英文论文引言的写作技巧(一)
青岛市人事局-
英文论文引言的写作技巧（一）
学术论文中的引言
(Introduction)
是对全文内容和结构的总体勾画。引言尽管不像摘要那样有一定的篇
幅限制和相对固定的
格式，但在内容和结构模式上也有需要遵循的规律。本章首先介绍这些规律，然后探
讨需
要掌握的语言技巧。
1
引言的内容与结构布局
引言的主要任
务是向读者勾勒出全文的基本内容和轮廓。它可以包括以下五项内容中的全部或其中几
项
：
1
）介绍某研究领域的背景、意义
、发展状况、目前的水平等；
2
）对
相关领域的文献进行回顾和综述，包括前人的研究成果，已经解决的问题，并适当加以评价或
比较；
3
）指出前人尚未解决的
问题，留下的技术空白，也可以提出新问题、解决这些新问题的新方法、新
思路，从而引
出自己研究课题的动机与意义；
4
）说明自己研究课题的目的；
5
）概括论文的主要内容，或勾勒其大体轮廓。
如何合理安排以上这些内容，将它们有条有理地给读者描绘清楚，并非容易之事。
经验告诉我们，引
言其实是全文最难写的—部分。
这是因为作者
对有关学科领域的熟悉程度，
作者的知识是渊博、
还是贫乏，<
/p>
研究的意义何在、价值如何等问题，都在引言的字里行间得以充分体现。
< br>
我们可以将引言的内容分为三到四个层次来安排
(
如图所示
)
。第一层由研究背景、意义、发
展状况等
内容组成，其中还包括某一研究领域的文献综述；第二层提出目前尚未解决的问
题或急需解决的问题，从
而引出自己的研究动机与意义；第三层说明自己研究的具体目的
与内容；最后是引言的结尾，可以介绍一
下论文的组成部分。
第一层：
1) Introducing the
general research area including its background,
importance, and present level of
develo
pment
„„„„„
2) Reviewing
previous research in this
area
„„„„„„„
第二层：
Indicating
the
problem
that
has
not
been
solved
by
previous
research,
raising
a
relevant
question
„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„
第三层：
Specifying the purpose
of your
research
„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„
第四层：
1) Announcing your major
findings
„„„„„„„„„„„„
2)
Outlining the contents of your
paper
„„„„„„„„„
得注意的是，引言中各个层次所占的篇幅可以有很大差别。这一点与摘要大不一样，摘要中的目的、<
/p>
方法、
结果、
结论四项内容各自所占的篇
幅大体比例一样。
而在引言中，
第一个层次往往占去大部分篇幅
。
对研究背景和目前的研究状况进行较为详细的介绍。研究目的可能会比较简短。
引言与摘要还有一点不同的是，
摘要中必须
把主要研究结果列出，
而在引言中
(
如
果摘要与正文一同登
出
)
结果则可以省
略不写，这是因为正文中专门有一节写结果
(results)
，不必在引言中重复。
比较简短的论文，引言也可以相对比较
简短。为了缩短篇幅，可以用一两句话简单介绍一下某研究领
域的重要性、意义或需要解
决的问题等。接着对文献进行回顾。然后介绍自己的研究动机、目的和主要内
容。至于研
究方法、研究结果及论文的组成部分则可以完全省略，如所示。
第一层
: Introducing the
importance of the research area and reviewing
previous Research
„„„„„„„
第二层
:
Indicating
the
problem
that
has
not
been
solved
by
previous
research,
raising
a
relevant
question
„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„
第三层
: Specifying the purpose
of your research
„„„„„„„„„
可见，引言一般分为三到四个层次。每个层次都有各自的任务与目的。而在语言上也有各自的
特点，
掌握这些特点会使写作过程化难为易。下面将对引言各层次的写作特点和技巧分别
加以介绍。
2
如何写引言的开头
引言开头
(
即第一层
)
最主要目
的是告诉读者论文所涉及的研究领域及其意义是什么，研究要解决什么
问题，目前状况或
水平如何。也就是说，开头要回答如下问题：
1
、
What is the subject of the research?
