNS文章 (虽然外教总说CNS文章写的烂)，也有了每个p以目的句开头的习惯，还是多看看老外写的，找找规律，能不能矫正过来

• Especially when numerical control (NC) techniques[4] are widely used in industry and rapid prototype methods[5][6] bring a huge economical benefits, the advantage of constructing 3D model[7][8][9] becomes extremely obvious.

• The advantage of constructing a 3D model[7][8][9] becomes extremely obvious especially when numerical control (NC) techniques[4] are widely used in industry and rapid prototype methods[5][6] bring a huge economical benefits.

这个写法挺好，重点在前。

• Inside the test box, the space was filled with asbestos.

• The space inside the test box was filled with asbestos. (更简洁)

• In practice, we employed this approach to dispose of a wheelhouse subassembly of one kind of auto-body, and the results show that this method is feasible.

• We employed this approach to dispose of a wheelhouse subassembly of one kind of auto-body, and the results show that this method is feasible.

• To ensure sheet metal quality as well as assembly quality, CMMs are widely used in automotive industry production.

• CMMs are widely used in automotive industry production to ensure sheet metal quality as well as assembly quality.

Tendency of placing phrases which indicate time at the beginning of a sentence

• When U is taken as the control parameter, the BDs for ∆=0.0, 0.001, 0.005 are shown in Fig. 8.

• Figure 8 shows the BDs for ∆=0.0, 0.001, and 0.005 when U is taken as the control parameter.

Place the most important subject at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis

• Based on the triangulation structure built from unorganized points or a CAD model, the extended STL format is described in this p.

• The extended STL format is described in this p based on the triangulation structure built from unorganized points or a CAD model.

• The 3D dentition defect and restoration element models are designed precisely with complicated surfaces.

• The 3D dentition defect and restoration element models with complicated surfaces are designed precisely.

which/that

The antecedent (noun or pronoun) to which which refers is not specific, causing confusion. (这个倒是常碰到指意不明)

Antecedent: The noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers.

‘The Shijiazhuang south road underground bridge possesses the largest jacking force, which is built at 1978(10680t).’ [‘Shijiazhuang south road underground bridge possesses the largest jacking force which is built at 1978(10680t).’

Absolute truths in paleontology are often elusive, and even the filmmakers were surprised at the fierce arguments that split the scientists when an initial brainstorming session was else.

Respectively and respective

Respectively refers back to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned. If two lists are given, respectively pairs the list entries according to the order in which they are given. In this case the use of respectively is to allow the writer to give a lot of information without confusing the reader or writing several short sentences. Respectively is usually at the end of the sentence. In both cases, mentioning the order must be important to the meaning of the sentence otherwise it is not used.

For example: Bobby, Nicole and Daren wore red, green and blue coats, respectively.

Respective to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned.

The uses of these two words are usually incorrect or confusing as in the following examples.

1.Respectively is misplaced in the sentence; it is put before the nouns to which it refers.

• Equations 2～6 can be respectively linearized as:……(equations given)…

• Equations 2～6 can be linearized as:……(equations given)…, respectively.

• The weights of the two experts are respectively 0.600 and 0.400.19

• The weights of the two experts are 0.600 and 0.400, respectively.

2.Respectively is inserted to express that there is a certain order in which something was done. However, the order is already implied elsewhere in the sentence or does not need to be expressed because it does not add value to meaning of the sentence.

• If both the core technology score and core quality score of a bottleneck process are, respectively, below certain scores, then we refer to strategy 1, otherwise, if either is, respectively, above a certain score, then we refer to strategy 2. Similarly, if the core technology and core quality are, respectively, above a certain score, then we refer to strategy 3, otherwise, if either is, respectively, below a certain score, then we refer to strategy 4.

• If both the core technology score and core quality score of a bottleneck process are below certain scores, then we refer to strategy 1, otherwise, if either is above a certain score, then we refer to strategy 2. Similarly, if the core technology and core quality are above a certainscore, then we refer to strategy 3, otherwise, if either is below a certain score, then we refer to strategy 4.

• Then, the rows of vortex due to both of the long and short blades are transformed into two singularities on the ζ -plane and integrate the induced velocity along the bladesrespectively.

