写作讲义

R&DPart I: Basic WritingThis part will cover●Elements of Writing●Narrative●Description●Definition●Comparison and contrast●ExpositionChapter 1 Elements of writing●Paragraph structure identificationGoldGold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewelry, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another important characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts‟ suits. Astronauts wear gold-plated heat shields for protection outside the spaceship. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty, but also for its use.HurricanesHurricanes, which are also called cyclones, exert tremendous power. These violent storms are often a hundred miles in diameter, and their winds can reach velocities of seventy-five miles per hour or more. Furthermore, the strong winds and heavy rainfall that accompany them can completely destroy a small town in a couple of hours. The energy that is released by a hurricane in one day exceeds the total energy consumed by mankind throughout the world in one year.Famous School “Failures”Albert Einstein, one of the world‟s geniuses, failed his university entrance examinations on his first attempt. William Faulkner, one of America‟s noted writers, never finished college because he could not pass his English courses. Sir WinstonChurchill, who is considered one of the masters of the English language, had to have special tutoring in English during elementary school. These few examples show that failure in school does not always predict failure in life.SynonymsSynonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the same emotional meaning. For example, the words “stingy” and “frugal” both mean “careful with money”. However, to call a person stingy is an insult, while the word frugal has a much more positive connotation. Similarly, a person wants to be slender but not skinny, and aggressive, but not pushy. Therefore, you should be careful in choosing words because many so-called synonyms are not really synonyms at all.Learning to outlineLearning to outline will improve your writing for three reasons. First of all, it will help you organize your ideas. Specifically, an outline will ensure that you won‟t include a ny irrelevant ideas, that you won‟t leave out any important points, and that your supporting sentences will be in logical order. Second, learning to write an outline will help you write more quickly. It may take some practice at first, but once you become used to outlining your ideas before you start to write. Preparing an outline is 75% of the work. The actual writing becomes easier because you don‟t have to worry about what you are going to say; you already have a well-organized plan to follow. Finally, your grammar will improve because you will be able to concentrate on it, not on your thoughts or organization. Improved organization, speed, and grammar make learning to outline well worth the effort.For these three reasons—improved organization, speed, and grammar—learning to outline is well worth the effort.T he above paragraphs show a linear development of ideas, that is, from topic sentence to development sentences and finally to the concluding sentence, or the reversed order, that is, from concluding sentences to development ones, which are typical of English writing, although there are always variations.Now read the following paragraph critically and prepare a discussion on it.Culture, Logic and RhetoricLogic, which is the basis of rhetoric, comes from culture; it is not universal. Rhetoric, therefore, is not universal either, but varies from culture to culture. The rhetorical system of one language is neither better nor worse than the rhetorical system of another language, but is different.English logic and English rhetoric, which are based on Anglo-European cultural patterns, are linear —that is, a good English paragraph begins with a general statement of its content and then carefully develops that statement with a series of specific illustrations. A good English paragraph may also use just the reversesequence; it may state a whole series of examples and then summarizes those examples in a single statement at the end of the paragraph. In either case, however, the flow of ideas occur in a straight line from the opening sentence to the last sentence. Furthermore, a well-structured English paragraph is never digressive. There is nothing that does not belong to the paragraph, and nothing that does not support the topic sentence.A type of construction found in Arabic and Persian writing is very different. Whereas English writers use a linear sequence, Arabic and Persian writers tend to construct a paragraph in a parallel sequence using many coordinators, such as and but. In English, maturity of style is often judged by the degree of subordination rather than by the degree of coordination. Therefore, the Arabic and Persian styles of writing, with their emphasis on coordination, seem awkward and immature to an English reader.Some Asian writers, on the other hand, use an indirect approach. In this kind of writing, the topic is viewed from a variety of angles. The topic is never analyzed directly; it is referred to only indirectly. Again, such a development in an English paragraph is awkward and unnecessarily vague to an English reader.Spanish rhetoric differs from English rhetoric in still another way. While