【英语：基础高阶_学术写作训练】J4.学术写作实践精析

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1.DEVELOPMENT

1.1.DEVELOPMENT

万事开头难.
周杰伦曾经接受采访被问说,每次要新发一张专辑的时候会不会有焦虑的感觉. 他说在筹备前期的工作没有什么头绪时是会有一些的,特别是对于第一首歌的写作. 但是只要第一首歌确定下来,剩下的部分就会轻松很多.
写作也不例外. 同学们也许发现下笔的瞬间往往是最纠结的.
在我们严肃地写作一篇文章时：We should start with development.

在我们写作的准备期间,大体上需要做两件事：
1.Planning: laying the initial plans
2.Revising your plan: going over the initial plans and making any necessary changes.

以下的一些问题可以帮助你来探索出自己的观点.
1.TASK
What do you want to write? (Or what have you been assigned to write?)
你想要写什么？(或者给定的主题是什么？)

EXAMPLE：
Writing a business plan for your soccer team fund-raiser.

2.PURPOSE
Why do you want to write it?
你为什么要写这篇文章？

EXAMPLE：
To get enough money from your friends, family, and community to rent a van to
travel to a state competition

3.AUDIENCE:
Who are you writing for?
你的写作对象是谁？

EXAMPLE：
Your friends, family, community, and local business owners

1.2.AUDIENCE

特别是写作nonfiction类别的文章时,了解你的写作对象是非常重要的. 比如你是一个地方的新闻记者,他们你的写作对象可能主要就是这个地区周围的人群. 如果你是一个天文作者,你的读者可能主要就是天文爱好者.

Once you know your audience, ask these questions:

1. Does the audience know everything you know?
   你的听众可能不熟悉你所知道的所有人、地方、事物或想法. 如果他们不知道,你需要介绍和解释这些新东西. 但是如果你的听众很熟悉或者这些信息是常识,你就不需要花时间在概念的梳理上.

2. Does the audience feel the same way you do?
   如果听众很大可能不同意你的观点,你可能需要花一些时间来论证.

3. Does the audience expect something specific from you?
   如果你是为了某个特定的任务或读者群体而写作,那么写一些不符合读者期望的东西是没有意义的.
   If you’re at a poetry reading, the audience will be very confused if you start reading a political speech.
   反之亦然——如果你在政治集会上开始阅读诗歌,听众会感到困惑,因为你所说的并不符合他们的期望. 听众不会关注你的信息,而会关注这首诗的out of place(格格不入).

2.PLANNING

2.1.BRAINSTORMING

As you start to answer all these question, you’re planning—all the thinking you do before you actually start putting anything on paper, or on the screen. But just because you’re are not creating finished sentences doesn’t mean you’re not writing.

Planning is a crucial part of the writing process.
计划是写作过程中非常关键的部分.

One tool you can use in the planning stage is brainstorming(头脑风暴). Once you come up with a topic, you’ll start to get ideas and questions. Some of them will be good, and some of them won’t be so good. Some of them will be on topic, and some of them might not connect as well.
如果文章中的内容连不上的时候,我们在读文章时就会有一种找不到重点的感觉.

But in brainstorming, you don’t try to figure that all out, you just try to get it all down.
但是,在头脑风暴这个阶段当中,你需要做的就是把能想到的东西都先列出来.

当你处于计划阶段时,花点时间写下你脑子里想的事情. 这时候你就可以开始思考你想集中精力写什么,你想放掉什么,当然也有可能在过程中迸发出新的想法.

如果是在考试当中时间比较紧急的状况下则需要大家在准备阶段多多掌握考试的相关信息. 对于不同的话题都要有一些基础的知识储备,这样才能在短时间内想出合理有力的观点.

3.ORGANIZATION

3.1.ORGANIZATION

一旦你形成了写作的想法,就需要将内容合理地组织起来. 要做到这一点,这时还是需要回头看看你对task(任务)、purpose(目标)和audience(听众)问题的答案.

Task:
What do you want to do? Organize your piece to best suit your task.

EXAMPLE：
A fictional short story and a newspaper article don’t start out the same way.They’re organized differently.A news article puts the most important things at the beginning.A fictional short story can have a lot of different structures, but often it has the most important action toward the end.Align your organizational structure to your task.

Purpose:
Why do you want to do it? Organize your information to best suit your purpose.

EXAMPLE：
In a news article, you want to get the news to everybody as quickly as possible.That’s why it’s organized with the most important information at the beginning. In a fictional short story, an author can have a lot of different purposed—if he or she wants to express an idea,the author may weave the idea throughout the story. If the author wants to write a mystery,he or she probably won’t reveal the most important information until the very end,so there is suspense throughout.

Audience:
Who are you writing to? Organize your information to best suit your audience.

EXAMPLE：
Different audiences prefer different organization. If you want to explain a scientific concept to a group of scientists, you might organize your thoughts in the format that they are familiar with—perhaps like a standard scientific paper, with an introduction, argument, and conclusions. But if you want to explain that same idea to a group of first graders, you might organize it as a story, with a beginning, middle, and end,so you can keep their attention.

4.OUTLINING

4.1.OUTLINING

An outline is like the road map to your piece.
In it, you capture:

• All the things you want to say 所有你想表达的内容
• The order in which you want to say them 你想要排列这些内容的顺序
• Brainstorming gets all your ideas down on paper.
• Organizing helps you think about the best way to get your ideas across: where to start, how to get your points across, and you want to wind up.
• Outlining gives you a place to jot down all those thoughts, using main headings for the big ideas and subheadings for your supporting details.

