论文引言中被动及主动语态的使用法则

Quick Takeaways:

et al.' means 'and others'.
Use 'et al.' to cite works with three or more authors.
The presentation (et al., et al., or rarely et al) depends on the style guide or journal guidelines

The English language has a rich history of borrowing words from other languages, especially from Latin. Latin abbreviations such as ‘a.m.’, ‘p.m.’ and ‘CV’ have become part of our everyday vocabulary. Such abbreviations are also frequently used in academic writing, from the ‘Ph.D.’ in the affiliation section to the ‘i.e.’, ‘e.g.’, ‘et al.’, and ‘QED’ in the rest of the paper.

This guide explains when and how to correctly use ‘et al.’ in a research paper.

In this guide:

1)Meaning of ‘et al.’
2)When and how to use ‘et al.’
- a)Table: Correct use of ‘et al.’ by style guide
- b)Unusual scenarios

究竟应使用被动还是主动语态?

在亚洲地区学习英语的学生都会普遍认为在文章中多使用被动语态 (passive voice)是比较专业，因为其表达方式看似较複杂和客观，因此他们都希望透过多用被动语态以突显他们的英语能力。甚至乎学校的英文老师都经常在批阅学生写作时给予那些多使用被动语态的学生较高分数。

但是，其实在学术研究领域内，对於论文应以被动还是主动语态 (active voice) 书写都还是有一些争议存在。

究竟大部分学术期刊的要求又是什麽?

虽然被动语态一度被认为是比较能够客观陈述，但是现在大部分学术期刊都更偏好以第一人称书写。

可参考以下由两份享负盛名的学术期刊所提供的意见:

因此，箇中的关键要点就是:

如何有效地在你的论文引言中使用主动语态?

在上一篇博文中，我们已经讨论过论文引言的结构及铺排，而我们亦认识到引言的其中一个重要作用是提供读者该研究的基本资料及内容。

因此，你在引言部分有机会需要经常穿插引用一些参考研究和你自己的研究的资料，所以能够清楚交代你到底是在引述那一个研究就变得非常重要，而使用主动语态可以更有效避免含糊不清的情况发生。

这是一些小提示:

用 “we found” 及 “our study” 去帮助区分出你的研究和其他参考研究的结果。
用 “we” 去避免重复使用 “The present study” 或 “A previous study” 等会让表达方式变得单调的词。
最重要是避免使用 “It has been found” 或 “It was shown” ，因为它们会使句子的主体变得模糊。

但切记语言运用在不同学科中都会有些许变化，所以要查阅你将要投稿的期刊的其他已发表论文是如何撰写的，因为以你的论文所在的学科的一贯语言运用风格去写你的论文是最为重要的。

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Wondering why some abbreviations such as ‘et al.’ and ‘e.g.’ use periods, whereas others such as CV and AD don’t? Periods are typically used if the abbreviations include lowercase or mixed-case letters. They’re usually not used with abbreviations containing only uppercase letters.

Unusual Scenarios

Our latest online workshop built on the success of face-to-face workshops we developed specifically for local universities. Over 30 faculty members joined the session, presented by our Chief Operating Officer, Mr Nick Case, to learn from our case studies on editing research proposals.

The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out. The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out. The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out.

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Author Resources

Check out AsiaEdit’s professional research grant proposal editing service.
Read more about our training services covering all aspects of academic writing tailored for local institutions.

More resources on research grant proposal writing: On-demand Webinars
Preparing an effective research proposal – Your guide to successful funding application
Preparing an effective research proposal – Your guide to successful funding application (Part 2)

作者背景

Dr Rachel Baron

联合总编及执行编辑 (社会科学)

Rachel于2001年刚在University of Exeter 取得博士学位的同时，以自由编辑的身份首次加入我们。在担任博士后研究人员数年之后，她专注于大学教授心理学，并于2010年回到AsiaEdit，并专注于学术编辑专业。她于2018年升任助理总编辑，并于2020年继而成为我们的联合主编。由于无法完全离开学术界，她还在意大利的一所英语大学教授心理学。