英语八级应试指导-写作.doc

英语八级应试指导
写作 (Writing)
1. 命题范围
1）一般是论说文，即说明+议论性质的文体；
2）与学生知识结构相适应
近五年的写作要求及题目(2013年之前的需自拟题目):
l 2014年
Nowadays, some companies have work-from-home or remote working policies, which means that their employees do not have to commute to work every day. Some people think that this can save a lot of time traveling to and from work, thus raising employees’ productivity. However, others argue that in the workplace, people can communicate face to face, which vastly increases the efficiency of coordination and cooperation. What is your opinion?
Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic:
My Views on Working from Home

l 2013年
Is our society hostile to good people? According to a recent survey by China Youth Daily, 76.1 percent of the respondents say that our current society provides a “bad environment” for good people doing good things. On the other hand, the more optimistic would argue that each individual should try his or her best to do good things and be nice to others, instead of waiting for the “social environment” to improve. So, what do think? Is a sound social environment necessary for people to have high moral standards and be good to others?
Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic:
Is a sound social environment necessary for people to be good to others?

l 2012年
A recent survey of 2,000 college students asked about their attitudes towards phone calls and text-messaging (also known as Short Message Service) and found the students’ main goal was to pass along information in as little time, with as little small talk, as possible. “What they like most about their mobile devices is that they can reach other people,” says Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., who conducted the survey. “What they like least is that other people can reach them.” How far do you agree with Professor Baron? Write an essay of about 400 words.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

l 2011年
According to a recent newspaper report, many famous site of historical interest in China have begun or are considering charging tourists higher entry fees during peak travel seasons. This has aroused a lot of public attention and also public debate. What is your opinion? Should famous Chinese sites of historical interest charge higher fees during peak travel seasons? Write an essay of about 400 words.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

l 2010 年
Recently, newspapers have reported that officials in a little-known mountainous area near Guiyang, Guizhou Province wanted to turn the area into a central business district for Guiyang and invited a foreign design company to give it a n entirely new look. The design company came up with a blueprint for unconventional, super-futuristic buildings. This triggered off different responses. Some appreciated the bold innovation of the design, but others held that it failed to reflect regional characteristics or local cultural heritage. What is your view on this? Write an essay of about 400 words. You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

2. 审题
审题，就是通过阅读写作题目及相关信息或要求，正确领会题目的含义，了解题目要求，为构思合乎具体写作要求的文章思路及框架打下基础。数年来TEM-8写作项目已形成自身的特色。这个特色就是，该项目内的几个部分（观点、情景、标题、写作要求）具有内在的联系，从而构成一个整体。因此，审题就意味着不是仅仅浏览一个标题，而是要兼顾其他部分, 如要求中的情景描述，得适当提及。
　　审题方面的失误，归纳起来有以下几点：1）不熟悉TEM-8写作的设计特点，以为只看标题即可着手写作。这常常导致在文章内容上出现严重偏差。2）对情景观点部分的理解一知半解，未经仔细斟酌就提笔写作文。这往往会造成学生采用错误的语篇模式。3）忽略写作项目中对作文修辞框架的提示。这容易使得作文思路或结构混乱或失衡。

3. 谋篇布局
3.1 基本结构
八级写作可以参考以下框架，结构明了清晰。
Introduction of Topic
Thesis Statement

Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences

Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences

Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences

Conclusion
Restatement of the Thesis

第一段是引言部分。主要是引出文章要讨论的主题，并在段尾写出文章中心思想句（thesis statement）,且尽可能点出各段的中心思想和文章发展的方法。
第二段到第四段是文章的正文部分。这一部分一般分为三段（三个方面）来阐述第一段提出的中心思想，每一段以段落主题句（topic sentence）开头，它既说明thesis statement, 本身又被本段supporting sentences 所说明。
第五段是结尾部分。主要是对文章进行归纳和总结。以下是一篇美国学生写的essay:
Living in the Present
About one of humanity’s frailties Thomas Wolfe wrote, “He talks of the future and he wastes it as it comes.” This observation is related to a principle by which I try (without always succeeding) to live. I believe in living in the present because it is futile to dwell on the past, to worry about the future, or to miss anything in the only reality I know.
It is futile to dwell on the past. What existed or happened in the past may have been beautiful or exciting and may now bring profound and precious memories; but the past is dead, and it is not healthy for living spirits to linger over a world inhabited by ghosts. The past may also be a place of horror, of regret, of spilled milk, of unfortunate deeds that cannot be undone, of sad words like “might have been.” However, it is painful and pointless to fixate on a period that cannot be relieved or repaired. It is unproductive self-punishment. The past must be kept in its place, outlive and outgrow.
It is also useless to worry about the future. Why fly to heaven before it's time? What anxious visions haunt people who think too mush about the future? They may envision the horrible mushroom cloud; the earth shriveling from radiation; the over-populated, abused earth gone dead. They may imagine their own lives going awry; appointments missed; advancements given to someone else; their houses burned to the ground; their loves lost; everything in their lives, as in a nightmare, slipping away. There is no end to the disasters people can worry about when focusing anxiously on the future. There are events in the future, including their own deaths, over which they have little or no control, but which can ruin their lives if they worry about them. There are some disasters they may be able to prevent, but they must do that by living well in the present, not simply by worrying about the future.
The present moment, which is even now moving into the past, is the only reality I know, and I don't want to miss it. The wild cherry cough drop dissolving in my mouth is sweet and soothing. Even my sore throat and backache have meaning. The cool night air, the cracking noise of my furnace, my cat yawning and stretching - these are the tangible realities I can recognize. They exist in this moment, together with my own breathing, the warm lamp overhead, the jerking of my typewriter. Along with these are the realities of other and of all life on this earth, which matter to me now, not at some past or future time.
Everyone needs a sense of history, I think, particularly a feeling for his or her own roots, but history needs to keep its distance to be appreciated. It is also vital to have some sense of direction, which means making plans for the future but not becoming preoccupied with them. What is most important, I believe, is living in the present, that is, being alive now.