Example:

• Title: Why Public Gardens Are Important
• Introduction: Claim and brief history of public gardens
• Claim: Public gardens are important parts of our society.
  • The first public gardens
  • How the craze grew
  • Public gardens in the present

Reason why public gardens are important: health

• Physical health benefits of public gardens
• Mental health benefits of public gardens

**Conclusion: Public gardens should be supported in the future. **

• Recap of importance
• Plans for the future

5.REVISING YOUR OUTLINE

一旦你写好了提纲,此时需要再把所有的东西都仔细研究一遍.
再次参照着最开始提出的问题,然后审视自己是否已经完成了预期的目标.

5.1.REVISING YOUR OUTLINE

Task:

• What did I want to say? Have I said it?
  Purpose:

• Why did I want to write about this? Have I accomplished what I meant to?
  Audience:

• Who is my audience? Have I planned points that will connect with them?
  Organization:

• How is this organized? Is this the best way to present my ideas?
  Completion:

• Are these thoughts complete? Is anything missing?

• 如果这些问题都能找到答案. 那么,you’re ready to write a draft.

• Draft(初稿): a preliminary version of a piece of writing.

• 初稿完成之后,其实还是有很多工作要做——首先我们要做编辑和修改.

• To edit and revise, we use the same three questions we started with,on task, purpose, and audience.

First,reread your piece and revise only for task, purpose, and audience:

• 重新阅读你写的文章,针对写作任务、目标和对象对文章进行修改：
  Task:
• Did I do what I was supposed to do here?
  Purpose:
• Did I do it for the reasons I was supposed to?
  Audience:
• Did I write it in a way that my audience will understand and respond to?

EXAMPLES:
TASK, PURPOSE,AND AUDIENCE:
If you are writing a business plan for your soccer team fund-raiser, maybe at first you thought you wouldn’t bother to include information about competing soccer teams. But then you realize that your audience–your friends, family and community–don’t know that you’re neck and neck with another team and are very close to becoming champions of the state, which is why it’s really important you get to the competition.That means you probably need to add a section about the competing soccer teams and your own team’s rank.

Second,reread your piece and revise only for CLARITY and STRENGTH.
接着再审视一下文章中文字的表达是否清晰有力,可以再次加以修改和整理.

• Does it make sense?
• Will the reader understand your writing?
• Does it have the best ideas and strongest evidence?

EXAMPLES:
CLARITY AND STRENGTH:
Once you add that section,read the whole thing over again, making sure that your sentences are clear and that you’ve used all your best ideas and all the strongest evidence you can find. Wait!You realize that you didn’t offer any evidence to prove how much you believe you can raise this year,so you dig up the amount raised last year to prove that this year’s goal is possible.

Last,reread your piece and revise only for GRAMMAR and PUNCTUATION.
最后在对于语法和标点细节上的问题进行修改.

Using correct grammar and punctuation is an important part of writing and revising. Grammar and punctuation are like signs that tell the reader how to read. For example, a period is like a big stop sign.Without the right grammar and punctuation, the reader can easily get lost.

EXAMPLES:
GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION:
Finally, you go over the nitty-gritty details.You turn a run-on sentence into two proper sentences.You capitalize your coach’s name, which had somehow slipped through the cracks. You make sure that the rest of the grammar and punctuation is perfect.

6.STYLE

6.1.STYLE

STYLE is simply the way in which something is written–it is not the idea or thing being expressed.
如果语言运用的能力较强的话,我们完全可以使用不同的风格来表达同一件事情,可能会传递出不同的态度,这就是语言的应用范畴.

我们一起来看两个范例：

1. Many people who grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains believe,secretly or not so secretly, that they may be the most beautiful mountains in the world.
   分析：这一段的写作风格是比较正式的.
   It conveys respect for the people of the Blue Ridge Mountains and their opinions.

2. Those people from the Blue Ridge Mountains all seem to think they’ve got the most beautiful mountain range in the world.
   分析：这一段的风格则是非正式的.
   It is almost sarcastic(讽刺的) and conveys a bit of disrespect for the people of the Blue Ridge Mountains and their opinions.

我们可以看到两段文字涵盖的信息几乎是相同的,但是文字的风格则是完全不同的.
写作的风格可以影响到读者对于内容的认知和态度,就是英文中说的impression.
所以当你写文章时,一定要研究一下自己的文字风格和想要表达的内容适不适合. 可以参考我们之前提的那几个问题：task,purpose, audience.

Task:

• Does the style help you do what you’re supposed to do?
• If you re writing a news article, does it fit the style of a news article?
• If you’re writing a scientific paper, does it fit the style of a scientific paper?

比如,现在你要在一个非常正式的场合发表自己的观点,这时就要注意自己的语言风格.

• A well-written speech that is appropriately formal:
• “Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to take the podium and deliver my new paper on the behavior patterns of the Bermuda glowfish to this distinguished audience.”
• A badly written speech that is inappropriately informal:
• “Hey! It’s so cool so many of you are out here today! Thanks a lot for coming. I’ve just got this paper here I was going to read to you. It’s about some stuff I found out while I was doing research on the Bermuda glowfish…”

Purpose:

• Does the style help accomplish the purpose of the task?
• Does the style help get the argument across?
• Does it help tell the story well?

比如现在要写一个食谱,那写作目的就是要清楚地表达出操作的过程.
A well-written recipe that makes each step clear:

• Mix together the wet ingredients: eggs, butter, oil and vanilla.Then sift together the dry ingredients: flour baking soda,sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the dry ingredients slowly into the mixture of wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly, until a batter forms.

