大学英语写作常用句型实用八篇 作文范文【精品20篇】

explain... to sb.向某人解释……

look upon sb. as...把某人看作……

think sb. to be...认为某人是……

take sb.’sside站在某人的立场上

would like to do...愿意做……

allow sb. to do...允许某人做……

keep/prevent sb. from doing sth.阻止某人做某事

be afraid to do/be afraid of...害怕……

feel like doing sth.喜欢做某事

insist on doing sth.坚持做某事

drive sb. off赶走某人

think highly of sb./speak highly of sb.高度评价某人

speak ill of sb.对某人评价很差

force sb. to do...逼迫某人做……

offer to do...主动做……

refuse to do...拒绝做……

agree to do...同意做……

regret doing...后悔做了……

prefer to do A rather than do B愿意做……而不愿做……

had better do...最好做……

would rather (not) do(不)愿做……

have the habit of doing...有做……的习惯

have trouble in doing...做……有困难

make up one’smind to do...下决心做……

prepare sth. for...准备好做……

give up doing...放弃……

do sth. as usual像往常一样做某事

do what he wants us to do做他要求我们做的事

set about doing...开始做……

try one’sbest to do...=go all out to do...全力以赴做……

get into trouble遇到困难

help sb. out帮某人的忙

wait for sb. to do...等某人做……

find a way to do...发现做……的方法

make friends with sb.与某人交朋友

show(tell) sb. how to do...告诉某人怎么做……

take(send) sb. to...带(派)某人去……

I’m trying to find...我尽力找到……

It is dogged (that) does it.天下无难事,只怕有心人。

I’m afraid we are out of...恐怕……用完了

feel a little excited about doing...因做……感到兴奋

俗话说“千里之行始于足下”。英语书面表达能力的形成不是一日之功，必须从平时的课堂学习一点一滴抓起，持之以恒。

一篇优秀的英语作文在内容和语言两方面应是一个统一体，任何一方面的欠缺都会直接影响到作文的质量。然而，很多考生在写作中或者由于粗心大意，或者由于基本功不扎实而经常出现名词不变复数、第三人称单数不加s，前后不一致，以及时态语态、句子完整性等方面的错误。

1. 审题不清

如2004年中考作文要求写一项最喜欢的课外活动，有些考生将作文的主题定位为“我最喜欢的活动”，偏离了“一项、课外活动”这一主题。依据作文的评分原则，若文章内容不切题，则不管语言如何规范、用词如何准确，都会被判为零分。

2.拼写错误

拼写是考生应该具备的最起码的基本功，但在考生的作文中却经常能发现很多拼写错误。有拼写错误的作文肯定会被酌情扣分，而且有大量拼写错误存在的作文不仅体现出语言基本功差，同时也直接影响内容的表达，通常会降低作文的档次。

3.名词单复数问题

误 my father and my mother is all teacher。

正 my father and my mother are both teachers。

[中考英语作文写作常见的三个错误

The Spring Festival, the most important festival to Chinese. Is China the biggest, the most lively, one of the most important ancient traditional festivals, is also unique to Chinese festival.

Festival, is the beginning of the lunar calendar, another name is called New Years day, Spring Festival is the biggest, the most lively, China one of the most important ancient traditional festivals, is also unique to Chinese festival. Is the most concentrated expression of Chinese civilization. Since the western han dynasty, the custom of Spring Festival continues today. The Spring Festival, generally refers to New Years eve and the first day. But in private, in the traditional sense of the Spring Festival is from the Greek festival of the day or month, 23 or 24 people, until the fifteenth, among them with New Years eve and the first day of the first lunar month. How to celebrate this holiday, in one thousand years of history development, formed some relatively fixed customs and habits, there are a lot of handed down also. During the traditional festival, the Spring Festival of the han nationality in our country and most of ethnic minorities have to hold various celebration activities, these activities are to worship deities, worshiping ancestors, blow away the cobwebs, meet jubilee blessing, pray for good harvest as the main content. Form rich and colorful, activities with strong ethnic characteristics. On May 20, 2006, "Spring Festival" folk have been approved by the state council listed in the first batch of state-level non-material cultural heritage list.

The origin of the Spring Festival has a legend, the Chinese ancient times have a kind of call "year" monster, head long feelers, fierce abnormalities. "Year" the elder deep in the bottom of the sea, every New Years eve just climbed out, swallowed cattle damage lives. Therefore, every New Years eve that day, the people of CunCunZhaiZhai could flee to the mountains, to escape the "year" animal damage. One NianChuXi, from the village outside a begging the old man. Folks a hurried panic scene, only the east village, an old woman gave the old man some food, and urged him quickly up the hill avoid "year" beast, the old man stroked his beard say with smile: "mother-in-law if let me stay overnight in the home, I must have" years "beast." Old woman continue to persuasion, begging the old man smiling without a word. At midnight, "nian" beast into the village. It found the village atmosphere unlike previous years, village east wifes husbands family, the door stick red paper, candle lit the room. "Year" beast was a shake, long a sound. Nearly the door, hospital suddenly spread "banging spluttered" Fried sound, "nian" shuddered, again dare not go up. Originally, "year" the most afraid of red, fire and exploding. At this time, her mother-in-laws door open and saw hospital a red-robed man laughed. "Year" frightened to disgrace, mess up. The next day is the first day, the people of refuge back very surprised to see the village safe. At this point, the old woman was suddenly enlighted, quickly spoke to the fellow villagers begging the old mans promise. This matter quickly spread around the village, people know driven "years" beast approach. (the legend of hakka) from then on, every year New Years eve, families paste red couplets, firecrackers; Household candle lit, keeping stay by age. Beginning in the early morning, still walk close bunch of congratulate friends say hello. This custom spread more widely, Chinese the most solemn of the folk traditional festival.

春节，中国人最重要的节日。是中国最盛大、最热闹、最重要的一个古老传统节日，也是中国人所独有的节日。

节，是农历的岁首，春节的另一名称叫过年，是中国最盛大、最热闹、最重要的一个古老传统节日，也是中国人所独有的节日。是中华文明最集中的表现。自西汉以来，春节的习俗一直延续到今天。春节一般指除夕和正月初一。但在民间，传统意义上的春节是指从腊月初八的腊祭或腊月二十三或二十四的祭灶，一直到正月十五，其中以除夕和正月初一为高潮。如何过庆贺这个节日，在千百年的历史发展中，形成了一些较为固定的风俗习惯，有许多还相传至今。在春节这一传统节日期间，我国的汉族和大多数少数民族都有要举行各种庆祝活动，这些活动大多以祭祀神佛、祭奠祖先、除旧布新、迎禧接福、祈求丰年为主要内容。活动形式丰富多彩，带有浓郁的民族特色。2006年5月20日，“春节”民俗经国务院批准列入第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。

春节的来历有一种传说，中国古时候有一种叫“年”的怪兽，头长触角，凶猛异常。“年”长年深居海底，每到除夕才爬上岸，吞食牲畜伤害人命。因此，每到除夕这天，村村寨寨的人们扶老携幼逃往深山，以躲避“年”兽的伤害。有一年除夕，从村外来了个乞讨的老人。乡亲们一片匆忙恐慌景象，只有村东头一位老婆婆给了老人些食物，并劝他快上山躲避“年”兽，那老人捋髯笑道：“婆婆若让我在家呆一夜，我一定把‘年’兽撵走。”老婆婆仍然继续劝说，乞讨老人笑而不语。 半夜时分，“年”兽闯进村。它发现村里气氛与往年不同：村东头老婆婆家，门贴大红纸，屋内烛火通明。“年”兽浑身一抖，怪叫了一声。将近门口时，院内突然传来“砰砰啪啪”的炸响声，“年”浑身战栗，再不敢往前凑了。原来，“年”最怕红色、火光和炸响。这时，婆婆的家门大开，只见院内一位身披红袍的老人在哈哈大笑。“年”大惊失色，狼狈逃蹿了。第二天是正月初一，避难回来的人们见村里安然无恙十分惊奇。这时，老婆婆才恍然大悟，赶忙向乡亲们述说了乞讨老人的许诺。这件事很快在周围村里传开了，人们都知道了驱赶“年”兽的办法。(客家人的传说)从此每年除夕，家家贴红对联、燃放爆竹;户户烛火通明、守更待岁。初一一大早，还要走亲串友道喜问好。这风俗越传越广，成了中国民间最隆重的传统节日。

When students go to college, they are much free than before and can have time to do what they want. Without the school’s regulation, college students can wear the fashionable clothes. As they are affected by the commercial ads, more and more college students pursue fashion. But they need to measure their situation.

当学生上大学了，会比以前自由很多，也有时间去做他们想做的事情。没有了学规，大学生可以穿时尚的衣服。由于他们收到了商业广告的影响，越来越多的大学生追求时尚。但是他们得要衡量要自己的情况。

On the one hand, college students have the right to pursue fashion. They are young and full of energy, it is good for them to dress out their styles. The skill to dress in different situation is the course for them to learn. They will learn how to dress in the process of pursuing fashion.