从安排上看文章结构严谨，条理清楚。第一段以文章中心思想结束：I believe in living in the present. 而最后一段再次重复：What is most important, I believe, I living in the present, 这就形成了首尾呼应。第一段又同时点出了下面正文三段的思想：it is futile to dwell on the past, to worry about the future, or to miss anything in the only reality I know. 而下面每一段的第一句主题句又与之呼应。从语言方面来看文章词汇丰富，句式多变，语言成熟老练，是一篇写得相当成功的文章。

3.2 评论结构
评论某一事物、某一社会现象或某一观点（特别是媒体提及的有争议的热点），以发表自己看法是专八一种常见的写作题型。这种评论型的文章可以根据作者的观点采取不同的写法：一种是对谈论的事物的肯定、赞成的态度；另一种是对谈论的事物持否定、反对的态度；还有一种是对谈论的事物持平衡的看法。
3.2.1 赞成写法
如对所评事物持赞成态度，其基本结构如下：
Introduction of the issue to be discussed
Thesis

Its advantages

Its advantages

Its disadvantages

Conclusion
Biased or Balanced

第一段引出要讨论的事物，可能的话在最后一句表明赞成态度；第二段评论事物好的一面；第三段继续评论事物好的一面；第四段谈论事物的另一面，即不好的一面；第五段是结论性的意见：赞成。
例如：
Advertisement
I. Like a coin, an advertisement has two sides.
II. It makes life more convenient since it informs people where to buy tings, find jobs and so on.
III. It helps people enjoy TV programs, newspapers and sports events at a lower price.
IV. However, it often misleads even cheats the customers.
V. Advertising should develop in the right direction.
3.2.2 反对写法
对事物持反对意见的，一般采用下面这种写作结构：

Introduction of the issue to be discussed
Thesis

Its advantage

Its disadvantage

Its disadvantage

Conclusion

第一段引出要讨论的事物，并及时表明反对态度；第二段承认事物好的一面；第三段开始评论事物不利的一面；第四段继续评论事物不利的一面；第五段表明结论性的意见：反对。
范文如下：
On Euthanasia

Euthanasia, an act of putting to death painlessly a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease, begins to draw the public’s attention as modern medicine can sustain one’s life as long as possible. In a nationwide debate, many people argue that the family and doctors should respect the death decision made by a terminally ill patient. But I hold the opposite point of view. （先用定义法引出要讨论的主题——安乐死，紧接着表明看法也即全文的中心思想：反对安乐死）
To practice euthanasia may benefit the patient and his family. To a terminal patient who is experiencing extreme suffering and stands no chance of a care, to be able to end his life painlessly is a better release. Death to him is a friend. To a family, given the expense of sustaining his life, it is also a big relief, both financial and mental. (首先如主题句所说，肯定了安乐死给病人和家属带来好处)
Despite these benefits, it brings with it problems.(转折兼主题句) For example, it might undermine the need for the treatment of the dying. You may argue that the request and decision should be made by the patients themselves. But could we be sure that they really want to die? Is it likely that they, eaten up mentally by the thought that they are financial drains on their families, just want to unload the guilt of remaining alive？（用Despite转折，引出问题：第一没有充分考虑病人的要求）
There is also the matter of mistaken diagnoses. Although rare, mistaken terminal diagnoses do occur. So long as the patient is alive, the mistaken can be corrected, or an effective treatment might be found. But once a death decision has been acted upon, there is no chance of correction.（反对安乐死的另外一条理由：误诊的可能性）
Although the quality of life is important and should not be ignored, life itself is more important. Legally, allowing the end of life would make the dying more vulnerable. (最后重复文章的中心思想)
3.3.3 平衡写法
Introduction of the issue to be discussed
Thesis
如对所评论的事物既不赞成也不反对，可以用下面这种写作结构：

