1 选题和写作

• 与其跟风大文章，不如找一个有特色、原创性高、有系统的课题，这样更容易建立学术声誉
• 任何研究都是有有效期的，所以要尽快完成
• 思考自己擅长什么，给学生分配他们能做的课题
• 选题有广度(Broad Interest)，有深度(Significants)，有难度(Difficulty)，有新意(Novelty)，出人意料甚至颠覆(Unexpected)，问题导向(Question).
• 为什么做: 缘起与意义，significants(深度)和general interests(广度),解决人们关注的问题，面向前沿、应用或未解决的问题，归纳总结对比，推动其他领域/对本领域进展，领导潮流，改变别人的观念,类似问题绕不开我的研究，会被关注和follow
• 做什么: 内容（系统、全面、多角度，要有递进层次、有逻辑、重点突出）、 目标（探索性，到什么程度、理清什么规律、揭示什么机理、解决什么问题等）与关键问题()，定量定性对比分析，有理有据
• 怎么做: 突出具体方法，条理清晰、层次分明、突出主干，图文并茂，让人一目了然
• 能做到吗: 可行性分析，能做到且非我不可，我的优势
• 科学问题: 要凝炼抽象，规律性及通用性,揭示现象背后的原因,以便预测新的现象，并用理论来指导实践、具有一定的深度
• 特色和创新点: 直接把项目的研究特色和创新点说出来即可. 特色就是和别人不一样。创新性包括理论创新、方法创新、材料（样品）创新等.

2 How to Make Your Next Paper Scientifically Effective^[1]

• Is the title appealing to broader readership?
• Have significant findings been identified in the abstract?
• Does the introduction provide motivation for the study?
• Are the figures and schemes scientifically correct and aesthetically pleasing?
• Do the discussion of results and cited references fall within the scope of the journal?
• Is the discussion centered on the main theme of the paper?
• Have proper acknowledgements been made?
• Have all coauthors seen and commented on the final draft of the manuscript?

3 The science of scientific writing^[2]

1. Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.
2. Place in the stress position (end of sentence) the “new information” you want the reader to emphasize.
3. Place the person or thing whose “story” a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.
4. Place appropriate “old information” (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.
5. Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb.
6. In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider anything new.
7. In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.

4 The Most Common Habits from more than 200 English Papers written by Graduate Chinese Engineering Students^[3]

• The is a definite article. Before a noun, the conveys that the known refers to a specific item (the plan). A and an are indefinite articles. They convey that a noun refers to an item in a nonspecific or general way (a plan).
• Long sentences can be avoided by limiting each sentence to one or two topics. Semicolons should be used where the writer really wants to emphasize the relationship between ideas. Another type of super-long sentence that frequently occurs in technical papers is that of a list (put it in a bulleted list).
• Bring the main idea to the beginning of the sentence stating any locations, reasons, etc., afterwards. Place the most important subject at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. Figure 8 shows….
• Respectively is usually at the end of the sentence. Respective to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned. Correct: Bobby, Nicole and Daren wore red, green and blue coats, respectively. The weights of the two experts are 0.600 and 0.400, respectively .
• In papers written by native English writers these phrases are reserved for primarily two uses: 1) In the introduction and conclusion to emphasize the content of the paper. 2) In the body of the paper, after referring to work not done by the author such as in other journal articles or in standard. The ‘study’ is the work the author/s did. The paper is the mode to present this work and is what the reader is holding/ reading. Keep in mind the writer can also use other phrases such as ‘in this research,’ and ‘this paper present.’
• Arabic numerals should never be used at the beginning of sentences. Arabic numerals should be used to give data in technical papers, however they should not be used to give general information. Incorrect: 12 parameters were selected for the experiment. All 3 studies concluded that the mean temperature should be 30°C.
• Equations should be introduced as much as possible, not inserted in place of words. Incorrect: If the power battery SOC > SOC_lo and the driving torque belongs to the middle load,… Correct: If the power battery SOC is greater than SOC_lo and …
• All English paragraphs start on a new line with an indent of about one inch or with an extra line between the two paragraphs. The latter is more typical for business writing.
  
