3 October 2016

英文文章句子要多長?


最近有一位同學問我一個問題,他看到我修改完的SOP中,有幾句非常的短,只有五個字左右,他問說這樣會不會很奇怪。

這是我蠻常遇到的問題。

我們中文文章傳統上重排比,所以我們很重視句子長短要一致。另外,我們學習英文的時候,通常是愈長的句子,愈複雜的句型,感覺愈勵害,所以寫SOP的時候,也都會故意把句子拉很長。

但要注意的是,英文句子不是愈長愈好。

像是 I really like apples, and I also like pears but what I did not know until yesterday is that I also like mangoes.

這句很長沒錯,但是其實這是run-on sentence。不是加一個and繼續講下去,還是在下一句的句首加一個大寫And,還是But還是Because,就算是長句,看起來就比較勵害。

英文句型長短要搭配想表達的內容。表達複雜的內容用長句複雜句,表達簡單的意思用短句。

能夠用五個字講完的意思,不要用六個字寫。更不要兩句各五個字的句子,中間只是加一個and,反而拖拖拉拉的沒完沒了。

這裡有一篇文章是講述英文文章的節奏,這一篇講得蠻淺顯易懂的,同學可以參考一下:

http://wordsbyevanporter.com/how-to-use-varied-sentence-lengths-for-better-writing/

另外有一篇寫得比較深入一些,這一篇是講述學術文章怎麼寫:

http://www.aje.com/en/arc/editing-tip-sentence-length/

其中有一段是專門講句子長短搭配的使用方式。

"It is also important to note that an average sentence length is just that—an average. Even writers who opt to aim for an average sentence length of, e.g., 20-25 words should mix long and short sentences to keep their reader’s interest. Long sentences work best when your reader’s interest is piqued, as these sentences have the advantage of flow but require more focus on the part of the reader. Meanwhile, short sentences grab your reader’s attention. These sentences are ideal for keeping your reader engaged, but too many consecutive short sentences are jarring. Mixing these two sentence types keeps your audience engaged throughout the paragraph."

作者提到無論是什麼英文程度的作者,都應該要長短句互相搭配。

長句是用在解釋比較複雜的觀念的時候,這時讀者需要比較專注,優點是比較流暢,缺點是讀者需要很專心才能夠看得懂。

短句是用在抓住讀者的目光,繼續吸引讀者。太多長句,讀者可能會消化不來,注意力不集中。太多短句又看起來不夠專業,感覺斷斷續續的。

唯有長短互相搭配,才能寫出吸引人,又能說明複雜意思的文章。