Base your writing on logical thinking. Learn to use inductive and deductive reasoning in your writing. Avoid common fallacies.

INDUCTIVE REASONING: When you reason inductively, you begin with a number of instances (facts or observations) and use them to draw a general conclusion. Whenever you interpret evidence, you reason inductively. The use of probability to form a generalization is called an inductive leap. Inductive arguments, rather than producing certainty, are thus intended to produce probable and believable conclusions. As your evidence mounts, your reader draws the conclusion that you intend. You must make sure that the amount of evidence is sufficient and not based on exceptional or biased sampling. Be sure that you have not ignored information that invalidates your conclusion (called the “neglected aspect”) or presented only evidence that supports a predetermined conclusion (known as “slanting”).

DEDUCTIVE REASONING: When you reason deductively, you begin with generalizations (premises) and apply them to a specific instance to draw a conclusion about that instance. Deductive reasoning often utilizes the syllogism, a line of thought consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; for example, All men are foolish (major premise); Smith is a man (minor premise); therefore, Smith is foolish (conclusion). Of course, your reader must accept the ideas or values that you choose as premises in order to accept the conclusion. Sometimes premises are not stated. A syllogism with an unstated major or minor premise, or even an unstated conclusion, needs to be examined with care because the omitted statement may contain an inaccurate generalization.

THE TOULMIN METHOD: Another way of viewing the process of logical thinking is through the Toulmin method. This model is less constrained than the syllogism and makes allowances for the important elements of probability, backing, or proof for the premise and rebuttal of the reader’s objections. This approach sees arguments as the progression from accepted facts or evidence (data) to a conclusion (claim) by way of a statement (warrant) that establishes a reasonable relationship between the two. The warrant is often implied in arguments, and like the unstated premise in the syllogism, needs careful examination to be acceptable. The writer can allow for exceptions to a major premise. Qualifiers such as probably, possibly, doubtless, and surely show the degree of certainty of the conclusion; rebuttal terms such as unless allow the writer to anticipate objections.

FALLACIES: A deductive argument must be both valid and true. A true argument is based on generally accepted, well-backed premises. Learn to distinguish between fact (based on verifiable data) and opinion (based on personal preferences). A valid argument follows a reasonable line of thinking.

Fallacies are faults in premises (truth) or in reasoning (validity). They may result from misusing or misrepresenting evidence, from relying on faulty premises or omitting a needed premise, or from distorting the issues. The following are some of the major forms of fallacies:

Non Sequitur: A statement that does not follow logically from what has just been said; in other words, a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.

Hasty Generalization: A generalization based on too little evidence or on exceptional or biased evidence.

Ad Hominem: Attacking the person who presents an issue rather than dealing logically with the issue itself.

Bandwagon: An argument saying, in effect, “Everyone’s doing or saying or thinking this, so you should too.”

Red Herring: Dodging the real issue by drawing attention to an irrelevant issue.

Either…Or: Stating that only two alternatives exist when in fact there are more than two.

False Analogy: The assumption that because two things are alike in some ways, they must be in other ways.

Equivocation: An assertion that falsely relies on the use of a term in two different senses.

Slippery Slope: The assumption that if one thing is allowed, it will be the first step in a downward spiral.

Oversimplification: A statement or argument that leaves out relevant considerations about an issue.

Begging the Question: An assertion that restates the point just made. Such an assertion is circular in that it draws as a conclusion a point stated in the premise.

False Cause: The assumption that because one event follows another, the first is the cause of the second. Sometimes called post hoc, ergo propter hoc (“after this, so because of this”).

学会用GOOGLE做research

转自李笑来老师的博客（http://www.xiaolai.net），收藏下来。

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Google是我们这个时代最伟大的产品之一。有了Google，本质上谁都有能力做“research”（研究）——“research”在今天已经不再像许多年前那样是少数“精英”的专利了。我常常告诉我的学生，“research”其实一点都不神秘；所谓的“research”其实只不过是“search, search, and… REsearch!”在中文里，“research”除了“研究”之外还可以用另外一个说法来翻译——“做学问”。中文的“学问”这个词拆开来是两个字“学”和“问”。做学问的人一样要学，一样要问，只不过他们比别人把“学”和“问”重复更多遍而已。

