留学生论文写作需要注意的九大问题

很多同学不是很在意一些常见的错误，但是往往就是这些问题决定了你的论文的质量以及分数的高低。今天我们就来简单说一下中国留学生论文写作的问题。

(一) 时态语态

动词的时态语态变化是英语中重要的一种形式变化，其中时态是指动作发生的时间(时)和动作进行的状态(态)，语态是指句子的主语和谓语动词之间是何种关系。

写作中要根据表达的目的和需求，选择合适的时态语态变化。如：

Some people welcomed (正确应为：welcome，保持与后面 look 一致)the progress and look forward to in a variety of fields for the benefit of mankind.

The news has been sparked (应去掉 been，用主动语态)a heated debate and spread throughout the world quickly.

(二)句子成分

句子成分的错误主要集中在成分缺失、成分冗余以及其他不规范的用法等问题上。如：

成分缺失 As with every newly-emerging thing, there are optimistic and pessimistic (缺少主语，可补充 sentiments) towards it.

成分冗余 I am stunned to learn that it is(谓语重复，可去掉 is)serves as a sharp double-edged sword towards us human.

(三)不一致 Disagreements

所谓不一致不光指主谓不一致，它还包括了单复数的不一致，时态不一致和代词不一致等。

下面我们来看几个例子。

主谓不一致：

When one have money, he can do what he want to .

one是单数第三人称，因而本句的have应改为has; 同理，want应改为wants。

本句是典型的主谓不一致。

应该改为：Once one has money, he can do what he wants (to do).

单复数不一致：

Different groups hold different view(正确应为 views).

时态不一致：

Water will boil at 100.

表示客观真理的句子，其谓语动词应用一般现在时。

正确应该改为：Water boils at 100.

代词不一致：

Each cigarette a person smokes does some harm, and eventually, they may get a series of diseases.

这里的they指代的是前面的a person，所以需要改成单数形式的he。

(四)句子不完整(Sentence Fragments)

Sentence Fragments在我们的日常生活中很常见，但是在学术写作中，我们需要避免这种错误。在正式的写作中，我们需要确保每一个句子都是完整的。

下面举一个非常经典的语法错误，那就是“ Because”的用法。

I need to have better time management. Because I’m currently practicing for a dance performance, working as an intern, and preparing for a presentation at the same time.

Because 是连接词，要连接两个句子才行，不能放在句首单独使用。

应该把这个句子改为：

I need to have better time management because I’m currently practicing for a dance performance, working as an intern, and preparing for a presentation at the same time.

(五)悬垂修饰语(Dangling Modifiers)

悬垂修饰语的意思是修饰语所修饰的主语不清楚，后面句子的逻辑关系混乱不清。通常这样的修饰语会出现在句子的开头。

比如：At the age of ten, my grandfather died. 是谁在十岁的时候去世了呢? 显然不是my grandfather。但是这句句子中没有明确指出这一点。

应该改为：

When I was ten, my grandfather died.

再来看个例子：Having looked through the bookshop, the book I wanted just wasn’t there. 是谁找遍了整间书店呢?显然不是the book。

这句句子应该改为：I have looked through the bookshop. The book I wanted just wasn’t there.

悬垂修饰语的出现让句子的语意变得模糊，明确指出主语，就能避免这个问题。

(六)指代不清(Ambiguous Reference of Pronouns)

指代不清主要讲的是代词与被指代的人或物的关系不清，或者先后所用的代词不一致。

举例：Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted her to be her bridesmaid.

在这里，“she” 和“ her”指代的对象不清楚，我们无法准确判断是谁要结婚，是谁要当伴娘。我们可以把容易引起误解的代词加以解释，使所指的对象非常明确。

这个句子可以改为：Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted my sister to be her bridesmaid.

指代不清还有一种情况是先后所用的代词不一致：And we can also know the society by serving it yourself.句中人称代词we和反身代词yourself指代不一致。

应该改为：We can also know society by serving it ourselves.

(七)不间断句子(Run-on Sentences)

Run-on Sentences通常是指没有使用连接词，将两个句子简单地连接在一起。

举例：The students did well on the test they didn’t study very much.

Anna needs a new car she spent the weekends visiting car dealerships.

第一个句子两个独立分句之间缺少连接词，比如but，或者though。

应该改为：The students did well on the test, but they didn’t study very much。

第二个句子缺少连接词so，或者是since，或because。

应该改为: Anna needs a new car so she spent the weekends visiting car dealerships.

Run-on Sentences另外一种情况是连续使用子句用“and”连接。

比如下面这个句子：We went to the store and bought some fruit, and we went to the mall to get some clothes, and we had lunch at McDonald’s, and we visited some friends. 一般来说，这种情况最好的解决方法就是把句子断开，分成几个单独的句子。

(八)累赘(Redundancy)

英语学术写作措辞应当简洁明了，若使用过多的词汇来表达一个单词就能表达的意思，会使写作内容拖沓冗长，观点模糊，大大影响了阅读体验。Redundancy的错误不仅体现在用词的选择上，还有句子的结构上。

首先来看一下词汇的选择，以下分别是冗长累赘的词汇。

at this point in time，

in compliance with your request，

in the event that.

可以改为更加简洁明了的：

now,

at your request,

if.

下面以句子为单位来举个例子。

For the people who are diligent and kind, money is just the thing to be used to buy the thing they need.

其实这个句子可以大大简化，改为：

Diligent, caring people use money only to buy what they need.

(九)不连贯(Incoherence)

不连贯是指一个句子前言不搭后语，或是结构上不通畅，这也是中国留学生经常犯的一个语法错误，很多中国留学生写的文章句子和句子之间没有逻辑，东一句西一句，想到哪就写到哪。

首先来看一个简单的例子。

Freshwater, it is the most important things of the earth.

Freshwater与逗号后的it不连贯;It与things在数方面不一致。

应该改为：Freshwater is the most important thing in the world.

在论文写作过程中，我们应该善用逻辑联系词，来实现句子之间的连贯性。比如举例的时候，我们可以用“ for instance，for example，such as”;因果论证可以使用“ because, so, as a result, therefore, the reason for that is…”等。