高校英语四级写作部分的规定与要求

Chapter 15 TEM-4

英语写作是高校英语专业学习者一项非常重要的基本技能。要想在考试中写出好作文、取得好成绩，首先必须了解考试大纲对此部分的规定和要求，做到知己知彼，有的放矢。《高校英语专业四级考试大纲》（2004年新版）对写作部分的规定和要求

一．测试要求：

（a）作文：

能根据所给的作文题目、提纲或图表、数据等，写一篇200个单词左右的作文。能做到内容切题、完整，条理清楚，结构严谨，语法正确，语言通顺，表达得体。考试时间35分钟。

（b）便条

能根据所给提示写50 至60个单词的便条、通知、请帖等。能做到格式正确，语言得体。

考试时间10分钟。

二．测试形式：

本部分为主观试题，分两节：Section A和Section B。

Section A: Composition

本节是命题作文，文章题材主要属于说明文、议论文或记叙文的范围。

Section B: Note-writing

本节是写便条。

三．测试目的：

按照《大纲》的要求测试学生书面表达的能力。

四．值得一提的是，与2000年的旧《大纲》相比，新《大纲》的以下变化值得关注：1．短文写作的字数由原来的150字增加到200字；

2．便条写作的分值由原来的5分增至10分；

3．写作部分的总分值由原来的20分增至25分。

由此可见新《大纲》更加重视对考生英语写作能力尤其是英语实用写作能力的考察，这应当引起考生的注意。

此新大纲已由2005年4月开始执行。

2008年高校英语专业四级考试（TEM4）写作部分评分标准

（一）作文评分标准

专业四级考试（TEM4）的作文评分一般采用总体评分（Global Scoring）的方法。阅卷人就总的印象给出奖励分（Award Scores），而不是按语言点的错误数目扣分。满分为15分，9分为及格线。

1.（14－15分）语言流畅，内容充实，词汇丰富，观点明确，条理清楚，结构正确，字

数在180－250之间。

2.（12－13 分）语言流畅，内容充实，词汇丰富，观点明确，条理清楚，结构正确，但

有少量的语法错误。

3.（10－11分）观点清晰，条理清楚，语言流畅，结构正确。但语言简单，有一些语法

及拼写错误或有部分跑题。

4.（8－9分）文章基本切题，语言较通畅，有观点。但语法错误多，随意，拼写错误较

多或句间逻辑推理不够明确或跑题。

5.（6－7分）文章基本切题，结构不符合要求（Introduction, body, ending比例不当）；

语言不够流畅，语法错误很多，句间逻辑推理不够明确或跑题。

6.⑴作文以“我”或“我们”来写，属切题；

⑵一部分以“我”或“我们”，另一部分以“社会”来写，属部分跑题。（最高11

分）

⑶都以“社会”来写，属全部跑题。（最高8分）

7.自拟题目不管正确与否都不扣分。

8.空白卷打0分。

9.字数少于170或大于250，扣1分；大于300扣2分。

10.字数字体要写清楚，并写在框内。

此外，阅卷老师的评分还会受到其他一些因素的影响，例如：是否有具体的事例、名言警句等？文章观点是否新颖、合乎逻辑？用词是否丰富？书写是否工整，卷面是否整洁等等。

（二）便条写作评分标准

从2005年5月起，便条写作分值由原来的5分提高为10分。以2008年考题为例，便条写作评分主要从以下三方面考虑：

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a note of about 50-60 words based on the following situation:

Jane, your classmate, is thinking of subscribing to an English-language newspaper. And you would like to recommend one to her. Write a note, telling her which newspaper it is and describing two features of the paper.