A badly written recipe that is too wordy(冗长的) and confusing:

• With an artisan’s careful touch, mix the cracked eggs, the luscious butter, the translucent oil, and the delicious vanilla together.The dry ingredients will then get equal treatment, being sifted together in a fine dust of flour cracked from golden wheat, baking soda to lend punch, the sweetness of sugar, and the mysterious bitterness of cocoa powder…

Audience:
Does the style help you connect with the audience?

• Is it the style they expect to hear?
• Is it the style they’re lost likely to listen to?

比如, 当我们写作故事的时候,好故事的语言要是尽可能丰富有趣,而不是枯燥无味读不下去的.
A well-written story that is entertaining and lively:

• When Jonathan Gulliver woke up, he was afraid that it was going to be another boring day. But when he got up and opened his closet door, he got the surprise of his life.

A badly written story that is dry and hard to follow:

• Jonathan Gulliver was bored.The day before had been boring, and the day before that had been boring.There was no reason, his groggy mind thought, as he painfully woke from a very, very, very deep slumber, that today should be any different than the day before and the day before that. He opened his chest door and something surprised him.

7.STYLE TIPS

把握文字风格的技巧

7.1.KEEP IT CONSISTENT

Good style is consistent.That means it doesn’t change in tone from sentence to sentence or from beginning to end.
句子之间从头到尾语气尽量做到一致,保持你文字的个性.

举两个例子对比来看consistent tone：
I believe it is time for all good people to come to the aid of the parade float committee. Now is the time for us to accomplish this considerable and worthy task. - Hey, y’all! Now is the time for us to accomplish this considerable and worthy task—making some awesome floats!
大家通过对比就会发现第二段的内容读起来感觉有点怪怪的. 我们在行文当中尽量保持一致的风格,很有可能给读者带来一些阅读的困扰.

7.2.DON’T BORE YOUR READER

Style should be consistent, but you don’t want to write the same type of sentence over and over.
写作时需要避免重复相同的内容,这一点同学们一定要注意.

Repetitive Sentences
如：

• I went to the store. I got a carton of milk. I got a loaf of bread. I walked home.

• 这种句子在初期练习的时候尚可,但如果是提高的部分就会显得写作能力不足,建议大家在写作的时候多多练习写一些比较复杂的结构来更精确地表达自己的意思.

• 如果我们将上面一组句子改为：

• I went to the store, where I got a carton of milk.Then I got a loaf of bread. Finally, I went home.

• 这样的内容相比之下就会显得结构性更明确一些.

再更细致地扩展一下：

• I went to the store, because I was quite hungry. I picked out a loaf of bread, and then realized that I was also thirsty. So I also snapped up a carton of milk before I went home.
• 如果改成这样,可读性就变得更强了一些. 最开始版本的句子没有对于事件的解释,但是后面的版本添加了很多细节来解释为什么作者会买这些东西. 同时,开始的版本中的短句子并列结构让所有事件看起来是一并重要的,因而会有抓不住重点的感觉. 但是上面这个改写的结构就显得更有层次感一些.

7.3.AVOID WORDINESS AND REDUNDANCY

• 避免堆砌文字导致文章显得冗余
• Wordiness is using an excessive number of words. It’s best to keep things short,so each word has a big impact.

举个例子：

• “He’s an extraordinary contortionist(柔术演员) and the best at his craft. There’s no contortionist as remarkable in history.”
• 当我们使用一些不必要的单词时,字里行间的单词就很可能失去了它应有的影响力,你的读者就可能会抓不住重点甚至觉得无聊读不下去.
• 解决方法就是——尽量去掉不必要的单词,精简你的句子.

把刚刚的内容精简一下可以改为：

• He was the most extraordinary contortionist who ever lived.
• Redundancy is including words that could be omitted without losing the meaning of the passage.
• 冗余的部分包括可以省略并且省略后内容依然保持完整的单词.

看来一个例子：

• She’s the most wonderful, amazing, perfect, fantastic, unbelievable,extraordinary, marvelous runner I’ve ever seen.
  这个句子当中大家不难发现单词有一些冗余,让每一个词原本的影响力都削弱了一些,所以直接改成简单的就好了：
• “She’s the most extraordinary runner I’ve ever seen.”
• 这样句中的extraordinary才能体现出它真正的意义,不会被忽略.

8.WRITING NARRATIVES

记叙文写作必备技巧

8.1.WRITING NARRATIVES

A NARRATIVE is a description of events that are connected to each other—also known as a story. Fiction writers use narrative to describe imaginary events, but interesting stories happen in real life, too. Nonfiction writers use narrative to describe real events. Just like any good story, a good narrative has a beginning, middle, and end.
叙事其实就是对于相互关联的事物的叙述,也就是我们常说的故事. 小说家用叙事来描写虚构的事件,但是现实生活中也存在有趣的故事. 非小说作家用叙事来描写真实事件. 好的叙事要有开头、发展和结尾.

