Chapter13ScientificPapersWriting

WritingMethodologiesThecourseofscientificpaperswriting,inabroadsense,isthecourseofscientificresearch.Italsomeansthewholecoursefromscratchingtofinishingthepapersinanarrowsense.Itwillbediscussedinthenarrowsenseinthissection.Thewritingcourseofscientificpaperscanbedividedintothefollowingseveralsteps:choosingatopic,reviewingandcollectinginformation,analyzingtheinformation,summaryandorganizingideas,workingoutanoutline,writingthefirstdraft,revisingthedraftandfinalizingthepaper.[53]ChoosingatopicThechoosingandconfirmationofthetopicisthefirststepinscientificpaperswriting.Thetopicshouldreflecttheideasandviewpointsrefinedfromconcretematerials.Theseideasandviewpointsarecalledthetheme.Itisthesoulofthescientificpapers.Thevalueofanyscientificpaperdependsuponwhetherthethemeiscorrectanddeepornot.Afterthefinalconclusionisworkedoutfromthesubject,thethemesuitableforscientificpaperswritingisclearlyconspicuous.Therearetworespects.Oneistheconclusionprovestheoriginalimaginationatfirstwhenchoosingthetopic.Namelythethemehasbeenconfirmedatthebeginningofchoosingthetopic.Theotheristheconclusioninresearchdeniestheinitialimaginationwhollyorpartly.Thusanewconclusionisdrawn.Thisisanewtheme.Inbrief,thethemeistheembodimentofthewritingintention.Therearealsosomebasicprinciplesforchoosingagoodtopicthatcanpresentthedistillationofthepapers.(1)Thetopicshouldbechosenconcretely,nottriflingandisolated.Sothereadercanknowclearlythatwhatsubjectisstudied.(2)Thedifficultyofsubjectshouldbemoderate.Itshouldn’tbebeyondthewriter’sability.Thefeasibilityofthesubjectshouldbeconsideredfromeveryside.(3)Thesubjectshouldmaximizefavorablefactorsandminimizeunfavorableones.Makeeveryefforttofitinwiththespecialtythatthewriterstudies.(4)Thesubjecthadbetternotbedonebyforefathersinthisdiscipline.Orforefathershavedonesomethingonit,butstillnotcompleteorthereisfalsehood.(5)Thesubjectdirectionisapromisingdirection.(6)Basedondiscipline,thosesubjectshavingcertainpracticalvaluefornationaleconomicconstructionshouldbechosenemphatically.ReviewingandcollectinginformationThescientificpapersarethearticleswhichstatethescientificfindings.Itisapreconditionforscientificpaperswritingtooccupythematerialsindetails.Theessenceofscientificresearchistofindtheinherentlawofthingsandannounceitstrue.Thelawsarealwaysexistinalargenumberofphenomenaandthetrueessencealwaysiscontainedinthenumerousandcomplicatedmaterials.Tooccupythematerialsexhaustively,itispossiblefortheresearcherstoobtaintheirinherentlawsinsteadoffabricatingconclusionsintheanalysisandresearchofmaterials.Fromthepointsofviewofwriting,thematerialsarethefleshandbloodofthearticle.Theyarealsothecomponentsofthecontent,andthebackingandpillaroftheargumentofthethesis.Ifthereisonlyargumentwithpoormaterialsandinsufficientgrounds,itcan'tproveargumentclearly,concretelyandeffectively.Theargumentwillseemunconvincingandunable.Thediscoveryoftheproblemandtheclueofsolvingtheproblemalwaysexistinthematerials.Themoreabundanttheoccupationofthematerialsis,theclearerthequestionwillbe.Onlyafteroccupyagreatdealofmaterials,canwemakeclearwhattheproblemsthatourforefathershaven’tsolvedormentionedyetintherangeofresearchtopic.Ifwecollectmorematerialsaroundthesequestions,wecanmakeclearwherethekeyoftheproblemsis,andthenmayfindthecorrectanswertothequestion.Generally,thecollectionofmaterielmustfollowthefollowingrequirements.