英文写作及准备的几个技巧

小弟不才，迄今才撰写了三篇英文文章，但写作过程中也积累了一点经验，不敢敝帚自珍，今天也斗胆向各位虫友贡献一下。我这几篇文章，不论内容如何，但每次审稿人对于语言的评价都是还不错的，well written，总结起来不外有三个小窍门：

一是平时多积累。我在日常读文献的时候，如果发现很好的句子句式，都会记录在一个文档里面，如下面的一段话，就是我在一篇文章的摘要中发现的：

This paper describes the concept of sensor networks which has been made viable by the convergence of microelectro-mechanical systems technology, wireless communications and digital electronics. First, the sensing tasks and the potential sensor networks applications are explored, and a review of factors influencing the design of sensor networks is provided. Then, the communication architecture for sensor networks is outlined, and the algorithms and protocols developed for each layer in the literature are explored. Open research issues for the realization of sensor networks are also discussed.

文章用词忌重复，中文如此，英文亦然。特别是动词的使用，如在一段话中出现了几个相同的动词，感觉文章就跌价不少，而如果用了几个意思相近而又贴切的词，自然就会增色几分。如上文中的describe，explore，provide，outline和discuss，就使得文章有了文采，值得学习和收藏。坚持收集例句，素材多了，自然自己的造句的时候就有底子了。此外，还要注意，在收集例句的过程，随着例句的增多，也需要对例句进行整理和分类，方便学习和检索。

二是注意行文中Transition words的使用。Transition words就是在行文过程中，连接意义相关句子的词，如Therefore，thus，in particular等等。使用这些词，会使得文章连贯性好，逻辑性强，读起来一气呵成，自然会给审稿人好印象。下面是一个关于Transition words的一个总结，供各位虫友参考：

Transitions Study Sheet

Transitions for time:

before, afterward, after, next, then, as soon as, later, until, when, finally, last, meanwhile, during, at times, sometimes, oftentimes

Example: WWII broke out in Europe in 1939.During this time the United States remained neutral.It wasn’t until 1941, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, that the United States entered the war.After its entry, it was only a matter of time before the Allies defeated Germany and the Axis powers.

Transitions for place:

in the background, in the distance, beyond, behind, above, below, in front of, elsewhere, in the middle, to the left, to the right

Example:My favorite painting is Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.In the middle of the painting stands Venus, the Roman goddess of love, standing on a seashell.She floats majestically above the beautiful water below her.To her left a figure representing wind blows fierce

clouds of wind in her direction.To her right a figure behind her attempts to cover her with a blanket and protect her.It is a truly breath-taking piece of art.

Transitions for examples:

for example, for instance, as an example, like, specifically, consider as an illustration, that is, such as, similar, similarly

Example:Oftentimes people who study from history fail to learn from the mistakes of the past.For example, during WWII Hitler decided to invade Russia just before wintertime.This decision was the same decision Napoleon made over a hundred years earlier, and Hitler’s army met a similar fate.Had he learned from his history, Hitler might have avoided making this costly mistake and the outcome for the war might have been different.For instance, if Hitler had decided to invade England by sea rather than Russia by land, he might well have won the war.

Transitions for emphasis:

chiefly, equally, indeed, even more important, in particular, most important, without a doubt, indubitably, unquestionably, definitely

Example:Without a doubt, Chinese food is one of my favorite cuisines.Although I find Japanese and Thai food equally delicious at times, Chinese food is definitely my favorite Asian cuisine.In particular I enjoy the spicy Szechuan style of cooking commonly found in Chinese food.

Transitions for restatement:

in short, that is, in effect, in other words

Example:When I asked my girlfriend to marry me she said, in effect, that she wouldn’t be ready for marriage until after she completed her PhD program.At first I was crushed, that is, I felt like she said no because she didn’t love me anymore.However, after she explained her reasons to me I felt better and agreed with her.In other words, I came away feeling better than I had anticipated.

Transitions for comparison:

similarly, likewise, also, the same as, different than, opposite, unlike, instead

Example:When my older brother was deciding where to go to college he spoke to my father about where he should go.Not surprisingly he went to the same school my father did, MIT.When it was time for me to choose a college I did the exact opposite.I didn’t ask my father where I should go, and as a result, I didn’t also go to MIT like he and my brother did.Instead I went to UCLA.

Transitions for concession:

although, of course, admittedly, true, doubtless, granted that, no doubt, indubitably, without a doubt, definitely, certainly

Example:Some people might be surprised to learn that the two most successful NBA teams of all-time are the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.Although neither of these teams is very good right now, they are the two teams with the most champions in NBA history.The Celtics definitely had the best streak of these two teams; winning eight championships in a row at one point.Admittedly there is always the chance that some future team could break this record, but this seems unlikely.Of course no one can predict the future with any certainty.

Transitions for consequence:

thus, so, then, it follows, as a result, therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, because

Example:I’m sorry, but I can’t let you turn in your homework late because it wouldn’t be fair to the other students.As a result your grade has dropped lower and you are now failing the class.Consequently you need to get 100% on the final so you can pass the class and then graduate from CAS.Therefore, I suggest you study very hard so I don’t have to fail you.Good luck!

Transitions for conclusion:

to sum up, in summary, finally, therefore, thus, in conclusion, to conclude

Example:Finally, Beijing has a lot of nice places to shop that appeal to tourists.To sum up then, Beijing is a wonderful place to visit because it has beautiful parks and historical monuments, friendly people and lots of nice places to shop.Thus any travelers who are planning to come to China should definitely visit Beijing during their stay.

Transitions for addition:

furthermore, in addition, besides, next, first, second, moreover

Example:UCLA is a wonderful university to attend as an undergraduate.First, it is respected academically and is well-known for its high standards of education.Furthermore, UCLA has a strong network of alumni who often recruit students to come work for them.Moreover students who do such work as undergraduates often receive jobs with these same companies once they graduate.In addition to these two benefits, UCLA also has exciting sports teams that are fun to watch.Besides, with so many good reasons to go to UCLA, why would you want to go anywhere else?

我的第三条经验就是句酷网站，，一个专门找例句的网站，也许有些虫友也知道。我们写文章的时候，很自然会想到一些中文的表达方法，但是常常苦于找不到贴切的英文表达，查电子词典，往往凑出来的句子也是面目全非。句酷网站提供了一个很好的查找例句的渠道（不是广告奥，呵呵），你可以通过中英文关键字，找到很多例句。比如，我想说“值得指出的是”，在句酷里面查了一下，找到了如下几个句子：

It is worth emphasizing that...

it is worth pointing out that ...

A point worth emphasizing is that...

感觉都还不错，都可以选用。更为关键的是，这些例句一般都会有出处，这样就可以根据例句内容和出处来选择比较地道的表述了。我的一个经验是，对于来自cnki.net的例句就得小心点，这些都是国内兄弟写的文章中的句子，常常不是很合适。

今天起得早，又睡不着，写这点东西，希望能对大家有一点点启发。上个月自己的第一篇trans的minor revision刚刚投出去，这些天一直在焦急的等待中，写点东西与大家分享，也顺便给自己祈祈福。第一次在小木虫写帖子，希望大家能喜欢，欢迎大家一起讨论，批评指正，谢谢！