一方面，大学生有权利去追求时尚。他们年轻，充满了活力，穿出自己的风格对他们来说是好的。在不同场合的穿衣技巧是他们要学习的课程。他们会在追求时尚的过程中学习打扮技巧。

On the other hand, the crazy about fashion is not proper for them. As students, they don’t have much money, they are relying on their parents, so it is not right to spend parents’ money to pursue fashion. What’s more, students’ main duty is to study, focusing too much on fashion is not right for them.

另一方面，对时尚的狂热追求是不合适的。作为学生，他们没有很多钱，还得依靠父母，所以使用父母的钱来追求时尚是不对的。而且，学生的主要责任是学习，过度关注时尚是不对的。

College students can pursue fashion, but they should not be crazy about it. They need to measure their situation and make the wise choice.

大学生可以追求时尚，但是他们不应该过度追求。他们需要衡量自己的情形，做出明智的选择。

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①Some people like / prefer …, while others are / feel inclined to …

②There are different opinions among people as to … Some believe … whole hold …

③Some people claim that … is superior to … Others , however , disagree with it .

④Some people believe … Others maintain … Still others claim …

⑤Some people suggest … Others , however , hold the opposite opinion .

⑥On the one hand , people tend to … On the other hand , they feel …

⑦Some people argue that … Others , in contrast , believe that …

⑧Although more and more people come to believe … there are still others who insist that …

⑨On the contrary , there are people in favor of …

⑩There are some people who hold different opinions about …

(一)屈原投江

(one) Qu Yuan River

为了纪念爱国诗人屈原，居民为了不让跳下汨罗江的屈原尸体被鱼虾吃掉，所以在江里投下许多用竹叶包裹的米食(粽子)，并且竞相划船(赛龙船)希望找到屈原的尸体。

To commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, residents in order not to let Qu Yuans Miluo River jumped by fish and shrimp to eat, so in the river for the rice wrapped in bamboo leaves with many (dumplings), and race (rowing Dragon Boat Race) to find Qu Yuans body.

(二)曹娥寻父尸

(two) case of seeking father.

东汉孝女曹娥，因曹父溺江而亡，年仅十四岁的她沿江豪哭，经十七日仍不见曹父尸首，乃在五月一日投江，五日后两尸合抱而浮起的感人事迹， 乡人群而祭之。

The Eastern Han Dynasty filial daughter Cao E, drowned himself in a river because Cao father died, only fourteen years old, she cried along the ho, after seventeen days still do not see Cao father body, but in May 1st the river, five days from two dead and floating deeds, people group and sacrifice.

(三)白蛇传

(three) the legend of white snake

传说白蛇白素贞，为了报答许仙的恩惠，与许仙结为夫妻的凄美的爱情故事，传说端午节当天白蛇喝了雄黄酒，差点现出蛇形，加上法海白蛇及水淹金山寺的情节，都是脍炙人口的民间戏曲的曲目。

The legend of white snake and Bai Suzhen, in order to repay the grace of Xu Xian, and Xu Xianjie married the beautiful love story, the legend of the White Snake Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival a male Yellow Wine, almost a snake, white snake and flooded with sea Jinshan Temple of the plot, is a folk opera music win universal praise.

(四)伍子胥的忌日

(four) the anniversary of the death of Wu Zixu

传说伍子胥助吴伐楚后，吴王阖闾逝世，皇子夫差继位，伐越大胜，越王句践请和，伍子胥主战，夫差不听，却听信奸臣言，赐伍子胥自杀，并于于五月五日将尸体投入江中，此后人们于端午节纪祀伍子胥。

Legend has it that Wu Zixu will Fachu Wu, Wu helv Prince died, his successor, the victory of the king, and Wu Zixu battle, the king, do not listen, but listen to a word, give Wu Zixu Dutch act, and on May 5th the bodies into the river, then people in the Dragon Boat Festival worship Wu Zixu ji.

The university is full of talent, learning, and a small stage and small society full of competition and challenge. Every one of us plays a different role on this stage, so why dont we try to play the best part of our role! As a college student, we are eager to positive rather than blind impulse, bold and not wantonly recklessly, dare to think and not utopian, but not like you think of?? let us grasp the youth, to exercise their own here! Leave your hard figure in the activities of the organization, show your most beautiful style in the community activities, and dedicate one of your strengths to volunteering. Here you get not only a kind of knowledge, but also the most valuable wealth of life. When we were young, in their prime, pointing Jiangshan jiyangwenzi. Let the flower of life give birth to the color of youth, and let the youth glow because of vitality. The university campus, not do not, only unexpected, let us give full play to our talents! There are few human beings, and the university is the most treasured. Lets not let the youth idle away, and load a little gain in every days life, so that a confident smile will float on your face, and I believe firmly that there will be rewards for giving and passionate excitement.

The university is the halls of every one of us. In order to come to this hall, we have experienced the wind and rain. Now that we have stepped into this threshold, let us sprinkle our personality in the hall of this dream.

The university is not a fantasy, not a dream, not a delusion, but a great ideal. As long as we fight for it, fight for it. One day we will return! You will hear the maple leaf flow boat at that time, you will see the Chrysopsis laughing, you can smell the fruit fragrance, for you to the harvest season!

When I wrote this article, I was a student of * * * University. When I was about to enter school, I stood at the beginning of the University, and looked forward to the four years study and life of University. I hope my university can be full and meaningful as expected. Freshman: lay down the foundation. The idea of "want me to learn" is "I want to learn" to learn basic courses well on the ground, especially English and computer. In the big plan, we should make a small plan, keep in mind the English words and practice the spoken English every day, and learn it unswervingly from the beginning of the year. According to the actual situation, consider whether to take a double degree or minor major in second major, and prepare for the information as soon as possible. Freshmens learning tasks are relatively relaxed. They can participate in community activities appropriately, take certain positions, improve their organizational skills and communication skills, and train soldiers for graduation job interviews.

书籍是屹立在时间的汪洋大海中的灯塔。下面是小编给大家带来的写作常用比喻句摘抄，欢迎大家查看。

1.阳光下盛开的百合花就是您的笑容。

2.幸福是染色的画笔，能染红鲜花，也能染绿树叶;能给清澈的湖水染上透明的质感，也能给纯洁的心灵涂抹一层辉煌。

3.一艘银灰色的气垫船，像一匹纯种烈马，在金波粼粼的海面上飞掠而过。

4.小姑娘的心灵像雪花一样纯洁。

5.庄稼汉们站在地头，望着这片黄澄澄像狗尾巴的稻谷，心里像酿了蜜一样的甜。

6.她的文章写得很好。结构就像人体内的神经结和神经网的关系那样严密。

7.小弟弟的脸胖乎乎、红扑扑的，看上去真像一个可爱的大苹果，我真想去咬上一口。

8.食堂开饭时，全校同学像热锅上的蚂蚁一样挤成一团。

9.敌机逃窜了，我们的飞机紧紧追在后面，像豺狗追小白兔一样，一前一后。

10.父爱如山，母爱如海。

11.石头就是书。你们看，这石头一层一层的，不就像一册厚厚的书吗?

12.西湖，就是镶嵌在这天堂里的一颗明珠。

13.在藏语中，拉萨是圣地的意思，那么，这湛蓝的天就是圣地的窗帘了。

14.一到夜晚，整个香港就成了灯的海洋。

15.香港，真是一颗无比璀璨的"东方之珠"。

16.书籍是屹立在时间的汪洋大海中的灯塔。

17.爱护书籍吧，它是知识的源泉。

18.一本好书就是一个好社会，它能够陶冶人的感情与气质，使人高尚。

19.读一本好书等于和许多高尚的人谈话。

20.选书应和交友一样谨慎。因为你的习性受书籍的影响不亚于朋友。

21.书是智慧的钥匙。

22.政治家说:"书是时代的生命" ;企业家说:"书是致富的信息" ;文学家说:"书是人类的营养品" ;学生们说:"书是不开口的老师";迷惘者说:"书是心中的启明星";探索者说:"书是通向彼岸的船" ;奋斗者说:"书是人生的向导";急于求知者说:"书是饥饿时的美餐" 。

23.它像一条巨龙横卧在我国北方的崇山峻岭上,从东头的鸭绿江边到西头的嘉峪关,高高低低,蜿蜒曲折,全长6500多公里。

24.幸福是迎面的清风，能吹来落叶，也能吹走沙砾;能在广阔的大海吹荡起一波涟漪，也能拂走心中所有不愉快的感觉。幸福是暖炉，能融化坚固的冰块，给寒冷的人以温暖，给失魂落魄的人以安慰;幸福是清泉，能滋润干燥的沙漠，给饥渴的人以清凉，给奄奄一息的人以生命。

25.生活就像爬大山，生活就像淌大河。

26.教育家说:"书是智慧的钥匙." ;史学家说:"书是进步的阶梯." ;政治家说:"书是时代的生命." ;经济家说:"书是致富的信息." ;文学家说:"书是人类的营养品." ;学生们说:"书是离不开的老师." ;迷惘者说:"书是心中的启明星." ;探索者说:"书是通向彼岸的船." ;奋斗者说:"书是人生的向导.";急于求知者说:"书是饥饿时的美餐."