2
、
What is the importance of this subject?
3
、
How
is the research going at present?
4
、
In
what way is it important, interesting, and worth
studying?
5
、
What problem does the research solve? <
/p>
下面列举几段例子，以说明引言开头如何开门见山点明研究主题，回答以上问题。
例
Purple loosestrife
(
紫千曲菜
) is a wetland plant
which invaded North America in the early 1800s. It
is
well established in the United
States and Canada with serious infestations in the
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
regions.
研究主题是
purple loosestrife
。
这种植物之所以值得研究，
是因为它严重侵扰了
五大湖区及圣劳伦斯地
区。
例
Forecast of the tracks of
hurricanes (
飓风
)have improved
steadily over the past three decades, owing to a
combination
of
better
observations
and
much
improved
numerical
models.
These
improvements,
along
with
advances in warning systems and
preparedness for emergencies, have brought about a
significant decline in loss of
life.
研究主题是
forecast of
the tracks of hurricanes(
对飓风轨道的预测
)
。这一领域取得了进步，意义是大大
减少人员伤亡
损失。
例
Environmental
in
dicators(
环境指数
)attempt
to
accurately
describe
environmental
conditions
and
make
available
scientifically valid information on environmental
trends
．
研究主题是
environmental indicator
s
。
环境指数的意义是能够精确地描述环境状况，
并能够提供关于环
境倾向的科学、有效的信息。
例
Acoustic problem occur
extensively in long spaces. For example, in road
or rail tunnels noise pollution is
a
serious
problem,
and
in
underground
stations
poor
speech
intelligibility
of
public
address
systems
can
cause
misunderstanding of vital instructions
during an emergency.
研究主题是
acoustic problem of
longs paces(
长空间的声学问题
)
，例如，公路与铁路隧道上的噪声污染
就是一个严重的问题。地铁站的广播系统
语言清晰度差，造成在紧急状态下信息误解，因此，这个问题值
得研究解决。
通过分析这些例子，还可以发现如下特点。
首先，关键词往往出现在第一句话，回答
What is
the research area?
这个问题，迅速将主题告诉读者，
避免转弯抹角，影响信息传递。然后简单介绍该研究领域的意义。
第二，引言开头句子的谓语动词或者是一般现在时态，或者是现在完成时态。这是因为这些动词
所描
述的是某研究领域的现状，而不是过去的情况。
引言的开头常用句型有：
句型
1
：研究主题
+
谓语
动词
be
„
．例
a
．
Fuel
cell(
燃料电池
)is a technology
for the clean and efficient conversion from
chemical energy in fossil
fuels to
electricity
．
句型
2:
研究主题
+ has become
„
a.
Semiconductor based industry
(
基于半导体的工业
)has be come the
largest industry for the USA and it
has
influenced every other industry and every aspect
of human life.
b. The battery
technology has become increasingly popular in
automotive industry.
c. Forest decline
has become a favorite topic for environmental
studies.
句型
3
：研究主题
+ be
过去分词（被动语态）
a.
Synthetic polymers (
聚合物
) are
widely used in contact with biological systems in
applications such as
medicine,
biotechnology, food processing and natural water
environment.
b. Air pollution has been
extensively studied in recent years.
c.
The causes of glaucoma have been widely
investigated recently.
d. The importance of safe driving is
now well established.
句型
4:
Recently, there has been growing interest in /
concern about +
研究主题
a.
Recently,
there
has
been
growing
concern
about
waste-water
biosolid,
the
residual
organic
matter
produced during waste
water treatment.
b.
In
the
1990s
there
has
been
growing
interest
in
the
development
of
electric
vehicles
in
response
to
the
public demand for cleaner air.
