英语写作基础教程.ppt

1,A Basic Course in Writing,英语写作教程,2,Chapter I Using Proper Words,I.Using words correctlyII.Using words accurately,3,I.Using words correctly,1.overcome ChinglishEg:Im not afraid of the hot weather.I dont mind the hot weather.I found the room rather cold.I felt the room rather cold.On Sundays I always sleep late.On Sundays I always get up late.,4,The blanket felt soft to her.She felt the blanket soft.His level of English has been proved.His English has improved.He came out the fourth in the exam.He received the fourth place in the exam.,Overcome Chinglish,5,2.Beware of archaisms,obsolete words,and newly-coined words,Words or meaning of words which are no longer in common used but occur in special text(e.g.Religious works)and poetry are called archaic.Eg:mayhaps(v.hope;adv.maybe),quoth(vt.say),thy(pron.your),ere(prep.before)Words or meaning which have gone out of use altogether are called obsolete.Eg:admirable废语令人惊奇的 fine n.废语惩罚，处罚；为接受惩罚支付的钱 Newly-coined words Eg:junior-high-schooler,tube-steak,water-sensitive-crops,snow-poor-winter,6,3.Avoid slang,On hearing that his father had kicked the bucket,we wrote him a letter to express our deep sympathies.The big banquet held in honor of the distinguished state guests was really neat.俚语呱呱叫的；了不起的，极好的 Unexceptionable/admirable/excellent,7,II.Using words accurately,The shade of meaningEg1:eagle and hawkEagle is a bird that soars high and thus see far.to have an eagle eye(to have excellent vision)Hawk is a bird of pray,symbolizes harshness,thus people call the hard line politician“the hawk”.Eg2:dumb and muteHe is a dumb/mute man.,8,1.Specific and concrete words,Specific and generalA good man:kind/honest/just/generous/sympathetic/warm-hearted/selfless/honorableGood food:tasty/nourishing/rich/wholesome/high-priced/fresh/substantial,9,General:In spring,the weather in Beijing can be very bad.Specific:In spring,it is often windy and dusty here.More specific with the help of details:In spring,the wind blows all day long.The air is then filled with fine dust which sometimes shuts out the sun.There is no escape from the fine dust.It gets into your eyes,your ears,your nostrils,and your hair.,10,2.Denotation and Connotation,Denotation is the basic,direct,literal meaning of a word.As defined by the dictionary.Connotation is the association around and the overtone about the word.its the feeling or idea suggested by the word.,11,E.g.国家Country emphasizes the territory.Nation emphasizes the people.State emphasizes political organization.Land is often used to connote certain feeling.An island country;neighboring countrypeace-loving nation;the awaking nation of AfricaState-owned enterprisesOur state system is the peoples democratic dictatorship.A far-away/foreign land;a land of liberty/opportunity,12,Different connotation reflects the different attitude of the speaker.,Complimentary derogatory neutralPublic servant bureaucrat government employeeFinancier speculator investorLaw officer cop policemanCaptain of industry tycoon successful businessman Investigator spy detectiveCaptive jailbird prisoner,13,3.Synonyms,Synonyms:Two or more forms with very closely related meaning,which are often but not always,intersubstitutable in a sentence.According to formality:Early English:small/little ask time rise French:petite question age mountLatin:diminutive interrogate epoch ascendGenerally,Latin words are more bookish than early English and French.,14,Examples:,The concert concluded with a performance of Beethovens 5th symphony.They ended the concert with Beethovens 5th symphony.My father purchased a large automobile.My dad bought a big car.,15,Chapter II Making Correct and Effective Sentences,Elements of a sentenceII.Requirements of a correct sentenceIII.Requirements of an effective sentence,16,I.Elements of a sentence,1.Completeness in structure;2.Begin with a capital letter;3.End with a full stop,or a question mark,or an exclamation mark;4.Express a single complete idea.,17,II.Requirements of a correct sentence,pleteness in structure2.the right subject3.agreement between the subject and the predicate verb4.agreement between pronoun and antecedent5.clear pronoun reference6.ending sentences with full stops7.joining clauses with conjunctions8.a main clause in a complex sentence9.proper use of comparisons10.correct use of the tense,18,Correct the following sentences:,Because he hadnt finish his assignment,so he continued working in the pleteness in structureNot knowing his name,it was difficult to introduce him.the right subjectA number of spelling mistakes was found in his composition.agreement between the subject and the predicate verbEverybody should return the books he borrowed within a week.agreement between pronoun and antecedent,19,She told my sister that her idea was practicable.clear pronoun referenceNo one come to the party,it was a complete failure.ending sentences with full stops/joining clauses with conjunctionsBecause he had not heard about that