Google是个可以用来research（做学问）的工具，而国内的百度相对来讲，在这方面差了不是一点半点。相对来看Google还是更讲原则的一个产品。Google的搜索结果就是搜索结果，赞助商链接摆在旁边；而百度却为了赚钱把赞助商链接与搜索结果混在一起，并且更进一步，百度把赞助商链接放在搜索结果之前。前阵子媒体就有过报道，有一位中年人为了治疗癌症上百度搜索，找了家医院，最后病情并未得到控制，钱倒是多花了许多。百度的这种做法，直接导致人们无法分辨搜索结果与广告之间的区别，最终导致错误的判断。“如果提供假药信息,搜索引擎就是助纣为虐,谋财害命!”——国家食品药品监督管理局新闻发言人颜江瑛说（网易新闻2008年9月18日）。

Google的界面非常简洁，很多人对此相当地推崇。但过分简洁副作用就是很多人也因此“过分简单化地使用Google”。然而，想做学问的人，花几分钟学学Google的语法是相当值得的；这几分钟里学到的东西用“终生受用”修饰都不过份。

在Google的输入框里，所有的空格都被Google理解为加号（+）。如果你输入的是【purpose of education】（本文中，【……】中的文字与符号就是指你在Google的输入框里输入的文字与符号），那么Google返回的文章里既有“purpose”存在，也有“education”存在，但不一定有“purpose of education”存在。另外，过分常用的、单独存在没有意义的词汇往往被忽略掉，比如冠词“a”、“the”；介词“of”、“in”、“on”、“at”、“to”；连词“and”、“or”、“but”；从属连词“that”、“which”、“when”；代词“my”、“his”、“them”……等等。

如果你想要找含有“purpose of education”这个词组的文章，那么你必须输入【“purpose of education”】。现在的Google已经可以处理utf-8大字符集了，所以，即便你在输入的时候即便使用的是全角字符（不是半角字符的【”】而是【“】或者【”】）Google也照样能够正确处理。比较一下两种输入返回的结果：【purpose of education】vs.【“purpose of education”】。再试试【the most important benefit of education】和【“the most important benefit of education”】。这就是引号（“……”）的作用——返回“完整匹配”的结果。

为了进一步筛选搜索结果，还需要学会另外一个符号——减号（-）。比如，【“the most imporant benefit of education” – “united states”】要求Google返回含有“the most important benefit of education”但不存在“united states”的文章。

另外一个威力无穷的符号是型号（*)。Google支持通配符搜索，即搜索字符串中可以包含星号（*），用来替代任意字符串。比如，【“the most * examples of censorship”】将会返回含有类似“the most outrageous examples of censorship”、“the most brazenexamples of censorship”、“the most heinous examples of censorship”、“the moststupidest examples of censorship”、“the most dangerous examples of censorship”、“the most egregious examples of censorship”、“the most prolificexamples of censorship”、“the most absurd examples of censorship”……

在网上找例子的时候星号非常有用。比如，想找历史上“最怎么样的”老师的话可以搜索【“most * teachers in history such as”】，或者，想知道国外常见的软饮料品牌的话就搜索【“* soft drinks such as”】。星号还可以把Google当作搭配辞典使用，比如，想知道proof这个单词之前可以使用的量词都有哪些的话，可以搜索【“a * of proofs”】，返回的结果会让你知道，起码有这么几个：“a set of proofs”，“a variety of proofs”，“anumber of proofs”，“a series of proofs”……

还有一个运用相当灵活、经常带来意外收获的符号是波浪号（~）。把波浪号（～）加在某个单词前面，是在告诉Google：除了给出的关键字之外，还要搜索与波浪号（～）后面的那个单词相关的词汇。比如，搜索【the importance of ~censorship】的结果中包含着“the importance of censorship”，也包含着与censorship相关的另外一个词汇“propaganda”——“the importance of propaganda”。

再学一个在指定网站中搜索的语法“site:”。比如，【“the purpose of education” site:http://www.time.com/】就是要求Google只返回http://www.time.com这个网站里的含有“the purpose of education”的文章。

2006年，Google推出了“co-op”服务（自定义搜索引擎）。其中最常用的功能之一就是可以指定Google搜索一个或者若干个指定的网站——相当于前面提到的Google语法“site:”的扩展。比如，我就为我的学生定制了一个Google cse（customized search engine）——“Search News Media”（在我的网站的导航栏上，有一个“自定义搜索引擎”，点进去也会看到这个cse）。不妨看看在这个自定义搜索引擎上搜索【censorship】返回的结果（GRE/SAT的作文考试中，都有很多关于“censorship”的作文题）。这个cse只搜索以下10个网站：

