基础英语写作(三).ppt

1、Part Three,The Paragraph,1,A paragraph is a unit of thought; it is at once a unity in itself and part of a larger whole, that is, the essay. A paragraph is like a mini-essay; it should be unified, coherent and well developed.,2,A paragraph is unified when all the sentences in the paragraph are focus

2、ed on one central thought or on a single topic; when the writer wishes to introduce a new thought or topic, he should begin a new paragraph. A paragraph is coherent when it develops naturally and smoothly, and one sentence leads logically to another. There are many ways to develop a paragraph, for e

3、xample, by process, by cause and effect, by comparison and contrast, etc.,3,. Effective Paragraphs 1. Unity,Unity of a paragraph is concerned with its content. If all the sentences in the paragraph lead to one central theme, the paragraph is unified. The central theme is usually summarized in what i

4、s called the topic sentence. It often appears at the beginning of the paragraph; however, it may also be found in the middle or at the end of a paragraph.,4,For instance:,Ive done my share of leaning on their shoulders over the years. I never felt there was anything I couldnt tell my Mom and Dad, an

5、d I am the kind who has to get it all out when I have a problem. Over the years theyve heard it all: the time in junior high when one boy was constantly bugging me, the time in high school when I got caught drinking, the time I wrecked their Volkswagen Rabbit, rough times with my former boyfriend, a

6、nd on and on.,5,Exercises: Find out the topic sentence of the following paragraph:,There are two factors which determine an individuals intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ considerably, some being more capable than others. But no matter how good a brain

7、he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn.,6,So the second factor is what happens to the individualthe sort of environment in which he is brought up. If an individual is in poor environment, it is likely that his brain will fail to

8、 develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.,7,Exercises. Cross out the sentence that is not connected to the topic of this paragraph:,Books are placed on the library shelves in numerical order. In other words, all the books on one subject are put together unde

9、r the same number; for example, all books on United States history are numbered 973, and are placed together on the 973 shelf or shelves. Of course, such books are borrowed mostly by students who learn history.,8,2. Coherence,Coherence of a paragraph is concerned with its form, or its organization.

10、The sentences in a paragraph should be arranged in a clear, logical order, and the transitions should be smooth and natural. As a result, the reader finds it easy to follow the writers train of thought and understand what he is talking about.,9,For instance:,There is some feeling nowadays that readi

11、ng is not as necessary as it once was. Radio and especially television have taken over functions once served by painting and other graphic arts. Admittedly, television serves some of these functions extremely well; the visual communication of news events, for example, has enormous impact.,10,The abi

12、lity of radio to give us information while we are engaged in doing other thingsfor instance, driving a caris remarkable, and a great saving of time. But it may be seriously questioned whether the advent of modern communications media has much enhanced our understanding of the world in which we live.

13、,11,Exercise:,Listed below are a controlling idea and nine sentences that develop the controlling idea. Renumber the sentences to arrange them in what you think is the best order; then compose a paragraph, using the controlling idea as your first sentence.,12,The controlling idea: Since I began livi

14、ng in an apartment and going to school, my biggest problem has been the housework.,13,a）Cooking my food is a bigger problem. b）The worst problem is doing my laundry. c）Cleaning the apartment is not too bad; although it takes time away from my studies; at least when I finish the apartment looks nice.

15、,14,d）Sometimes the food is burned, sometimes it is not cooked enough, and sometimes I have not measured correctly, so the food tastes terrible. e）Shopping for my food is more difficult because I dont know the English names of many foods, and often I have to spend extra time asking for help. f）The L

16、aundromat is far from my apartment, and I waste much valuable time.,15,g）I have never had to cook before, and usually the results are discouraging. h）Mostly I am embarrassed as I sit in the Laundromat with all the women, and so I wait until all my clothes are dirty before I do this terrible task. i）

17、I also have trouble with the complicated instructions, so occasionally I end up with pink socks or a shirt that is too small.,16,3. Transition,Coherence may not be perfect even if the writer arranges his sentences in a clear, logical order. He has to use good transitions so that one sentence runs sm

18、oothly to another.,17,The following ways may help the writer to produce a fluent paragraph:,A) Using parallel structures; B) Repeating words or words groups; C) Using pronouns to refer to nouns in preceding sentences;,18,D) Being consistent in the person and number of nouns and pronouns, and the ten

19、se of verbs; E) Using transitional expressions,19,a) Connectives and transitional phrases for spatial development:,above before me here on the left below there in the distance on the right nearby next to on top of down close to,20,b) Connectives and transitional phrases for chronological development