在我们写叙述性文章时,一般都要出现以下元素：

• Context and/or setting 背景／环境
• A point of view 观点(视角)
• Characters or actors 角色
• Plot 情节
• Conclusion 结局

8.2.CONTEXT AND/OR SETTING

读者通常需要上下文和环境背景的设置来帮助他们进入到故事当中并理解其中的内容.
关于context和setting的内容大家可以参考下面几个提示：
The context of a narrative is:

• What else is happening at the same time as the story
• What happened before the story begins that is important for the reader to know so he understands the story

The setting of a narrative is:

• When a story happens
• Where a story happens

EXAMPLE:

• Winter was always tough in the tiny village of Della Gloria, because every year the mountain snow cuts it off from the big town in the valley below. (context) But the winter after the war ended was especially bad. (setting)

很多同学都不是很擅长做故事背景的铺陈,但这一部分对于一个好的叙事性作品却是很重要的. 那我们应该怎么样去设计这个背景环境呢？
How to Create a Setting? Answer these questions to begin creating a vivid time and place:

• What does the setting look like?
• What does the setting sound like?
• What does it feel like to be there?
• What is the historical time and place of the setting?
• What is going on in the world at that time?

8.3.NARRATION

在虚构的故事中,故事都是从叙述者的角度讲述的.
在小说当中,作者通常会从三种最常见的叙述者中选择：

• First-person narrator(第一人称叙述)
• Second-person narrator(第二人称叙述)
• Third-person narrator(第三人称叙述)

First-person narrator(第一人称叙述):

• a narrator who is also a character in the story.Authors might use first- person narration if the character of the narrator is important to the story or if the story is best told from a single point of view.
• 如果叙述者人物本身对故事很重要,或者从这个角度来说故事讲得最好,则可使用第一人称叙述.

Second-person narrator(第二人称叙述)

• tells the story as if it is happening to “you.” Authors use second-person narration if they want readers to strongly relate and react to the story.
• 如果作者希望读者与故事之间产生强烈的联系和互动,则优先选择第二人称叙述.

Third-person narrator(第三人称叙述):

• a narrator who is not a character in the story.Authors use third- person narration if they want to explore the points of view of many characters or tell a story that doesn’t focus on a narrator’s character.
• 如果作者想探索更多角色的观点或讲述一个不以叙述者角色为中心的故事,则可使用第三人称叙述.

在选择文章的叙事风格时,还可以考虑以下几点：
Subjective Narrative

• A subjective narrative style concentrates on the feelings and opinions of the narrator.

EXAMPLE:

• It was the most beautiful thing in the world when the surf filled with incredible tiny glowing fish on the first night in August.

Objective Narrative

• An objective narrative style conveys the facts with no opinions or slant(倾向性).

EXAMPLE:

• On the first night in August, the surf filled with tiny glowing fish.

Trustworthy Narrator

• A trustworthy narrator conveys acts and opinions that turn out to be true over the course of the story.

EXAMPLE:

• A narrator tells you at the beginning of the story that he is a doctor and all of events of the story confirm that he is.

Untrustworthy Narrator

• An untrustworthy narrator conveys facts and opinions that turn out to be false or misleading over the course of the story.

EXAMPLE:

• A narrator tells you at the beginning of the story that another character is out to get him, but in fact that character is nothing but kind to him throughout the story.

• 看了这么多叙事风格,我们在真正写作的时候应该如何去做出选择呢？

• How to ChooseYour Narration Style?

Answer these questions to find the right narration style for a story:

• Do I want the narration to be objective or subjective?
• Would it be more interesting for the narrator to be untrustworthy?
• Would the story be clearer if the narrator is trustworthy?
• Do I want my narrator’s thoughts and feelings to be a major part of the story? (Create a first-person narrator.)
• Do I want readers to identify strongly with the narrator?
  (Create a second-person narrator.)
• Do I want the freedom to explore different points of view?
  (Create a third-person narrator.)

8.4.CHARACTERS OR ACTORS

完成了对于环境背景的描写,接下来你的人物就要出场了. 如果你在写非虚构的故事,故事中的参与者是谁？如果你正在写一个虚构的故事, 事中的人物是谁？

A character or actor is often introduced the moment the writer shows him or her doing something—or purposely not doing something.
你不必在故事开篇向读者介绍角色时就告诉他们关于人物的一切,但是要记住,除非你告诉他们这些信息,否则观众对角色是一无所知的.
观众通常需要对剧中的人物有所了解,才能理解这个故事.

EXAMPLE:

• Sebastian stared out the window of his family’s small cottage. He couldn’t run and play in the snow with the other kids, because he’d been born with a crooked leg.What nobody else in town knew, however, was that he’d also been born with something else: the power to fly.

8.5.CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

如果你的角色是无趣的,你的故事就不会很有趣.

• Nobody wants to read a story about a person who doesn’t think about much, doesn’t care about much, and sits around all day doing nothing.

• 因此,创造具有生命里的人物很重要—they take action, change, learn,and grow.

• We also want to have a full description of those characters.

• 比如, 你想表达你的角色是resourceful(足智多谋的),则需要解释这个词之于这个人物有哪些具体的表现：how they’ve been resourceful in the past, how they plan so they can be resourceful now—even who taught them how to be resourceful.

• 人物的描写应该是生动而清晰的,并且挑选出的细节部分需要能够使读者在心中构建出自己的人物画面.

以下这些问题线索可以帮助大家形成一个相应的思维路径.
How to Create a Character? Answer these questions to help start to create a dynamic character who is vivid in the reader’s mind:

• What does my character care about?
• What does my character want out of life?
• What do other people think about my character?
• What does my character like?
• What doesn’t my character like?
• What does my character look like?
• What does my character sound like?
• How is my character different from everyone else in my story?

8.6.PLOT

• 叙事之所以称之为叙事,就是因为它是一个故事,而不是论证或说明.
• The story can have a real or imaginary plot.
• A PLOT STRUCTURE is the way experiences are organized into a story.

