寫作實務>串接寫作技巧>如何提供定義或補充說明

如何提供定義或補充說明

作者在提供解說或者定義時,可以使用各種不同的字詞來暗示「定義」即將出現,這些字詞的出現可以引導讀者閱讀時的預期心理,這些字詞的變化使用則可以增加寫作的豐富風格。以下就是一些常用的引導性字詞:

Strategy A: means
Homo habilis means handyman.

Strategy B: which means that
These patterns are ritualized, which means that the behavior is stereotyped, exaggerated, and rigid, and is always performed in the same way so that its social significance is repeated and stressed.

Strategy C: is/are
An environmental factor that increases the chances of a mutation is called a mutagen. Somatic mutations are mutations that affect the individual's body cells.

Strategy D: called/termed
At the time of ejaculation, the penis is left in a fluid called seminal fluid.

Strategy E: refers to
Morphogenesis refers to the shaping of the embryo and is first evident when certain cells are seen to move, or migrate, in relation to other cells.

Strategy F: or
In humans the gestation period, or length of pregnancy, is approximately nine months.

Strategy G: insert with parentheses (Either the definition or the word to be defined can be inserted.)
Viral infections can spread from the nasal cavities to the sinuses (sinusitis), to the middle ears (otitis media), to the larynx (laryngitis), and to the bronchi (bronchitis).
Thus an ecosystem contains both a biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) environment.

Strategy H: insert with dashes
The human blastula, termed the blastocyst, consists of a hollow ball with a mass of cells-the inner cell mass-at one end.


上述例句都是以直接的方式來宣告作者接下來就要提供定義。但是作者也可以用比較迂迴的、不那麼制式的方式,不經意似的提供定義或補充說明。例如用附屬子句來進一步說明論點要旨。

Strategy I: which/ that /where
Fraternal twins, which originate when two different eggs are fertilized by two different sperm, do not have identical chromosomes. The grasslands of all continents support populations of grazers that feed on grasses and browsers that feed on shrubs and trees. The region of the inguinal canal, where the spermatic cord passes into the abdomen, remains a weak point in the abdominal wall.

Strategy J: because
Hemophilia is called the bleeders disease because the afflicted person's blood is unable to clot.

Strategy K: when
When a mutagen leads to an increase in the incidence of cancer it is called a carcinogen.

Strategy L: if
If the thyroid fails to develop properly, a condition called cretinism results.


上述附屬子句都為主題添加了細節說明,並進一步表達了限制條件或不確定性。另外,作者還可以用以下句型結構來豐富說明。

Strategy M: appositive
Sperm are produced in the testes, but they mature in the epididymus, a tightly coiled tubule about twenty feet in length that lies just outside each testis. Breathing consists of taking air in, inspiration, and forcing air out, expiration.

Strategy N: in the case of
In the case of hyperthyroidism (too much thyroxin), the thyroid gland is enlarged and overactive, causing a goiter to form and the eyes to curiously protrude.

Strategy O: according to
According to the Malthusian view, the depietion curve tells us that there are limits to growth and that we are rapidly approaching those limits…

Strategy P: as the name implies
As their name implies monosaccharides are simple sugars with only one unit.

Strategy Q: 對比、對照
The special senses include the chemoreceptors for taste and smell, the light receptor for sight, and the mechanoreceptors for hearing and balance. Whereas a miscarriage is the unexpected loss of an embryo or fetus, an abortion is the purposeful removal of an embryo or fetus from the womb.


From The St. Martin's Guide to Writing
Rise B. Axelrod & Charles R. Cooper
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988, pp. 464-468