27.仙人掌，正在用它的“武器”，与太阳作斗争。

28.书犹药也,善读之可以医愚。

29.书——这是一代对另一代精神上的遗训，这是行将就木的老人对刚刚开始生活的青年人的中选，这是行将去休息的站岗人对走来接替他的岗位的站岗人的命令。

30.邱少云像千斤巨石一动不动扒在火堆里。

31.就像根,永远是树叶的家;家就像红布条,永远系着游子的心,家就像大衣一件,不会提高温度,但却给予人们连火炉都不能替代的温暖。

32.顿时，我的泪水像断了线的珍珠一样，夺眶而出。

33.在图书馆扒着睡觉的时候流口水，就像晚年石钟乳一样。

34.钱钟书围城里说：打呼噜像放长线的风筝。

35.我像风筝一样, 不能远走高飞 ,痛苦无奈像秋千一般, 荡了出去又回来。

36.人潮卷来卷去，地坝变成了露天舞台。

37.炕沿上坐着的那个鬼子军官，两眼红红的，像一只恶狼。

38.他打破了一块玻璃，吓得像受了惊的小鸟一样逃跑了。

39. 一艘银灰色的气垫船，像一匹纯种烈马，在金波粼粼的海面上飞掠而过。

40.文章写得很好。结构就像人体内的神经结和神经网的关系那样严密。

41.小弟弟的脸胖乎乎、红扑扑的，看上去真像一个可爱的大苹果，我真想去咬上一口。

42.远远望去，泰山峰上的松树连成一片，浓浓的，看上去就像人的颧骨上横着的一道剑眉。

43.开饭时，全校同学像热锅上的蚂蚁一样挤成一团。

44.敌机逃窜了，我们的飞机紧紧追在后面，像豺狗追小白兔一样，一前一后。

45.运动员像离弦的箭一般向终点跑去。

46.梦像一条小鱼,在水里游来游去，想捉他，他已经跑了。

47.梦像一片雪花 ,在空中飘舞,想抓住他，他已经融化了。

48.老师是辛勤的园丁，教导着我们。

49.他们朴实得就像那片高粱。

50.心像玻璃一样碎了。

51.敌人的子弹像雨点般的向我们的阵地射来。

52.天上的星星像黑夜里的萤火虫,像小朋友的眼睛一样,一闪一闪的,可爱极了。

53.我觉得自己就像一个刚出锅的发面馒头,一块吸饱了水的海绵,一只刚从水沟里爬上来的湿漉漉的猫,每个毛孔里都透着生机盎然的蓬勃的恶意。

54.几朵绒毛似的白云轻轻地掠过去。

55.花丛里还隐藏着像珊瑚珠似的小红豆。

导语：我们大家都知道，每个公民都有维护好自己权益的义务，所以日常生活中发生一些小摩擦我们当然要理智的去处理，那么投诉信是不是一个很好的办法呢?下面是yuwenmi小编为还在备考的同学整理的优秀英语素材，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

Dear_______,

I am . (自我介绍) I feel bad to trouble you but I am afraid that I have to make a complaint about_______.

The reason for my dissatisfaction is ______________(总体介绍). In the first place,_________________________(抱怨的第一个方面). In addition, ____________________________(抱怨的第二个方面). Under these circumstances, I find it ___(感觉) to ____________________________(抱怨的方面给你带来的后果).

I appreciate it very much if you could_______________________(提出建议和请求), preferably __________(进一步的要求), and I would like to have this matter settled by ______(设定解决事情最后期限).

Thank you for your consideration and I will be looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely

Li Ming

一、以形式主语it引导的句型。

句型1. It happened(chanced) that +clause. = sb. happened /chanced sth. = sb. did sth. by chance. 如：

It happened that he was out when I got there. 当我到那儿时，碰巧他不在。

句型2、It seems that sb. do/ be doing/ have done/ had done= Sb. seems to do/ be doing/ have done/ had done 如：(还有动词appear可这样使用)

It seemed that he had been to Beijing before.好象你以去过北京。

二、定语从句：

句型1、由as引导的非限定性的定语从句。如：

As we have known, he is a most good student.众所周知，他是个很好的学生。

句型2、由which引导的非限定性的定语从句。如：

He is a professor, which I have been looking forward to becoming.

他是个教授，那是我一直盼望的职业。(因为先行词professor是表示职业的名词，因此引导词用which，而不用who。(注意：关于which和as之间的比较请看语法的定语从句部分。)

三、让步状语从句

句型1、No matter what / which / who / where / when /

whose+从句，+主句。注意从句中的时态一般情况用一般现在时态。如：

No matter what you do, you must do it well.

四、条件状语从句

句型1、When / So long as / As long as / Once +从句，+主句。(从句也可以放在主句之后。)如：

As long as you give me some money, I will let you go.只要你给我一些钱，我就让你走。

句型2、主句+on condition that+从句。如：

I will go with you on condition that you give me some money.我和你一起去的条件是你给我一些钱。

句型3、主句+unless+从句.(注意：由于unless本身是否定词，所引导的从句的谓语动词用肯定。)如：

I will go there tomorrow unless it rains.我明天去那儿除非下雨。

五、原因状语从句

句型1、主句+in case+从句。(in case表示以免)如：

I will take my raincoat in case it rains.我要把雨衣带上以免下雨。

句型2、主句+due to / because of / owning to / + the fact that +从句。如：

He did not come to school because of the fact that he was

ill.由于他有病了，所以没有来上学。

六、时间状语从句

句型1、When / While / As +从句，+主句。(关于它们之间的区别请看语法。)如：

When I was in the country, I used to carry some water for you.当我在农村时，我常常给你打水。

句型2、主句+after / before +从句. 如：

They hadn’t been married four months before they were

devoiced.他们绘结婚不到四个月就离婚了。

We went home after we had finished the work.我们做完此工作就回家了。

七地点状语从句

句型1、Where +从句，+主句. 如：

Where there is no rain, farming is difficult or impossible.哪里没有雨水，种庄稼是很难的或者是不可能的。

句型2、Anywhere / wherever+从句，+主句. 如：

Anywhere I go, my wife goes too.无论我去哪儿，我的妻子也去哪儿。

八、目的状语从句

句型1、主句+in order that / so that +从句.如：www.yingyuzuowen.cn

I got up early in order that I could catch the first bus.我起得很早，以便能赶上早班车。

九、结果状语从句

句型1、主句+so that+从句. 如：

It was very cold, so that the river froze.天气很冷，因此河水结冰了。

句型2、So+形容词/ 副词+特定动词+主语+…+that+从句.

So interesting is this book that I would like to read it again.这本书那么有趣，我想再读一遍。

十、比较状语从句

句型1、The +形容词比较级……，(主句)the +形容词比较级+……如：

The sooner you do it, the better it will be.越早越好。

句型2、主语+谓语+as +形容词原级+as +被比较的对象. 如：

He is as busy as a bee.他非常忙。

希望以上的初中英语句型可以帮你在写作上解决一个大忙。

不少同学在问了，英语作文怎么写?如何写好英语作文，下面是小编为大家收集的初中英语作文的写作方法，欢迎阅读。

初一英语写作题，题材一般是写人、写事、写物、写景、日记、书信、通知、便条等文体。一般来说，不同的写作题材，它的人物，时间，写作的重点也是不尽相同的。下面结合一些常见的题型介绍一下写作的注意事项以及写作技巧。

各地的评分标准略有差异，但是都包括以下几个方面：整体印象、语言表达、词数规定等几方面内容。我们在写作中要尽量避免扣分，争取有加分点。当然用英文写作不同于用母语那样得心应手，常常会受到生词、语法、惯用法的限制，只要同学们平时注意两种语言的异同性，抓住写作要点，也可妙笔生花。

1、为了保证文章层次分明、条理清楚，要把时间固定下来，如：记叙一件事要用过去时;写经常发生的事或对人物的描写，要用一般现在时。整个文章中的人称要一致，首尾呼应，不要随意改动，以免造成误解。

2、不要为了追求“一鸣惊人”而去找一些生冷的词汇，对这些一知半解的词你不会用，不知道如何搭配，结果可能适得其反，使文章显的生硬、不协调，甚至错误百出，所以要使用有把握的词，避免不必要的失分。比如说发生了一起意外事件，我们通常用“have an accident ”来表示，不要错误的使用“have an incident”。

3、注意不同语言的表达习惯，也是写好英语作文的重要环节，如“我的理想是做一名歌手”，很多同学写成“My ambition is to do/make a singer，” “to do”表示“做”或者“干”，“to make”表示“制作”，而“做一名歌手”则表示“成为一名歌手”应该用“be/become a singer”;又如“看书、看报”应用“read a book/newspaper”，而不是“see a book/newspaper”。因此，平时应该注意不同语言的表达习惯，切忌望文生义或一味生搬硬套。

4、有些同学因怕出错而只写短句或简单句，写出的文章过于幼稚、空洞乏味。要使文章有血有肉就要把平时学的知识用进去，如：定语从句、宾语从句、非谓语动词和比较等句型，关键时用上一、二个，就能使文章不同凡响，更有文采，特别是对关联词的使用，如“so that”、“not…but ”“not only...but also”等，会使你的文章逻辑结构紧密、层次鲜明、条理清楚，更能显示出你的英文功底，但要做到这些并非一日之功，要靠平时的不断训练和积累。