important decision.a main clause in a complex sentenceThe Sahara is larger than any desert in the world.proper use of comparisonsWe have revised our work plan last night.correct use of the tense,Correct the following sentences:,20,Fragment and Ellipse,A fragment is a part of sentence(such as a phrase or dependant/subordinate clause)which begins with a capital letter and ends as a sentence does.E.g.Fragment The result being that he lost the presidential election.Sentence The result is that he lost the presidential election.,21,As exclamations Oh!Nonsense!Well done!What a day!How kind of you!Susan a singer!?In spoken English A:how about this?B:very good!A:Your name and your address,please?B:All right,here.,More Fragment-like sentences,22,As transitions And a final instance,To return from our digression,Now,a few more words about the meeting today.,For emphasis and vividness There is a price to pay for success.The demanding price of self denial,the price of blood and sweat and tears.,23,III.Requirements of an effective sentence,一.Unity 一致性Unity:A sentence should express a single complete idea,no more,no less.If it contains too much,then the sentence becomes confusing.If it contains too little,then the idea in it is incomplete.In other words,a sentence violates the principle of unity if it contains ideas that are not closely related;whats more,a sentence is not unified if it does not express a complete thought.,24,Eg:Ideas not closely related:Born in a small town in South China in 1937,he grew up to be a great musician.He was born in a small town in South China in 1937,and grew up to be a great musician.Idea incomplete:Dream of the Red Mansion is the best-known novel.Dream of the Red Mansion is one of the best-known classical Chinese novel.,25,1.Avoid chopped-up sentence,In the following sentence,the idea of one unified sentence is chopped into several short sentences.E.g:My best friend in high school was our literature teacher.Her name was Wang Li.She taught us literature for three years.Revised:My best friend in high school was our literature teacher,Wang Li,who taught us for three years.,26,2.Avoid Fused sentence:several ideas are fused into one sentence.,Fused:She suddenly paused and it seemed wonderful that she could speak so easily but she was usually bashful.Improved:She suddenly paused.It seemed wonderful that she could speak so easily,but she was usually bashful.Fused:They did not win the game so far as I could see they did not even try.Improved:They did not win the game.So far as I could see,they did not even try.,27,Coherence requires that the parts of a sentence are so arranged that they stick together,and that the ideas progress in a logical sequence.1.Parallelism E.g:I forgot that my research paper was due on Tuesday and my teacher had said he would not accept late papers.,二.Coherence 连贯性,28,The child was pretty and had brains.The child was pretty and intelligent.He sat down and was beginning to work.He sat down and began to work.I will wait until you call or she comes.I will wait until you call or until she comes.I went to the dance with a girl from Memphis and who has a southern accent.I went to the dance with a girl who is from Memphis and who has a southern accent.,In parallel construction it is necessary to balance word for word,phrase with phrase,clause with clause,sentence with sentence.It is sometimes necessary to repeat the introductory word or phrase or clause.,29,2.Consistency(1)keep the same grammatical subject unless there is good reason for changing.Eg:The cast first discusses the play and then nightly rehearsals begin.The cast first discusses the play and then begin nightly rehearsals.(2)Keep the person of pronoun consistent.Eg:Having eaten our lunch,they departed by boat.Having eaten their lunch,they departed by boat.,30,(3)Keep the number of nouns and pronouns consistent Eg:Being a student,we all wish to learn to write well.One can never write effectively,unless they write as much and as often as they can.(4)Keep the mood and the voice that you have decided upon.Eg:First build a fire and then you should make the coffee.He drove the car into the garage and the motor was quickly stopped.,31,3.Subordination Correct subordination clarifies the relationships between ideas,thus strengthens the coherence of a sentence.Subordination also leads to greater economy in writing,permitting one to express oneself in the fewest possible words.,32,It can be achieved by turning the other clause into:(1)an adverbial clause(2)an adjective clause(3)a present participial phrase(4)a past participial phrase(5)an appositive,Eg:A.I was in college.I had a roommate.He was studying to be a lawyer.B.I ran out of ink,thus being unable to finish my theme.C.The dean issued a bulletin,and it said the library would remain open on weekends.,33,三.Conciseness 简洁性,1.No wordinessWordiness also violates the principle of unity,the idea gets blurred by unnecessary words which obscure it like clouds and