【转贴】考研英语写作基本理论及得高分基本方法研究

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一、主考官的盲点、兴奋点和残留点
　　(一)短文写作部分评卷人的弱点
　　通过问卷调查和社会分析，许多人都有或多或少的致命弱点，因此我们可以欣喜地下一个结论：作为普通人的考研短文写作部分评卷人也同样有“致命弱点”。
　　1.厌倦(?Bored?)：就实际而言，大部分考生写作能力都不太高，而对短文写作部分评卷人而言，在较短时间内批阅大量的短文往往会产生厌倦感。据科学测试，人在单一环境中干同一工作往往有一个承受限度，即心理负荷度，一旦超出该限度就会产生诸多不适。这就是?Bored?!试想：短文写作部分评卷人终日埋头于批阅短文，产生?Bored?的心理感受是理所当然的。
　　2.疲劳(?Tired?)：这是?Bored?的延伸，且与工作数量、工作时间成正比。短文写作部分评卷人的工作数量不可能不大，工作时间不可能不长，所以他必然会?Tired?。疲劳感在所难免。
　　3.气恼(?Fretful?)：如果短文写作部分评卷人能把某篇文章掂量再三，这篇文章必定有不同之处。可阅卷人在?Bored?和?Tired?的双重攻击之下，难免会产生一种?Fretful?，这正是?Bored?和?Tired?的“升华”!
　　其实，无论是谁，找个空闲时间，拿出考研试卷15份优秀范文，猛读一气，基本是到了第4、5篇时就开始走神。据测试统计，读完12篇后才走神的人极少。可想想看，读的这些全是优秀作文呀!，思路清晰，事例恰当，行文流畅，但还是会很快就受不了了，直打哈欠——没办法。
　　以上就是短文写作部分评卷人的弱点，但这些弱点并非是?total disaster?。它们也只是在一定限度之内表现出来，因为在这些阅卷专家的脑子里牢牢地嵌着一些框架，他们可以在极短的时间内将你的文章往框架里套，再根据套入框中的采分点的个数下意识地给出一个分数。
　　所以考生要使行文如“箭”，准确射中对方这一“要害”。
　　(二)短文写作部分评卷人的兴奋点
　　这些兴奋点其实是评卷人大脑中的框架——考研作文评分标准。
　　按顺序从高到低排列，评卷人的兴奋点分别是：
　　(1)脉络(?Organization?);
　　(2)细节及论据(?Details and Examples?);
　　(3)行文(?Facility in the Use of Language and Appropriate Word Choice?)。
　　短文写作部分评卷人的兴奋点=考研作文评分标准。


edited by 爱箭儿 on 2005-10-17 at 11:48 AM

爱*儿

(三)短文写作部分评卷人的盲区
　　这些盲区在短文写作部分评卷人大脑中兴奋度很低，除非有大的冲击力，否则较难被激活。按其兴奋度从低至高排列，分别是：
　　(1)选择什么样的论点；
　　(2)在文章中犯的少量拼写、标点错误；
　　(3)论据是否天衣无缝。
　　(四)短文写作部分评卷人的残留点
　　所谓残留点是指短文写作部分评卷人在两眼发直、身心疲惫、大脑混沌状态下飞速地浏览完文章后在他的脑子里残留着的印象。这绝非耸人听闻，评卷人在阅卷时绝对是边看边忘。虽然绝大部分记不住，可还是有少数内容进入了他的潜意识，他就是靠这点残留的潜意识给文章评分。考生可能会想，我这不太冤枉了吗，费好大劲写的作文他仅凭一点残留印象给分?!更要注意的是，进入他潜意识中的那点东西同他的兴奋点几乎完全是等同的映射关系。其残留点就是兴奋点的兴奋残留物。激活他兴奋点的越多，程度越大，残留的东西也越多，面积也越大，得分也就越高。这些残留点实际上就是对本篇写作的浓缩评语。
　　二、东西方思维模式差异的影响
　　由于存在不同的社会、历史、文化背景，东西方思维模式也存在着明显的差异。这种不同的思维模式又对写作的布局谋篇起着至关重要的作用。
　(一)英语语篇线性修辞模式
　　英语语篇思维有三种模式：
　　(1)一般特殊型(?Generalization?Particular Pattern?);
　　(2)问题解决型(?Problem?Solution Pattern?);
　　(3)匹配比较型(?Matching Pattern?)。
　　根据对历年来研究生入学考试短文写作部分的分析，考研作文构架基本都能在这三种模式中得到各自的定位。其中，一般特殊型使用尤为广泛，并常与比较型甚至问题解决型结合起来组成复杂的思维模式。
　　1.一般特殊型
　　一般特殊型又称“直线型”(?Linearity?)，其写作特点是，开门见山第一句往往是概括主题思想，然后再引出具体事例或细节对其进行发展。
　　一般特殊型思维模式在英语语篇中占主导地位。这种思维模式不但广泛用于自然科学和社会科学的论说文中，而且也常用于记叙和描写文体里。这种模式实际上体现了英语族人的线性思维模式，所以，无论是“匹配比较型”文章，还是“问题解决型”文章，“一般特殊型”的主题句语段结构模式可以说是无处不有。段落如此，语篇也不例外。
　　2.问题解决型
　　问题解决型修辞模式的特征是首先说明情况，然后提出问题，接着做出反应，解决问题(问题也可能没有解决或没有完全解决)，最后给予适当的评价。
　　1992～1996年研究生作文题目虽均为论说文体，但题目提纲所要求的写作模式却全属问题解决型，即使1997～2002年的图表作文，总体布局上也万变不离其宗。
　　3.匹配比较型
匹配比较型思维模式用于对比语段，常与一般特殊型一起组成复杂的思维模式。对比包括两种类型：立足于两种事物之间的相似之处对其进行比较；立足两者之间的不同
之处对其进行对照，从而突出中心。
　　1991年作文试题“?Where to Live—in the City or the Country?”?就从?Live in the city?和?Live in the country?两个方面比较。