Its advantages

Its disadvantages
Its advantages
Balanced conclusion

第一段引出要讨论的事物，比如表明平衡的看法；第二段评论事物好的一面；第三段继续评论事物好的一面；第四段谈论事物的另一面，即不好的一面；第五段表明平衡性意见。
由于对评论的事物不偏不倚，所以正文用三段谈论优缺点，在安排上尽可能平衡。
下面是一篇评论克隆人的文章：
Not Now, Dr. Miracle
Severino Antinori is a rich Italian doctor with a string of private fertility clinics to his name. He shot to fame helping grandmothers give birth using donor eggs. Later he pioneered the use of mice to nurture the sperm of me with poor fertility. Now the man Italians call Dr. Miracle is offering to clone his patients to create the babies they so desperately want.
His idea of using cloning to combat infertility is not as mad as it sounds. Many people have a hard job seeing the point of reproductive cloning. But for some couples, cloning represents the only hope of having a child carrying their genes, and scientists like Antinori are probably right to say that much our opposition to cloning as a fertility treatment is irrational. In future we many want to change our minds and allow it in special circumstances.
But only when the science is ready. And that’s the real problem. Five years on from Dolly, the science of cloning is still stuck in the dark ages. The failure rate is a shocking 97 percent and deformed babies all too common. Even when cloning works, nobody understands why. To cloning people now, before even the most basic questions have been answered, is simply a waste of time and energy.
This is not to say that Antinori will fail, only that if he succeeds it is likely to be an unacceptably high prices. Hundreds of eggs and embryos will be wasted and lots of women will go through difficult pregnancies resulting in miscarriages or abortions. A few years from now techniques will have improved and the wasteful loss won’t be as excessive. But right now there seems to be little anyone can do to keep the cloners at bay. And it’s not just Antinori and his team who are eager to go. A religious group called the Raelians believes cloning is the key to achieving immortality, and it, too, claims to have the necessary egg donors and volunteers willing to be implanted with cloned embryos.
But the world will never embrace the first cloned baby if it is unhealthy or deformed or the sole survivor of hundreds of pregnancies. In jumping the gun, Dr. Miracle and his colleagues are taking one hell of a risk. If their instincts are wrong, the backlash against cloning----and indeed science as a whole ----could be catastrophic.

4. 段落篇
八级写作不仅强调整片作文的结构连贯，而且注意各个段落的质量以及段与段之间的连贯。段落可以分为引言部分、正文部分（一般为三个自然段）、结尾部分。
4.1 引言部分
引言部分位于文章开始。引言部分一般是一段，偶尔也由两段组成。其作用有两个：一，告诉读者文章写什么；二，吸引读者读下去。因此可以用两个“IN”来归纳：NIFORMATIVE 和INTERESTING。
4.1.1 信息性
一般来说，引言部分要向读者提供两个信息：1）文章写什么问题，是体育，还是安乐死等等。这个比较笼统。2）作者对这个问题的观点、态度是什么？是反对还是支持或其他看法，这要求比较具体。一开始围绕主题泛泛而谈，渐渐把话题缩小，引到文章要谈论的主题上，最后是思想句。如：
Every society has its own way of taking care of the elderly. In many countries it is the custom for grandparents to live with their children. In this way families can express their gratefulness and show respect for the elderly. But in America, many of the old people are either put in nursing homes or live alone, as if they have no relatives. Why does American society have this unfair custom?
4.1.2 趣味性
文章开头要有趣，别致，引人入胜，要让读者从一开始就感到这是一篇值得一读的文章。要引起读者的注意，维持读者的兴趣，可以借鉴一下一些方法。
4.1.2.1 引语法：使用谚语、名人名言、或是具有代表性的话
1. “Never put off till tomorrow,” exhorted Lord Chesterfield in 1749, “what you can to today.” That the elegant earl never got around to marrying his son’s mother and had a bad habit of keeping worthies like Dr. Johnson cooling their heels for hours in an anteroom attests to the fact that even the most well-intentioned men have been postponers ever. Quintus Fabius Maximus, one of the great Roman generals, was dubbed “Cunctator” (Delayer) for putting off battle until the last possible vinum break. Moses pleaded a speech defect to rationalize his reluctance to deliver Jehovah’s edict to Pharaoh. Hamlet, of course, raised procrastination to an art from.
4.1.2.2 问题法：使用一个发人深思的问题来引起读者注意
Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patient----to speed recovery or to conceal the approach of death? In medicine as in law, government, and other lines of work, the requirement of honest often seem dwarfed by greater needs: the need to shelter from brutal news or to uphold a promise of secrecy; to expose corruption or to promote the public interest.
4.1.2.3 直叙法：开门见山，直接点出文章的观点
Jobs and work do much more than most of us realize to provide happiness and contentment. We’re all used to thi