20、:,first, second, etc soon eventually in the meantime then finally after an interval now after presently later at last,21,c) Connectives and transitional phrases for analytical development:,first, second, etc for this purpose as a result furthermore moreover but consequently otherwise likewise for in

21、stance in addition on the contrary in this case on the other hand thus in conclusion therefore,22,d) Connectives and transitional phrases for comparison:,another furthermore equally important besides accordingly in fact in the same way in addition to similarly,23,e) Connectives and transitional phra

22、ses for contrasts:,on the contrary different from in contrast in spite of whereas yet, but not onlybut also thisthat the formerthe latter someothersstill others on the one handon the other hand the firstwhereas the second,24,Exercise: Read the following passages and identify the grammatical and lexi

23、cal cohesive devices in them.,Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness.,25,It liberates money: buy

24、ing that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. It liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.,26,

25、Key: At least six cohesive devices are employed in this passage.,1). Use pronouns to replace noun or noun phrases. e.g. Understand and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with funit; those rich and glamorous peoplethey. 2). Use determiners (the, this, that, etc) to refer to previous noun

26、 phrases. e.g. That new car; those fancy clothes; those rich and glamorous people. 3). Repeat the key words. e.g. happiness; fun; liberate.,27,4). Use synonyms or words of similar meaning to express the same idea. e.g. understandingaccepting; timehours; realizationunderstand; moneybuy. 5.) use relat

27、ed word forms. e.g. Liberatingliberated, happinesshappy; usourwe 6). use parallel structures. e.g. It liberated time. it liberated money it liberated us from envy,28,Exercise: Read the following paragraph carefully. Insert transitional expressions where necessary.,Yankelovich helps explain the dilem

28、ma of American workers. Most want to do their best. They do not work as hard as they could. They feel that others receive the benefit of their hard work. Yankelovich doesnt see this attitude as a sign of a weak work ethic.,29,He feels the attitude toward work would change if workers made more of the

29、 decisions that affect their work. There is a message for managers in Yankelovichs findings. Managers need to allow workers to express their needs. They need to listen to what workers say.,30,. Ways of Developing Paragraph,1. Planning a Paragraph Paragraphs need to be planned. First, think of the to

30、pic or theme of main idea, and express it in a complete sentence (topic sentence). Then think of the details or examples or facts that may be used to support or explain the main idea. Arrange them in logical order, and you have a rough plan of the paragraph.,31,2. Development by Time,In telling a st

31、ory or recounting an event, the easiest and clearest way is to describe things in order of time: earlier things are mentioned before later things, the first thing first and the last thing last. This method is also called chronological sequencing.,32,For instance:,My heart gave a leap when I heard th

32、e announcement that our train would soon arrive at its destinationBejing. Like other passengers, I began to collect my things and put my mug, towel, atlas, apples, and other things into my bag. To the tune of a beautiful song the train pulled into the station and gently stopped by a platform.,33,I w

33、alked out of the train and was carried forward by the stream of people into an underground passage and then into a big hall. As I stepped out of the station, I was dazzled by the bright autumn skies of Beijing. Though I had been on the train for more than thirty hours and spent a sleepless night, I

34、didnt feel tired at all, and I believed my days in Beijing would be as sunny as the skies.,34,3. Development by Process,When you have to explain how something is done, you usually follow a chronological sequence and give a step-by-step description. As the steps must occur one after another, the exac

35、t order in which they are carried out is most important.,35,For example:,Once you encounter a person who has stopped breathing, you should begin immediately to do mouth-to-mouth breathing. First, place the victim on his back and remove any foreign matter from his mouth with your fingers. Then tilt h

36、is head backwards, so that his chin is pointing up.,36,Next, pull his mouth open and his jaw forward, pinch his nostrils shut to prevent the air which you blow into his mouth from escaping through his nose. Then place your mouth tightly over the victims. Blow into his mouth until you see his chest r

37、ise. Then turn your head to the side and listen for the out rush of air which indicates an air exchange. Repeat the process.,37,4. Development by Space,Before we begin to describe a place, whether it is a large country or a small room, we have to decide on the order in which to name the different pa

38、rts or details. For this we should find out the space relationships between them and arrange our description accordingly. It would only confuse the reader to mention them in a haphazard way.,38,For instance:,Mr. Cook, a renowned American historian, arranges the books on his bookshelves in a unique w