1．格式（2分）

主要包括日期、称呼和结尾三部分，每部分完全正确得1分，出现任何错误都不得分。

分数扣完为止，不倒扣。

（1）日期（Date）：

正确形式：April 20, 2008; April 20th, 2008; April 20; 20 April 2008; 4/20/2008; 20/4/2008（Apr.也可以，任何一个日期都可以）

位置应在右上角或左上角。具体日期不限。

（2）称呼（Heading）：

正确形式：Dear Jane,（或Jane,）

位置应在日期下一行左侧顶头。

（3）结尾（Ending）：

正确形式：Yours sincerely,/Yours truly,/ Sincerely yours,/ Yours, /Sincerely,

Mary （或其他人名）

位置在便条结尾的右下方。

凡不符合上述正确格式或表达有误均要扣分。

（4）格式需前后一致，如全左或全右，若不符合，扣1分。

2．内容（2分）

该便条须包括以下几项内容：

（1）英语报纸的名称（1分）

只要出现报纸名字就给分，不论名字真实与否。名字没有出现扣1分。

（2）报纸的两个特点或者读者的两点收获（1分）

如果只写了一个特点，不得分。

如果写的两个特点属于同一性质，如“包括国际新闻和国内新闻”，不得分。3．语言（6分）

⑴首句需用自己正确的语言表达，若完全抄提示“you’re thinking of subscribing to an

English-language newspaper”，扣1分。

⑵如果格式内容得满分，但语言较差，最多6分。

4．评分总体要求

（1）语言没有严重错误，格式正确，内容完整，语言得体，字数符合要求（50 – 80），可给9－10分。

（2）便条总字数（包括三部分格式在内）要求约50 – 60 字，不足50字或超过80字（10行或10行以上）扣1分。

（3）便条总分为10分，6分为及格线。

TEM 4 COMPOSITION MARKING SCHEME

Sample Analysis

2007 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) Nowadays, the Internet has become part of people’s life, and millions of young people have made friends online.

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 200 words on the following topic: IS IT WISE TO MAKE FRIENDS ONLINE?

You are to write in three parts.

In the first part, state specifically what your view is.

In the second part, support your view with one or two reasons.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Sample 1 (14 Points)

Is It Wise to Make Friends Online?

With the Internet becoming an indispensable part of modern people’s life, making friends online enjoys its great popularity, especially among young people. However, is it wise to make friends online, as many parents and teachers are worrying about? As far as I am concerned, I strongly oppose being addicted to making friends online.

Firstly, too much attention to online friends distracts your concerns to the true friends and families in the real world. If we look around, we often find a lot of young people staying online and chatting with online friends all day long. By the same time, the communication between them and the friends around them are becoming less and less. Therefore, they feel lonelier in real life and spend more time on Internet.

Besides, online friends are often disguised. A large number of cases have proved that many criminals make use of Internet to cheat of money or love. Even if they are not cheaters, they tend to be totally different persons when you get in actual contact with them. There’s always a gap between the real world and the imaginary one.

Nevertheless, it is unwise to make friends online. Those who are indulging in Internet should cast your eyesight to the friendship and kinship in the real life. What you should do is to seek solution, but not to escape.

Analysis

This is a well-organized essay with a high mark. In the first part, the writer introduces the topic and clearly presents his/her view in the thesis statement—“I strongly oppose being addicted to making friends online.” In the second part, the writer supports his/her opinion with two specific points, which are expressed in two topic sentences. And solid evidence is provided with details to clarify the points. The thesis is reinforced in the last part—“it is unwise to make friends online.” After that, the writer

also gives suggestion to those who are indulging in Internet, which makes the conclusion strong and convincing.

The organization is clear with proper transitions, such as firstly, besides, nevertheless. The essay demonstrates a well developed logical organizational structure with clearly stated main idea and sufficient supporting details. It has almost no errors of vocabulary, spelling and grammar. This writing effectively addresses the writing task.

Note: The words in italics are either wrong or not used properly.

Sample 2 (12 Points)

Is It Wise to Make Friends Online?

Nowadays, it has been a fashion to make friends online, and more and more teenagers, college students and even many adults will spend a lot of time chatting with people on the Internet. But I don’t think it is wise to make friends online.

Firstly, most of people will not reveal their identity on the Internet, which will not enable you to make true friends. Just imagine, a young lady you are talking with may be an old man, and I’m sure we will feel very bad when we are exposed to the truth. Besides, the friends online can bring bad effect to people, especially for teenagers. The unhealthy stuff will both physically and psychologically influence young people and, in a certain degree, can lead an unproper way to their whole life. At last, making friends online can do bad to the relationship between you and your family and friends in real life. Being addicted to the Internet makes you ignore the reality. You will be angry about your parents’ persuading and after a long time, maybe you will find you have lost the ability of how to communicate with others properly.