5、最简单的增分点就是认真的书写。工整漂亮的书写会给评卷老师留下美好的第一印象，在扣分时自然会“手下留情”，而且很多地区都在写作上有1分的书写分。只要平时多下点功夫，得到这一分并不难。

注意事项

最后将英语写作的基本步骤和技巧归纳为以下几个环节：

1、细心审题细读题目中每一项提示或观察所给的每一幅画，明确文章的中心思想，弄清题意，确定写作体裁，掌握所要表达的要点做到心中有数，避免随心所欲，文不对题。

2、理顺要点在所给提示或图上标出要点，然后按事件先后的顺序或各要点之间的内在联系排序，分出层次。如果是看图作文，则要按图构思，这样做既可避免要点遗漏，又可使表达内容条理清楚。

3、构成框架将理顺的要点或每幅图画的含义加以连贯，构成写作的整体框架，进一步定人称、定时态语态、定顺序、定段落、定开头结尾。基本框架构成后，写作就有了把握。

4、组织句子用自己最熟悉的短语或句型将理顺的要点逐句表达出来，多用简单句，用有把握的复合句。要扬长避短，避难就易。若遇到表达障碍，可换一种说法，将一句变成两、三句，只求达意。

5、串句成篇将写好的句子连贯地组织起来，注意上下句的逻辑关系，适当采用递进、让步、转折、因果等关联词语，使短文浑然一体，层次分明，过渡自然。6、检查修改文章草成后，默读1～2遍，检查修改，尤其要注意人称、大小写、拼写、习惯用语、格式有无错误，要点有无遗漏，文句有无语病，词数是否恰当，行文是否连贯。

英语写作水平的提高是一个渐进的过程，只要同学们在平时多加训练，多读文章，做一个有心人，就能在英语作文中取得理想的成绩

记叙文是以写人、记事、状物为主要内容，以叙述和描写为表达方式的文章。

以写人为主的记叙文，应该注意肖像描写、行动描写、语言描写、心理描写以及对细节的描写，考生应根据写作的要求，灵活掌握，突出重点。

以写事为主的记叙文，应该注意交待六要素(时间、地点、人物、事件、原因、结果)，应该注意描写先后顺序以及记事的相对完整，注意把握好事情的开始、发展、高潮及结局。

以与景为主的记叙文，应该注意景物的主要特征，景物描写的层次，以及人与物的情感交融。

记叙文写作要点如下：

1. 明确写作目的和叙述的中心思想，段落叙述始终围绕着主题而展开，避免空间的叙述和与主题无关的内容。

2. 一篇好叙述文需要直接或间接表达以下六个问题，即：when?该事发生的时间， where?该事发生的地点，who?人物角色是谁，what?发生的是什么事，why?该事发生的原因，以及how?事件的结果是如何造成的等等。

3. 一篇记叙文，无论长短如何都应该是一个完全独立的事实，因此，在下笔时必须明确：该从何处开始叙述，该在何处结束叙述，以及应该提供何种事实才能使叙述完整。

4. 写作顺序可以采用“顺叙”、“倒叙”和“穿插叙述”的方法，但初学者最好采用“顺叙”的方法进行训练，以情节发生时间的先后为序。

记叙文高考指引

记叙文是高考书面表达中比较常用的一种形式。

1)记叙文要写作者比较了解的人或事物。

2)仔细审题，看准题目要求，确定文章的主题。文章的内容、结构、层次及所用语言都应围绕主题进行。

3)具体详细地描述。要使文章有说服力，叙述就必须繁简疏密相间。详细具体的描写有助于读者对所叙述的人物或事件等有个深刻的印象。

4)写作时要避免句子单调、毫无花样。这就要求写作时长短句结合，注意衔接词的运用。

5)叙述要生动。要使文章叙述生动，具有吸引力，必须请注意词汇的选择，时态的运用以及上下文的一致问题。词语的运用应注意是否恰当、通顺、简洁和准确。时态的运用应注意上下文的相关性、连续性，要与表达的内容一致。

6)叙述的顺序。大多数情况下叙述都是按照事情的发展及时间的先后进行的，但有时也可以采用其它顺序，如倒叙、插叙等。

7)人称。一般说来，记叙文用第一人称或第三人称来叙述。用第一人称叙述的优点是：文章比较生动、形象，使读者有身临其境的感觉，因而加强了故事的真实感和感染力。其缺点是，描写的范围受到限制。一篇文章中，由于角色的变化，人称也要随之而变，但应注意前后一致性。

If life is a book, then the university life is the most beautiful book of color pages; If life is a drama, so university life is the most exciting scene in the play, if you say that life is a time from birth to death The long-distance travel; so we have a college life, will be able to see the most splendid scenery. My friends, the best moment in this life, you have raised a sail, is the ideal toward the other side? Whether that strong stretch your wings, being rushed to freedom of the sky? Whether due to go to college and excited, heart acquiescence of a wish and strive for?

For this long-lost dream, we bided sword, those days of hard heart now is still vivid. In those days we gain a deep understanding through their own efforts to complete the thing is how meaningful, despite wind and rain we walked together through thick and thin from the beautiful university campus. Standing at a new starting point, I was so excited, they are so fascinated ......

However, when the picture of university life spread, I found searching searching at the end, not all heart, "that person is in the dim light," the joy of the past. Look for him thousands of Baidu dream, but it is still holds partly concealed. This was when I had lost, wandering over, but the time will not stop its pace from the forward qing written as "wash your hands when the day from the basin in the past; dinner, the last day from the bowl; When silence, begins before the gaze as in the past. I can feel his haste now ...... "Yes ah! Time is like water, and our lives have a lot to do, to dream, let us cherish every moment, from now accumulated bit by bit it! Lets university life becomes more full, rich, rhythmic.

In life I always want to be happy along with the success of smiling youth in every season, I know: that we have not let the call of the sea in the waves fighting courage deterred, blue sky call, you can not be too let fly wings degradation in the dark cloud.

We all have a dream to pursue the people, not because the road hard to give up the pace of progress. Pursue the dream process is bitter, but only after the sharpening of life will have more meaning. Do not let the restless heart was impetuous occupied, but the drive from the wings of the soul the knowledge learned on campus, at different levels of the crowd learn better man, four years is difficult to adhere to, to give up very easily. We are always firmly believed that winter comes, can spring will no longer far away, do not spend the winter I do not know the warmth of spring, there is no sweet water through the desert do not know, I do not understand the joy of success after failure. Because the young and frivolous, we are likely to fail, but it was also young and gives us courage to never give capital. As long as we get down to enthusiastically take a good foot of the road, we will eventually win.

University is full of talent, knowledge, but it is also a highly competitive, challenging small stage, a small community. Each of us in this arena to play a different role, then why do not we strive to own the best RPG! As a college student, we are eager optimistic and positive rather than blind impulse, without wantonly recklessly bold, dare dare not dream, ponder inquiry without Luanxiang dead end ...... let us grasp the youth, where exercise yourself! Organizational activities leave you hard figure, to show you the most beautiful style in community activities, and dedication to a force in your volunteer activities. Here you get not only a knowledge, but also a lifes most valuable asset. They Were Young, in their prime, pointing Jiangshan, Jiyangwenzi. Let the flower of life because young students of color, so that the youth because vitality and brilliance. College campuses, not impossible, just think, let us enjoy to play to their talents now! Humanoids then less, most cherished university. Let youth wasted, loading a little gain in every day life, make you confident smile floating in my face, firmly believe that pay a return, brilliant burst of passion!

University is the dream of every one of us the halls, in order to come to this hall we have experienced ups and downs. Since stepped into this threshold, then let us enjoy sway personality in this dream palace in it.

Universities are not fantasy, not a dream, but not delusional, but our great ideals. As long as we strive for, worth fighting. Someday we will be a rewarding experience! Then you will hear Maple stream boat, youll see goldenrod laughing, you will smell the fruit fragrance, because you go to the harvest season!