• In addition, abbreviations for figure and table are not used at the beginning of sentences and a space belongs between the word/abbreviation and the number.
• Variables, especially those of the English alphabet, should be italicized in technical papers to distinguish them from English words. Be careful that capitals are not in the middle of the sentence.
• Such as and etc. both imply incomplete list, so using such as and etc. together is redundant. Such as means that an incomplete list will be given and should not be used when a complete list is given.
  
• Some words have identical singular and plural forms and do not need an s added on to make them plural, such as literature (when referring to research), equipment, staff (referring to a group of people) and faculty.
• Avoid redundancy in the following types of phrases frequently used by Chinese English writers, such as Research work, Limit condition, Knowledge memory, Sketch map, Layout scheme, Arrangement plan, Output performance, Simulation results, Knowledge information, Calculation results, Application results.
• Certain words demand that the noun they modify is plural. These include different, various, and number words, such as Different nodes, Various methods, Two advantages, Fifteen thermocouples.
• Do not write ‘by this way.’ Instead write ‘by doing this,’ or ‘using this method.’
• Never write ‘How to…’ at the beginning of a sentence. (Don’t say it ither.) Correct: Determining how to find the optimal parameter is the main objective.
• Do write ‘the results are shown in Figure 2.’ Do not write ‘the results are showed as Figure 2.’ Instead, Figure 2 shows…
• Refrain from using the word obviously in a technical paper in the following way.
• International papers should not use location dependant terms such as ‘our country.’ Instead, write ‘in China.’
• Avoid overusing the phrases ‘that is to say’ and ‘namely.’ Instead, try to convey your meaning in one sentence.

5 Scientist: Four golden lessons^[4]

1. No one knows everything, and you don’t have to.
2. While you are swimming and not sinking you should aim for rough water.
3. It is to forgive yourself for wasting time. If you want to be creative, then you will have to get used to spending most of your time not being creative, to being becalmed on the ocean of scientific knowledge.
4. To learn something about the history of science, or at a minimum the history of your own branch of science. The history of science can make your work seem more worthwhile to you and you can get great satisfaction by recognizing that your work in science is a part of history.

6 Cover Letter

% Cover Letter
% Prof. Yuewen Mu
% May 8, 2017
 
\noindent Dear referees:    

Please find attached manuscript titled “A Novel Borophene Featuring Heptagonal Holes: Common Precursor of Borospherenes”,  which was submitted to Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics as an Paper. This manuscript was co-authored by Yuwen Mu, Qiang Chen, Na Chen, Haigang Lu and Si-Dian Li.   
......
We are looking forward to your kind response in your early convenience.

7 The Most Common Habits from more than 200 English Papers written by Graduate Chinese Engineering Students^[3]

7.1 a/an/the

• Articles: Also called determiners or noun markers, articles are the words a, an, and the. A and an are indefinite articles, and the is a definite article. Articles signal that a noun will follow and that any modifiers between the article and the noun refer to that noun. ( a cold , metal chair/ the lightning-fast computer).
• Determiners: A word or word group, traditionally identified as an adjective, that limits a noun by telling how much or how many about it. (expression of quantity, limiting adjective, marker) They tell whether a noun is general (a tree) or specific (the tree). The is a definite article. Before a noun, the conveys that the known refers to a specific item (the plan). A and an are indefinite articles. They convey that a noun refers to an item in a nonspecific or general way (a plan).
• A and an are indefinite articles; the is a definite article. Every time a singular noncount noun, a common noun that names one countable item, is used the noun requires some kind of determiner.

7.2 Very long sentences

• Long sentences can be avoided by limiting each sentence to one or two topics. Semicolons should be used where the writer really wants to emphasize the relationship between ideas.
• Another type of super-long sentence that frequently occurs in technical papers is that of a list. However, the best way to give such type and quantity of information is to tabulate it (put it in a bulleted list).

7.3 Prefacing the main idea of a sentence by stating the purpose, location or reason first

• Chinese writers often preface the main topic of a sentence by first stating the purpose, location, reason, examples and conditions as introductory elements. However, this has the effect of demoting the importance of the main idea and making the reader think the author is indirect. Bring the main ide

7.4 Tendency of placing phrases which indicate time at the beginning of a sentence

7.5 Place the most important subject at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis

7.6 which/ that

• The antecedent (noun or pronoun) to which which refers is not specific, causing confusion.
• Absolute truths in paleontology are often elusive, and even the filmmakers were surprised at the fierce arguments that split the scientists when an initial brainstorming session was else.