There are a few common plot structures:
Beginning >>>>>> End

• Plots can begin at the beginning of the story and continue chronologically to the end.

• 按照时间顺序从开头到结尾
  Beginning <<<<<<< End

• Plots can begin at the end of the story and go back to the causes in the beginning.

• 开头写明结局,后文解释起因.
  Beginning <<<<>>>>End

• Plots can even begin in the middle of a story and move forward and backward in time.

• 情节从故事的中间部分展开,在时间上向前或向后发展.

• 无论如何,逻辑性对于故事发展很很重要的,同学们要意识到逻辑性并不意味着所有的事情都必须按时间顺序排列,但是它确实意味着所有的事情彼此是要能有效关联的,并且都与故事的结局相关.

再给同学们提供一个设置情节的思维脉络.
How to Create a Plot
Answer these questions to create a solid plot, where all the events make sense in the reader’s mind:

• Where would it be most interesting for my story to begin?
• Where do I want the story to end?
• What is the conflict that needs to be resolved?
• What change must happen in the plot?
• What change must happen in the character?
• What does the reader need to know to understand what’s happening?
• What would be good to keep hidden from the reader to build suspense?
• When is the best time to reveal details you’ve hidden to build drama?

8.7.NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES

叙事技巧
To develop characters or narrative experiences, you can use narrative techniques such as:

• Dialogue, which reports the things people say to each other
• 对话,展现人物的想法和交流方式

EXAMPLE:

• “I’m hungry.” one of the kids outside of Sebastian’s window said. - “So am I,” said the girl in the green coat. - “Everybody’s hungry this winter. Nobody’s been able to get down to the town in the valley for so long. But thinking about it won’t make it better. Let’s make another snow angel.”

• Pacing, which is the speed at which things happen

• 节奏,控制故事的发展

FAST-PACE EXAMPLE:

• The girl in the green coat lay down, waved her arms a few times in the fresh snow, and stood up, leaving the imprint of an angel in the fresh- packed white snow.

SLOW-PACE EXAMPLE:

• The girl in the green coat lay down. For a long moment,she stared up at the blue sky, thinking of warmer days, when the hilltop, which was now covered with snow, had been covered with strawberries.The thought of it made her mouth water.Then the hunger in her belly made her eyes water.
• After a minute, to distract herself,she spread her arms out in the unforgiving snow and waved them up and down at her sides. - She was so hungry that she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to stand. But when the cold of the snow began to bite into the backs of her legs,she found her way to her feet and looked down at the image of the snow angel she had made in the fresh-packed white snow.

Description, which gives SENSORY(感官的,感觉的) information about characters, places,or experiences. In fact, a good way to describe a scene is to think of how it would be experienced through several of your senses.
描写,形容,给出人物对于细节的感知

• How would it feel?
• How would it look?
• How would it sound?
• How would it taste?
• How would it smell?

EXAMPLE:

• Sebastian always waited until it was too dark for his mother to see anything before he allowed himself to float out of his bed and explore the quiet house. But this time he didn’t just explore the house. He flew quickly to the he front door, opened it, and flew out into the chilly night.The scent of the pines on the hilltop was strong, but he didn’t linger to enjoy it for long. Instead, he dove down the hill, flying at top speed, heading for the city in the faraway valley and the good things he planned to bring back for his family and friends to eat.The piles of fruits and cakes were so clear in his imagination that he could almost taste the sweet and juicy first bite.

8.8.CONCLUSION

如果你的故事写得很好,读者一般是会非常渴望知道最后会发生什么的,也就是故事的结局. 在叙述中,描写结局需要做两件事：

1. FOLLOWTHE PLOT

• What happens at the end needs to follow logically from the events of the story.
• 一定要在逻辑上讲得通.

2. REFLECT THE NARRATED EXPERIENCE:

• Characters should act in a way that is consistent with their previous actions and thoughts.
• 人物的结局选择要符合过往的经历,行为和想法.

1. FOLLOWTHE PLOT
   EXAMPLE:

• If Sebastian has to fly down the mountain to get food for his hometown because there was no other way to get there, he can’t take the train back.That doesn’t make logical sense.

2. REFLECT THE NARRATED EXPERIENCE
   EXAMPLE:

• If Sebastian hasn’t been able to walk before, he shouldn’t start walking at the end of the story for no reason. Or if Sebastian has been a genuinely nice guy for the whole story, he shouldn’t suddenly turn mean.

• 人物应该是具有强大生命力的,也就是说,他们应该在故事中成长. 然而,一个角色不应该在没有任何解释的情况下突然在结局变得很不一样,但这并不意味着结局不能出现一些惊喜.

EXAMPLE:
After everyone else had eaten their fill, the girl with the green coat came over to Sebastian. He had to admit to himself that he had hoped she might talk to him after he “found” the food and donated it to the village, even though he didn’t know what he hoped would happen next. “Sebastian,” she said, pulling his rolling chair around to the side of the house, where nobody else could see them.“I have something to tell you.” Sebastian’s heart soared.Was she going to confess that she loved him as much as he loved her? Maybe that was too much to hope.Anyway, he thought, the smile on her face was already reward enough.

EXAMPLE:
But to his astonishment,she didn’t do any of this. Instead, as he watched, her green shoes lifted neatly from the snowy ground, until she was a foot above the earth. Then two feet. Then three. “I can fly, too!” she said. Like a shot,she disappeared above him into the clear blue sky.