In a word, it is not wise to make friends online. I hope everyone can focus on the reality instead of wasting too much time making friends on the Internet.

Analysis

This is an essay in band 4. The author has a clear and definite view on the topic. Yet the thesis is presented abruptly without the sound logic with the previous sentence. The three supporting points are clearly stated but not well developed. For example, the second point the friends online can bring bad

effect to people, especially for teenagers” is only a generalization without any example or supporting details to prove it.

On the whole, the organization is clear and the language in the writing is quite smooth. There are some problems with plural forms, personal pronouns and point of view, but they don’t affect the understanding too much. The writing adequately addresses most of the writing task.

Sample 3 (9 Points)

Is It Wise to Make Friends Online?

There is a tendency we can’t deny that most of us have access to Internet. Subsequently, making friends online has become a common thing. Some may argue that making friends online isn’t a good choice, however, personally, I hold the idea that it is wiser to make friends online.

On one hand, it’s a kind of company. When we live in our apartment, we seldom communicate to the neighbors, esp. that our family members are outside, the sense of feel lonely overcome us. Therefore, in order to get rid of this, we need to find someone to talk with. Then making friends online is a good way to solve this problem. Meanwhile, we can not only gain friendship, but also exchange our minds. In this way, we obtain a sense of satisfaction from talking with a stranger who will tend to say beautiful words toward us.

On the other hand, making friends online help us enrich our sight. We make friends, coming from different areas, accordingly, we obtain a lot of information that we can’t get from our limited knowledge. Sometimes, friends online encourage us to read helpful books where will be able to learn more.

All in all, from my point of view, making friends is helpful for enriching our knowledge and helping us encourage with others, hence, it is advisable to make friends online as long as we use it properly.

Analysis

Compared with previous two samples, this one has more problems on expression, grammar and diction. The writer presents his/her idea quite clearly in the first part, but it is not appropriate to say

“wiser” since there is nothing else to compare with. So it is a big mistake in the thesis and there is also a problem of comma splices in this sentence.

Although the organization is clear, the content of body paragraphs is not good as support. Transitions are not used properly here to link two points of the body as “on one hand… on the other hand” should be used to introduce two aspects of different opinions. Besides, two supporting points are very weak without convincing details. Worst of all, many sentences are of grammatical mistakes and vague expressions, which cause occasional difficulties for the reader’s understanding. But anyway, for most part the essay still displays some ability to use the language with appropriateness.

Sample 4 (7 Points)

Is It Wise to Make Friends Online?

People would like to make the best of Internet to broaden their minds, they can get large information, they can play interesting games, even they can mak friends online. While a question has been arisen: “Is it wise to make friends on line?”

The Internet is not reality, you can not trust a person through the Internet. Now I would not like to talk about the advantages of the Internet, while the disadvantages you can not deny is existing. Many people make the most of it to do bad things, such as trick you that he is need of money eagerly and wise you would help him as a friend, or character as your friend to inform your family that you are in danger and need money to save you, etc. All the things can be seen on the newspapers magazines, etc. So it is unwise to trust a so called online friend.

I can Jump to the conclude that it is unwise to make friends online, because it is not reality, also we can not trust others without knowing the person well. So let’s do utmost to make the base use of the advantages of the Internet. Cherish the friends around us!

Analysis

This writing is just of a passing mark. On the whole, the language in this writing sounds choppy and there are many vague sentences with lots of grammatical mistakes.

The writer does not present a clear view in the first part but just raises a question, which confuses the reader a lot. Although there are three parts, the organization is not clear since nearly no transitions

are used to connect paragraphs and sentences. There are obvious gaps in the logic. The second part, which is supposed to provide good support for the main idea, is composed of many vague sentences and sentences with mistakes on grammar, spelling, collocation, part of speech, etc. The reader will experience some difficulty in reading the essay.

Sample 5 (5 Points)

Is It wise to make friends online?

I think it is wise to make friends online. First, now job’s pressure more and more.Everyone cann’t better talk face to face. Second, friends online may speak everything of them.

Third, friends online may help something of them and solve some problem.

The forth, friends online may gain more knowledge and information.

