英文论文写作中标点符号应注意的事项
punctuation
bad punctuation can often make even the best writing unintelligible. on the other hand, good punctuation can make your meaning clear and your language effective. english punctuation generally differs from that of other european languages; even though there is often considerable room for personal preferences, a mastery of the basic rules is indispensable.
there is one overriding principle: to use the bare minimum of punctuation necessary to keep the writing intelligible. the following list of rules makes no claim to exhaustiveness.
i. the apostrophe (')
1. men's, women's, children's, people's
it is correct to write this area's problems, meaning "the problems of this area", and these areas' problems, meaning "the problems of these areas": in fact, putting apostrophes anywhere else would be wrong. but the plurals of man, woman, and child are exceptions to this general rule: thus we write the men's wives, the women's husbands, the children's mothers, and nothing else.
another important exception is the word people when it denotes the plural of "person": thus we would write these people's behavior, meaning "the behavior of these persons", but these peoples' behavior, meaning "the behavior of these peoples" (i.e. ethnic groups).
other irregular plurals are treated in the same way as men, women, children, and people: above all the plurals of ox, sheep, goose and mice (e.g. the oxen's pasture, the sheep's wool, the geese's flight, the mice's tails).
2. a mistake that is frequent among foreign learners of english is to write a phrase such as "these area's problems", when what the person actually means is these problems of the area. 3. it is best to use the apostrophe when you want to show the plural of something which cannot normally be plural:
the past tense of occur is spelt with two r's.
i accept the idea in principle, but there are a lot of if’s.
4. strings of apostrophes are to be avoided. thus one should write the friends of that man's son, instead of "that man's son's friends".
5. we say in ten days' time, in twenty years' time (i.e. we use the apostrophe). 6. we say each other's, not "each others'" (e.g. to get on each other's nerves).
ii. the colon (:) 1. quotations
the colon is often used to introduce quotations:
to quote nietzsche: "god is dead!"
as the bard (one of an ancient celtic order of minstrel poets who composed and recited verses celebrating the legendary exploits of chieftains and heroes.吟游诗人古代凯尔特族的吟游诗人,自编自唱,吟唱酋长和英雄的传奇业绩) so abruptly puts it:“all the world’s a stage”
the colon can also be used to introduce direct speech, especially in rather formal or serious contexts:
finally mark antony began his address: "friends, romans, countrymen (compatriots), lend me your ears...".
n.b. (n.b.=[拉]nota bene (=note well)注意, 留心)
i. the colon is not used to introduce conversation.
ii. direct formal quotations begin with a capital letter.
iii. the colon is not used to introduce quotes consisting of very brief phrases:
do you know that mrs thatcher actually said "shut up" to lord carrington?
2. explanations
the colon is often used after a main clause where the following statement explains, elaborates, or illustrates that clause, especially in formal contexts. it may sometimes be replaced by a full stop or a semicolon.
there is no point in worrying: disasters are sure to happen anyway. (full stop and semicolon also possible.)
the church is totally opposed to two aspects of the permissive society: that is, abortion on demand and artificial methods of birth control.
apartheid (种族隔离) was not overthrown: rather, it died a natural death. (full stop and semicolon also possible.)
the question is this: is killing ever justified?
he certainly has a drinking-problem: i once saw him drink a whole bottle of whisky. (full stop and semicolon also possible.)
there is one good thing about skinheads (剃光头的人) and punks: they absolutely hate each other.
3. lists
colons can also be used to introduce lists or enumerations, often using the following phrases: as follows, for example, for instance, such as, and the following.
in the world described in orwell's animal farm two basic principles become all-important: (i) all animals are equal; (ii) some animals are more equal than others.
our solar system consists of the following planets (行星): mercury(水星), venus(金星), earth, mars(火星), jupiter(木星), saturn(土星), uranus(天王星), neptune(海王星), and pluto(冥王星).
n.b. try to avoid sentences like the following, where the subject and the verb are separated from the complement:
the ingredients of gunpowder are: saltpeter(硝石), sulphur(硫磺), and charcoal.
better would be to remove the colon, or else to rephrase the sentence:
the ingredients of gunpowder are as follows: saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal.
or:
gunpowder has three ingredients: saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal.
iii. the comma (,)
1. defining and non-defining
compare the two following sentences (a and b):
a. pop-stars who earn fortunes should pay higher taxes.
(defining relative clause---i.e. only those pop-stars who earn fortunes should pay higher taxes.)
b. pop-stars, who earn fortunes, should pay higher taxes.
(non-defining relative clause -- i.e. all pop-stars earn fortunes and therefore should pay higher taxes.)
the first sentence refers only to some pop-stars, while the second sentence refers to all pop-stars. note that in the second sentence there are two commas (not one), to mark the beginning and the end of the clause.
the same principle operates with the words when and where.
compare the following:
a. the day when jfk was assassinated i was crossing the atlantic.
b. on november 22, when jfk was assassinated, i was crossing the atlantic.
c. the town where i was stationed was pretty arid.
d. quetta, where i was stationed, was a pretty arid place.
note that a comma is possible in a (after assassinated), but not in c.
the same principle also extends to appositional phrases.
compare the following:
a. nietzsche's work the gay science was written in 1888.
b. nietzsche's last work, the gay science(艳体诗), was written in 1888.
c. the famous thinker michel foucault has just died.
d. a famous thinker, michel foucault, has just died.
prime minister, margaret thatcher, has just resigned.
f. margaret thatcher, the prime minister, has just resigned.
in a the title of the work is defining, i.e. the gay science was only one of several works by nietzsche. in b the title is non-defining, because only one work can be the author's last. in c michel foucault is not the only famous thinker; therefore, the name michel foucault is defining, and hence no commas. in d a famous thinker and michel foucault are one and the same; therefore, michel foucault is non-defining, and hence commas. sentences e and f are non-defining (and therefore with commas), because in britain there is only one prime minister at any one time.
before we go on, it is impo
-
发表论文的论文格式要求
1、页面尺寸严格控制为a4(297×210mm),且用word编排。2、论文打印次序为:论文题目、作者姓名、单位、摘要、关键词、论文正文、参考文献,具体要求如下:①论文题目用二号黑体字居中打印,上下必须空一行;②作者姓名用四号宋体,且居中排版;③单位用六号宋体,居中排...
-
关于学术类标准论文格式指导
摘要:下面是关于学术类标准论文格式指导,以供分享。一、论文格式要求(一)需报送全文,文稿请用word录入排版。字数不超过5000字。(二)应完整扼要,涉及主要观点的图片、曲线和表格不能缺少,正文要有结论部分。如稿件内容不清或文章篇幅超长等原因,编辑有权删改。(三)论...
-
研究生学位论文答辩程序的规定
为规范研究生学位论文答辩工作,根据《武汉大学学位授予工作实施细则》,制订本规定:一、硕士研究生申请学位论文答辩程序(一)答辩资格审查申请硕士学位论文答辩者应具备以下条件:1.在校期间必须修满所学专业培养方案规定的学位课程及学分,成绩合格(本科阶段非法律专...
-
参考文献常见不足
3.1引而不著在有些学术论文中,明明是参考、借鉴了他人的研究成果,甚至是原文的直接引用,却不指明出处。3.2著而不引有些作者把与自己论文内容不相关的文献,统统以非常规范化’,的格式列在文后以显示占有的资料很全,获取信急能力很强。达到掩盖论文中真正参考的...