9.EXPOSITORY WRITING

说明文写作

9.1.EXPOSITORY WRITING

• EXPOSITORYWRITING is writing text that informs, describes, and explains.

这一类文体主要有两种类别：

1. INFORMATIVEWRITING(信息类)

2. EXPLANATORYWRITING(解释性)

3. INFORMATIVEWRITING(信息类)

• conveys information(传递信息). It’s writing that tells you about something. If you know a lot about birds,stars, baseball, or anything else, and you’d like to share that knowledge with others, you want to do some in formative writing.

2. EXPLANATORYWRITING(解释性)

• offers explanations(给出解释). It’s writing that answers a question like, “How does this thing work?” Or “Why is that thing like that?” If you want to explain why the sky is blue, or how to fix a bike, or why Friday is called Friday, you’ll do some explanatory writing.

9.2.EXPOSITORY ESSAY PURPOSE

An expository essay, with its “explain, inform, describe” form, is a perfect way to test students’ knowledge in various tests or exams. Besides, expository writing branches out into a wide array of disciplines, including:

• Business
• Journalism
• Scientific writing

10.ORGANIZATION

说明文的写作当中可以包含不同的语言组织形式

10.1.ORGANIZATION

• DEFINITION
• CLASSIFICATION
• CONPARISON/CONTRAST
• CAUSE/EFFECT

10.2.DEFINITION

DEFINITION
Define and thoroughly describe your subject, giving details that help the reader understand what it is.

• 给出定义并完整地描述你的主题,给出细节帮助读者理解它是什么.

EXAMPLE:

• an essay defining the life cycle

10.3.CLASSIFICATION

CLASSIFICATION

• Explain how your subject relates to other subjects, helping the reader understand where it fits into the broader scheme of things.
• 解释你的主题与其他主题的相关性,帮助读者通过一个更宏大的主题理解话题.

EXAMPLE:

• an encyclopedia entry explaining how one species of seagull relates to all other species of seagulls around the world

10.4.CONPARISON/CONTRAST

CONPARISON/CONTRAST

• Describe the similarities and the differences between two subjects. - 讨论不同主题之间的相似点和差异性.

EXAMPLE:

• a history book that compares the way two different presidents led the country
  during a time of economic pressure, describing how they faced similar
  circumstances but responded to them differently

10.5.CAUSE/EFFECT

CAUSE/EFFECT

• Focus on the causes behind events and their consequences
• 关注事件背后的原因及其后果.

EXAMPLE:

• a speech that lets kids know that if they begin to save small sums of money now, the interest on their savings will grow over time and provide them with more freedom when they get older

11.写作方法

11.1.NTRODUCING THE TOPIC

• In informative writing an introduction is like a preview of what you will explain or describe. It gives the reader a glimpse of what’s going to come next.
• 先就你的主题写一个概述,让读者知道文章的主要议题.

EXAMPLE:

• People have been staring up at the moon, making guesses about what it must be like up there, for centuries. But it’s only in the past few decades that astronomers and astronauts have begun to find solid scientific answers to that question.

• After the introduction, the topic is developed with relevant facts and pieces of information that directly relate to the topic.

• 接下来就要给出相关的事实和有效的信息说明.

EXAMPLE:

• Relevant:Astronauts were surprised to find out that because of the lack of atmosphere, shadows on the moon are much darker than they are on Earth.
• Not Relevant: Everyone from poets to pop stars has written about what it might be like to spend time on the moon.

最常见的说明文写作内容包括:

• Definitions 定义

• Details 细节

• Quotes 引用

• Examples 举例

• When you include definitions, details, or examples it also helps to precisely describe the nature of the subjects discussed.

首先来感受一个IMPRECISE EXAMPLE:

• A moonquake is a shaking fit experienced by the moon.
• 分析：添加细节可以提供额外的相关信息,将比较棘手的概念分解为更易于理解的段落,或者扩展读者的思路加强理解.

来看下面的PRECISE EXAMPLES：

• There are four kinds of moonquakes: those caused by meteor impacts,those caused by the heat of the sun, deep ones caused by tides, and those caused by shallow internal geological shifts.

• Quotes, which report direct speech or language written by other writers, can add a firsthand account. build on formation given and offer a second verification of facts.

• 可以通过引用其他类别的第一手资料提供一些事实验证.

EXAMPLE:

• Shallow moonquakes can cause a lot of motion on the surface of the moon and a lot of noise.According to Professor Clive Neal, who studies the data from the original Apollo moon landings, during some moonquakes,“The moon was ringing like a bell.”

• Examples can offer an illustration of the topic under discussion.

• 举例的作用当然大家就都比较熟悉了,可以对话题提供更直观的解释.

EXAMPLE:

• Lunar dust, which is very fine and very rough, is a big threat to astronauts on the moon. For instance, it can scratch visors so badly that astronauts can barely see through them. Lunar dust has been known to almost completely disintegrate moon boots.

11.2.MAKING A CONCLUSION

在说明文写作中,结语自然也是总结信息. 然而,我们在写作时最好不要简单地重复你之前写过的内容——更好的一种方式是用合适的语言来重述并汇集信息,突出最重要的部分.

EXAMPLE:
Poets and pop stars might have thought there would be no need to dream about the moon after astronauts brought back reports from the surface. But with super-dark shadows, moonquakes,and strange lunar dust, there’s even more to dream about than ever before.

11.3.USE JUST THE RIGHT WORDS

Transitional Phrases and SignalWords
信号词

• You can use all the transitional phrases and signal words you use in writing arguments to write in formative and explanatory texts, too. But instead of their job being to transition between claims,reasons, and evidence, they will show the relationship between ideas and information.