句型
5:
Recently
there
have
/
has
been
extensive
/
increasing
/numerous
publications
/
literature
/
reporting on +
研究领域
a. There
have been numerous publications over the last ten
years on the need for nursing education to keep
pace with the increase in knowledge of
biological science.
b. There has been
increasing reporting about forest decline in North
America.
句型
6: Researchers
have become increasingly interested in
+
研究领域
或
:Researchers have recently
focused their attention on
+
研究领域；
Researchers are
recently paying more attention to +
研究领域
a.
Researchers have become more interested in
environmental indicators.
b.
Researchers are paying more attention to high
pressure injection (
高压喷射
).
3
如何写文献综述
文献综述是学术论文的重要组成部分，是作者对他人在某研究领域所做的工作和研究成果的总结与评
述，包括他人有代表性的观点或理论、发明发现、解决问题的方法等。在援引他人的研究成果
时，必须标
注出处，即这一研究成果由何人在何时何地公开发表。
3.1
文献出处的标注
引用文献时，不同的学科或领域可能采用各自约定俗成的体系或格式。在写论文时，应该了解自己
学
科采用的固定格式。目前最常见的体系有两种，一种是作者
+
出版年体系，另一种是顺序编码体系。下面
对这两种体系分别加
以介绍。
第一种体系的主要框架模式如下：
模
式
1
：作者
(
年代
)
十谓语动词主动语态
+
研究内容／成果
a.
Hanson
et
al.
(1976)
noted
that
oak
mortality
and
decline
were
associated
with
drought
and
insects
throughout a multi-
state region of the mid-west.
b.
McCarthy (1995) documented 50% hickory mortality,
associated with insects, in a ten year study of
forest
dynamics in two hardwood areas
in a southeastern Ohio forest.
c.
Also,
Fay
(1991)
found
cooperative
group
projects
integrated
into
science
class
to
be
successful
experiences for students.
模式
2
：研究内容／成果
+
谓语动词被动语态
+(
作者年代
)
a. Success at this Science Day was
found to be linked to parental support (Czemiak
1996).
b.
Throughout
the
eastern
United
States,
large
scale
compositional
changes
have
been
observed
in
forests
dominated by oak and
hickory (Christensen 1997, Lorimer 1984, McCarthy
et al. 1987, Pallardy et al. 1988).
模式
3
：
It
has been
十谓语动词被动语态
+by
< br>作者
(
年代
)+that
从句
或：
It
has been+
谓语动词被动语态
+that
从句
(
作者年代
)
；研究内容／成果
+
谓语动词被动语态
+by
作者
(
年代
)
a. It was found by Czemiak
(1996) that success at this Science Day was linked
to parental support.
或
It was
found that success at
this Science Day was linked to parental support
(Czemiak 1996).
b. The condition of
eastern hardwood species and ecosystems of the
United States has been summarized by
Weiss and Rizzo (1987) and Millers et
al. (1989).
如果引用的文献有两个以上的作者，只标明第一作者，后面用
拉丁文
et al
表示，意思是“等人”
、
“其
他人”
。如“
Hanson et
al
．
”就是如此。
如果在综述中涉及几个项目或文献时，
则将这些文献并列标注，
必要时用逗号隔开。
如
“„
Christensen
1997
，
Lorimerl984
，
McCarthy et al
．
1987
，
Pa
llardy et al
．
1988)
”
以及
“„
Weiss and Rizzo(1987)and
Millers
et al
．
(19
89)
”
。
标注参考文献另一种常见体系是按文献出现的先后顺序编号，
置于方括号中，
标在指引部分的右上角。
被引用的作者、文献名、出版时间、地点等列入论文后面的参考文献中。其顺序要与正文中标注的顺序一
致。例
Forecasts of the tracks of
hurricanes have improved steadily over the past
three decades [1], owing to a
combination
of
better
observations
and
much-improved
numerical
models.