如果说人生是一本书，那么大学生活便是书中最美丽的彩页；如果说人生是一台戏，那么大学生活便是戏中最精彩的一幕，如果说人生是一次从降生到死亡的长途旅行；那么拥有大学生活的我们，便可以看到最灿烂的风景。朋友们，在这人生最美好的时刻，你是否已经扬起了航帆，正奔向理想的彼岸？是否已伸开你那坚强的翅膀，正冲向自由的天空？是否因进入大学而激动万分，心中默许下一个心愿并为之奋斗？

为了这个久违的梦想，我们十年寒窗磨一剑，那些刻苦铭心的日子如今仍旧历历在目。在那收获的日子里我们深刻的理解通过自己的努力完成一件事情是多么有意义，栉风沐雨我们一同走过，风雨同舟抵达美丽的大学校园。站在新的起点上，我是那么的激动，又是那么的神往……

然而在大学生活的画卷铺开时，我发现在寻寻寻觅觅的尽头，并不都是以往心里的“那人却在灯火阑珊处”的喜悦。梦里寻他千百度，却是犹抱琵琶半遮面。这个时侯，我迷茫过，徘徊过，然而时间从不会停下它的脚步，正向朱自清写的那样“洗手的时候，日子从水盆里过去；吃饭的时候，日子从饭碗里过去；默默时，便从凝然的双眼前过去。我觉察他去的匆匆了……”是啊！时间如流水，而我们的人生还有很多要做的事，为了梦想，让我们珍惜时光，从现在开始一点一滴的积累吧！让我们的大学生活变得更加充实、丰富、有节奏。

在生活中我总希望快乐伴随着成功，微笑在每一个青春的季节里，我深知：有大海的呼唤我们就不能让搏击的勇气在海浪中却步，有蓝天的呼唤，就不能过让纷飞的翅膀在暗云中退化。

我们都是有梦想有追求的人，不要因为路途艰辛就放弃了前进的脚步。追寻梦想的过程是苦涩的，但只有经过磨砺的人生才会拥有更多内涵。不要让不安的心被浮躁占据，而是驾起灵魂的翅膀在校园里汲取知识，在不同层次的人群里学着更好地做人，四年的时间里坚持很难，放弃却很容易。我们是始终坚信冬天来了，春天就不会再远，没有度过寒冬不知春的温暖，也没有走过沙漠不知水的甘甜，没有经过失败不懂成功的喜悦。因为年少轻狂，我们很可能会失败，可也正是年轻给了我们勇往直前永不言弃资本。只要我们满怀激情踏踏实实地走好脚下的路，我们终究会取得胜利。

大学是一个充满才华、学问，同时又是一个充满竞争、挑战的小舞台、小社会。我们每一个人就在这个舞台上扮演着不同的角色，那我们何不努力将自己的角色扮演得最好！作为一个大学生，我们都渴望乐观积极而不是盲目冲动，大胆而不大肆妄为，敢说敢想而不空想，深思探究而不乱想钻牛角尖……那就让我们把握青春，在这里锻炼自己吧！在组织活动中留下你辛苦的身影，在社团活动中展现你最美丽的风采，在志愿活动中奉献你的一份力量。在这里你得到不仅是一种知识，更是一种人生最宝贵财富。恰同学少年，风华正茂，指点江山，激扬文字。让生命之花因为年轻而生彩，让青春因为活力而生辉。大学校园里，没有做不到，只有想不到，让我们尽情地去发挥自己的才能吧！人生物再少，大学最珍惜。不让青春虚度，在每一天的生活里载入一点点收获，让自信的微笑浮在你我的脸上，坚信付出就有回报，激情迸发精彩！

大学是我们每一个人梦想的殿堂，为了来到这个殿堂我们经历了风风雨雨。既然跨进了这道门槛，那么就让我们在这梦想的殿堂里尽情的挥洒个性吧。

大学不是幻想，不是梦想，更不是妄想，而是我们伟大的理想。只要我们为之奋斗，为之拼搏。总有一天我们会满载而归的！那时你会听到枫叶流舟，你会看到金菊在笑，你会闻到硕果飘香，因为你到了收获的季节！

良好的开端等于成功的一半，下面是小编整理的高考英语写作基础知识，欢迎阅读。

一. 开头用语：

良好的开端等于成功的一半.在写作文时，通常以最简单也最常用的方式---开门见山法。也就是说, 直截了当地提出你对这个问题的看法或要求，点出文章的中心思想。

1.议论文：

A. Just as every coin has two sides, cars have both advantages and disadvantages.

B. Compared to/ In comparison with letters, e-mails are more convenient.

C. When it comes to computers, some people think they have brought us a lot of convenience. However,...

D. Opinions are divided on(关于) the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city and in the countryside.

E. As is known to all/ As we all know, computers have played an important role/part in our daily life.

F. Why do you go to university? Different people have different points of view.

2. 书信：

A. I am writing to you to apply for admission to your university as a visiting scholar.

B. I read an advertisement in today’s China Daily and I apply for the job...

C. Thank you for your letter of May 5.

D. How happy I am to receive your letter of January 9.

E. How nice to hear from you again!

3. 口头通知或介绍情况：

A. Ladies and gentlemen, May I have your attention, please? I have an announcement to make.

(词典例子：Can I have your attention please?请注意听我讲话好吗?)

B. Attention, please. I have something important to tell you.

C. Mr. Green, Welcome to our school. To begin with, let me introduce Mr. Wang to you.

4. 演讲稿：

A. Ladies and gentlemen, I feel very much honored to have a chance here to make a speech on the subject -- A Balanced Diet and Health.

(词典解释：be/feel honoured to do sth=feel proud and happy做某事感到荣幸

例子：I was honoured to have been mentioned in his speech. 他在讲话中提到了我，真是荣幸。)

B. Good morning everyone! Allow me, first of all, on behalf of all present here, to extend our warm welcome and cordial greeting to our distinguished guest.

(词典解释：extend=to offer or give sth to sb 提供;给予

例子：I’m sure you will join me in extending a very warm welcome to our visitors. 我肯定你们会同我一起向来访者表示热烈的欢迎。)

(词典解释：allow me=used to offer help politely (礼貌地表示主动帮忙)让我来

二.并列用语：

as well as, not only…but (also), including,

A. Not only do computers play an important part in science and technology, but also play an informative role in our daily life.

B. All of us, including the teachers / the teachers included, will attend the lecture.

C. He speaks French as well as English.=He speaks English, and French as well.=He speaks not only English but also French.

D. E-mail, as well as telephones, is playing an important part in daily communication.

三.对比用语：

on the one hand---, on the other hand---, on the contrary/contrary to ..., though, for one thing, for another; nevertheless

A. I know the Internet can only be used at home or in the office, but on the other hand, it is becoming more and more popular for much information as well as clear and vivid pictures.

B. It is hard work; I enjoy it, though.

C. Contrary to what I had originally thought, the trip turned out to be fun.

(词典：contray to sth 与之相异的，相对的，相反的

Contrary to popular belief, many cats dislike milk. 与普通的想法相反，许多猫并不喜欢牛奶。)

四. 递进用语：

even, besides, what’s more, as for, so…that…, worse still, moreover, furthermore; but for, in addition, to make matters worse

A. The house is too small for a family of four, and furthermore/besides/what’s more/moreover /in addition/worse still , it is in a bad location.

1.There are several reasons for…， but in general, they come down to three major ones.有几个原因……，但一般，他们可以归结为三个主要的。

2.There are many factors that may account for…， but the following are the most typical ones.有许多因素可能占…，但以下是最典型的。

3.Many ways can contribute to solving this problem, but the following ones may be most effective.有很多方法可以解决这个问题，但下面的可能是最有效的。

4.Generally, the advantages can be listed as follows.一般来说，这些优势可以列举如下。

5.The reasons are as follows.

1)Some(people)argue/claim/believe/hold that……But others set(put)forth a different argument about/oppositive views on the matter in question.

(e.g. Some claim that setting off firecrackers is a good practice of celebrating the Spring Festival.……But others put forth opposite views on the problem.)

2)Some(people)advocate/endorse/favor/are for(或oppose/object to/are against)……Yet others stick to/hold on to/cling to the opposite views/argument/points.

(e.g. Some advocate changes intended to modernize the building code.……Yet others hold on to the opposite views.)

3)To some peoples mind/From some peoples point of view/In the eye(s)o f some people，the matter in question is/seems/should be/means……But to othersmind/from others point of view/in otherseyes，it is just/quite the other way around/contrary/opposite(或the opposite/reverse is the case/true.)

(e.g. To some peoples mind，reading should be done in a selective way.……But to others‘，it is just the other way around.)

4)Some(people)respond/react to……by……But others behave/act in the other direction/in the opposite way.

(e.g. Some people respond to failure by remaining inactive or avoiding it……But others behave in the opposite way.)

5)Some take the view that……And/But on the other hand，others argue for the opposite view that……

(e.g. Some are of the view that institutions mould characters.……And on the other hand，others argue for the opposite view that characters transform institutions.)

小升初英语写作技巧之一：用介词短语替代从句，例：

原句：While they were playing tennis, she started an argument that lasted all morning.

修改后：During tennis she started an argument that lasted all morning.

原句：When you come to the second traffic light, turn right.

修改后：At the second traffic light turn left.

小升初英语写作技巧之二：删除诸如"who is”或"that is"之类的关系代词，变从句为短语，例：

句：The novel, which is written in three parts, told a story that took place in the Middle Ages.

修改后：The three-part novel told a story set in the Middle Ages.

注：把句中的"three parts"改用形容词来表达，节省了四个不必要的单词"which is written in"。我们经常可以将关系代词如"that"去掉，这只会引起最少的变动。

小升初英语写作技巧之三：剔除你不需要的单词，例：

Two joint partners will present their views over a long-distance telephone call.