39、ay. In the upper right hand corner, there are books about the development of the early colonies in New England and the War of Independence. Right under them can be found books on the slave trade, the plantation system and the growth of the southern states.,39,The left side of the shelf contains hund

40、reds of books concerning subjects of the Westward Movement, Indian culture, the cowboys contributions to American society and the Gold Rush in California. Form the description above, one can see that Mr. Cooke regards his bookshelves as map of the U. S. and arranges his history books accordingly. It

41、 is odd, but it is convenient.,40,5. Development by Example or Generalization,Supporting a topic sentence with examples or illustrations makes a general statement specific and easy to understand. An illustration is a case, a specimen, an instance. Vivid illustration light up abstract ideas and make

42、them clear, interesting, memorable, or convincing.,41,If a paragraph starts with a topic sentence, then detailed examples or illustrations are given to back up the opening statement, this is general-to-specific pattern.,42,For instance:,My little niece, a ten-month baby, is the most lovely child I h

43、ave ever seen. Her face is like a red apple and her eyes are like bright stars. When you carry her in your arms, she likes to put her arms around your neck. All the grownups in the family love her very much and often try to make her smile. But quite often it is she who makes us laugh. Once I winked

44、at her and she smiled.,43,When I did it again, she watched me attentively. Then she tried to imitate. While we closed one eye to wink, she had to close both eyes at the same time, and then quickly opened them again. And that was her way to wink. We all burst into laughter. When we looked at her agai

45、n, she was staring at us, puzzled, as if she was asking: “What are you laughing at?”,44,Another possible arrangement of details (or examples) in a paragraph is from the specific to the general. The details are mentioned first, and the general statement, which may be the topic sentence, comes at the

46、end of the paragraph, summarizing the main idea of the paragraph.,45,For example:,Whether you do or do not open a gift in the presence of the giver; whether you should or should not turn the plate over to look at the makers symbol on the back; whether you eat as quietly or as noisily as possible; wh

47、ether you carry on a conversation during a meal; whether you walk in front of or behind a seated person;,46,whether it is a friendly or an offensive gesture to put your hand on the arms of the person with whom you are talking these and a thousand other questions are matters of cultural definition. N

48、one of them inherently right or wrong, and none is good or bad manners except as society defines it so.,47,6. Development by Comparison and Contrast,The method of comparison and contrast is often used. We compare the present and the past of China, the cultures of the east and west, Chinese and Engli

49、sh. By comparison and contrasting we may get a clearer picture of things.,48,Strictly speaking, a comparison points out the similarities between two or more persons or things of the same class, while a contrast, the differences between them. In practice, however, comparison and contrast often appear

50、 together, because people generally compare two things that are similar in certain ways and different in others.,49,For instance:,Some ole people are oppressed by the fear of deathThe best way to overcome itso at least it seems to meis to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, unti

51、l bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly emerged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a riversmall at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls.,50,Gradually the river grows w

52、ider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will

53、 continue. (Bertrand Russell),51,7. Development by Cause and Effect,In our daily conversation, questions with why are often asked and answered. This shows that causal analysis is very common; it is something we are familiar with.,52,There are two basic ways of organizing paragraphs developed by caus

54、e and effect. The first method is to state an effect and devote the rest of the paragraph to examining the cause.,53,For instance:,the topic sentence is: “In the past few years, higher education has become less important to young people than it was previously.” This is an effect. It should be follow

55、ed by a discussion of the causes of this effect, such as “the pressure of fierce competition, better opportunities in the job market, much of the knowledge taught in universities and colleges being out-dated”, and so forth.,54,The second method is to state a cause and then mention or predict the eff

56、ects.,Suppose the topic sentence is: “More and more fertile land in China is taken up by new buildings.” In the rest of the paragraph the effects of this development should be mentioned, such as “the reduction of the grain output, increasing environmental problems, too many peasants moving into the

57、cities”, etc.,55,8. Development by Classification,To classify is to sort things into categories according to their characteristics. We classify many things: trees, rivers, cities, companies, college students. We group things according to their similarities and differences.,56,Parallelism is essentia

58、l to a good classification. For example, if we classify types of sports, we may speak of track ad field events, swimming, ball games, gymnastics, etc. if we classify sports into jumping, ball games, running, floor exercise and backstroke, we would violate parallelism, for ball games should be consid

59、ered a general category,57,while jumping and running are subcategories of the track and field events; gymnastics is a general category, and floor exercise a particular form of it. In short, in a good classification the parts must be parallel, and they should add up to the whole.,58,For instance:,There are thre