教學材料《學術寫作》-Unit 9 Acknowledgments

9.1GeneralFunctionsInmostcases,thesectionofacknowledgmentsisthelastsectionofaresearchpaper.Astoathesisordissertationfordegrees,thesectionofacknowledgmentsisusuallyplacedpriortothebodyofthepaperonaseparatepage.However,nomatterwhereacknowledgmentsarelocated,theyallfunctiontoexpressauthors’appreciation.下一頁返回9.1GeneralFunctionsAcknowledgmentsaremainlyusedtoextendauthors’indebtednesstothehelpfulsupportorconcernfromtheircolleagues(orinstitutions)inofferingthemanyusefulmaterial,specimen,technicalknow-how,suggestions,oranyotherkindofenlightenment,etc.上一頁返回下一頁9.2LinguisticFeatures9.2.1PatternizedContentsThecontentlistedinthesectionofacknowledgmentsusuallyincludestwomajorparts:gratitudestopersonalorinstitutionalassistance,andgratitudestofinancialsupportfromdifferentsources.Forinstance,AcknowledgmentsTheauthorisgratefultotheNaturalSciencesandEngineeringResearchCouncilofCanadaforitsfinancialsupportforthisproject.下一頁返回上一頁9.2LinguisticFeaturesPersonalandinstitutionalassistancecanbetangibleandintangible.Personalassistancemaybetheprovidingofspecimen,testingagents,materials,instruments,species,datacollecting,drawing,photographing,etc.Institutionalassistancemayberesearchdesign,technicalinstruction,resultanalysis,advice,discussion,suggestion,etc.上一頁下一頁返回9.2LinguisticFeaturesTheorderoftheplacementhasbeencustomizedintermsofaddressees,like,“thosewhomadegreatercontributionsarethankedfirst,thosewhomadelesscontributionssecond,”“individualsfirst,institutionssecond,”etc.Forexample,上一頁下一頁返回9.2LinguisticFeaturesAcknowledgmentsTheauthorwishestoexpresshismostsincereappreciationtoProf.ZhengYing,whoreadthemanuscriptcarefullyandgavevaluableadvice.TremendousthanksareowedtoMr.WuXinghuaandLiLanhuiforhelpinghimwiththechemicalanalysis.TheauthorisalsoindebtedtoBeijingBeerFactoryforofferingsomesamples.上一頁下一頁返回9.2LinguisticFeatures9.2.2FormalizedExpressionsThereareasetoftermsandexpressionsusedinthesectionofacknowledgments.Forinstance,(1)...wishestoexpresshis(her)sincereappreciationto(somebody)...for(somethingordoingsomething)(2)Theauthor(s)is(are)indebtedto...for...(3)...thank...for...(4)Wewishtoexpressourthanksto...(5)Thanksaredueto...for...上一頁下一頁返回9.2LinguisticFeatures(6)...gratefullyacknowledgeto...for...(7)Thanksgoto...for...(8)Thisworkwassupportedinpartby...(9)Supportby...isgratefullyacknowledged.(10)Wehavealsobenefitedfrom...(11)Acknowledgementsaremadeto...for...(12)Thisinvestigationreceivedfinancialassistancefrom...上一頁返回9.3WritingRequirements9.3.1?Being?Specific?Notalltypesofacknowledgmentsareappropriatetoaformalpaper.Ingeneral,acknowledgmentsshouldonlybeforanydirecthelpinwritingorresearch.Financialsupportfortheworkdone,orhelpfromanauthor,orfromthelaboratorywheretheworkwasperformedshouldbestbeacknowledgedhereinfootnotestothetitleortoanauthor’sname.下一頁返回9.3WritingRequirementsThus,thehelp,assistance,support,etc.oftheaddresseeshouldbespecified,andtheaffiliationofthosewhoreceivetheauthor’sthanksshouldbeincludedaswell.9.3.2AvoidingUnder-orOver-StatementsThewordingandexpressionsusedinanacknowledgmentshouldbeappropriate.Neitherunderstatementnoroverstatementisadvised.上一頁下一頁返回9.3WritingRequirementsAlso,itisnotadvisabletomentiontoomanypersonswhohavemadeinsignificantorverygeneralhelptotheresearch.Acknowledgmentstotypistsorillustrators,forexample,arediscouraged;soareacknowledgmentstoanonymousreferees.