写完这样的句子后，你自己再读一遍，挑出单词"joint"和"telephone"，注意删去不必要的词。

After passing the 20XX College Entrance Examination, I find my name in the enrolling list of Hechi college which many young people dream of. As a boy of 18, I am happy to go to such a famous university, so that I want to make my life colorful and fruitful in university. Heres my plan for university life:

Firstly, I am an adult of 18 years old, so I should learn to be independent, especially in my study. Teachers here will not keep an eye on me as they did in the middle school and parents will not take care of everything as they did in the past. Of course, study is my own business and priority. I will pay most of my attention to it. I think the autonomous learning is the most important for a college student. Besides, I will learn how to think of the questions critically and study my courses creatively.

Secondly, it is also important to set aside some time for relaxation because study shouldnt occupy all of my free time. I will develop my hobbies to enrich my experience and broaden my horizon. At the same time, I will participate in some associations to learn something outside of textbooks and get some understandings about society and the world.

Finally, I will make more friends on campus. It is an effective way to improve my communicative abilities and confidence. How to spend a fruitful and meaningful university life? Friends can help me because we can compete with each other, make progress together.

In short, I am looking forward to my life in university and I am sure it will be happy and fruitful.

下面的材料旨在丰富学生在是非问题写作方面的思想和语言，考生在复习时可以先分类阅读这些篇章，然后尝试写相关方面的作文题。

对于素材中用黑体字的部分，特别建议你熟读，背诵，因为它们在语言和观点上都值得吸收。学习语言的人应该明白，表达能力和思想深度都靠日积月累，潜移默化。从某种意义上说，提高英语写作能力无捷径可走，你必须大段背诵英语文章才能逐渐形成语感和用英语进行表达的能力。这一关，没有任何人能代替你过。

因此，建议你下点苦功夫，把背单词的精神拿出来背诵文章。何况，并不是要求你背了之后永远牢记在心：你可以这个星期背，下个星期忘。这没有关系，相信你的大脑具有神奇的能力。背了工具箱里的文章后，你会惊讶的发现：I can think in English now！

1.?????? Proverbs

1. A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success.

2. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s time.

3. Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

4. The classroom--not the trench--is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore.

5. Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

6. It is the purpose of education to help us become autonomous, creative, inquiring people who have the will and intelligence to create our own destiny.

7. You see, real ongoing, lifelong education doesn’t answer questions; it provokes them.

8. People will pay more to be entertained than educated.

9.the most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

10. The essence of our efforts to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each as equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different-to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind, and spirit he or she possesses.

11. A great teacher never strives to explain his vision-he simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.

12. If you can read and don’, you are an illiterate by choice.

2. Damaging Research

A study by National Parent-Teacher Organization revealed that in the average American school, eighteen negatives are identified for every positive that is pointed out. The Wisconsin study revealed that when children enter the first grade, 80 percent of them feel pretty good themselves, but by the time they get to the sixth grade, only 10 percent of them have good self-images.

3. Education and Citizenship

An important aspect of education in the United States is the relationship between education and citizenship. Throughout its history this nation has emphasized public education as a means of transmitting democratic values, creating equality of opportunity, and preparing new generations of citizens to function in society. In addition, the schools have been expected to help shape society itself. During the 1950s, for example, efforts to combat racial segregation focused on the schools. Later, when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite, American schools and colleges came under intense pressure and were offered many incentives to improve their science and mathematics programs so that the nations would not fall behind the Soviet Union in scientific and technological capabilities.

Education is often viewed as a tool for solving social problems, especially social inequality. The schools, t is thought, can transform young people from vastly different backgrounds into competent, upwardly mobile adults. Yet these goals seem almost impossible to attain. In recent years, in fact, public education has been at the center of numerous controversies arising from the gap between the ideal and the reality. Part of the problem is that different groups in society have different have different expectations. Some feel that children should be taught basic job-related skills; still others believe education should not only prepare children to compete in society but also help them maintain their cultural identity (and, in the case of Hispanic children, their language). On the other hand, policymakers concerned with education emphasize the need to increase the level of student achievement and to improve parents in their children’s education.

Some reformers and critics have called attention to the need to link formal schooling with programs designed to address social problems. Sociologist Charles Moscos, for example, is a leader in the movement to expand programs like the Peace Corps, Vista, and Outward Bound into a system of voluntary national service. National service, as Moscos defines it, would entail “the full-time undertaking of public duties by young people whether as citizen soldiers or civilian servers-who are paid subsistence wages” and serve for at least one year. In return for this period of service, the volunteers would receive assistance in paying for college or other educational expenses.

Advocates of national service and school-to-work programs believe that education does not have to be confined to formal schooling. In devising strategies to provide opportunities for young people to serve their society, they emphasize the educational value of citizenship experiences gained outside the classroom. At this writing there is little indication that national service will become a new educational institution in the United States, although the concept is steadily gaining support among educators and social critics.

4. The Teacher’s Role

Given the undeniable importance of classroom experience, sociologists have done a considerable amount of research on what goes on in the classroom. Often they start from the premise that, along with the influence of peers, students’ experiences in the classroom are of central importance to their later development. One study examined the impact of a single first-grade teacher on her students’ subsequent adult status. The surprising results of this study have important implications. It is evident that good teachers can make a big difference in children’s lives, a fact that gives increased urgency to the need to improve the quality of primary-school teaching. The reforms carried out by educational leaders like James Comer suggest that when good teaching is combined with high levels of parental involvement the results can be even more dramatic.

Because the role of the teacher is to change the learner in some way, the teacher-student relationship is an important part of education. Sociologists have pointed out that this relationship is asymmetrical or unbalanced, with the teacher being in a position of authority and the student having little choice but to passively absorb the information provided by the teacher. In other words, in conventional classrooms there is little opportunity for the students to become actively involved in the learning process. On the other hand, students often develop strategies for undercutting the teacher’s authority: mentally withdrawing, interrupting, and the like. Hence, much current research assumes that students and teachers influence each other instead of assuming that the influence is always in a single direction.

5. Education Philosophy

For the past fifty years our schools have operated on the theories of John Dewey (1859-1953), an American educator and writer. Dewey believed hat the school’s job was to enhance the natural development of the growing child, rather than to pour information, for which the child had no context, into him or her. In the Dewey system, the child becomes the active agent in his own education, rather than a passive receptacle for facts.

Consequently, American schools are very enthusiastic about teaching “life skills” –logical thinking, analysis, creative problem--solving. The actual content of the lessons is secondary to the process, which is supposed to train the child to be able to handle whatever life may present, including all the unknowns of the future. Students and teachers both regard pure memorization as an uncreative and somewhat vulgar.

In addition to “life skills”, schools are assigned to solve the ever growing stoke of social problems. Racism, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, reckless driving, and are just a few of the modern problems that have appeared on the school curriculum.

This all contributes to a high degree of social awareness in American youngsters.

6. Student Life

To the students, the most notable difference between elementary school and the higher levels is that in junior high they start “changing classes”. This means that rather than spending the day in one classroom, they switch classrooms to meet their different teachers. This gives them three or four minutes between classes in the hallways, where a great deal of the important social action of high school traditionally takes place. Students have lockers in these hallways, around which thy congregate.

Society in general does not take the business of studying very seriously. Schoolchildren have a great deal of free time, which they are encouraged to fill with extracurricular activities—sports, clubs, cheerleading, scouts—supposed to inculcate such qualities as leadership, sportsmanship, ability to organize, etc. those who don’t become engaged in such activities or have afterschool jobs have plenty of opportunity to “hang out”, listen to teenager music, and watch television.

Compared to other nations, American students do not have much homework. Studies also show that American parents have lower expectations for their children’s success in school than other nationalities do. (Historically, there has not been much correlation between American school success and success in later life.) “He’s just not a scholar”, the American parents might say, content that their son is on the swim team and doesn’t take drugs. (Some of the young do choose to study hard, for reason of their own, such as determining that the road to riches lies through Harvard Business School.)

What American schools do effectively teach is the competitive method. In innumerable ways children are pitted against each other—whether in classroom discussion, spelling bees, reading groups, or tests. Every classroom is expected to produce a scattering of A’s and F’s (teachers often grade A=excellent; B=good; C=average; D=poor; and F=failed). A teacher who gives all A’s looks too soft—so students are aware that they are competing for the limited number of top marks.

Foreign students sometimes don’t understand that copying from other people’s papers or from books is considered wrong and taken seriously. Here, it is important to show that you have done your own work and are displaying your own knowledge. It is more important than helping your friends to pass, whom we think do not deserve to pass unless they can provide their own answers. Group effort goes against the competitive grain, and American students do not study together as many Asians do. Many Asians in this country consider their group study habits a large contributor to their school success.

7. Adult Education

After complaining about many aspects of American life, a 40-year-old woman from Hong Kong concluded, “But where else could someone my age go back to school and get a degree in social work? Here you can change your whole life, start a new business, do what you really want to do.”

So at least to this person, school requirements weren’t inhibiting. And to millions of others, adult education is the path to a new career, or if not to a new career, to a new outlook. Schools generally encourage the older person who wants to start anew, and besides regular classes, schedule evening classes in special programs. Today there are so many people of retirement age in college that it is no longer remarkable.