All in all, make friends online is wise in the society. Make friends online cann’t change a 潮流. Everyone may enjoy everyone with his friends online!

Analysis

This essay is poorly written. First, the essay only has the point but no support. The writer presents his/her opinion at the very beginning, but after that he/she just makes a list of four points which are very obscure and lacking in supporting details.

Second, almost all sentences contain errors of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation or syntax. Even the title is not capitalized. Generally, the essay is composed of Chenglish, even Chinese characters. Besides, the number of words is less than what is required in the test.

In addition, this writing has neither an organizational structure nor coherence. All the sentences are arranged at random. Therefore, even after considerable effort on the part of the reader, the text is largely incomprehensible.

Original Tests of Compositions

2001 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN)

Travel has become part of our life. And more and more of us have come to know the significance of travel through our experience.

Write a composition of about 150 words on the following topic:

TRAVEL BROADENS THE MIND

You are to write in three paragraphs:

In the first part, state what the topic actually means to you.

In the second part, give one or two examples to illustrate your ideas.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the loss of marks.

Sample

Travel Broadens the Mind

The title reminds me the famous saying that read thousands of books is not better than travel thousands of miles. Our ancestors realized the importance of traveling to different places to broaden the mind in ancient times. By traveling, we can meet various people and different kinds of things and we will be filled with wonder seeing the rich diversity of our world. In this sense, travel enriches our knowledge and broadens our mind.

When I feel tired and bored with my routine life, I would choose to go traveling. And the best place is the seaside. Whenever I am facing the vast seas, I can’t help wondering how extensive and profound the sea is. The sight of the magnificent sea broadens my mind and makes me free from all the worries and vexations in life. By traveling, we can also accumulate all kinds of knowledge. We will learn the custom, religious belief, tradition, history and life style of different places and regions. Surely, our knowledge is enriched.

So when traveling, we are surely to experience something new. Not only is our knowledge enriched, but also our mind is broadened.

2002 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) Nowadays people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of health. And they have different ways to stay healthy. For example, some exercise everyday; others try to keep a

balanced diet. What do you think is the best way to stay healthy?

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 150 words on the following topic:

THE BEST W AY TO STAY HEALTHY

You are to write in three paragraphs:

In the first part, state what you think is the best way.

In the second part, support your view with one or two reasons.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the loss of marks.

Sample

The Best Way to Stay Healthy

Nowadays with the improvement of living standard, people are not just satisfied with having enough to eat and wear. They have become increasingly aware of the importance of health. Among all the different kinds ways to stay healthy, I think the best way is to develop a positive and optimistic attitude towards life.

At present, the rapid pace of living and working has caused modern people great challenge and pressure. All this challenge and pressure in turn causes some bad effect upon people’s health or even damage it. Having a positive and optimistic attitude contribute a lot in helping people tackle the challenge and pressure easily and rationally. From the point view of human body itself, a positive and optimistic attitude can regulate the organism of human body and prevent some negative feelings which do great harm to people’s health from occurring, such as anger, anxiety, depression, fear. Thus, it helps avoid some physical diseases.

In conclusion, a positive and optimistic attitude helps both objectively and subjectively for people stay healthy. I think holding a positive and optimistic attitude is the best and most effective way for us to enjoy not only good health and but also happy life.

2003 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) People in modern society live under a lot of pressure, from education, career, or family. So it is important for them to keep a good mood under whatever circumstances.

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 150 words on the following topic:

THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING A GOOD MOOD

You are to write in three paragraphs:

In the first part, state specifically what your view is.

In the second part, support your view with one or two reasons.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriacy. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the loss of marks.

Sample

The Importance of Keeping A Good Mood

Nowadays it is not uncommon to hear the cases that someone suffers from depression or even commits suicide. It is of vital importance for people to take very seriously the idea that keeping a good mood under the challenge and pressure of modern society is the key to enjoy a happy and successful life.

Keeping a good mood is important in at least two aspects. In the first place, by keeping a good mood, it is easier for people to keep calm and deal with troubles and difficulties optimistically and rationally. Good mood helps people to keep away fear, nervousness, depression, and pessimism and as a consequence, people are more likely to solve problems reasonably and successfully. What’s more, keeping a good mood does a lot good for people to form good interpersonal relationships. Everybody enjoys getting along with those happy people who are confident and optimistic. Smile is the most beautiful scene in the world.

