CHAPTER 7: How to Prepare the Title (From How to write and publish a scientific paper,)

在准备一篇论文的标题时，应当时刻谨记：绝大多数读者是不会看正文的，他们只会看看标题。而且，各种二级数据库或者搜索引擎都只会列出标题。所以，标题中的每一个词都应当慎重的选择，词与词之间的关系也要仔细地安排。或许，写标题时最常见的错误就是不当的句法（即词语的顺序）。

In preparing a title for a paper, you would do well to remember one salient fact: This title will be read by thousands of people. Perhaps few people, if any, will read the entire paper, but many people will read the title, either in the original journal, in one of the secondary (abstracting and indexing) databases, in a search engine’s output, or otherwise. Therefore, all words in the title should be chosen with great care, and their association with one another must be carefully managed. Perhaps the most common error in defective titles, and certainly the most damaging one in terms of comprehension, is faulty syntax (word order).

什么是好的标题呢？即用最少的词充分地表达了论文的内容。

What is a good title? We define it as the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of the paper.

好的标题不需要看起来风趣机智，但一定要清晰易懂。

Some authors mistakenly sacrifice clarity in an attempt to be witty. The title of a paper need not, and generally should not, be clever. It must, however, be clear.

标题需要足够具体

试比较以下标题：

“Action of Antibiotics on Bacteria.”

“Action of Streptomycin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis.”

“Action of Streptomycin, Neomycin, and Tetracycline on Gram-Positive Bacteria.”

“Action of Polyene Antibiotics on Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria.”

“Action of Various Antifungal Antibiotics on Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus.

还可以更具体： “Inhibition of Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Streptomycin.”

句法（词序）的重要性

准备标题时，一定要尤其小心句法问题。标题中最常见的语法错误即源自错误词序。

In titles, be especially careful of syntax. Most of the grammatical errors in titles are due to faulty word order.

试比较：

1. “Mechanism of Suppression of Nontransmissible Pneumonia（肺炎） in Mice Induced by Newcastle Disease Virus.”

2. “Mechanism of Suppression of Nontransmissible Pneumonia Induced in Mice by Newcastle Disease Virus.”

肺炎可以被Induce，而Mice不能，所以第一句是错误的句法。

标题要避免缩写和行话

标题中一定要避免使用缩写和很少使用的名字，行话，和过时的术语。

However, by far the best rule for authors (and editors) is to avoid abbreviations in titles. And the same rule should apply to proprietary names, jargon, and unusual or outdated terminology.