Domain-SpecificVocabulary
专业领域特有词汇

• 说明文当中一定会出现一些专业领域的特有词汇,在英文中可以被叫做Jargon. 比如,医生使用医学术语；律师使用法律术语；工程师和计算机程序员使用技术术语等等.
• However, be careful with jargon!Your audience may not know domain-specific words. If the vocabulary is not common knowledge, explain the word or phrase’s meaning.
• 写作时要考虑到读者对于专业词汇的理解能力,必要的时候可以加一些解释.

EXAMPLE：
The carnival workers would sometimes enjoy an “aba-daba”—carnival lingo(行话) for dessert cooked up in the carnival cookhouse-before going to bed. 2.When a lawyer says she’s going to “execute” a document, it doesn’t mean that anyone needs to fear for his or her life. In legal jargon, to “execute” something means to sign something complete a task, or carry out an agreement.

12.写作流程示例

12.1. PREWRITING: EXPOSITORY ESSAY TOPICS

The first phase of the writing process involves brainstorming for ideas and choosing a topic. In most cases, you will be provided with some essay prompts and instructions. Carefully read them.Then, when you have a good idea of what you are expected to do, you can start searching for a perfect topic. A good topic for an expository essay should not be too broad or narrow.

Examples:
The Negative Influences ofVideo Games – is too broad, but if you make it more specific, for example, mention some classification of group studied, like age, gender, or other details, you will be able to narrow it down. - How Excessively PlayingVideo Games Can ProvokeTeenViolence – is narrow because the subject of study and the group studied are quite specific.

The topic should be manageable,so make sure you pick something you can address in your paper.Also, it should be relevant and significant. Finally, pick a topic that you are interested in and one you know you will be able to explain (after all, that’s the main purpose of this type of essay).

A topic can investigate pretty much anything from history to space or technology. Just find whatever engages you and go for it.

12.2. EXPOSITORY ESSAY OUTLINE

• Creating an outline is vital,regardless of the type of paper you were assigned to do.
• First of all, it helps to organize your thoughts and to put them in a logical sequence.
• Secondly, having an outline will make the writing process simpler.

Generally, an expository essay should consist of five paragraphs:

• Intro – the opening clause that engages the readers,reflects the topic and main idea,and guides the reader to the main part of the text;
• Body (3 paragraphs) – the main three paragraphs that provide the author’s key points with supporting sentences (such as facts, evidence, and examples);
• Conclusion – the last part of the paper that summarizes everything and highlights the larger significance of the paper.

Sample expository essay outline on the topic How Excessively PlayingVideo Games Can Provoke Teen Violence:

1. Introduction

• Hook - a statement, dilemma, or question that gets readers’ attention, for example: 72% of teens are playing video games, with 9 out of 10 of them engaging in this pastime as a form of addiction;
• Background and context for the topic: Over 200,000 homicides take place worldwide among youth between 10-29 years old. Homicide is the fourth leading cause of teen death. Psychologists insist that those 72% of teen gamers are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior, which sparks teen violence;
• Thesis statement: Excessively playing video games can result in higher levels of violence among teens.

2. Main Body: 1st Paragraph

• Topic sentence clearly defining the main point:Violent video games increase the risk of having aggressive behavior;
• Supporting fact + example: Studies proving this statement;
• Supporting fact + example: Real-life examples proving this statement;
• Statement that analytically summarizes everything from the paragraph.

3. Main Body: 2nd Paragraph

• Topic sentence clearly defining the main point:Video games addiction can result in social isolation and depression;
• Supporting fact + examples: X% of teens report being addicted to video games;
• Supporting fact + example: X% of youth report having depression;
• Statement that analytically summarizes everything from the paragraph.

4. Main Body: 3rd Paragraph

• Topic sentence clearly defining the main point: Isolation caused by gaming addiction can grow into actual social phobia;
• Supporting fact + example: Facts backed by science;
• Supporting fact + example: Stats proving the statement;
• Statement that analytically summarizes everything from the paragraph.

5. Conclusion

• Make a summary of your main ideas:The negative outcomes of excessive gaming,such as depression, isolation, violence, and social phobia, can influence each other and turn into aggression;
• Restate the thesis (but do not repeat it word for word);
• Connect the dots between your ideas/arguments and the broader topic;
• Highlight the value of your research and reveal any unanswered questions (if needed).

12.3. DRAFTING

Introduction
Here are the main tips for shaping a flawless introduction:

• Create a hook with a disputable question or an interesting dilemma, to attract attention;
• Reveal the idea of your topic and purpose;
• Make a powerful thesis statement.

Thesis Statement
Follow these prompts for writing a thesis statement:

• Make it well defined;
• Provide facts;
• Help readers get the main idea of your essay;
• Define the intention of your writing.

Main Body

• Focus on a single point in each of your three body paragraphs;
• Make what each paragraph focuses on clear;
• Provide supporting examples, facts, and arguments;
• Make smooth transitions between paragraphs;
• Where appropriate, explain the value and importance of your arguments.

Conclusion
To end your essay with a strong conclusion and leave a lasting impression on the reader, use these tricks:

• Start with a brief overview of key points, ideas, and arguments;
• Restate your thesis;
• Offer possible solutions (when appropriate);
• Explain the value of your research.

12.4. EDITING

Writing a draft for your expository essay is just the first step. Next, you will have to carefully proofread and polish your work until it looks perfect.The best way to approach proofreading and editing is to give yourself a few days off after you have written the draft.This way, you will get back to your essay rested and will be able to look at it with a fresh mindset.