From what have been analyzed above, it can be easily seen that keeping a good mood is of great importance in modern society. It helps people tackle problems more rationally and thus, enjoy a more colorful and successful life.

2004 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) Nowadays people tend to phone more than write to each other. So, some say that phones will kill letter writing. What is your opinion?

Write on ANSWER SHEET ONE a composition of about 150 words on the following topic:

WILL PHONES KILL LETTER WRITING

You are to write in three paragraphs:

In the first part, state specifically what your view is.

In the second part, support your view with one or two reasons.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the loss of marks.

Sample

Will Phones Kill Letter Writing?

Nowadays it seems that people phone much more often to each other than write letters, especially among young people. Many people would think that phones would kill letter writing. However, I am in favor of the idea that phones will never take the place of letter writing.

For one thing, as the traditional method of communication, letter writing has a lot of advantages over the product of modern technology --- the phone. Although it takes more time for us to write a letter, who can deny the fact that it conveys writer’s feelings and emotions much more sincerely and sufficiently than the phone does? Later, if we would like, we can take out the letter from the drawer again, read the lines over and over, feel and taste the everlasting and profound love and affection from a devoted friend. For another, in many cases a formal letter, rather than a short call, is expected to be appropriate. Nobody would consider it appropriate to invite a distinguished guest to a ceremony or formal occasion by simply giving him or her a call. In such circumstances, the only and the best choice would be no other than to write a letter of invitation.

In sum, phones are more popular nowadays for its convenience. However, this does not mean that they can replace letter writing. In many cases letter writing will still be the best and the most appropriate choice.

2005 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) The students’ Union of your university is planning to hold an arts festival next semester, and they are inviting students to contribute their ideas and suggestions as to how it should be organized or what should be included.

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 200 words on the following topic: MY IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY ARTS FESTIVAL

You are to write in three parts.

In the first part, state specifically what your idea is.

In the second part, provide one or two reasons to support your idea OR describe your idea.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Sample

My Idea of A University Arts Festival

It is really inspiring news that the 12th arts festival will be opened in our university next semester. When enjoying the excitement the activity will bring to us, we should be fully aware that it needs elaborate planning and great effort to hold a successful arts festival. I think the most important question is how to inspire the interest of our students and have more students get involved in this activity. So my suggestion is that the whole activity be carefully divided into three parts: the Group of Humanities; Science and Technology, Arts respectively. The reasons are as the follows:

For one thing, our university is composed of more than one hundred thousand students who are majoring in more than fifty majors respectively. A thoughtful organization will attract more students and offer more students a chance to display their specialties. And the purpose of the arts festival is to arouse the students’ interest and inspire their creativity. The more participants, the more talented and versatile students we will recognize.

For another, by doing this, we can set more prizes and more students can have the chance to win a prize. Thus, more and more students will be encouraged to take part in not only this Arts Festival but also the future ones enthusiastically.

Overall, the arts festival should embody the characteristics of richness and diversity to attract as many students as possible. These are what I have thought about our coming arts festival. I hope they can be of value and help.

2006 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN)

Recently a BJ information company did a survey of student life among more than 700 students in Beijing, Guangzhou, xi 'an Chengdu, Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Shenyang . The result has shown that 67 percent of students think that saving money is a good habit while the rest believe that using tomorrow’s money tod ay is better. What do you think?

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 200 words:

You are to write in three parts.

In the first part, state what your suggested way is.

In the second part, state one or two advantages of your suggestion.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Sample

Saving Money or Spending Tomorrow’s Money

Money is to our life what blood is to our body. Nobody could live without money. According to a recent survey conducted by one authoritative information corporation, an estimated 67% of college students think saving money is a good habit. On the contrary, the rest are convinced that spending tomorrow’s money is better. As far as I am concerned, saving money best suits me and renders me the greatest enjoyment.