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(二)汉语螺旋型语篇修辞模式
　　中国人的思维模式属典型的东方“螺旋型”(?Spirality?)。中国学生在英语写作时，往往按汉语的修辞模式组织英语语段，很少能写出在英语语篇修辞模式中占主导地位的“一般特殊型”语段，如主题句段落等。在开始说明情况时，思维深处已经隐伏着问题，但又不明确议论主题，而只是先用思维内容推理暗示，然后由暗到明逐步提示问题的存在，最后针对问题点明主题。
　　《科技英语学习》主编、上海交通大学毛荣贵教授与美国天普大学?Dorine S.Houston?教授合作，曾通过互联网对中国大学生英语作文进行评改。其中30%的习作，?Dorine S.Houston?教授是就主题句的准确设定及其位置问题提出了异议和修改意见。可见写好主题句语段是摆在中国学生面前的一项值得注意的任务。

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　　写作犹如装修房屋，装修以前，要有设计方案。根据方案筹划装饰材料，然后粉墙刷壁、装材料。房屋初现雏形，则着手做细致的工作，直至满意为止。写作也是这样，通常有四个步骤：理解题意(?Learning the theme?)，整理思路(?Organizing the thought?)，起草成文(?Drafting?),修改润色(?Revising?)。
　　由于短文写作部分往往是控制性作文，所以只需根据题目，深入推敲提纲、主题句或
图表等的内容，适当整理思路、搜集素材，就可着手写作，并立即修改定稿。
　　许多学生经常跟我讲写文章开头最难，一开始不知如何落笔，尤其是开头的几句话不知写什么。由于某种原因，有些人开头就是很难，哪怕是最好的作家也难逃过这样的一个问题。下面我们就帮助大家解决这样一个问题。
　　1?文章的开头(Introduction):
　　绝大多数文章，或者段落，都可以分为以下三个步骤：
　　Introduction(Beginning)
　　Body(Middle)
　　Conclusion(End)
　　这一节的重点就是Introduction,字典这样定义introduction:“anything that introduces or prepares the way.”开头的最基本的要领就是：①to state and narrow the topic of the essay.②to interest the reader.
　　文章的Introduction是很重要的，它的长度至少是一句话、一段或者是几段。在开头的引导中作者要让读者明白你文章的题目，主题思想；你要让读者感兴趣或者制造悬念。文章的开头一般分为两种：直接或间接(direct or indirect)
　　(1)直接开头
　　直接开头很简单，顾名思义，就是开门见山地表明你要说什么。
　　例如：
　　①The purpose of my paper is to explain why college is expensive.
　　②I have observed two groups of ** education students: GED and ESL.I feel qualified to compare the two.
　　③On my next vacation why not relax for eight days and nights aboard an elegantocean liner? Booking a cruise is easy.
　　④I believe that not enough attention is given to American writer John Steinbeck.In the next few paragraphs I will explain why people should read Steinbeck?s books.
　　⑤When I was seventeen,I dropped out of high school. There were three reasonsfor this decision, and I would like to explain each of them.
　　我们可以看到“直接”开头法是很直接的。但作者也有一定的灵活性。直接开头法一般能最清楚地表达文章的重心，这也是开头的最重要的特点。
　　(2)间接开头
　　间接开头，顾名思义就是开头是间接的，间接开头往往是为了吸引读者。间接开头的方法是：
　　①演绎法
　　例如：
　　There are many, many people dying everyday. Some of these deaths, caused by disease and by old age, cannot be helped. There are, however, many deaths that could be prevented. One way to prevent many senseless deaths would be to implement some form of handgun control.
　　这种开头是从一般(there are many people dying everyday)到具体( deaths due to handguns)。这种从一般到具体的方法叫做“演绎法”(deduction)。这种间接开头不但能宣布主题而且能引人入胜。
　　②比较与对照法
　　例如：
　　Converging on the rocks of a river bank or the rim of the city?s main well, thewomen of ancient ages met to beat and scrub their family?s clothing clean as they reviewed their activities and savored the latest bits of gossip.With the airy openness of a seashore, Bob Stanton?s Laundromat in Palos Hills echoes of this past as it throbs to the pulsating rhythm of modern mechanization and the suburban life-style.
　　③“引言”(quotation)
　　例如：
　　In his poem“I sang,”Carl Sandburg wrote of love,“I sang to you and the moon butonly the moon remembers....”In a sense, all of us can identify with the speaker?s emotions. Most of us have no doubt experienced the feeling of loss that is aresult of unrequited love or of love gone wrong. There is,I think, a valuablelesson for all of us to learn from this very human experience.
　　④修辞学上的提问法(rhetorical question)
　　例如：
　　Are you tired of sleeping in a wet blanket that pretends to be a sinking boat? Have you had it with gnats and mosquitos in your outdoor cooking? Does the phrase“back to nature”mean that you sit and rest in a patch of poison ivy? Have you ever considered that your next vacation should follow my plan of renting a camper?
　　⑤以“例子”作为间接开头
　　例如：