[54](1)Thematerialsshouldbeabsolutelynecessaryandabundant.Otherwisethethemecan’tbewelldisplayedbecauseoflackingofessentialmaterials.Whilewriting,theauthorshouldcatchthiskindofmaterials.Don’tadoptthematerialshavingnothingtodowiththetheme,nomatterhowdifficultlytoobtainthem.Butthematerialsshouldbeabundant,too.Ifthereisnocertainquantity,itisdifficulttoprovethequestionclearly,namelyso-called“l(fā)ackofevidence".Onlythereisenoughquantities,enoughessentialmaterialscanbeselectedfromit.(2)Thematerialsshouldbetrueandaccurate.Thematerialsshouldcomefromtheobjectivereality,namelycomefromsocialinvestigation,productionpracticesandscientificexperiment.Thescientificpapersemphasizesmuchonscientific.Anyuntrueorinaccuratematerialswillmaketheviewlosethecredibilityanddependability.Thusinordertoobtainthetrueandaccuratematerials,theresearchapproach,investigationmethodandexperimentschemeshouldbechoserationally,experimentoperateandthecollection,dealingwithofdatashouldbecorrect.Trybesttousethedirectmaterials.TheindirectmaterialsmustbeAnalyzedandchecked.(3)Thematerialsshouldbetypicalandnovel.Namelythematerialscanreflecttheessentialcharacteristicsofthethings.Suchmaterialscanmakethereasonspecificandmakethedescriptionvisual.Sothereisstrongerconvincingness.Inordertogetthetypicalmaterial,theinvestigationandresearchworkmustbedeepened.Otherwiseitisdifficulttocatchtheessenceofthething.Noveltymeansfresh,notoutmoded.Tomakethematerialnovel,itisthekeytodopioneeringworktoobtaintheinnovativeachievementconstantly.Meanwhile,thematerialsshouldbeselectedwide.Byanalyzingandcomparing,choosethenewmaterialthatcanreflectthenewdevelopment,newachievement,andabandontheoutmodedmaterials.Materialsofscientificandtechnologicalthesis,mainlyincludethescientificandtechnologicalmonograph,scientificandtechnologicalreport,scientificandtechnologicaldigest,patentdocumentation,technicalstandard,variouskindsofcollectionsofthesis(includingperiodicalthesis,collectionofthesis,meetingpapers,academicdissertationetc.),researchreport,laboratoryreport,experimentaltechniquereport,observingnotes(includesdrawing,photo,recording,videoetc.),technicalappraisementmaterialsandjournal,etc..Therearealsosomewaystocollectabove-mentionedrelevantmaterials.[55](1)Participateinrelevantexperiments,testandmakeinvestigationstoobtainthefirsthandmaterials.(2)Participateinsuchrelevantmeetingsasthesymposium,technologicalevaluationmeeting,seminar,technologicalseminar,projectdiscussion,etc.Andaskforrelevantmaterials.(3)Referencingto“nationalnewbooklist”andgotothebookstoretochooserelevantworksandperiodicals.(4)Search,read,duplicateandaskfororborrowtheusefulmaterialsinthelibrary.Analyzingtheinformation(5)Jointheinformationnetwork,obtainrelevantmaterialsfromthecompaniesconcernedorthenetexplorerinthenetwork,orgetrelevantscientificandtechnicalliteraturesfromcounterpart,friends.