如何在学术文章写作中正确使用逗号

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

逗号(comma)用于区分列表中的不同项目或在句子中把短语和从句分隔开，使句子表达更清晰和突出重点。这是一个广泛的角色，因此逗号可以說是标点符号世界中的是多面手 (jack-of-all-trades) 。正如英国著名作家 Lynne Truss在对逗号的描述中说的那样，它是“恐怖的语法牧羊犬”:

逗号作为“分隔者”（标点符号一般就是在扮演“分隔者”或“终结者”两者之一的角色）有着很多工作，它在语言的山坡上狂奔，无休止地将单词组织为合适的组合，并使它们留在原地：排序和划分;盘旋和放牧；当然更要边汪汪叫边飞奔去将任何难以管束且无有效语意自由度的从属子句聚集起来 (英文原文出自于Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Kindle edition; pp. 78-79).

尽管如此，我们仍可以坚决要求像牧羊犬这样的逗号遵守某些规则。以下便是咱们AsiaEdit的编辑在润色文章时遇过的最常见规则:

在枚举事物时出现在 “And”之前的逗号 (即牛津逗号，又称序列逗号)

在枚举简单项目的列表中，逗号是标点符号的基本单位。

“We measured the plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose.”

例外的情况是枚举含较复杂项目的列表时可以使用分号分隔各项目（逗号使用规则仍适用于个别项目当中!):

“First, the enterprise is not digitally native; second, it is not a new venture; and third, it has begun to transform and has achieved initial results.”

牛津逗号或称序列逗号 (即在上面第一个例子中用于“triglycerides”之后的逗号) 的有用性仍然是在争论之中。而在AsiaEdit，我们的惯常做法是保留作者偏爱的风格，除非期刊风格指南另有指引。

出现在”And”和其他连词(“But”, “So”,…)之前的逗号

不需要用逗号来分隔两个共享同一主题的独立但相关的从句（即复合谓语compound predicate）。

“Integrating other variables may improve the predictive power of the model and provide a more comprehensive understanding of tourist ERB.”

但是，如果那些独立从句的主题是不同的话，就应该用逗号来表示过渡性。在下面的语句例子中，这情况出现在“alone”后面。

“A firm’s innovation decisions are not dictated by TMTs alone, and both TMTs and MMs can influence each other by advocating or opposing innovation initiatives or deciding innovation directions.”

逗号与限制性和非限制性从句的关系

逗号也可用于将作为附带说明的非限制性从句（即那些解释说明性质而非不可缺少的从句）从主语句中分隔开。

“Various stakeholders, such as employers, service users, and the wider community, have higher expectations of graduates and schools.”

“Fourth, the survey was conducted in China.”

但是，逗号不应用于分隔包含主语句中必不可少的信息的限制性从句！在下面的语句例子中，在“that”之后是不用加逗号的。

“The study findings show that when patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, the survival duration increased by threefold.”

谢谢您的阅读。这些小贴士是由AsiaEdit的执行编辑團隊成员 Rachel, Louise, Leo 及 Jennifer为您准备！

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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)

作者簡介

Dr Jennifer Oliver

执行编辑 (生命科学科)

在获得密歇根大学免疫学博士学位并以第一作者或合著者身份发表多篇研究论文后，她开始兼职学术编辑的生涯，并同时从事肿瘤免疫学和放射学的博士后研究。她很快转为全职学术编辑，并为来自生命科学，生物医学和医学领域的客户润色文章。她于2016年以自由编辑身份加入AsiaEdit。在2020年，她升任了全职高级编辑，随后更担任了生命科学科的执行编辑。