• Then, the rows of vortex due to both of the long and short blades are transformed into two singularities on the ζ -plane and integrate the induced velocity along the blades.

  3. In addition to 2, it is unclear to what ‘respectively’ refers.

• The dynamic characteristics of a rotor with asymmetric stiffness or with initial warp have been studied before respectively.

• The dynamic characteristics of a rotor with asymmetric stiffness or with initial warp have been studied before.

• The inlet and outlet temperature of the air cooler were measured using two thermocouples respectively.

• The inlet and outlet temperature of the air cooler were measured using two thermocouples.

In this paper, in this study

Two errors occur when these phrases are used. The first is overuse. In some papers written by Chinese, these phrases can occur as much as twice per page. In papers written by native English writers these phrases are reserved for primarily two uses

1. In the introduction and conclusion to emphasize the content of the paper.

2. In the body of the paper, after referring to work not done by the author such as in other journal articles or in standard.

Therefore, if either phrase occurs more than three times in a paper, its use is questionable. Actually, the reader is aware that the work presented is by the author (unless the author states otherwise) so there is no reason to repeat these phrases.

The second error is more subtle. The two phrases are interchanged.

• In this paper, IDEAS was used to ….

• In this study, IDEAS was used to….

• In the paper, a SZG4031 towing tractor is used as the sample vehicle, it components equivalent physical parameters are obtained by UG design and testing.

• In this study, a SZG4031 towing tractor is used as the sample vehicle, it components equivalent physical parameters are obtained by UG design and testing.

The ‘study’ is the work the author/s did. The paper is the mode to present this work and is what the reader is holding/ reading. Keep in mind the writer can also use other phrases such as ‘in this research’, and ‘this paper present’.

Numbers and Equations

Two very common errors are those concerning the presentation of Arabic numerals, and equations. Chinese writers usually write Arabic numerals instead of spelling out the word. The use of Arabic numerals, itself, is not an error however; they should never be used at the beginning of sentences.

• 12 parameters were selected for the experiment.

• Twelve parameters were selected for the experiment. (常犯，这个写法好)

In addition, Arabic numerals are overused. Arabic numerals should be used to give data in technical papers, however they should not be used to give general information.

• All 3 studies concluded that the mean temperature should be 30°C.

• All three studies concluded that the mean temperature should be 30°C.

This probably stems from the fact that Mandarin is a symbolic language and not alphabetic. Thus, the writer will find it easier to write a symbol that expresses the idea instead of the word. This problem is even more serious when equations are used in place of words in a way that is not practiced by native English speakers. Consider the following examples.

Equations should be introduced as much as possible, not inserted in place of words. Most journals, like the International Journal of Production Research, discourage the use of even short expressions within the text.

• If the power battery SOC > SOClo and the driving torque belongs to the middle load,…

• If the power battery SOC is greater than SOClo and the driving torque belongs to the middle load,… (以后还是不要想着给杂志社省纸张了)

Format

Paragraphs

A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop one topic or thought.

Paragraphs are separated to indicate the end of one idea or thought and the beginning of another. All English paragraphs start on a new line with an indent of about one inch or with an extra line between the two paragraphs. The latter is more typical for business writing.

Chinese students are often puzzled by separating paragraphs; the may perform one of two error. One error occurs when the writer fails to distinguish between two paragraphs. Although the new paragraph starts on a new line, there is no indentation, therefore, the reader in is not aware of the change in paragraphs or ideas. The second error occurs when a paragraph is preceded by a single sentence on a single line. The single line is indented along with the succeeding paragraph as in example #. This commonly occurs in Chinese texts but is never done in English.

Figure and Table

这个一般不会犯错，找篇杂志的文章，人家怎么写，就跟着怎么写。缩写加点是习惯用法，包括杂志名字也是。具体见参考文献中杂志名字格式混乱问题一次解决

The abbreviations for figure and table are Fig. and Tbl., respectively. However, the abbreviation of table is rarely seen in text. One can also write fig. for figure. However, one should choose one convention and use it throughout the paper. You should not switch between, Figure, figure, Fig, or fig. In addition, abbreviations are not used at the beginning of sentences and a space belongs between the word/ abbreviation and the number.