the rules of English rhetoric require that every sentence in a paragraph relates directly to the central idea, a Spanish-speaking writer loves to fill a paragraph with interesting digressions. Although a Spanish paragraph may begin and end on the same topic, the writer often digresses into areas that are not directly related to the topic. Spanish rhetoric, therefore, does not follow the English rules of paragraph unity.In summary, a student who has mastered the grammar of English may still write poor papers unless the rhetoric of English is also mastered. Also, the student may have difficulty reading an essay written by the rules of English rhetoric unless (s)he understands the “logical” differences from those of his/her own native tongue.Transitional signalsRead and compare the following two paragraphsParagraph 1:A difference among the world‟s seas and oceans is that the salinit y varies in different climate zones. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is only one-fourth as saline as the Red Sea in the Middle east. There are reasons for this. In warm climates, water evaporates rapidly. The concentration of salt is greater. The surrounding land is dry and does not contribute much fresh water to dilute the salty sea water. In cold climate zones, water evaporates slowly. The runoff created by melting snow adds a considerable amount of fresh water to dilute the saline sea water.Paragraph 2:Another difference among the world‟s seas and oceans is that the salinity varies in different climate zones. For example, the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is only one fourth as saline as the Red Sea in the Middle East. There are two reasons for this. First of all, in warm climate zones, water evaporates rapidly; therefore, the concentration ofsalt is greater. Second, the surrounding land is dry and, consequently, does not contribute much fresh water to dilute the salty sea water. In cold climate zones, on the other hand, water evaporates slowly. Furthermore, the runoff created by melting snow adds a considerable amount of fresh water to dilute the saline sea water.常用的连接词表关系连接词并列连词从句连词其他关联词表递进furthermore andanother (＋名词）moreoveran additional (＋名词）in addition表转折on the other hand butalthough in spite of (＋名词）however yetthough despite(＋名词）in contrasteven thoughwhereaswhile表选择otherwise or ifunless引出事例for examplean example of (＋名词）for instancesuch as(＋名词）e.g.重述i.e.表结尾in conclusionin summaryto concludeto summarizeEx. Recognizing Transition SignalsStep 1 Circle all of the transition signals in the following paragraphs. There are at least ten in each.Step 2 Punctuate the transition signals if necessaryParagraph 1Genetic research has produced both exciting and frightening possibilities. Scientists are now able to create new forms of life in the laboratory due to the development of gene splicing. On one hand the ability to create life in the laboratory could greatly benefit mankind. For example because insulin is very expensive to obtain from natural sources scientists have developed a method to manufacture it inexpensively in the laboratory. Another beneficial application of gene splicing is in agriculture. Scientists foresee the day when new plants will be developed using nitrogen from the air instead of from fertilizer therefore food production could be increased. In additio n entirely new plants could be developed to feed the world‟s hungry people.Not everyone is excited about gene splicing however. Some people feel that it could have terrible consequences. A laboratory accident for example might cause an epidemic of an unknown disease that could wipe out humanity. As a result of this controversy the government has made rules to control genetic experiments. Still many people feel that these rules are not strict enough even though the scientific community may feel that they are too strict.Paragraph 2The “women‟s lib” movement toward greater equality for women has produced some permanent changes in the vocabulary of English. The first change is that new words have been added. The words “feminist” “sexist” and “male chauvinist” for example became common during the past ten years or so. Another new word is the title Ms which is often used in place of both Miss and Mrs. A second change is that sexist titles of many job occupations have been naturalized. A chairman is now a “chairperson”, a businessman is a “businessperson” and a salesman is a “salesperson”. Moreover a mailman is now a “mail carrier” and an airline stewardess is now a “flight attendant.” Finally attempts to give equal treatment to masculine and feminine pronouns in English have led to the search for a new pronoun form to replace he (as he/she or s/he) when referring to the neutral nouns such as the student. In my opinion some of the new words such as Ms are quite useful: you can use Ms to address a woman when yo u don‟t know if she is married. On the other hand the lack of a clear neutral pronoun can lead to awkward sentence construction.Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing is used when you need to transfer what you read into your own words.Original When the Maracana soccer stadium (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was opened to the public in 1950, and Brazil lost the World Cup to theUriguayan team, the Brazilians were so dishearted that one had theimpression that the country itself had died. And people died of sadness.Mere threats of defeat in a championship match can cause heart attacksand the despair of the public is so great that many beat their headsagainst the cement posts. Such is the Brazilian‟s passion for soccer. Paraphrase In 1950, Brazil lost the world Cup in soccer to Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro. The entire country was overcome by sadness: some peopleeven died from it. Brazilians react very strongly to potential defeat inchampionship soccer games. Some people have heart attacks, andothers beat their heads against cement posts. Brazilians are veryemotional about soccer.An approach to Style ( Strunk & White, 1999)“Style … is an expression of self”.1.Place yourself in the background.Write in a way that draws the reader‟s attention to the sense and substanc e of the writing, rather than to the mood and temper of the writer. … A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, because you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to break through the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts – which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward. Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too.2.Write in a way that comes naturally.Write in a way that comes easily and naturally to you, using words and phrases that come readily to hand. But do not assume that because you have acted naturally your product is without flaw.The use of language begins with imitation. … The imitative life continues long after the writer is secure in the language, for it is almost impossible to avoid imitating what one admires. Never imitate consciously, but do not worry about being an imitator; take pains instead to admire what is good.Then when you write in a way that comes naturally, you will echo the halloos that bear repeating.3.Work from a suitable design.Columbus didn‟t just sail, he sailed west, and the New World took shape from this simple and, we now think, sensible design.4.Write with nouns and verbs.It is nouns and verbs, not their assistants (adjectives and adverbs), that give good writing its toughness and color.5.Revise and rewrite6.Do not overwrite.It is always a good idea to reread your writing and ruthlessly delete the excess.7.Do not overstate.8.Avoid the use of qualifiers.Rather, very, little, pretty – these are the leeches that infest the pond of prose,sucking the blood of words.9.Do not affect a breezy manner.e orthodox spelling.11.Do not explain too much.12.Do not construct awkward adverbs.13.Make sure the reader knows who is speaking.14.Avoid fancy words.Four scores and seven years ago= eighty-seven15.Do not use dialect unless your ear is good.16.Be clear.17.Do not inject opinion.e figure of speech sparingly.19.Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity.20.Avoid foreign languages.21.Prefer the standard to the offbeatStyle of writing: Vocabulary and Grammar1.Vocabulary1) Verbs:English often has two or more choices to express an action or occurrence. The choice is often between a phrasal or prepositional verb (verb + preposition) and a single verb, usually with Latin origin. For written style, the preferred choice is a single verb wherever possible, which is one of the dramatic stylistic shifts from informal to formal style, e.g.Less formal: Building a nuclear power plant will not get rid of the energy problem completely.Formal: Building a nuclear power plant will not eliminate the energy problem completely.2) Nouns and Other Parts of Speech:English has a very rich vocabulary derived from many languages. Because of this, there may be more than one way to express an idea. You should strive to choose words that are less informal in nature and also precise. In spoken language, you will likely hear less formal speech, however, in writing you should use a more forma form if one exists.2. GrammarHere are some nonvocabulary-related recommendations for maintaining a formal academic writing style.A.Avoid contractionse the more appropriate formal negative formse.g. not any →no, not much →little, not …many →few etc.C.Limit the use of “run on” expressions, such as “and so forth” and “etc.”e.g. These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players, etc.→These semiconductors can be used in robots, CD players, and other electronic devices.D.Avoid addressing the reader as “you” (except, of course, if you are writing atextbook)e.g. You can see the results in Table 1.→The results can be seen in Table 1.E.Limit the use of direct questions,e.g. What can be done to lower costs?→We now need to consider what can be done to lower costs.Or: We now need to consider how costs may be lowered.F.Place adverbs within the verbAdverbs often are placed midposition rather than in the initial or finalposition. In informal English, adverbs often occur as clauses at the beginningor end of sentences.e.g. Then the solution can be discarded.→The solution can then be discarded.The blood is withdrawn slowly.