　　My sister has always had a difficult time with spelling and with basic math. When she was little, my family transferred from one state to another, from one job to another, and from one school district to another. Only my sister was at the age when basic skills were being taught, and only my sister?s education was affected so drastically. Our family?s frequent moves have left other traces on my sister; unfortunately, the“corporate family,”as my father?s company labels us,is very common in this country. I would like to examine the negative problems the corporate family faces and offer suggestions on how to counter these negative effects.
　　⑥从具体到一般的“归纳法”(induction)式的间接开头
　　例如：
　　Johnnie Jones is four years old. Yesterday he hit his sister with a broom. Johnnie?s friend is four and one-half year old Brad Smith. Yesterday, Brad hit his pet Beagle with one of his toy trucks. Both boys learned these gestures from watching TV.Television shows teach children many acts of violence. In the next severalpages, I would like to examine some of the violent television shows and illustrate their effects on children.
　　(3)下面是一些不同的开头供你学习和模仿
　　①“A fool and his money are soon part
　　ed”seems to have been uttered by someone who knew me. In the past six months Ihave become the target of every door?to?door salesman. It?s only in the last two days, however, that I have finally learned how to say“No!”to these hucksters. I feel it is my mission in life to share this newfound secret with you.?Ozzie Lawson?
　　②Good eyesight is a valued gift that every individual treasures.Many people, however, need help to maintain and acquire clear vision. One specific type of eyestrengthener is the contact lens. This type of lens can greatly improve and often correct eye deficiencies. Many individuals shy away from using this type of lens because they don?t know how to apply them correctly. The method described below is one of the many ways that one can insert hard contacts quickly and efficiently.
　　?Debbie McHugn?
　　③The purpose of this essay is to convince you to buy an English Sheepdog.?Debbie Walters?
　　④Not many people know who I am, and those who meet me soon forget me. Teachersnever remember my name. The bank always asks for reendorsement, and I?m constantly asked for identification. No one ever remembers me. I sometimes fantasize what it would be like if everyone remembered me.?Nancy Likes-Jakovickas?
　　⑤Hello! I know that this is your first day working as a cashier at the grocery.Don?t be nervous!Let me explain to you the few basic steps of running the cash register.?Eileen Cassidy?
　　⑥Watching my son, Jason, play can really be amazing. He always seems to amuse himself no matter if he has store-bought toys or a cardboard box.Jason has what all children seem to possess:imagination.
　　?Michele Reczynski?
　　⑦When most people getsintosa car they notice the interior and the handling. I am different; I look at and listen to the stereo. Factory installed stereos often look cheap and have terrible sound. Buying and installing a stereo system that suits your own tastes means that your car?s stereo will look good and sound good. Installing your own car stereo isn?t as hard as it sounds if you follow a few simple steps.
　　?Wally Danczak?
　　⑧The Webster New World Dictionary defines the word embarrass as“to cause tofeel self?conscious, to hinder, or to be in doubt.”In my opinion, this definition doesn?t describe the degree of embarrassment felt or the psychological self?doubt it might cause a person which could affect a person?s later life.?Daniel Marx?
　　⑨Do you recall looking at the rundown condition of your pool after a long, cold winter and wondering how you will get it finished by the time the warm weatherarrives? A torn liner, green murky water, and rotted deck boards make you wonder if you?ll ever swim again. With a little work and know-how, however, you can start filling your pool in as little as two days.?Chuck Kalvelage?