很多同学会把托福写作的分数不理想归结于自己的语言不够高级,试图大量积累好词好句来“粉饰”自己的语言表达。诚然,文采很重要,但我们不得不面对一个残酷的现实,很多托福写作拿不到高分的同学的中文作文往往好不到哪里去,只不过自己没有意识到而已。不信,大家可以用中文写一下托福写作的题目,虽然可以使用地道的中文表达(比如成语),但往往读起来也乏善可陈。
一篇文章是否精彩,读者判断的核心依据不是讲“漂亮”话,而是能不能把话讲“清楚”。一篇文采斐然但逻辑混乱的文章分数通常很难看(更何况,大多数同学的文采也很一般)。
写作(无论是用中文还是英文呈现)的核心能力是逻辑。
一提到逻辑,很多同学的第一反应就是逻辑连接词,比如 Firstly, therefore, however, because, in addition 等。更有甚者,为了提升自己作文的逻辑,会在自己托福作文几乎每一句话开头加一个逻辑连接词,美其名曰:环环相扣。殊不知,逻辑连接词只是写作逻辑中的“小弟”,滥用它不但起不到增强文章连贯性的作用,反而会让文章显得“支离破碎”,每个句子“各自为政”,破坏整篇文章的主旨的传递。
“高级”的写作逻辑是靠段落与主旨之间、段落与段落之间、句子与句子之间在内容上的联系构成的。它们共同构成严密的的思维过程,帮助文章做到观点清晰、论证有序、连贯流畅。
好的逻辑虽然刻意为之,读者却往往察觉不到逻辑衔接成分,思路被作者牢牢地牵着走。
想要写出有逻辑的文章,只要遵循一条原则:文章的各个组成部分之间保持语义的连贯性。
托福写作要求同学们针对题目确定自己的立场(即文章主旨),并给出两到三个支撑自己立场的理由,然后把每一个理由展开写成一个分论点段。每一个段落的内容需要支撑文章主旨,避免过多容易造成主旨摇摆的“迂回”的写法。可以采用“折中”的写法,但折中不代表没有立场,正反观点都需要充分讨论并指出分情况讨论的标准。
每一个段落的分论点之间尽量建立合理的逻辑关系,常见的比如:递进、平行、转折、因果等。一旦逻辑关系确定下来之后,需要坚持到底,避免中途更换。例如,当谈论政策的利弊,我们经常会使用个人、社区、国家的递进关系,遵循这样的顺序这会帮助读者更好地理解政策实施会带来的不同层面的影响,增强整篇文章的说服力。
One further wayin which source use can be inappropriate in student writing is through the use of quotation. Evidence suggests that inexperienced students tend to rely too heavily on direct quotation in their writing…
One further way 表示本段分论点与前一段是平行关系。
段落应当围绕分论点展开,段落中的每个句子之间都需要有序地联系在一起。常见增强句子连贯性的方法有五种。
One further way in which source use can be inappropriate in students’ writing is through the use of quotation. Evidence suggests that inexperienced students tend to rely too heavily on direct quotationin their writing.
前后两句中重复关键词quotation,读者可以很容易理解学生不恰当的引用是这个段落的核心内容。
Evidence suggests that inexperienced students tend to rely too heavily on direct quotationin their writing. Much of the available advice on referencing emphasizes the mechanical aspects of citation such as putting full stops, italics and dates in the right place and says little about why sources must be used.
多次重复相同的词汇未免有些单调,为了增加词汇多样性,我们也可以通过使用同义词的方式建立两个句子之间的联系,比如quotation与referencing。
Evidence suggests that inexperiencedstudents tend to rely too heavily on direct quotation in their writing. Much of the available advice on referencing emphasizes the mechanical aspects of citation such as putting full stops, italics and dates in the right place and says little about why sources must be used. Therefore, students with less experience may be surprised and disappointed, having gone td great lengths to cite meticulously, to be told that peppering writing with quotations is also unacceptable.
改变词性是另一种常用的增加词汇多样性的方法,上文中inexperienced为形容词,可以改编成with less experience的介词短语。
One further way in which source use can be inappropriate in students’ writingis through the use of quotation. Evidence suggests that inexperienced students tend to rely too heavily on direct quotation in their writing.
代词可以用来指代句中和前句里的关键信息,避免句子过于臃肿和累赘,使用的时候注意单复数和所有格一致性。
Therefore, students with less experience may be surprised and disappointed, having gone td great lengths to cite meticulously, to be told that peppering writing with quotations is also unacceptable.
最后讲逻辑连接词并不是代表它不重要,恰恰相反,它是最容易上手也能快速见效的方法。使用的时候注意前后句的逻辑关系需要非常明确的时候再使用,切勿滥用。
综上,要写出一篇优秀的托福写作文章,除了扎实的词汇和语法基本功外,严密的逻辑必不可少。