→The blood is slowly withdrawn.Ex. Rewrite the following sentences to reduce the informality1.Researchers have been looking into this problem for 15 years now.2.Engineers can come up with better designs using CAD.3.The reaction of the officials was sort of negative.4.The future of the high-speed rail is up in the air.5.America‟s m ajor automakers are planning to get together on the researchneeded for more fuel efficient cars.6. A loss of jobs is one of the things that will happen if the process is automated.7.The analysis didn‟t yield any new results.8.The government did not allocate much funding for the compulsory education.9.If you fail the exam, you can‟t enter the university.10.OK, what are the causes of SARS? Many possibilities exist.11.You can clearly see the difference between these two processes.12.These special tax laws have been enacted in six states: Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, etc.13.The subjects didn‟t have much difficulty with the task.Techniques in paragraph developmentWorld RefugeesDuc Tong knew that the voyage would be risky, but he also knew that he had no choice. If he and his family stayed in their country, there was little hope for their future. So one night he, his wife, and ten other members of his family boarded a small, rickety boat, taking with them only what they could carry, and set sail along with thirty-six other Vietnamese. Their voyage was a nightmare. Before they reached safety, they were attacked by two different groups of pirates, and during a terrible storm,their supplies were washed overboard. Eleven of the older people died, and the survivors were delirious from lack of food and water.(Illustrative Incident)The rising tide of refugees around the world is rapidly becoming a flood. According to figures published by the United Nations, there are more than 6.2 million refugees and an additional 2.6 million people who are classified as “displaced persons”. That makes a total of nearly 9 million.(Statistics)No corner of the Earth is without a refugee problem, although the African continent has so far produced the greatest number. Ethiopias, with its 1.6 million refugees, has produced three times as many refugees as Vietnam and Cambodia combined. The Middle East has its Palestinian and more recently, Afghan refugees. In the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, Cuba and the Central American countries of El Salvador and Guatemala are producing refugees by the thousands.(Examples) The refugees present problems not only for themselves, but also for the countries that take them in. As Victor Palmieri, the U.S. coordinator for refugee affairs, has put it, “The worldwide refugee explosion is a massive tragedy in human terms and a growing crisis in financial terms for the countries bearing the burden.” (Quotations)用来表示数字信息的词：V ocabulary Example of Structurerateratio (of X to Y)percentpercentagegeometric ratearithmetic rateto double, triple, quadruple, etcto increase/decrease four-fold, by one-half to rise/fall by 20,00; by 6 percent (6%) The rate of inflation has skyrocketed.The ratio of smokers to non-smokers was 3:2. Twelve percent (or 12 percent) of the population is 55 or elder.Only a small percentage of personal income should go toward housing.The world population is increasing at a geometric rate. The number of auto accidents has doubled.The number of computer companies has increased sevenfold.By 1990, oceanic levels will rise by 2 percent.Ex. Using Figures and StatisticsThe Hazards of Driving Small CarsSmall cars may be hazardous to your health, according to a recent study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of Americans dying in automobile accidents is ___________(increasing, decreasing, gaining, reducing) again after ____________(rising, falling, declining, inclining) sharply in 1974, when the national 55 miles per hour speed limit was imposed. Safetyauthorities warn that as drivers increasingly shift from fuel-saving smaller, lighter cars, the rise in the death toll will accelerate _________ (geometrically, arithmetically).In 1979, the last year for which full statistics are available, small cars were involved in 55 _________ (rate, ratio, percentage, percent) of all fatal crashes even though they constituted only 38 ________ (rate, ratio, percentage, percent) of the cars on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Projecting from current trends, the agency and other safety officials ________ (estimate, guess, predict) that automobile traffic deaths will increase ________ (to, from, of, by) 30 percent by 1989, or ___________(to, from, of, by) about 27,000 a year ___________(to, from, of, by) about 35,000 a year, almost exclusively because of the inherent vulnerability of smaller cars.Perhaps more significantly, the death rate per hundred million miles driven has begun to increase over the last three years, reversing a fifty-year downward trend. According to the safety council, the rate ________(increased, decreased, raised, rose) from a record low of 3.33 deaths __________ (per, pro, of, from) hundred million miles in 1978 ___________ (to, from, of, by) 3.40 in 1979 and 3.53 in 1980.Based on its analysis of highway deaths, the highway safety council says occupants of a subcompact car are 3.4 _________ (times, double, triple) more likely to die than those in a compact if two such cars collide; 6.3 ________(ratio, times, lose) more likely to die in a crash with a midsize car; and 8.2 __________(times, quadruple, rate) more likely to die in a collision with a large car.Chronological orderOne at a timeA friend of ours was walking down deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking some thing up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, “Good evening, friend.I was wondering what you are doing.”