如何在學術文章寫作中正確使用逗號

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

逗號(comma)用於區分列表中的不同項目或在句子中把短語和子句分隔開，使句子表達更清晰和突出重點。這是一個廣泛的角色，因此逗號可以說是標點符號世界中的是萬能博士 (jack-of-all-trades)。正如英國著名作家 Lynne Truss在對逗號的描述中說的那樣，它是“恐怖的文法牧羊犬”:

逗號作為“分隔者”（標點符號一般就是在扮演“分隔者”或“終結者”兩者之一的角色）有著很多工作，它在語言的山坡上狂奔，無休止地將單詞組織為合適的組合，並使它們留在原地：排序和劃分; 盤旋和放牧; 當然更要邊汪汪叫邊飛奔去將任何難以管束且無有效的語意自由度的從屬子句聚集起來 (英文原文出自於 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Kindle edition; pp. 78-79).

儘管如此，我們仍可以堅決要求像牧羊犬這樣的逗號遵守某些規則。以下便是我們AsiaEdit的編輯在編修文章時遇過的最常見規則:

在列舉事物時出現在 “And”之前的逗號 (即牛津逗號，又稱序列逗號)

在列舉簡單項目的列表中，逗號是標點符號的基本單位。

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

例外的情況是列舉含較複雜項目的列表時可以使用分號分隔各項目（逗號使用規則仍適用於個別項目當中!):

“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.”

牛津逗號或稱序列逗號（即在上面第一個例子中用於“triglycerides”之後的逗號）的有用性仍然是在爭論之中。而在AsiaEdit，我們的慣常做法是保留作者偏愛的風格，除非期刊風格指南另有指引。

出現在”And”和其他連詞 (“But”, “So”,…) 之前的逗號

不需要用逗號來分隔兩個共享同一主題的獨立但相關的子句（即復合謂語compound predicate）。

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

但是，如果那些獨立子句的主題是不同的話，就應該用逗號來表示過渡性。在下面的語句例子中，這情況出現在“alone”後面。

“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.”

逗號與限制性和非限制性子句的關係

逗號也可用於將作為附帶說明的非限制性子句（即那些解釋說明性質而非不可缺少的子句）從主語句中分隔開。

“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，逗號不應用於分隔包含主語句中必不可少的資訊的限制性子句！在下面的語句例子中，在“that”之後是不用加逗號的。

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

謝謝您的閱讀。這些小竅門是由AsiaEdit的執行編輯團隊成員 Rachel, Louise, Leo 及 Jennifer為您準備！

QUICK ASIDE

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.

QUICK ASIDE

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

執行編輯 (生命科學科)

在獲得密歇根大學免疫學博士學位並以第一作者或合著者身份發表多篇研究論文後，她開始兼職學術編輯的生涯，並同時從事腫瘤免疫學和放射學的博士後研究。她很快轉為全職學術編輯，並為來自生命科學，生物醫學和醫學領域的客戶編修文章。她於2016年以自由編輯身份加入AsiaEdit。在2020年，她升任了全職高級編輯，隨後更擔任了生命科學科的執行編輯。