【英語論文についてまとめてあった】のを使ってみた。

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論文の基本 （日本語・英語論文共通）

　かつて日本語の論文と英語の論文では、論理の展開や書き方に違いがあるといわれてきた。日本語は曖昧な書き方が許され、論理の展開もわかりにくいものとされてきた。しかしながら、最近の論文では日本語でも、明瞭な論理展開とわかりやすい書き方が要求され、曖昧ではなく断定的な表現がよいとされるようになってきた。日本語と英語の論文では、基本に違いはないと考えるべきである。ここでは、論文を書くにあたって、英語、日本語に関わらず共通する基本的な事項をまとめる。

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The content is free of errors. Intentional mistakes (i.e., suicide as a researcher) are out of the question, and mistakes at various levels from data errors to grammatical and word errors can be considered, but the paper must be free of errors in all respects. However, being error-free is not the same as being correct. (The content of Hadley's paper, for example, has been revised with history, but it is one of the greatest papers of all time.)

The text must be accurate and rigorous. This is different from the absence of errors mentioned above. To be accurate and rigorous in writing means that no matter how anyone reads it, it must have no meaning other than what the author intended, i.e., it must be completely free of second-guessing.

Basically, one paper, one subject. Unlike commentaries and reviews, each original scholarly article is independent and stand-alone. There should be only one subject matter contained in the article. Then, what is the "subject"? This depends on how specific the author can make it. For an original paper, the more specific, the better. For dissertations, a relatively large subject may be chosen and discussed from multiple perspectives.

The easier the paper is to understand, the better. This does not mean that the simpler the paper, the better. It is important that the structure of the paper be logical, starting from a common understanding, and that there be no leaps in explanation. Sentences must be necessary and sufficient (not too much, not too little, not redundant, not duplicated). Each sentence must be short, subject and predicate must correspond, and modification and subordination must be clear. When writing in English, participle constructions and the passive voice, which can cause ambiguity, should be avoided as much as possible.

The paper as a whole and its individual parts should be one-dimensional. This is emphasized in A. J. Leggett's writings and is well illustrated in Leggett's diagram. The text must be written in such a way that by the point where you have read the text, you have a complete understanding of what has been written up to that point. Sometimes you will see papers that list facts and arguments in two dimensions, and only when you look at the whole picture do you realize what is being said.

The shorter the paper, the better. This is the same as the "one paper, one subject" concept, but in today's busy world, we cannot afford to read long, drawn-out papers. Duplicated content, redundant parts, and meaningless sentences that stray from the subject matter should be completely eliminated. For example, one of the most important biological papers in Nature, Watson and Crick's "Double Helix of DNA," was only 900 words.

The paper must be in a format. Papers have a format. There are various levels of formatting, ranging from a general common format to a format that is determined in detail by each journal. In common with clarity, for a paper to be readable and understandable, it must be in form.

The paper must be coherent. This is also common to the "one paper, one subject" concept, but it is essential that the title, introduction, results, discussion, and other content be coherent and consistent. For example, the discussion does not answer the purpose of the introduction. For example, what is intended in the introduction should not be answered in the discussion, nor should there be inconsistencies such as writing an answer to a different purpose. The content of the paper should not be different from what is stated in the title.

The paper should be complete on its own. A single paper should be able to be understood just by reading it. In the case of a meteorological paper, the names of places that often appear in the paper should be recognizable, even if a Martian reads the paper. For this purpose, a map describing the area to be studied should be shown in the introductory figure, and all points and place names that appear in the paper should be indicated. Also, in mathematical formulas, etc., it is necessary to explain what is meant by formulas and symbols, even those that are common knowledge. The paper should not be written in such a way that you have to read something else to understand it.

There should be a clear distinction between facts and inferences, known findings and new findings. In common with being logical, there must be a clear distinction between facts obtained as a result of observations or calculations and what one thinks from them. Known findings and facts, unless they are self-evident, should be cited in the references, and it should be clearly stated who has clarified them and how. There must be a clear distinction between that and the findings that are revealed for the first time in this paper.

Properly cite and evaluate previous research. Do not pretend to be unaware of the content of previous papers and write about it as if it were new knowledge. Survey all relevant papers and include them in the introduction, and make clear the position of this paper within that context. Do not misquote the contents of previous papers (although this is usually pointed out during peer review). The description must be a fair evaluation of previous papers.

The paper must be fair. While it is necessary to correctly evaluate past research in the text, it must also fairly (objectively) evaluate your own results. It is not appropriate to evaluate them excessively highly or, conversely, to write about important results as if they were not so.

The traceability of the content should be complete. If it is an analysis of observational data, the analysis method can be used by others (in principle). If it is a numerical calculation, the same calculation can be done by others. If it is an experiment, the paper must be written in such a way that others can follow up on it. For example, in the case of simulation results, the necessary parameters and model settings must be clearly stated so that they can be followed up. As another traceability measure, observation and experimental data and research notes must be preserved for an appropriate period of time (5 or 10 years) so that they can be verified by a third party at a later date.

The writing must be sufficiently polished, both in terms of content and in terms of text. The first stage of writing, not only a thesis but any other text, should be considered the very beginning of the writing process. From there, the first draft will be developed through repeated polishing. Sometimes the content of the paper is completely changed from the first draft through revision.

Writing improves in proportion to the number of times a dictionary is consulted. Whether you are writing in Japanese or English, you should always look up dictionaries as you write. Even words that you know have various usages in different contexts. The same word can have different meanings, and sometimes it is better to use different expressions to express the same thing. In the case of Japanese, there are cases where people think they know a word but use it unexpectedly and inappropriately. For example, in the case of English, you should check the usage of a word many times with a dictionary to determine whether it is a transitive or intransitive verb.

When writing papers in English, be sure to use an English-English dictionary. English and Japanese words usually do not have the same range of meaning. English words can only be used correctly when they are understood in English. Not only the meaning of words, but also the usage of words should be looked up many times in an English-English dictionary before writing English.

Figures should be accurate and clear. Diagrams are the life of the paper. Necessary and sufficient information must be included clearly and legibly. They must be large enough to be printed (font size, clarity of tone, etc.).

Figures and text should correspond. Meteorological papers are often developed by explaining figures in particular. Figures must be chosen appropriately (necessary and sufficient) for the paper. Once the figure is presented, the figure must be fully explained. The reader will be looking at the figure for the first time, so it must be written in such a way that the reader can clearly see to which part of the figure the explanation refers.

An academic paper is one in which you pose your own questions and write the answers to them. This is my somewhat personal view on academic papers, but I think it is easier to organize an academic paper if it is formatted in such a way that you pose a question in the introduction, arrange the materials necessary to answer the question in the results chapter, and write the answer in the discussion. If the letter is of a heuristic nature, the answer may be written in the summary chapter instead of the discussion.

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論文の基本