While editing, you need to focus on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Apart from grammar and mechanics, pay close attention to the clarity,readability, tone, and style of your text. Is it easy to read and understand? Have you neglected to include something? Is it engaging and does it convey the main message? Ask all these questions to make sure that you end up with an excellent paper.

12.5.REVISING: EXPOSITORY ESSAY RUBRIC

How can you know for sure that you’ve nailed your expository essay? Follow this comprehensive checklist to determine whether your work is good enough or still needs improvement:

• Is the thesis statement clear and concise? Does it appear near to the end of the introductory paragraph? Does it state your topic and motives for writing?

• Does the paper follow a logical flow of information and give an unbiased analysis of the topic?

• Do you use relevant evidence and examples to support your thesis?

• Does every paragraph in the main body focus on a single point? Does each include a topic sentence and supporting evidence?

• Are all facts and supporting arguments valid? Do they add value?

• Are there any divergences from the topic or unnecessary information?

• Does the conclusion highlight the significance of the thesis and summarize the key points?

• Are there smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs?

• Is the word choice good and precise?

• Are there any errors or gaps left after editing?

• Is the essay engaging, clear, easy to read, and effective?

• Is it formatted according to the instructions given?

13.EXPOSITORY ESSAY EXAMPLE

The Fear of Success

13.1.THE FEAR OF SUCCESS

Everyone has probably heard about the fear of failure. In fact, it has become such a popular explanation and excuse for not doing something that it often sounds almost trivial–even though it is a real psychological condition causing a lot of distress to those who suffer from it. At the same time, there is another,somewhat similar phobia which is often overlooked or neglected as insignificant: the fear of success.

At first glance, it might seem absurd: why would anyone be afraid of succeeding in his or her own life?Why would someone avoid–subconsciously or intentionally–accomplishing achievements,reaching goals, and fulfilling their dreams?The devil, as always, is in the details:
the number of reasons for a person with the fear of success to worry is large. Unlike some people might think, many of these reasons are rational. Let us take a closer look at what may cause such a phobia and how it manifests itself.

To start with, let us figure out what success means.The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines success as a favorable and/or desired outcome (Merriam-Webster). Expanding this definition, we may say that succeeding means achieving a desired result in a certain enterprise, activity, occupation, and so on. Each person has his or her criteria of success, but rather often they can be reduced to several categories: achieving a certain level of financial welfare;social recognition, fame, or popularity; professional growth and development; a happy marriage and parenthood, and so on.What is common for any form of success is that it can change a person’s life–and this is one of the main reasons why people can be so afraid of it.

All of us are familiar with the expression “to get out of one’s comfort zone.” Usually, it implies doing something unusual for us,something new,risky, etc.This is exactly what people with the fear of success are unlikely and unwilling to do. Success implies doing new things, being recognized in new ways, new workloads, new contacts, new demands and responsibilities–in other words, in case a person succeeds, there is too much novelty to deal with. Besides, getting into the spotlight implies being scrutinized, criticized, and discussed (99U). Public opinion can be harsh, even if “public” means ten people more than usual. Not everyone is prepared for such attention: even the fear of standing out, being a part of an ancient survival strategy, finds a way to manifest itself in such peculiar forms. It is much safer to stay on charted territory, going through the same routine over and over again, but keeping a habitual and comfortable lifestyle intact.

A part of this fear of novelty and change is related to personality.An individual who fears success might feel he or she is going to change beyond recognition upon becoming successful. To some extent, this is similar to the fear of death:seizing to exist as as the person who you are familiar with–and being “reborn” as a different individual, with a different set of values, habits,surrounding, occupations, and so on.This fear comes from a premise that the changes success brings require a person to completely abandon his or her older self (99U). In reality,change implies developing new qualities and habits atop of older ones. Your “older” personality does not disappear, you do not stop existing–you just acquire new traits,skills,and outlooks.

Sometimes the roots of the fear of success go deep into childhood traumas. If you were a talented child capable of writing poems or painting, for example, your peers might not accept you. Children can be cruel–not because they are evil, but because they have yet to learn compassion, empathy, and morals. So, they can attack those who stand out: because of fear, a lack of understanding, jealousy, or for other reasons.Anyways, a person who suffered from bullying in childhood may associate standing out, which success often implies, with being ostracized, and may try to avoid it by all means (LonerWolf). Self-doubt or feeling not worthy of success may also originate from childhood.

The fear of success is a cunning and stealthy enemy. People nowadays are aware of the fear of failure–but many underestimate its “twin.” Originating from childhood traumas, the fear of standing out, novelty, and being a subject of public attention, the fear of success manifests itself in a number of ways. Reminding yourself that you are worthy of success, or counselling a psychologist, might be an effective step to eliminate this fear.

Works Cited
“Success.” Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster/dictionary/success. “AreYou (Subconsciously) Afraid of Success?” 99U,Behance, Inc., 9 Mar. 2016, 99u.adobe/articles/14347/are-you-subconsciously-afraid-of-success. Luna, Aletheia. “12Ways to Stop the Fear of Success From RUININGYour Life.” LonerWolf, 4 Dec. 2017,lonerwolf/fear-of-success/. Chadwick, Kushla. “What to Do IfYou Have A Fear of Success.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 30 Aug. 2013,www.lifehack/articles/communication/what-you-have-fear-success.html.

本文标签： 学术英语高阶基础