8. Moral Relativism in American

Improving American education requires not doing new things but doing (and remembering) some good old things. At the time of our nation’s founding, Thomas Jefferson listed the requirements for a sound education in the Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia. In this landmark statement on American education, Jefferson wrote of the importance of education and writing, and of reading history, and geography. But he also emphasized the need “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” Jefferson believed education should aim at the improvement of both one’s “morals” and “faculties”. That has been the dominant view of the aims of American education for over two centuries. But a number of changes, most of them unsound, have diverted schools from these great pursuits. And the story of the loss of the school’s original moral mission explains a great deal.

Starting in the early seventies, “values clarification” programs started turning up in schools all over America. According to this philosophy, the schools were not to take part in their time-honored task of transmitting sound moral values; rather, they were to allow the child to “clarify” his own values (which adults, including parents, had no “rights” to criticize). The “values clarification” movement didn’t clarify values; it clarified wants and desires. This form of moral relativism said, in effect, that no set of values was right or wrong; everybody had an equal right to his own values; and all values were subjective, relative, and personal. This destructive view took hold with a vengeance.

In 1985 The York Times published an article quoting New York area educators, in slavish devotion to this new view, proclaiming, “They deliberately avoid trying to tell students what is ethically right and wrong.” The article told of one counseling session involving fifteen high school juniors and seniors. In the course of that session a student concluded that a fellow student had been foolish to return one thousand dollars she found in a purse at school. According to the article, when the youngsters asked the counselor’s opinion, “He told them he believed the girl had done the right thing, but that, of course, he would not try to force his values on them. ‘If I come from the position of what is wrong,’ he explained, ‘then I’m not their counselor.’”

Once upon a time, a counselor offered counselor, and he knew that an adult does not form character in the young by taking a stance of neutrality toward questions of right and wrong or by merely offering “choices” or “options”.

In response to the belief that adults and educators should teach children sound morals, one can expect from some quarters indignant objections (I’ve heard one version of it expressed countless times over the years): “Who are you to say what’s important?” or “Whose standards and judgments do we use?”

The correct response, it seems to me, is, is we ready to do away with standards and judgments? Is anyone going to argue seriously that a life of cheating and swindling is as worthy as a life of honest, hard work? Is anyone (with the exception of some literature professors at our elite universities) going to argue seriously the intellectual corollary, that a Marvel comic book is as good as Macbeth? Unless we are willing to embrace some pretty silly position, we’ve got to admit the need for moral and intellectual standards. The problem is that some people tend to regard anyone who would pronounce a definitive judgment as an unsophisticated Philistine or a closed-minded “elitist” trying to impose his view on everybody else.

The truth of the real world is that without standards and judgments, there can be no progress. Unless we are prepared to say irrational things—that nothing can be proven more valuable than anything else or that everything is equally worthless—we must ask the normative question. It may come, as a surprise to those who fell that to be “progressive” is to be value-neutral. But as Matthew Amold said, “the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things” and if the world can’t decide what the best things are, at least to some degree, then it follows that progress, and character, is in trouble. We shouldn’t be reluctant to declare that some things, some lives, books, ideas, and values are better than others. It is the responsibility of the schools to teach these better things.

At one time, we weren’t so reluctant to teach them. In the mid-nineteenth century, a diverse, widespread group of crusaders began to work for the public support of what was then called the “common school”, the forerunner of the public school. They were to be charged with the mission of school felt that the nation could fulfill its destiny only if every new generation was taught these values together in a common institution.

The leaders of the common school movement were mainly citizens who were prominent in their communities—businessmen, ministers, local civic and government officials. These people saw the schools as upholders of standards of individual morality and small incubators of civic and personal virtue; the founders of the public schools had faith that public education could teach good moral and civic character from a common ground of American values.

But in the past quarter century or so, some of the so-called experts became experts of value neutrality, and moral education was increasingly left in their hands. The commonsense view of parents and the publicthat schools should reinforce rather than undermine the values of home, family, and country, was increasingly rejected.

There are those today still that claim we are now too diverse a nation, that we consist of too many competing convictions and interests to instill common values. They are wrong. Of course we are a diverse people. We have always been a diverse people. And as Madison wrote in FederalistNo.10, the competing, balancing interests of a diverse people can help ensure the survival of liberty. But there are values that all American citizens share and that we should want all American students to know and to make their own: honesty, fairness, self-discipline, fidelity to task, friends, and family, personal responsibility, love of country, and belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and the freedom to practice one’s faith. The explicit teaching of these values is the legacy of the common schools, and it is a legacy to which we must return.

9. Schools Should Teach Values

People often said, “Yes, we should teach these values, but how do we teach them?” this question deserves a candid response, one that isn’t given often enough. It is by exposing our children to good character and inviting its imitation that we will transmit to them a moral foundation. This happens when teachers and principals, by their words and actions, embody sound convictions. As Oxford’s Mary Warnock has written, “You cannot teach morality without being committed to morality yourself; and you cannot be committed to morality yourself without holding that some things are right and others wrong.” The theologian Martin Buber wrote that the educator is distinguished from all other influences “by his will to take part in the stamping of character and by his consciousness that he represents in the eyes of the growing person a certain selection of what is, the selection of what is ‘right’, of what should be.” It is in this will, Buber says, in this clear standing for something, that the “vocation as an educator finds its fundamental expression.”

There is no escaping the fact that young people need as example principals and teachers who know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and who themselves exemplify high moral purpose.

As Education Secretary, I visited a class at Waterbury Elementary School in Waterbury, Vermont, and asked the students, “Is this a good school?” They answered, “Yes, this is a good school.” I asked them, “Why?” Among other things, one eight-year-old said, “The principal Mr. Riegel, makes good rules and everybody obeys them.” So I said, “Give me an example.” And another answered, “You can’t climb on the pipes in the bathroom. We don’t climb on the pipes and the principal doesn’t either.”

This example is probably too simple to please a lot of people who want to make the topic of moral education difficult, but there is something profound in the answer of those children, something education should pay more attention to. You can’t expect children to take messages about rules or morality seriously unless they see adults taking those rules seriously in their day-to-day affairs. Certain must be said, certain limits lay down, and certain examples set. There is no other way.

We should also do a better job at curriculum selection. The research shows that most “values education” exercises and separate courses in “moral reasoning” tend not to affect children’s behavior; if anything, they may leave children morally adrift. Where to turn? I believe our literature and our history are a rich quarry of moral literacy. We should mine that quarry. Children should have at their disposal a stock of examples illustrating what we believe to be right and wrong, good and bad—examples illustrating what are morally right and wrong can indeed be known and that there is a difference.

What kind of stories, historical events, and famous lives am I talking about? If we want our children to know about honesty, we should teach them about Abe Lincoln walking three miles to return six cents and conversely, about Aesop’s shepherd boy who cried wolf if we want them to know about courage, we should teach them about Joan of Arc, Horatius at the bridge, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. If we want them to know about persistence in the face of adversity, they should know about the voyages of Columbus and the character of Washington during the Civil War. And our youngest should be told about the Little Engine That Could. If we want them to know about respect for the law, they should understand why Socrates told Crito: “No, I must submit to the decree of Athens.” If we want our children to respect the rights of others, they should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ “Letter from Birmingham jail.” From the Bible they should know about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Jonathan’s friendship with David, the Good Samaritan’s kindness toward a stranger, and David’s cleverness and courage in facing Goliath.

These are only a few of the hundreds of examples we can call on. And we need not get into issues like nuclear war, abortion, creationism, or euthanasia. This may come as a disappointment to some people, but the fact is that the formation of character in young people is educationally a task different from, and prior to, the discussion of the great, difficult controversies of the day. First things come first. We should teach values the same way we teach other things: one step at a time. We should not use the fact that there are many difficult and controversial moral questions as an argument against basic instruction in the subject.

After all, we do not argue against teaching physics because laser physics is difficult, against teaching American history because there are heated disputes about the Founders’ intent. Every field has its complexities and its controversies. And every field has its basics, its fundamentals. So they are too with forming character and achieving moral literacy. As any parent knows, teaching character is a difficult task. But it is a crucial task, because we want our children to be healthy, happy, and successful but decent, strong, and good. None of this happens automatically; there is no genetic transmission of virtue. It takes the conscious, committed efforts of adults. It takes careful attention.

10. College Pressures

Mainly I try to remind that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don not want to hear such liberating news. They want a map—right now – that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, Social Security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.

What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future. I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as instructive as victory and is not the end of the world.

My wish, of course, is na?ve. One of the national gods venerated in our media—the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive—and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.

I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains—to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, and the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains: only victims.

“In the late 1960s.” one dean told me. “The typical question that I got from students was ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world’ or ‘how I can make a contribution?’ Today it’s ‘Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?’” many other deans confirmed this pattern. One said: “They are trying to find an edge—the intangible something that will look better on paper if two students are about equal.”

Note the emphasis on looking better. The transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security. How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person. A is for Admirable and B is for Borderline, even though, in Yale’s official system of grading, A means “excellent” and B means “very good.” Today, looking very good is no longer good enough, especially for students who hope to go on to law school or medical school. They know that entrance into the better schools will be an entrance into the better law firms and better medical practices where they will make a lot of money. They also know that the odds are harsh. Yale Law School, for instance, matriculates 170students from an applicant pool of 3,700; Harvard enrolls 550 from a pool of 7,000.