• http://www.economist.com/
• http://www.cnn.com/
• http://www.time.com/
• http://nytimes.com/
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/
• http://www.usnews.com/
• http://usatoday.com/
• http://www.reuters.com/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/
• http://en.wikinews.org/

我还给学生定制过一个专门搜索百科类网站的cse：“Encyclopedia Search”。这个cse只搜索以下7个网站：

• http://en.wikipedia.org/
• http://encarta.msn.com/
• http://knol.google.com/
• http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
• http://en.citizendium.org/
• http://www.bartleby.com/65/
• http://www.eb.com/

如果你是Google的注册用户（现在几乎人人都用gmail），那么你也可以定制类似的cse，并且可以与其他人分享。关于更复杂的应用，只能查看Google CSE的帮助文档了。

It presents a series of common mistakes that we often make. So have you made any mistakes of them as follows? Whatever it takes, I do.
I figure it’s a very good guidance for young researchers who want to publish top papers. I would like to share it with you and have a further discussion with you guy.
In the near future, I will also share some articles about writing skills.

Correct Usage

• Misused Words and Expressions
• Words Pronounced or Spelled Similarly but Different in Meaning
• Words with Irregular Plurals
• Singular Verbs and Pronouns with Collective Nouns
  
• Made-up Words and Words in Vogue
  
• Expressing Coordinate Ideas in Parallel Form

This chapter deals briefly with a number of language problems that we as editors seem to encounter again and again. Our suggestions are based on one rule: what we write and edit should be clear and concise.

Use words carefully and precisely. The following words and expressions are frequently misused.

Affect, effect. In common usage affect is always a verb. It is used as a noun only in fields like psychology and psychotherapy. Affectmeans to influence (Enrollment affects tuition) or to make a show of or pretend (She affected cheerfulness to hide her concern). Effectis most often used as a noun. It means result (His warning had no effect). As a verb, effect means to bring about or accomplish (We can effect change only through compromise).

A lot, a lot of. These expressions are overused and are too informal in most contexts. Try using often or frequently for a lot and usingmany, a great deal, or much for a lot of. There is no such word asalot.

Alright. Many critic say it is wrong. Careful writers spell the expression as two words: all right. Although used less frequently than all right, it is found in journalistic and business publications and is common in fictional dialogue.

Although, though. In most uses these words are interchangeable, but it may be best to begin clauses with although, since it is more emphatic, and to use though to connect elements within a clause. (Although intelligent, he could not apply himself. She was born of poor though well-educated parents.)

Among. See Between, among.

An. Use the article a before an initial h pronounced even slightly (a historian, a hypothesis, a horse). Use of an in such cases is considered affected or archaic in this country.

And. And or but may be used as the first word of a sentence. Both are useful as transitional words between related sentences.

And/or. Don’t use this device; it is appropriate only in legal writing.And can sometimes suggest or, and generally or includes and. For the rare sentence that requires such a construction, write insteaditem 1, item 2, or both (not transcripts and/or entrance scores, buttranscripts, entrance scores, or both).

As. See Like, as and Because, since, as.

Assure, ensure, insure. All three of these verbs mean to make secure or certain. Ensure and insure are interchangeable, except that insure is generally used in the sense of guaranteeing life or property against risk. Assure is the only one of the three that has the sense of setting a person’s mind at rest.

Awhile. Awhile is an adverb. While is a noun that often appears in the prepositional phrase for a while (three words). (I considered awhile, but I considered the matter for a while.)

Because, since, as. Because is the most specific of the conjunctions used to express reason or cause. It always indicates an unequivocal causal relationship. Since is often a weak form ofbecause. It also contains a notion of duration over time thatbecause does not. Use since when the meaning of what follows it is implied by what precedes it. Using as to mean since or because is always feeble. It makes whatever follows sound trivial. Avoid this misuse. Substitute for, since, or because, except in those rare cases in which you want to tone down the reason assigned.

Between, among. Between is the only choice when two persons or objects are involved. It is also proper to use between when more than two are involved if you want to express relations taken one pair at a time (Exchanges between the five colleges were not uncommon). Use among when three or more entities are considered collectively and no close relationship is implied (Funds are divided among the eight divisions).

Borrow, lend. Borrow means to obtain or receive something on loan. Lend means to give out or allow the use of something temporarily. You borrow from but lend to. (In formal writing, always use lend rather than loan as a verb.)

Bring, take. In the sense of conveying, use bring to indicate movement toward the speaker. It implies come (here) with. Use taketo indicate movement away from the speaker. It implies go (there) with. You take food to a picnic and bring home leftovers.