smoke.Sorry,Im not in a position to offer assistance to him.Sorry,I am unable to help him.The maid put the letter that came from Prague on my desk.The maid put the letter from Prague on my desk.There are several advantages to buying a motorbike.Buying a motorbike offers several advantages.Id like to take the opportunity to say thank you.Thank you.,34,2.Clarity,Clarity requires that a sentence should be written with its meaning unmistakably clear.Misunderstanding is often caused by the position of modifiers：The meaning of a sentence can be changed drastically by changes in the position of modifiers.Eg：I really dont mind waiting.I dont really mind waiting.In one word,the modifier must be placed as near to the modified as possible.,35,四.Emphasis 强调性,Emphasis is the means by which you give desired force to your writing.1.positioning for emphasisThe sentence end-the place of strongest emphasisThe sentence beginning-the place of secondary emphasisThe middle-the place of least emphasisE.g.He will not have the endurance needed for the long training required to be a dentist,I think.Attention:move the point to be emphasized,out of order,to the front,this process is often called fronting or inversion.E.g:This I will never do.,36,2.use of the appropriate voice for verbs,In general the active voice is preferable because it is more direct and precise,but sometimes the passive is more appropriate than the active.E.g.The advice which was given to me by you will be followed by me.Television was watched by the whole family in the evenings.Passive voice is preferable:when the receiver of an action is more important than the doer.when the doer is vague or unknown.when the doer is to be especially emphasized.,37,3.Climactic order,Climacte order is the order that goes from the least important to the most important or that goes from the general to the specific.She was a kind-hearted,goodlooking,and well-mannered lady.Revised:She was goodlooking,well-mannered and kind-hearted.He said he had lost interest in life,fame,position and money after that tragedy.Revised:He said after that tragedy he had lost interest in Note:The opposite of climatic order results in anticlimax.it is often used deliberately for humorous effects.E.g.At one fell swoop,he lost his wife,his child,his household goods,and his dog.,38,4.Rhetorical questionA rhetorical question differs from an ordinary question in that it does not need an answer,it is used for emphasis.The rhetorical question is often reserved for special occasion to exert its great force.A positive rhetorical question is like a strong negative statement,while a negative rhetorical question is like a strong positive statement.E.g.If winter comes,can spring be far behind?Isnt it beautiful weather?,39,5.The balanced sentence,The balanced sentence,by positioning together two or more parallel items,makes for poignancy and emphasis.E.g.Reading maketh a full man;conference a ready man;and writing an exact man.-Francis Bacon:“Of Studies”,40,6.Periodic sentences,A periodic sentence is one that is not complete in structure or meaning until it reaches the last word,which is the most important word of the sentence.Eg:It is generally acknowledged that the sole criterion of truth is practice.He said for buying a house he had prepared everything but money.,41,Chapter 3 Developing Paragraphs,I.General Introduction to Paragraph:1.In form:set off by indentation or spacing2.In content:closely-related sentences,42,II.Typical structure of paragraph,Topic Sentence Supporting DetailsClosing Sentence,43,Topic sentence,What is the topic sentence?The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.What does it do?It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.How do I write one?Summarize the main idea of your paragraph.Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.,44,Supporting sentences,What are supporting sentences?They come after the topic sentence,making up the body of a paragraph.What do they do?They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.How do I write them?You should give supporting facts,details,and examples.,45,Closing sentence,What is the closing sentence?The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.What does it do?It restates the main idea of your paragraph.How do I write one?Restate the main idea of the paragraph using different words.,46,Example,There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world.First,Canada has an excellent health care system.All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.Second,Canada has a high standard of education.Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university.Finally,Canadas cities are clean and efficiently managed.Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.As a result,Canada is a desirable place to live.,47,III.Requirements for paragraph writing,UnitySingleness of purposeFullnessBrevityTopic sentence,48,Requirements for paragraph writing,2.Coherence(1)Ways of developin