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英语学习的另一视角：写和说的关系 疏影
如何提高写作，特别是学术文章的写作呢。建议由以下几点入手，一步一步。
1. 彻底忘掉所谓的技巧和速成。这不是去参加语言考试，你的目的是要把你自己的观点优雅大方地和别人交流，不是去增加几个得分点。
2. 学习。学习什么呢？通过阅读别人的文章来学习。现在有互联网了，方便的很，去经常浏览一下诸如经济学家，卫报（社论和读者来信）等部分。新闻网站就免了。河里也有很好的介绍。注意其中的复杂的句子的运用。
3. 开始写。开始写的时候要使用平实而详细的语言把事实说清楚，先不要考虑什么优美词语之类的（我至今还有印象小学三四年级写作文的时候，每每从小册子里翻一些所谓“优美词语”给自己空洞的文章润色，而最遗憾的是一直没有机会在我的作文里嵌入我曾经最欣赏的一句“东方露出了鱼肚白…”）。注意学术文章的目的是把事实和你的理论说清楚，不是要显得故做高深（题外话：个人感觉国内很多文章和教科书的主要目的就是要让人看不懂，本人感觉而已，看了不要太认真）。这个状态要注意的是语法的时态和冠词。还有，千万千万不要直接翻译你脑海中的中文句子（如果有的话），用简单清晰的英文表达就行了。
4. 提高。你可以开始试着用一些你看到和学到的复杂的句式了。除非特别需要，短句子能说清楚的就用短句子，长了大家都头痛。另外，多次阅读学术类文章后你会发现其中也有一些“八股”的成分在里头，也讲究一些“起承转合”的。你写的文章也要尽量使用类似的结构，这样同行阅读起来就顺畅一些。
5. 反馈。这时，你的师友恐成受害者了。但要有信心，经过如此这般的交流后，他们会乐此不疲，你文章的水平也就相当可以。
如果你慢慢地写作水平能到了上面的第4步，你会发现你再也不会为写Email花费多余的一点时间了，当然个别情况还有例外（比如写给你的老板或那个她/他）。你应该能描述复杂的现象，做幻灯片报告的时候也应该不会满屏文字，照章宣读，而是游刃有余，滔滔不绝了。
In the writing, the most often common mistakes by Chinese scholars are the usage of articles. For example, I realized that 67% of my mistakes are due to the usage of articles.
The following is copied from following link:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/
What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.
English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.
the = definite article
a/an = indefinite article
For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.
Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.
"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.
Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.
Indefinite Articles: a and an
"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:- "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
- "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
- "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.
Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...
- a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
- an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
- a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
- an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
- a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
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In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred.A historical event is worth recording.
-
Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles
first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally
discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.
Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:
An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to
record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.
If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:- a broken egg
- an unusual problem
- a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)
- I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
- Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
- Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)
Definite Article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.
"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.
"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
Count and Noncount Nouns
The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.- "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
- "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).
- "I need a bottle of water."
- "I need a new glass of milk."
Geographical use of the
There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.Do not use the before:
- names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
- names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
- names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
- names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
- names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
- names of continents (Asia, Europe)
- names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands
- names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
- points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
- geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
- deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula
Omission of Articles
Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:- Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
- Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
- Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science