But. See And.

Can, may. Use can to indicate ability to do something and may to indicate permission to do it. Don’t use can for may.

Cannot. Use cannot rather than can not.

Compose, comprise. Comprise expresses the relation of the larger to the smaller, not the other way around (think of comprise as meaning to embrace or take in). The whole comprises the parts; the whole is composed of its parts. The parts compose the whole and are comprised in it. Do not use comprised of; use instead compose,constitute, or make up. (Include is not a synonym for comprise, butcomprise has the sense of inclusion.)

Continual, continuous. Although these words have the same primary meaning, their precise meanings are different. Use continualwhen you mean action that is intermittent or repeated at intervals (the continual reminder of gunfire in the distance). Use continuouswhen you mean uninterrupted action in time or unbroken extent in space (a continuous stream of marchers).

Convince, persuade. Use convince with that or of; use persuadewith to. (You may be convinced that or of something; you must be persuaded to do something.)

Different from, different than. One thing differs from another.Different than is incorrect.

Dilemma. A dilemma is a situation that requires one to choose between two equally balanced alternatives. If no suggestion of alternatives is involved, use predicament or problem,

Discover. Do not use discover when you mean develop or invent.Something that was discovered already existed but was unknown.

Effect. See Affect, effect.

E.g., i.e. The abbreviation e.g. means for example (exempli gratia) and introduces an illustrative instance or a short list of names or other items. The abbreviation i.e. means that is (id est) and introduces a repetition in different words of the ideas just discussed, or an amplification that would be appropriate after an ordinary that is. The two expressions are always set off by commas.

Ensure. See Assure, ensure, insure.

Enthused, enthusiastic. Enthuse, a back-formation from enthusiasm, is not considered acceptable in formal writing. Useenthusiastic instead. (A back-formation is a word invented in the erroneous belief that an existing word is derived from it.)

Etc., et al. In strict usage, et cetera (and the rest) is neuter and so can refer only to things, and et alia (and others) can refer only to persons. Do not end a list of persons with etc.; instead, use and others. Using etc. at the end of a list introduced by for example,such as, or a similar expression is also incorrect. (Note: A comma is required after etc. unless it ends the sentence. Also note that etdoes not require a period but al. does; et is a word, al. is an abbreviation.)

Fact. Use this word only for matter that can be directly verified, not for matters of judgment.

Farther, further. Farther is best used to indicate distance, furtherto indicate degree. (He ran farther than she did. We discussed the issue further.)

Fewer. See Less, fewer.

Flammable, inflammable. Both words mean easily ignitable and are interchangeable in their literal sense. Use nonflammable ornoncombustible to describe something that does not burn.

Historic, historical. Use historic to describe what is important in or contributes to history (historic walk on the moon; historic meeting of the Allied powers). Use historical to refer more broadly to what is concerned with history (historical play; historical artifacts). Use a, not an, with these words.

Hopefully. It is best used to mean in a hopeful way not it is to be hoped or let us hope. Even though it is common in popular usage and conversation, it is unacceptable to many critics and can be ambiguous. Careful writers avoid this usage.

However. When however means nevertheless, avoid using it as the first word of a sentence. For this sense, the word serves better within the sentence. (His condition continued to weaken. At last, however, we saw some improvement.)

I.e. See E.g., i.e.

Imply, infer. The distinction is as clear as that between give and take. Imply is a word for the transmitting end and infer a word for the receiving end. When you imply, you deliver; when you infer, you draw from. (He implied that he didn’t want to go. From her manner, we inferred that she didn’t want to go.)

Inflammable. See Flammable, inflammable.

Innovation. The root of the word innovate is the Latin novus,meaning new. Saying new innovation is like saying new new introduction.

Insure. See Assure, ensure, insure.

lrregardless. Should be regardless. The negative is expressed by -less; adding the prefix ir- makes a double negative.

Its, it’s. Its is a possessive pronoun parallel to his, hers, yours, theirs. It’s is a contraction of it is or it has, not a possessive.

Latter. Latter refers to the second of two things, not to the last of a series of things. Repeat the necessary information or rewrite the sentence to avoid using this expression; don’t expect your reader to look back to a previous passage.

Lay. See Lie, lay.

Lend. See Borrow, lend.

Less, fewer. Less refers to quantity (less course work); fewerrefers to number (fewer courses).

Lie, lay. Lay means to put, place, or prepare. Lie means to recline or be situated. In senses involving what people do with their bodies, use the forms lie (present), lay (past), lain (past participle), lying(present participle). For what people do with objects, use lay(present), laid (past), laid (past participle), laying (present participle).

