学术论文需要我们使用线性逻辑来写作，这样读者才能轻松地跟上我们的思考过程。不过，我们也需要另一种逻辑——联想逻辑——来培养我们的创新性思维。联想逻辑让我们把看似并不相关的元素联系起来，发现其间的关系。如果我们允许联想逻辑自由运作，最后很可能得到实用的创新结果。
通过自由写作，你可以发挥联想逻辑，促进创新。在开始正式的论文写作前，你可以按照下面的提示，利用较短的时间随意写写句子，让联想逻辑派上用场。就像跑步前的拉伸运动一样，自由写作能够放松你的思想。不要惦记着语法还是语言的精简优雅，只要在各个点子之间找到关联。自由写作是土壤，而非种子。是思想能够借助自由写作生根发芽，而自由写作本身不会让我们收获写好的文章。
你可以考虑用下面的句子开头：
1. When I started this project, the thing that really interested me was . . .
当我开始这个项目的时候，真正使我感兴趣的是……
2. The questions I find myself thinking about these days are questions like . . .
我这些天在思考的问题是……
3. What I really want to know is . . .
我真的想知道的是……
4. I want to figure out how . . .
我想弄明白……
5. I have a hunch that . . .
我有这样一种直觉……
6. I am confused by . . .
我困惑于……
7. I feel angered or annoyed by . . .
我气愤/烦恼于……
8. What stands out to me about all the stuff I've been reading is this idea that . . .
在我读过的东西中，最突出的观点是……
9. What I've been reading makes me wonder . . .
我读的东西让我思考……
10. Dialogue between me and the experts（我与专家的对话）：
（1）This author/professor/theorist/expert says . . .
这个作者/教授/理论家/专家说……
（2）And/but I say . . .
而我说……
（3）He or she also says . . .
他/她还说……
（4）And/but I say . . .
而我说……
11. If I had to put my project/paper so far into the form of a single question, it would be . . .
如果要把我的项目/论文写成一个问题，应该写成……
12. The observations I make that lead me to pose that question are . . .
我所做的观察使我提出这样的问题……
13. What makes my question hard to reckon with or difficult to resolve is that . . .
我的问题难以回答的原因是……
14. One way in which I could attempt to reckon with that difficulty of how to resolve my question is . . .
我能够克服困难、解决问题的方法之一是……
15. If things were as neat and tidy as I'd like them to be, I would be able to make the argument that . . .
如果事情都发展顺利，我就能提出这样的论点……
16. One way in which things aren’t so neat and tidy is that . . .
事情可能会像这样发展得不顺利……
17. One way in which I might address that messiness is . . .
我可以这样处理混乱局面……
18. I'm stuck. I'm stuck because I can't figure out . . .
我卡壳了。因为我不明白……
19. I can see that my way of approaching my question has some real problems, or at least challenges, including . . .
我发现我处理问题的方式有一些问题或挑战，包括……
20. One way I could possibly address that methodological/approach/design issue is . . .
我能这样处理方法论/途径/设计问题……
21. I realize I need to define some terms. If I were to try to define the term _________, what occurs to me is that . . .
我发现我需要定义一些名词。如果我要定义________，我会想到……
22. [A letter to a friend or to your reader] Dear ____, I'm trying to write this paragraph/section/chapter about _____. And do you know what? . . .
【给朋友或读者的信】亲爱的_____，我要写关于______的段落/部分/章节，你是否知道……
23. Let me state what I think I know so far, even if it seems obvious or self-evident (in the belief that sometimes it’s actually easy to overlook the obvious and that sometimes the seemingly obvious deserves another look) . . .
让我来写出我目前知道的东西，即使它们似乎很明显（记住，有时明显的东西也容易被忽略，需要三思）……
24. Of all these seemingly obvious, self-evident things, the one that keeps catching my attention is . . .
在这些明显的事情中，最吸引我注意力的是……
25. If I think of “theory” as simply another word for “explanation,” I would say that one of the explanations that people have offered for the thing I’m researching is that . . .
如果我把“理论”想成是“解释”的另一种表达方法，那么人们为我的研究内容提供的一种解释是……
26. But that theory or explanation doesn’t seem to account for . . .
但是这个理论或解释似乎无法阐明……
27. If I could say what I really want to say . . .
如果我可以说真心话……
28. If I could approach this project in the way I really want to . . .
如果我能以我想的方式进行这个项目……
29. If I could write about the question that really interests me . . .
如果我能写我真正感兴趣的问题……
30. What I wish I could convey to my audience is . . .
我想传达给读者的是……
写个五到十分钟，用电脑还是用纸笔都可以。唯一的“规矩”是：
（1）在这五到十分钟里不要停下来；
（2）不要检查、修改你写的内容。修改的过程与产出的过程不同，应该在写作后期进行。
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编译/石珺怡
参考资料：
[1] https://bsc.harvard.edu/files/writing_things_down_before_writing_things_up_revised_september_2011.pdf