7.7 Respectively/respective

• Respectively refers back to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned. If two lists are given, respectively pairs the list entries according to the order in which they are given. In this case the use of respectively is to allow the writer to give a lot of information without confusing the reader or writing several short sentences. Respectively is usually at the end of the sentence. In both cases, mentioning the order must be important to the meaning of the sentence otherwise it is not used. For exampl
• Respective to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned.

7.8 In this paper/in this study

• In papers written by native English writers these phrases are reserved for primarily two uses

1. In the introduction and conclusion to emphasize the content of the paper.
2. In the body of the paper, after referring to work not done by the author such as in other journal articles or in standard.

• Therefore, if either phrase occurs more than three times in a paper, its use is questionable.
• The ‘study’ is the work the author/s did. The paper is the mode to present this work and is what the reader is holding/ reading. Keep in mind the writer can also use other phrases such as ‘in this research,’ and ‘this paper present.’

7.9 Numbers/Equations

• The use of Arabic numerals, itself, is not an error however; they should never be used at the beginning of sentences.
• In addition, Arabic numerals are overused. Arabic numerals should be used to give data in technical papers, however they should not be used to give general information.
• Equations should be introduced as much as possible, not inserted in place of words. Most journals, like the International Journal of Production Research, discourage the use of even short expressions within the text.

7.10 Format

• All English paragraphs start on a new line with an indent of about one inch or with an extra line between the two paragraphs. The latter is more typical for business writing.

7.11 Figure/Table

• The abbreviations for figure and table are Fig. and Tbl, respectively. However, the abbreviation of table is rarely seen in text. One can also write fig. for figure.
• However, one should choose one convention and use it throughout the paper. You should not switch between, Figure, figure, Fig, or fig. In addition, abbreviations are not used at the beginning of sentences and a space belongs between the word/ abbreviation and the number.

7.12 Variables

• Variables, especially those of the English alphabet, should be italicized in technical papers to distinguish them from English words. Of course, this depends on the style required by the journal.

7.13 Capitals

• Be careful that capitals are not in the middle of the sentence.

7.14 such as/etc.

• Such as means ‘for example’ and implies that an incomplete list will follow; etc. means ‘and so on’ and is used at the end of a list to show it is not complete. Therefore, using such as and etc. together is redundant.
• Such as means that an incomplete list will be given and should not be used when a complete list is given.

7.15 Avoid redundancy

7.16 Certain words demand that the noun they modify is plural. These include different, various, and number words

7.17 Other Tips

• Never begin an English sentence with abbreviations and Arabic numerals such as Fig. and 8. Instead write Figure and Eight.
• Do not write ‘by this way.’ Instead write ‘by doing this,’ or ‘using this method.’
• Never write ‘How to…’ at the beginning of a sentence. (Don’t say it ither.) (Determining how to …)
• Do write ‘the results are shown in Figure 2.’ Do not write ‘the results are showed as Figure 2.’
• Italicize variables appearing in the text to differentiate them from words.
• Refrain from using the word obviously in a technical paper in the following way
• International papers should not use location dependant terms such as ‘at home,’ ‘abroad,’ ‘here,’ ‘our country’ because the reader most likely is not Chinese and not in China. Instead, write ‘in China.’
• Avoid overusing the phrases ‘that is to say’ and ‘namely.’ Instead, try to convey your meaning in one sentence.
• Do not use ‘too’ at the end of a written sentence, especially in a technical paper.

7.18 文献格式

论文文献格式

1. 文献序号一般：[1] 或(1)

2. 注意某些化学式的下标和上标

3. 作者如果缩写，注意点，如 Ying, Y. 用;分割

4. 删除期号，只保留卷号和起始页码

5. 期刊名称用缩写

6. 标题用统一Title模式，除介词各单词首字母大写，结尾不用[j]

• 错误示例:

• 正确示例：

•