Like, as. Use as to express in what capacity or role a deed is done; use like to introduce a comparison. (She acts as a supervisor implies that she is a supervisor; she acts like a supervisor compares her to one.) Another clue: like governs nouns and pronouns; as introduces phrases and clauses. Comparisons involving a verb should be introduced with as or as if (I don’t sing as I once did, not I don’t sing like I once did. He carried on as if he were crazy, not He carried on like he was crazy.) See also Such as.

May. See Can, may.

Orient, orientate. Orientate has crept into the language, probably as a back-formation from orientation, but it is a superfluous word. Save a syllable and use orient.

Persons, people. Use persons when you mean individuals with identities; use people when you mean a large and anonymous mass. (People can be pushed only so far. She was one of those persons who can cope with pressure.)

Persuade. See Convince, persuade.

Presently. In modern usage, presently is best used to mean in a short time. Use at present, now, or currently to mean at this time.

Relatively. Use relatively only when there is a clearly implied or expressed comparison.

Respective, respectively. These words are meaningless unless they clarify a direct correspondence between one series and another. Use them only when necessary. (The departments are listed under their colleges, not The departments are listed under their respective colleges.)

Since. See Because, since, as.

Such as. Such as and like are close in meaning, but there is a distinction worth noting. Such as suggests an indefinite group of objects; like suggests a closer resemblance among the things compared (significant events in history, such as the fall of the Roman Empire, the Norman Conquest, . . . , but tangible benefits like good pay and sick leave).

Take. See Bring, take.

That, which. That is a restrictive, or defining, pronoun; it introduces a phrase or clause that is essential to the meaning of the sentence.Which is a nonrestrictive, or descriptive, pronoun; the phrase or clause it introduces, which is usually set off by commas, could be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Though. See Although, though.

Till. Not an abbreviation of until, so never write ’til. Till is a word in its own right.

Toward, towards. Toward is preferred.

Type. Avoid combining type with a noun to create a compound adjective (hippie-type students). Use such a compound only when the reference is technical or at least highly specific. (Note: In nontechnical writing, use type to refer to specific categories andkind or sort to refer to more general groupings: that type of therapy; that kind of problem.)

Underway, under way. Always two words as an adverb (meaning in motion or operation; started). Spelled as one word as an adjective, but its use as an adjective (underway refueling) is extremely limited.

Unique. Don’t use qualifiers (more, most, less) with unique. It means without equal or the only one of its kind.

Utilize. In most cases, use is preferable to utilize, Utilize suggests putting an object or material to a new or expanded use.

Very. Use this word sparingly. Instead, use words that are strong in themselves.

Whether or not. Usually you can omit the or not to advantage (or substitute if for the whole phrase). If, however, your intention is to give equal stress to the alternative, the or not is necessary. (I will finish the project whether he gives his approval or not.)

Which. See That, which.

While. Don’t use this word to mean although, whereas, and, or but, and don’t use it where only a semicolon is necessary. While meansduring the time that and should be used to link simultaneous occurrences in instances in which simultaneity is part of the point. Be especially careful not to use while when times mentioned in the sentence are expressly stated to be different. (Although [not while] days were warm, evenings were often chilly. Several of the female graduate students were from other countries, whereas [not while] all the males were Americans.)

Who, whom. Use who when it functions as the subject or as a predicate after some form of the verb to be. Use whom as an object of a verb or preposition or as the subject of a complementary infinitive (the woman whom I took to be your sister). When you are unsure about which to use, try substituting a personal pronoun (he/she or her/him) in the sentence. If he or she is correct, usewho; if him or her is correct, use whom. Use who and whom when referring to persons. Use that and which when referring to animals and inanimate objects.

-wise. Adding the suffix -wise to a word is almost never appropriate (Contentwise the class was interesting). Avoid it.

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Watch out for words that are the same or similar in pronunciation or
spelling but different in meaning.

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Watch your use and spelling of words with irregular plurals.

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Use singular verbs and pronouns with collective nouns (class, committee, crowd, faculty, family, group, jury, staff, team, etc.). (The class of ’38 is holding its reunion in the Campus Club. The team of 12 regulars was honored Saturday.)

Plurals regarded as a unit become collectives and take singular verbs.

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The same principle applies to phrases or sentences in a series.

Express similar ideas within a sentence in the same form.

Correlative expressions should be followed by parallel phrases or clauses. Rearrange the sentence if necessary.