Admittedly, spending tomorrow’s money, as advocated by many, has its active role to play in our economic life. It can spur people to make more money to enjoy life. And consumerism brought about by this trend can of course do a great deal to drive forward our economy. However, there are numerous merits for saving money. First thing first, saving money is a preparation for a secured life. The best way to secure a safe and sound life and be free from poverty, want and anxiety about future is, of course, in current situation, to have a certain amount of money in hand. In our daily life, various things unexpected and emergent may fall upon us. In these cases, if we have savings, we can manage to overcome these crises more easily. In addition, money dissipating and luxurious life can weaken us. By contrast, just as Albert Einstein put it, “a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.”

In short, saving for the rainy day, a fine tradition of Chinese nationality, can provide us with the greatest security and the best satisfaction of life.

2007 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) Nowadays, the Internet has become part of people’s life, and millions of young people have made friends online.

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 200 words on the following topic: IS IT WISE TO MAKE FRIENDS ONLINE?

You are to write in three parts.

In the first part, state specifically what your view is.

In the second part, support your view with one or two reasons.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Sample

Is It Wise to Make Friends Online?

Nowadays, with the growing popularity of Internet, more and more people make friends online. It has become increasingly hot topic whether it is wise to make friends online. Different people have different attitudes towards this issue. Some think it is a good idea while others are against it. As for me, I think it is wise in that it has more advantages than disadvantages.

More people think making friends online has more advantages than disadvantages. There are reasons for this. First of all, people get more opportunities to get acquainted with those who may share common interests and exchange ideas. Secondly, it is both time saving and money saving to be with your friends on condition that you get access to the Internet. You are no longer oceans apart from your friends. Conversely, there are a finger’s click away. What’s more, your friends may come from every walk of life, from whom you can learn a lot due to their diversified cultural background. Last but not least, compared to the communication in real life, communication online makes you feel free to get across your ideas. On the other hand, every coin has two sides. We can not ignore the fact that making

friends online is also risky for the reason that we may be convinced of other’s identity from nowhere, which is a potential risk, of which we should be fully aware.

From what has been mentioned above, we can draw the conclusion that making friends online brings us more benefits.

2008 SECTION A COMPOSITION (35 MIN) December 5th is International Volunteers Day. Since 1985, when the United Nations announced the special day, tens of millions of people around the world have volunteered to help those in need. China now has 4.5 million registered volunteers who have provided more than 4.5 billion hours of volunteer work. What can you gain from volunteering?

Write on ANSWER SHEET TWO a composition of about 200 words on the following topic:

The Benefits of Volunteering

You are to write in three parts.

In the first part, state specifically what your opinion is.

In the second part, support your opinion with appropriate details.

In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Sample

The Benefits of Volunteering

Volunteering, in many people’s opinion, is almost a waste of time. Volunteers seem to gain little. But actually, it is not the case at all. Volunteers always find their work meaningful and worthwhile.

The most apparent benefit of volunteering is that volunteers can get valuable chances to get close to a real society. As most volunteers are young and inexperienced college students, it will help them a lot to witness the reality and take part in social activities. Another major benefit volunteers can gain is the cultivation of a sense of responsibility. By helping the weak members of the society, volunteers always feel on their shoulders the duty of citizenship, which is necessary in maintaining a

good relationship in a family, a community and a whole society. A third benefit that is often overlooked by people is the happiness at the bottom of the heart. This is gained by simply helping others.

Being volunteers may not bring them any money, but surely they can gain a lot from their volunteering work which benefits their later life and work.

Format of a Note

Personal notes vary with the particular purposes of different types of note writing. Generally, no envelope is needed, and the addresses of the addresser and addressee may not be necessary. The wording tends to be casual and colloquial. The writing format is short, and results of the writing are frequently concrete and immediate.

Whatever form it takes or however brief it is, a note must include the basic parts: the date and/or the specific time, the salutation, the body and the signature.

--The date can be put at the upper right corner. Often the month and the exact date are needed. The months with the exception of May, June and July are often abbreviated to Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.

For example:

June 5 Oct. 26 Sat. Apr. 18 Mon. Nov. 23

--In the salutation, the word “Dear” can be omitted, and “Mr./Mrs. so-and-so” or the addressee’s given name may be directly addressed.

For example:

(Dear) Jack, Helen, Mr. Black, Mrs. Jones

--The body part is the most important of the note, with the intended purpose.

--The signature of the note writer is put at the end of the note in a separate line on the right side. For example: