I have recently received some enquiries from new clients asking me to help them with their writing skills in English。

　　最近，我收到一些客戶(hù)的詢(xún)問(wèn)，請求我幫助他們解決英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)作技巧的問(wèn)題。

　　This gave me an idea of starting a new series entitled English Writing Skills. In this series I will explore the different techniques that are required to produce good writing both in academia and business. The areas I plan to cover will vary from developing arguments through the use of linkers, punctuation, spelling and correct register (formal versus informal)。

　　這讓我有了開(kāi)始一系列名為英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)作技巧的主意。在這個(gè)系列中，我將提出不同的寫(xiě)作技巧，能夠滿(mǎn)足學(xué)術(shù)和商業(yè)領(lǐng)域的寫(xiě)作需求。這個(gè)系列我計劃通過(guò)連接詞、標點(diǎn)符號、拼寫(xiě)和準確定位(正規和不正規比較)來(lái)覆蓋各種不同的論據。

　　If there are any aspects of writing that you’d like me to write about, please do let me know and I will happily add it to the series。

　　如果你想要我說(shuō)明關(guān)于寫(xiě)作的某些方面，請告訴我，我非常樂(lè )意將它加入到這個(gè)系列中。

　　In this first post of the series, I have decided to examine three punctuation symbols that are used in writing but are often confused and consequently ignored by many people – the dash (-)， semicolon (；) and colon (：)。

　　在這個(gè)系列的第一篇文章中，我決定剖析三個(gè)標點(diǎn)符號，它們是大家在寫(xiě)作中會(huì )經(jīng)常使用的，但也是經(jīng)常感到困惑和經(jīng)常忽略的符號----破折號(-)，分號 (；) 和冒號 (：)

　　I found this extremely helpful and informative infographic prepared by Grammar Net. According to Grammar Net: “ Dashes, semicolons and colons are potent punctuation. They add clarity, call attention to sentence elements and improve the “flow,” but they also add drama and are destructive if over-used。

　　我發(fā)現一個(gè)由語(yǔ)法網(wǎng)準備的一個(gè)非常有幫助、涵蓋了有用信息的信息圖。根據語(yǔ)法網(wǎng)定義：破折號、分號和冒號都是有效的標點(diǎn)符號。他們增加了句子成分的清晰度，吸引人注意并提高句子的連貫性，但是如果使用過(guò)度，也會(huì )增加句子的戲劇性，對句子造成破壞性。

　　This infographic provides a clear explanation of how to use these symbols. Let me know what you think. The infographic refers to period as a punctuation symbol. “Period” is American English. “Full Stop” is British English。

　　這張信息圖對如何使用這些符號給出了一個(gè)清晰的闡述。讓我知道你是怎么想的。信息圖涉及到了作為標點(diǎn)符號的句號?！皃eriod”(句號)是美式英語(yǔ)的表達?！癋ull stop”(句號)是英式英語(yǔ)的表達。

英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)作技巧教學(xué)大揭秘：再不為標點(diǎn)煩惱

　　Hyphens

　　連字符

　　red-orange cat

　　桔紅色的貓

　　one-way street

　　單行道

　　T-shirt

　　T恤

　　e-mail

　　電子郵件

　　Dashes

　　破折號

　　June—the start of summer—was cold this year。

　　六月—夏天的開(kāi)始—但今年很冷。

　　Dashes creat a powerful speed bump and can destroy the flow of writing if used too often。

　　破折號表達一種強有力的停頓，如果使用太頻繁會(huì )破壞寫(xiě)作的流暢性。

　　Dashes → Interruption of thought or conversation。

　　破折號→表示想法或談話(huà)中斷

　　"I was about to go to the—ooh,let's go get ice cream!"

　　“我準備去——啊，我們去吃冰淇淋！”

　　→ introduction or a conclusion。

　　表示介紹或者總結。

　　"Ketchup, mustard, pickles—I was ready for my cheeseburger."

　　“番茄醬，芥末，腌菜——我準備好做干酪肉餅了?！?/font>

　　"I was prepared but had forgotten one crucial element—the cheeseburger, itself."

　　“我準備好了。但是忘記了一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的材料——干酪肉餅本身啊?！?/font>

　　If you’d like more information on how to use that pesky semicolon, take a look at this brilliant and beautifully illustrated explanation by The Oatmeal。

　　如果你想知道關(guān)于如何使用令人厭煩的分號的更多信息，就看一下由Oatmeal對它簡(jiǎn)練又精美的闡述吧。