写作方法2020cs.tufts.edu编辑精选
设计:一稿完成论文写作与指导的关键(2002)[PDF]
Design: the key to writing and advising a one-draft thesis (2002) [pdf]
导读
这是一篇 2002 年的文章,讨论如何在写作前先做设计,从而让学位论文一次成稿,并把这套方法用于指导学生的写作。它值得写作者读,因为它把“写作”从把文字堆出来,重新定义了先把结构、读者和论证链设计好;两则评论分别补充了适用边界和可操作的段落设计法。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
先完成设计再动笔:把论文当成产品,先把章节与论证链搭好,写作只是把设计实现出来。
- 02
先弄清为谁写:只给自己看时可以粗放速写,要交给读者时才值得打磨得整洁、完整、统一、有说服力。
- 03
用“自由写作”把想法先写出来,再把它压缩成结构设计,不要一开始就追求一次写成的终稿。
- 04
把每个段落当成一个函数:先确认读者需要哪些前提信息才能看懂,再确定这一段唯一要传达的结论。
HN 评论精选
“一次成稿”这类经验未必普适;先写后改与先列大纲是两种不同的写作路径,而打磨只对交付给读者时才必要。
这类建议很像“对我有效,如果你不适用那怪你自己”。写作者大致分两类:一类直接开写,写到哪算哪;一类先列大纲。前者必须经过一次大改或重写。我不认为有人完全不列大纲就能写论文,但也怀疑这套建议的普适性——有些人必须先自由探索想法,然后才能给它结构。即便如此,文中仍有很多好建议,例如:“当你为他们(读者)写作时,你会努力让产品变好:整洁、完整、校对过、统一、有说服力等等。也就是说,你为读者打磨一件设计良好的产品;但如果读者是你自己,这种努力就是浪费。”
csours查看英文原文
This really strikes me as the sort of advice where one may say: It worked for me, and if it doesn't work for you it's your fault. Very broadly speaking, there are two kinds of writers: those who just start writing and go where the writing takes you, and those who develop an outline first. In the case of the first set, it is vital to do a heavy editing pass or re-write iteration. I don't think anyone tackles a thesis without some kind of outline, but I also doubt the universality of this advice. Some people need to explore their ideas before structuring them. All that being said, this is full of good advice, such as: "When you write for them (the audience), you put forth effort to make your product good: neat, complete, proffed (sic), unified, cogent, etc. That is, you craft and polish a well designed product for them to read. However, if you [yourself] are the audience such effort is a waste."
段落可以当函数设计:先定义读者需要的前提(参数),再定义这一段唯一要给的结论(输出)。
我做了多年软件工程师,现在在写人文学科的硕士论文。几次失败的尝试之后,我自己摸索出的论文设计方法,和作者描述的几乎一样。我把“速写”叫作“自由写作”,我常常设计到主题句这一层,但不是每一段都这样。除此之外,方法相似得惊人。我还习惯把段落看作“函数”:它的参数是什么?也就是读者需要知道什么,这一段才讲得通,我怎样引出这些概念;它的输出是什么?也就是我想让读者从这一段带走的那一件事。(有些段落会返回元组,不过那并不理想。)
lukebuehler查看英文原文
I’m writing a master thesis in the humanities right now after having worked many years as a software engineer. After some false starts, I have come up with a system of designing my thesis very closely to what the author is describing here. I call sketching “free writing,” and while I often design down to the topic sentence, I don’t do this for every single paragraph. But other than that my method is uncannily similar to what is described here. I also tend to think of paragraphs as “functions.” What are the parameters? I.e, what does the reader need to know for this paragraph to make sense, and how do I trigger those concepts. And secondly, what is the output? I.e., what is the one thing I want the reader to take from this paragraph? (...well some of my paragraphs return tuples, but that’s not ideal)
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