“I‟m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it‟s low tide now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don‟t throw them back into the sea, they‟ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”“I understand,” my friend replied,“but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can‟t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don‟t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can‟t you see that you can‟t possibly make a difference?”The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one.”( From Chicken Soup)Description: peoplePhysical characteristics checklistMen WomenAge old … elderly...middle-aged…young…is(looks) about 30 Appearance good-looking…handsome…ugly beautiful…pretty…plain Height tall…of average (medium)height …shortFigure well built… broad shouldered has a good figureShape plump…slim (favorable)…fat…thin (unfavorable)Face round…long…square…oval…wrinkled…freckledwith dimples, beauty-spot, scarFeatures beard…moustache…bald head…receding hairlineHair black…dark…fair…red long…short…straight…curly…wavypony-tail, parted on the right sideEyes blue…brown…green…grey…hazelCharactersamusing efficient hard-working open-minded sincereartistic energetic helpful organized sociable capable enthusiastic honest spontaneous patientcareful flexible humorous perceptive cheerful sympathetic friendly imaginative polite tactfulclever generous intelligent practical thoughtful confident gentle interesting rational unselfish considerate good-humored kind reliable versatile creative good-natured lively sensible wise easygoing happy loyal hardworking sensitive tolerant pleasant smart entertaining charminglazy unkind unfriendly moody dullsilly unpleasant unsociable mean selfish arrogant cold miserable aggressive dullboring disagreeable hypocritical depressing narrow-mindedquick-tempered rude untidy idle unfeelingAunt BarbaraMy aunt Barbara is my father‟s sister. She is about 35, but she looks much younger. She is a very attractive woman, with fair, curly hair, large, green eyes, and a beautiful complexion. She is quite tall, but looks even taller because she dresses very well and always wears high-heeled shoes. She has a lovely, slim figure and I would like to look like her when I am her age.Aunt Barbara is married, and lives quite near us with her husband, my uncle Stephen, and their son, Martin, who is ten. She works as a teacher at the local comprehensive school. She is very energetic and never stops moving. At the weekend she plays tennis with my uncle, but she also goes to keep-fit classes three times a week and is very fond of dancing. She sometimes sits down quietly to read a book, but she can‟t stand watching television. She prefers to go out for a long walk if the weather is fine.I think of her as warm and friendly, with a lively personality, because she has always been kind to me. But some of her students at the comprehensive school say she is strict and can be quick-tempered if they don‟t pay attention. I think she gets impatient with people who are bored or inattentive, because she is so active herself. I never feel bored in her company, and so I have always got on very well with her.Description: daily routineA typical day in my lifeI have to get up every day about seven because work really begins about an hour before surgery when the phone calls start to come in. My wife helps me with that because she usually answers the phone and that gives me time to have breakfast and read the paper. We open the waiting room about 8:30, and there are often a dozen people there when I start surgery at nine.People at the surgery generally have coughs and colds and just need a prescription for the chemist or a doctor‟s certificate to stay away from work, but occasionally an examination suggests there may be something seriously wrong with them. In such cases, I have to arrange appointments for them at the hospital to check my diagnosis. On an average day, I can finish surgery by 10:30 or so, and start my rounds. My wife makes a list of the visits I have to make from the phone calls during the morning and often helps me by working out the best route from one patient‟s house to another.I usually try to get back to lunch by 1:30, though I sometimes have to continue my visits in the afternoon. On a good day, I have a couple of hours before surgery begins again at six when I can catch up with the paper work, completing forms for the health authorities, and sometimes read an article in one of the medical journals to keep up with the latest development.Evening surgery usually lasts till about eight, but often goes on much longer. I belong to a group of five doctors in the area who share night duty between us. That means that we are on call once a week between Monday and Friday and every fifth weekend. As a result, my wife and I normally have dinner about nine, I have time to talk to the children, and we sometimes watch TV before going to bed around nine. When I am on call, however, we have dinner as soon as surgery is over, so that I can go out immediately if I am needed. Occasionally, there are emergencies, of course. If one of my patients is very seriously ill or dies, I like my colleagues to let me know and always visit them or the family myself, even when I am officially off duty.。