编译/Muzuer
因为本科是中文系的,在英文世界闯荡写论文,自然要遵从英文的“八股”,这本40 Model Essays可以说是我在学习过程中备受教授、朋友推荐的一本浅显易懂的教科书之一(我暂时找了一圈,发现国内还没有引进),也就说这本书是没有中文版的,我手头的这本是Jane E. Aaron& Ellen Kuhl Pepetto, 40 Model Essays: A Portable Anthology, 2nd Ed., Bedford/St. Martin's
这本书就是从基础的层面去讲写作的,这对于我这类有时候眼高手低,或者像写小说一样在写论文的人来说是如获至宝,由此整理且分享给朋友们:
整本教科书分为10章分别是
1.description
2.narration
3.example
4.division or analysis
5.classification
6.process analysis
7.comparison and contrast
8.definition
9.cause-and-effect analysis
10.argument and persuasion
其实是将每个写作技巧分成章节来细讲了,而且每个版块配以了几篇经典的或当代人的论文来加以评析,讲的是实用的东西,由此操作性也比较强。
作为开头简介(Introduction),下面的小标题是阅读与写作,什么意思呢?
1. 为什么要阅读?
老生常谈:想写好作品就需要多读书,而写作也需要依靠不断的写与重写。
Writing well is not an inborn skill but an acquired one.
本书列举了三条阅读其他作者的好处
1. Reading others' ideas can introduce you to new information and give you new perspectives on your own experience;
2. Reading exposes you to a broad range of strategies and styles;
3. Reading makes you sensitive to the role of audience in writing.
作个总结就是阅读好处有:
1. 获取新知识和原有经验的新角度;
2. 了解各种写作技巧和文风;
3. 让你产生一种读者意识。
2. 如何做到批判性阅读?
作者观点:
To get the most out of reading, we must invest something of ourselves in the process, applying our own ideas and emotions and attending not just to the substance but also to the writer's interpretation of it.
总结来说就是你读完书要有自己的看法和观点。
这一点很重要,在本科的时候因为专业原因经常会读小说,有些人读完之后就是什么感觉也说不上来,好与不好也说不上来,这就是一种被动式的阅读。主动阅读就是你和作者要有交互,他说A如何如何好,你要对他的说法有自己的想法和主见。
3. 具体怎么做?
这样的批判性阅读其实也是很私人化的,每个人有不同的方式,但是本文作者倒是提供了一些阅读前的准备方法和策略,让读者养成一个私人化的批判性阅读习惯:
1. What is the author's background, what qualification does he or she bring to the subject, and what approach is he or she likely to take?
2. What does the title convey about the subject and the author's attitude toward it?
3. What can you predict about your own response to the work?
总的来说,阅读前考虑有:
1.作者背景和资历(这一点呢虽然有点过于势利,但是有时候从某种角度来讲还是需要的);
2. 标题表达的内容以及作者对此的态度,讽刺?或者陈述;
3. 你能否预测你自己的对于要读文章的反映。
而以上这些基本上也是读之前脑子里略微过一下,因为习惯了就会不自觉地去关注。
不过做完了准备工作,那么读的时候怎么做标记呢。
4. 常规标记技巧
1. underline or bracket passages that you find particularly effective or that seem especially important to the author's purpose;
2. circle words you don't understand so that you can look them up when you finish;
3. Put question marks in the margins next to unclear passages.
4. Jot down associations that occur to you, such as examples from your own experience, disagreements with the author's assumptions or arguments, or connections to other works you've read.
总结:
1. 给有力论点以及重要观点划线;
2.圈起陌生词;
3.在不明确的段落边画问号;
4. 写下与文段有关关联的个人体验包括阅读来的不同或类似的观点和经验。
最后读完以后呢如果还有空对于每个段落作自己的一个小总结,然后总结一下全文。
5. 总结策略:
本书也是提供了几个角度可以供读者自己做全文总结:
1. Why did the author choose this subject?
2. Who is the intended audience?
3. What is the author's point?
4. What details does the author provide to support the thesis?
5. How does the author organize ideas?
6. What do language and tone reveal about the author's meaning, purpose, and attitude?
7. How successful is the essay as a whole, and why?
类似的问题还有许多,总结起来也就是:
1. 文章目的;
2. 拟定受众;
3. 作者观点;
4. 文章细节;
5. 文章结构;
6. 文章文风;
7. 总体评价
这就是这本书的开头简介,由此也可以看出其实用性还是很强的。
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