In
contrast
to
the
improvements
in
track
forecasts,
there
has
been
comparatively
little
advance
in
predictions
of
intensity
[1],
in
spite
of
the
sophisticated numerical models. The
best intensity forecasts today are statistically
based[2]. Most of the research
literature
on
hurricane
intensity
focuses
on
the
pre-storm
sea
surface
temperature
and
certain
properties
of
the
atmospheric environment[3] But it is
well known that hurricanes alter the surface
temperature of the ocean over
which
they pass[4] and that a mere 2.5 K decrease in
ocean surface temperature near the core of the
storm would
be enough to shut down
energy production entirely[51. Simulations with
coupled atmosphere-ocean models[5-7]
confirm that interaction with the ocean
is a strong negative feedback on storm
intensity
„
文中标注的编
号代表参考文献出现的顺序。
在文中出现两次，代表这两处所陈
述的内容或观点出
自同一篇文献，即正文后面参考文献中的第
1
条。
“
[5
—
7]
”代表此处陈述的内容或观点涉及到三篇文献，
即参考文献中第
5
—
7<
/p>
条。
行文中的编号也可以不放在方括号
里。
如：
例
The sound
attenuation along the length, a significant index
in
long spaces, has been intensively
studied. Based on various assumptions and using
various methods, a number of
formulae
have been given1-5. Another important index,
reverberation time, has been seen to be different
from that
of the diffuse field6.
3.2
文献综述中的动词运用技巧
(1)
两类动词
我们可以发现，文献综述中常用
state
，
note
，
observ
e
，
discuss
，
establish
，
find
，
present
等动词。这
些动词
有两种特性，一种是描述性动词，客观地向读者介绍他人的工作；另一种是评价性动词，在一定程
度上代表了作者对他人的工作的理解、解释或态度。文献综述中常用的描述性动词有：
< br>describe
，
discuss
，
explain
，
examin
e
，
present
，
state
等。常见的评价性动词有：
affirm<
/p>
，
allege
，
argue
，
assume
，
claim
，
imply
，
maintain
，
presu
me
，
reveal
，
suggest
等。
(2)
动词时态
文献综述中最常见的时态是一般现在时、一般过去时和现在完成时三种时态。使用不同的动词时态会
给句子的意义带来变化，基本原则如下：
原则
1
：当作者引用某人过去某个时间所做过的某一项具体的研究时
，用一般过去时。如：例
a.
Hanson
et
al.
(1976)
noted
that
oak
mortality
and
decline
were
associated
with
drought
and
insects
throughout
a
multi-state
region
of
the
mid-west.
„
McCarthy
(1995)
documented
50%
hickory
mortality,
associated
with
insects,
in
a
ten
year
study
of
forest
dynamics
in
two
hardwood
areas
in
a
southeastern
Ohio
forest.
b.
It was found by Czerniak (1996) that success at
this Science Day was linked to parental support.
或
It
was found that success at this Science
Day was linked to parental support (Czemiak
1996)...
原则
2
：在概括或
总结某一研究领域里所做过的一些研究时，用现在完成时，如：例
a. The condition of eastern hardwood
species and ecosystems of the United States has
been summarized by
Weiss
and
Rizzo
(1987)
and
Millers
et
al.
(1989).
„
Since
then,
numerous
studies
have
been
completed
and
many regions have established long-term
forest surveys to better monitor changes occurring
in the eastern forest
(Loucks 1992).
b. The sound attenuation along the
length, a significant index in long spaces, has
been intensively studied.
Based on
various assumptions and using various methods, a
number of formulae have been given [1-5]. Another
important index, reverberation time,
has been seen to be different from that of the
diffuse field [6].
原则
3
：在谈及目前的知识水平、技术水平或存在的问题时，用一般现在时态。例
Acoustic problems occur extensively in
long spaces. For example, in road or rail tunnels
noise pollution is a
serious problem,
and in underground stations poor speech
intelligibility of public address systems can
cause loss