Let's face it, not everybody's equally gifted when it comes to getting their thoughts down on paper (or the digital equivalent). But according to a new study, there's an easy trick anybody can do to improve the quality of their writing: just type more slowly.
老實說，每個人將思想記錄在紙上（或電子設備）的天賦不一。但最新研究顯示，有一個人人都能掌握的小竅門能幫助提高寫作質量：放慢打字速度。

Researchers in Canada have found that when people are forced to write at a slower speed, it can actually enhance their way with words, with the use of word choice in particular benefiting from a calmer pace.
加拿大的研究人員發現，當人們被迫慢速書寫時，他們會借助這種慢節奏來推敲自己的文字，從而提高寫作質量。

"Typing can be too fluent or too fast, and can actually impair the writing process," said Srdan Medimorec, a cognitive psychologist from the University of Waterloo. "It seems that what we write is a product of the interactions between our thoughts and the tools we use to express them."
“打字太流暢太快，確實會給寫作過程帶來不良影響。”滑鐵盧大學的認知心理學家瑟旦·麥迪莫還克說，“我們寫作的內容就像是我們的思想同表達工具之間交互的產物。”

To examine how an enforced speed limit might affect writing ability, the researchers recruited participants and asked them to write essays using both hands or with only one.
為了研究強制限速如何影響寫作能力，研究者招募了一批參與者，要求他們或用雙手或用單手寫文章。

When the researchers examined the essays with text-analysis software, they discovered that the impeded, one-handed typing was better, especially with regard to the sophistication of the vocabulary used.
當研究者用文本分析軟件檢驗文章時，他們發現單手打字者的文章更勝一籌，特別體現在選用詞匯的復雜性上。

"This is the first study to show that when you interfere with people's typing, their writing can get better," said Evan F. Risko, one of the team. "We're not saying that students should write their term papers with one hand, but our results show that going fast can have its drawbacks."
“這是首個表明受干擾的打字過程能夠提高寫作質量的研究，”團隊成員伊萬·瑞斯克說：“我們并不是在建議學生們單手完成學期論文，但研究結果確實顯示出快速打字的缺陷所在。”

The authors of the study – which is published in the British Journal of Psychology – believe that by being forced to slow down when typing, writers enjoy greater time to conduct an internal word search.
這項研究成果發表在了《英國心理學雜志》上，其作者認為，被強制放慢打字速度后，作者能擁有更多的時間在腦海中進行詞匯搜索。

This gives them a larger variety of terms to subsequently choose from, whereas fast typists may simply write down the first word they think of, which could result in poorer, less considered prose.
這給了他們更大的詞匯選擇空間，但打字快速者可能只會簡單寫下第一個想到的詞，導致最后成文尚欠斟酌、質量較差。

"This is important to consider as writing tools continue to emerge that let us get our thoughts onto the proverbial page faster and faster," said Risko.
“了解這一點非常重要，因為隨著寫作工具的持續更新，我們的思想會越來越快地呈現在頁面上，”瑞斯克說。

The researchers say that writing ability would be improved by a slower pace regardless of how a person chooses to express themselves – whether at a keyboard, using text-to-speech programs, or pen and paper – but acknowledge that further research would be needed to verify this.
研究者稱，無論作者選擇什么樣的表達方式：鍵盤、文本轉語音程序或是筆紙，慢速寫作都能提高寫作能力，不過他們也承認這還需要進一步的研究來證實。

It's worth bearing in mind that the researchers in this study used software to rate people's writing, and while a computer analysis of language is certainly useful, it's not necessarily the best or most accurate way of gauging the quality of writing intended for a human reader.
另外一點值得考慮的是，研究人員是使用軟件來評估寫作作品的，雖然電腦的語言分析有其實用價值，但它并不是評判寫作質量的最佳或最精確的方式，畢竟寫作的目標群體是人類讀者。

Further, previous research has shown that decreased transcription fluency can have a detrimental effect on text quality, so the key might be trying to find a pace that allows you to consider your language adequately without slowing down too much.
除此之外，先前的研究表明，謄寫速度的減慢可能會有損文本質量，所以提高寫作質量的關鍵還是在于找到最適合自己的寫作速度，使自己在充分推敲語言的同時，不至于過度放緩速度。

The common theme? Don't rush yourself when you're reading or writing, guys! Unless you're working on increasing your words per minute (WPM), you're probably doing yourself a disservice.
所有研究的共同點在于告誡我們：無論閱讀或寫作，都不要一味地追求速度。除非你是在練習每分鐘打字或寫字的速度，否則只能給自己帶來不利。

Vocabulary

text-to-speech: 文字轉語音
transcription: 抄寫；謄寫
detrimental: 不利的；有害的
disservice: 幫倒忙的行為

英文來源：sciencealert
譯者：李欣玥
審校&編輯：丹妮