(6)MaterialsonInternetcanactasreference,butshouldnotberegardedasabasisgenerally.Itisveryimportanttoanalyzealargenumberofprimitivematerialsobtainedfirst.Cleanupthedatatoformaform.Whennecessary,drawafigureortakephotographyinordertokeepthetrueappearance.Reexamine,crosschecksomematerials,soastoensureitiscorrect.Centeringonthesubjectandthesiscontentclosely,distinguishandchoosethematerialstrictly.Seeclearlythenatureofthematerial.Distinguishthetruefromthefalse,estimatethevalueofthematerialsandweighthefunctionofthematerials.Besuretogiveupthematerialshavingnothingtodowiththethesis.Otherwiseitwillmakethecontentnumerousandjumbled.Forthematerialsthatarealreadychosen,theyshouldbepondereddeeplyandconsideredrepeatedlyinordertodeepenandimprovethemintheory.SummarizingandorganizingideasAfterdistinguishingandchoosing,duplicateneededmaterialsbyapplyingthetechnologicalmeansofcopyingorminiature.Sortoutthemseparatelyaccordingtonatureforusewhilewriting.Thearrangementlevelofthematerialsshouldbedistinct.Itshouldembodyinnerlinkamongmaterials.Assoonaswehavedecideduponatopicandourpurposeinwritingaboutit,weshouldstarttosummarizingandorganizingideas,astepthathelpsustothinkofasmanyideasaspossiblearoundthetopic.Thegenerationofideastakesdifferentforms.Insomecases,ifthewriterintendstowriteafairlyshortpieceonatopicaboutwhichshe/hehasgoodknowledge,brainstormingcancreateideas.Inpractice,thewritersetsasideaperiodoftimetothinkofideasforthewriting,jottingthemdownonpaperforfurtherconsideration.Morefrequently,however,acertainamountofresearchworkwillbenecessarytogeneratingideas,especiallywhenthewriterintendstowriteextensivelyonanacademictopic.Dependingonthesizeofthetask,thisstepmaytakeanywherefromafewofminutestoseveralmonthsorevenlonger.WorkingoutanoutlineTheprocessofresearchachievesthreepurposes.Oneishelpyoutodeterminewhatothershavealreadydoneinthearea.Thesecondistoacquirethebasicmethodsofresearch.Thethirdistogenerateideas.Bytheendoftheresearchstage,youwillhaveclearerideasaswellasaroughplanforyourpaper.Aclearoutlinehelpstoorganizethematerialslogically.Itshouldbeaframeworkthatliststheideasintheorderinwhichyouwilldiscussthem.Eachpartshouldbeheadedbyashortchaptertitle,whichisfollowedbyatopicsentence.Thisframeworkwillserveastheroadmapforthenextstage.Therearetwotypesofoutlines:sentenceoutlinesandtopicoutlines.Inasentencelineeachentryisacompletesentence.Inatopicoutlineeachentryisaphraseorasingleword.Whenmakingasentenceoutline,thewriterhastothinkouteachentrytoagreaterdegreethanforthetopicalform.Asaresult,thepossibilityofambiguityandvaguenessislessened.Butasthesentenceoutlinetakesalongertimetowrite,youmaywriteinsteadatopicoutline,whichisoftenfoundtobemorepracticalasaguideforwriting.Thecorrectoutlineformfollows5specificrules:(1)Placeatitleattheverybeginning.(2)Writeoutthecentralideaforthewholeoutline.(3)UseRomannumeralsⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,etc.todesignatethemainideasintheparagraphswhichareusedtoprovethecentralideaofthewholepassage.(4)Designatesupportingideasandexpandingideasatdifferentlevelsindescendingorder,first,bycapitalletters(A,B,C,etc.),next,byArabicnumerals(1,2,3,etc.),thensmallletters(a,b,c,etc.),thenArabicnumeralsinparentheses((1),(2),(3),etc.),followedbysmalllettersinparentheses((a),(b),(c),etc.).Writingthefirstdraft(5)Besurethattherearetwoormoremainideas,twoormoresupportingideasandsoon.Becausewheneveryoudivideanythingup,theminimumnumberofpartsistwo.Nowcomesthetimetowriteafirstdraft.Writesgenerallytrytofollowtheoutlinecloselywhiledevelopingeachideafully.Ifnewideasappearatthisstage,theyarejotteddownforlaterincorporationanddevelopment,iftherearetoomanynewideasfortheframeworktocontain,oneneedstoregresstorestartwithafreshoutline.Thisisthestagewhereachangeofmindmostoftenoccurs,andthereforeanopenmindfornewideasisimportant.Thewriterwouldalsoconcentratemoreonthedevelopmentofideasatthisstagethanthecorrectnessofgrammar,spelling,andothersurfacefeatures,ataskfortheeditingandproofreadingstage.Afterfinishingthefirstdraft,thewriterusuallysetsitasideforatime,anumberofhoursordaysaccordingtotimelimits,thiscreatesadistancebetweenthewriterandthewritingsothatwhenthetimecomestoreadthedraft,itisdonemoreobjectivelyandcool-headedly.RevisingthedraftandfinalizingthepaperRevisionisanextremelyimportantstepintheprocessofwriting.Nowriterexpectstowriteclearlyandsatisfactorilythefirsttimeround.Goodwritingistheresultofrepeatedrevision.Indeed,itisusuallythegoodwriterwhofindsthatmanypartsofthefirstdraftareunsatisfying.Someoftheideasmaynothavebeenadequatelydeveloped,whileotherideasmayhavefailedtosupportthethesis.Anumberofnewideasillustratingtheargumentsevenbettermayhaveappeared.Intheprocessofrevision,thewritermayalsoreturntodomoreresearch,thinking,andorganizing.Asaresult,bythetimetheseconddraftisfinished,itisusuallyquitedifferentintermsoforganizationandpresentationofideas.Eventhecentralideamayhavebeenadjustedbecauseofnewmaterialsandfactsgatheredfromtheresearch.Onemustbereasonablehowever:revisionisnever-endingprocess.Thetimemustcomewhenyouconsidertheworktobeasgoodasyoucanmakeit.Writing,asweseeit,isacomplexandrecursiveprocess.Thedifferentstagesofresearch,planning,drafting,revising,andeditingareallimportanttowardsthetargetofagoodfinalproduct.GeneralStructuresandFormatsThegeneralstructureofathesisisaunifiedwhole.Fromthebeginning,themiddletotheending,itshouldbeconsistent,wellarranged,andlogical.Thereisanintactcomposition.Thebasicpatternofthegeneralstructureofscientificthesisconsiststhreemainparts:Thepreface,bodyandconclusion.(1)Theprefaceproposesthecauseandimportanceofresearchsubject.Italsointroducesthebasicsituationinthisfield.(2)Thebodyshouldregardpropositionasthekeylink.Theargumentshouldbeclearandconclusive.Thescientificpaperisrefinedmoreconciselyinordertoexpressthemain,mostexcellentandcreativecontentinaresearchwork.Theviewmustbedistinctandisprovedbythefacts.Butitisunsuitabletoenumeratetoomanyfacts.IfquotingdocumentsMaterialsorothers'material,itshouldbemarkedinthefootnoteorthelistofreferencestoshowthesource.(3)Theconclusionputsforwardtheresultbriefly,whichproblemsaresolvedandwhichquestionsremainunsolvedforfurtherdiscusslater.

Asummarygivesthemainideas,majorsubtopicsandimportantdetailsofabodyofmaterials.Herearethestepsyoushouldfollowtomakeagoodsummaryofanarticle.1)Previewthearticlebytakingaquicklookatthefollowing:title,subtitle,thefirstparagraphandafewparagraphsattheend,andotheritemssuchasheadsorsubheads,pictures,chartsordiagrams,wordsorphrasessetoffinitalictypeorboldfaceprint,etc.2)Readthroughthearticleforgeneralstatementsandfordetailsorexamplesthatsupportthestatementsandmarkthemoff.AnalysesofTypicalIssues3)Rereadmorecarefullytheareasyouhaveidentifiedasthemostimportant.Also,focusonotherkeypointsyoumayhavemissedinyourfirstreading.4)Takenotesonthematerials.Afterthescientificandtechnologicalthesisisissuedout,itspurposeliesinexchangingmainly.Soitsh