• Figure.6, Figure6, Fig.6, Tbl10

• Figure 6, Fig. 6, Tbl. 10

Variables: Variables, especially those of the English alphabet, should be italicized in technical papers to distinguish them from English words. Of course, this depends on the style required by the journal.

Capitals: Be careful that capitals are not in the middle of the sentence. (打开拼写检查就好了)

• In table 1, The mark…

• In table 1, the mark…

such as and etc.

Such as and etc. are commonly misused by Chinese-English writers. Such as means ‘for example’ and implies that an incomplete list will follow; etc. means ‘and so on’ and is used at the end of a list to show it is not complete. Therefore, using such as and etc. together is redundant. (类似汉语的比如说..等等)

• Studies of methodology and process of implementing remanufacturing mainly focus on durable products such as automobile motors, printers, and etc.*Studies of methodology and process of implementing remanufacturing mainly focus on durable products such as automobile motors, and printers.

Such as means that an incomplete list will be given and should not be used when a complete list is given.

• Compared to traditional industry, Micro-electronic fabrication has three characteristics such as high complexity, high precision and high automation.

• Compared to traditional industry, Micro-electronic fabrication has three characteristics: high complexity, high precision and high automation.

系统类错误

1) Some words have identical singular and plural forms and do not need an s added on to make them plural. These words include: (复数无需加s)

• literature (when referring to research)

• equipment

• staff (referring to a group of people)

• faculty

2) 写作冗余

3) 自带复数含义

4) Never begin an English sentence with abbreviations and Arabic numerals such as Fig. and 8. Instead write Figure and Eight.

5) Do not write ‘by this way’. Instead write by doing this, or using this method.

6) Never write ‘How to…’ at the beginning of a sentence. (Don’t say it either.)

• How to find the optimal parameter is the main objective.

• Determining how to find the optimal parameter is the main objective.

7) Do write the results are shown in Figure 2. Do not write ‘the results are showed as Figure 2’.

8) Italicize variables appearing in the text to differentiate them from words. This is especially important when the variables are English alphabets. Write ‘The graph shows t, a, and C as a function of time’. Do not write ‘The graph shows t, a, and C as a function of time’.

9) Refrain from using the wordobviouslyin a technical paper in the following way

• Obviously, detecting regimes by means of PMH maps is a novel method.

• Detecting regimes by means of PMH maps is a novel method.8

10) International papers should not use location dependant terms such as ‘at home’, ‘abroad’, ‘here’, ‘our country’ because the reader most likely is not Chinese and not in China. Instead, write ‘in China’. (这句话写的好像就我们中国人写不好英语似的)

11) Avoid overusing the phrasesthat is to sayandnamely. Instead, try to convey your meaning in one sentence.

12) Do not usetooat the end of a written sentence, especially in a technical paper.

References

1. 原文

   http://www.cjig.cn/UploadFile/The%20Most%20Common%20Habits%20from%20more%20than%20200%20English%20Papers%20written.pdf

2. 植物科学最前沿公众号
   

科学写作视频课

这些内容在斯坦福2013年开设的写作课程都有提及，讲师是生物背景，更适合我们做生物科研的人学习。茶余饭后听一听，既可以提高听力，更能提高写作。

http://online.stanford.edu/course/writing-in-the-sciences。

怎么组织文章

前面是语法，这篇是结构。可以参考怎么组织文章。另外一个是仿照同领域高水平文章，在模仿中进步。

http://thegrantlab.org/news/2016/09/18/structuring-your-scientific-paper/

文章图表规范

• 文章用图的修改和排版 (1)

• 文章用图的修改和排版 (2)

• 简单强大的在线绘图

• 简单强大的在线绘图-升级版

• 论文图表基本规范

• 学术图表的基本配色方法

唠叨

写作最重要的是多读，读的多才能写的好。不然只是干写，较难进步。在阅读中，体会那些自己想写却写不出来的句子，有醍醐灌顶的感觉。潜移默化的，就进步了。

学习程序也一样：了解了语法，就是多读别人的代码。看到一个有一个精巧的解决问题的方式，学到了，可以灵活运用了，就能提高了。附送两篇文章

• 生物信息之程序学习