上一頁下一頁返回9.3WritingRequirements9.3.3AskingforPermissionInprinciple,theaddresseeoftheacknowledgmentshouldbenotifiedbeforehand.Nomatterhowwelltheaddresserwouldwriteforanaddressee,theappreciationitselfandtheexpressionstobepublishedinthesectionofacknowledgmentsshouldbeacceptedandpermittedbytheaddressee.上一頁下一頁返回9.3WritingRequirementsInaddition,variousasthetypesofacknowledgmentsmaybe,itisrecommendednottomakethenamelisttoolongunlessitisreallyinneed.上一頁返回SpecialAttention:ConcretenessInanykindofwriting,professionalornon-professional,concreteorspecificlanguagemakesthewriter’sworkvigorous.Inprofessionalpapers,itisespeciallydesirablebecauseitgivesinformationmoreeffectively,accuratelyandreducesvaguenessandmisunderstanding.Forexample,hemaysay,“Inthissentence,theword‘big’isarelativeconcept,forthereisnoobjectivestandardtojudgehowbigisbig.”下一頁返回SpecialAttention:ConcretenessTheroommaybebigenoughbecausethesizesofdesksaresodifferentfromeachother.Onewhohasnotseenthisroominpersoncannotfindouttherealsizeofthisroom.Sothesentencemayberewrittenlikethis:Theareaofthisroomis320sq.ft.andsinceweneed8sq.ft.foradesk,itcanaccommodatefortydesks.上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:ConcretenessThereaderwouldliketoknowtherealsituationratherthantohearalotofinsanesubjectivejudgment.Tomaintainconcretenessortrustfulnessinprofessionalpapers,thefollowingskillsmaybeofhelp.1.?Using?Formal?VerbsVerbswithconcentratedmeaningsaremoreoftenusedthanphrasalverbstoavoiddubiousnessinmeaning.Forexample,上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:Concreteness(1)Thereflectedlightwastakeninbythetransducer.(general)→Thereflectedlightwasabsorbedbythetransducer.(academic)(2)Then,morewatermoleculeswilldiffusethroughthemembranefromtheweaksolutiontothestrongonethantheoppositeway.(general)→Thenagreatnumberofwatermoleculeswilldiffusethroughthemembranefromthedilutedtotheconcentratedsolutionthanthereverse.(academic)上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:Concreteness(3)Duringthelate1860s,thirty-threewhalingshipsweretrappedinanicefoeoffAlaskaandhadtobegivenup.(general)→Duringthelate1860s,thirty-threewhalingshipsweretrappedinanicefoeoffAlaskaandhadtobeabandoned.(academic)2.?Using?Other?Formal?Phrases?or?WordsInprofessionalwriting,formalverbsarerecommendedtoreplaceverbphrasesthathavemorethanonemeaning,上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:Concretenesssoareotherformalphrasesandwords,becauseyourhighlyprofessionalreadersacceptthemeasily.Forexample,(1)Weknewthatwithoutionsthegaswouldbecomeanonconductor.→Weknewthatintheabsenceofionsthegaswouldbecomeanonconductor.(2)Inthemiddleofeachatomthereisanucleus,inwhicharefoundmainly(a)protons,whichhaveapositiveelectriccharge,and(b)neutrons,whichhavenocharge.→上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:ConcretenessAtthecenterofeachatomthereisanucleus,inwhicharefoundmainly(a)protons,whichhaveapositiveelectriccharge,and(b)neutrons,whichhavenocharge.(3)Thekineticequationoftheprocesswassetupbasedonthemodel.→Thekineticequationoftheprocesswasestablishedbasedonthemodel.上一頁下一頁返回SpecialAttention:Concreteness3.?Using?Specific?ExpressionsVaguenessisaseriousdefectinprof