It’s all very well for those of us who write letters of recommendation for our students to stress the qualities of humanity that will make them good lawyers or doctors. And it’s nice to think that admission officers are ready reading our letters and looking for the extra dimension of commitment or concern. Still, it would be hard for a student not to visualize these officers shuffling so many transcripts studded with As that they regard a B as positively shameful.

The pressure is almost as heavy on students who just want to graduate and get a job. Long gone are the days of the “gentleman’s C.” when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses-music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion—that would send them out as liberally educated men and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades. I know countless students whose inquiring minds exhilarate me. I like to hear the play of their ideas. I do not know if they are getting As or Cs, and I do not care. I also like them as people. The country needs them, and they will find satisfying jobs. I tell them to relax. They cannot.

Nor can I blame them. They live in a brutal economy. Tuition, room, and board at most private colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what college receives in endowments, grants, and gifts. Now, the remainder keeps being swallowed by the cruel costs—higher every year—of just opening the doors. Heating oil is up. Insurance is up. Postage is up. Health-premium costs are up. Everything is up. Deficits are up. We are witnessing in American the creation of a brotherhood of paupers—colleges, parents, and students, joined by the common bond of debt.

Today it is not unusual for a student, even if he works part time at college and full time during the summer, to accrue $5,000 in loans after four years—loans that he must start to repay within one year after graduation. Exhorted at commencement to go forth into the world, he is already behind as he goes forth. How could he not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? I have used “he,” incidentally, only for brevity. Women at Yale are under no less pressure to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. In fact, they are probably under more pressure. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society has not yet caught up with this fact.

Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined.

I see many students taking pre-medical courses with joyless tenacity. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know tem in other corners of their life as cheerful people.

“Do you want to medical school?” I asked them.

“I guess so,” they say, without conviction, or “Not really.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Well, my parents want me to be a doctor. They are paying all this money and …”

Poor students, poor parents, they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. The parents mean will; they are trying to steer their sons and draughts toward a secure future. But the sons and daughter want to major in history or classics or philosophy—subjects with no “practical” value. Where’s the payoff on the humanities? It’s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. The intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics—an ability to synthesize and relate, to weigh cause and effect, to see events in perspective—are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field. Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”

But the pressure on students is severe. They are truly torn. One part of them feels obliged to fulfill their parents’ expectations; after all, their parents are older and presumably wiser. Another part tells them that the expectations that are right for their parents are not right for them.

I know a student who wants to be an artist. She is very obviously an artist and will be a good one—she has already had several modest local exhibits. Meanwhile she is growing as a well-round person and taking humanistic subjects that will enrich the inner resources out of which her art will grow. But her father is strongly opposed. He thinks that an artist is a “dumb” thing to be. The student vacillates and tries to please everybody. She keeps up with her art somewhat furtively and takes some of the “dumb” courses her father wants her to take—at least they are dumb courses for her. She is a free spirit on a campus of tense students—no small achievement in it—and she deserves to follow her muse.

Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin almost at the beginning of freshman year.

“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I could not tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda.”

The story is almost funny—except that it is not. It is symptomatic of all the pressure put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they would sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the clacking of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: “Will I get everything done?”

Probably they won’t. They will get blocked. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.

Part of the problem is that they are expected to do. A professor will assign five page papers. Several students will start writing ten page papers to impress him. Then more students will write ten page papers, and a few will raise the ante to fifteen. Pity the poor student who is still just doing the assignment.

“Once you have twenty or thirty percent of the student population deliberately overexerting,” one dean points out, “It’s bad for everybody. When a teacher gets more and more effort from his class, the student who is doing normal work can be perceived as not doing well. The tactic work, psychologically.”

Why cannot the professor just cut back and not accept longer papers? He can, and he probably will. But by then the term will be half over and the damage done. Grade fever is highly contagious and not easily reversed. Besides, the professor’s main concern is with his course. He knows his students only in relation to the course and does not know that they are also overexerting in their other courses. Nor is it really his business. He did not sign up for dealing with the student as a whole person and with all the emotional baggage the student brought along from home. That’s what deans, masters, chaplains, and psychiatrists are for.

To some extent this is nothing new: a certain number of professors have always been self-contained islands of scholarship and shyness, more comfortable with books than with people. But the new pauperism has widened the gap still further, for professors who actually like to spend time with students do not have as much time to spend. They are also overexerting. If they are young, they are busy trying to publish in order not to perish, hanging by their figure nails onto a shrinking profession.

If they are old and tenured, they are buried under the duties of administering departments—as departmental chairmen or members of committees—that have been thinned out by the budgetary axe.

Ultimately it will be the students’ own business to break the circles in which they are trapped. They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears. They must be jolted into believing into themselves as unique men and women who have the power to shape their own future.

“Violence is being done to the undergraduate experience,” says Carlos Hortas. “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choices narrow as they go along. It’s almost as if they think that the country has been codified in the type of jobs that exist-that they’ve got to fit into certain slots. Therefore, fit into the best paying slot.”

“They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to life of colorless mediocrity. They’ll be comfortable. But something in the spirit will be missing.”

I have painted too drab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. That is only half of their story; if they were so dreary I wouldn’t so thoroughly enjoy their company. The other half is that they are easy to like. They are quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They are not introverts. They are usually kind and are more considerate of one another than any student generation I have known.

Nor are they so obsessed with their studies that they avoid sports and extracurricular activities. On the contrary, they juggle their crowded hours to play on a variety of teams, perform with musical and dramatic groups, and write for campus publications. But this in turn is one more cause of anxiety. There are too many choices. Academically, they have 1,300 courses to select from; outside class they have to decide how much spare time they can spare and how to spend it.

This means that they engage in fewer extracurricular pursuits than their predecessors did. If they want to row on the crew and play in the symphony they will eliminate one; in the ‘60s they would have done both. They also tend to choose activities that are self-limiting. Drama, for instance, is flourishing in all twelve of Yale’s residential colleges, as it never has before. Students hurl themselves into these productions—as actors, directors, carpenters, and technicians—with a dedication to create the best possible play, knowing that the day will come when the run will end and they can get back to their studies.

They also cannot afford to be the willing slave of organizations like the Yale Daily News. Last spring at the one-hundredth anniversary banquet of that paper—who’s past chairmen include such once and future kings as Potter Stewart, Kingman Brewster, and William F. Buckley, Jr.—much was made of the fact that the editorial staff used to be small and totally committed and that “newsies” routinely worked fifty hours a week. In effect they belonged to a club; Newsies is how they defined themselves at Yale. Today’s students will one or two articles a week, when he can, and he defines himself as a student. I’ve never heard the word Newsie except at the banquet.

If I have described the modern undergraduate primarily as a driven creature who is largely ignoring the blithe spirit inside who keeps trying to come out and play, it’s because that’s where the crunch is, not only at Yale but throughout American education. It’s why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.

I tell students that there is no one “right” way to get ahead—that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell neither them that change is a tonic and that all the slots are not codified nor the frontiers closed. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. They are heads of companies or ad agencies, editors of magazines, politicians, public officials, television magnates, labor leaders, business executives, Broadway products, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians—a mixed bag of achievers.

I asked them to say a few words about how they got started. The students assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. Luckily for me, most of them got into their field by a circuitous route, to their surprise, after many detours. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not pre-planned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.

11. To Err Is Wrong

In the summer of 1979, Boston Red Sox first baseman Carl Yastrzemski became the fifteenth player in baseball history to reach the three thousand hit plateaus. This event drew a lot of media attention, and for about a week prior to the attainment of this goal, hundreds of reports covered Yaz’s every more. Finally, one reporter asked, “Hey Yaz, aren’t you afraid all of this attention will go to your head?” Yastrzemski replied, “I look at this way: in my career I’ve been up to bat over ten thousand times. That means I’ve been unsuccessful at the plate over seven thousand times. That fact alone keeps me from getting a swollen head.”?

Most people consider success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. As Yaz suggest, an activity that produces a hit may also produce a miss. It is the same with creative thinking; the same energy that generates good creative ideas also produces errors.

Many people, however, are not comfortable with errors. Our educational system, based on “the right answer” belief, cultivates our thinking in another, more conservative way. From an early age, we are taught that right answers are good and incorrect answers are bad. This value is deeply embedded in the incentive system used in most schools:

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

Right over 70% of the time = “C~” Right over 60% of the time = “D~” Less than 60% correct, you fail.

From this we learn to be right as often as possible and to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We learn, in other words, that “to err is wrong.

Playing It Safe

With this kind of attitude, you aren’t going to be taking too many chances. If you learn that failing even a litter penalizes you (e.g., being wrong only 15% of the time garners you only a “B” performance), you learn not to make mistakes. And more important, you learn not to put yourself to situation where you might fall. This leads to conservative thought pattern designed to avoid the stigma our society puts on “failure”.

I have a friend who recently graduated from college with a Master’s degree in Journalism. For the last six month, she has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. I talked with her about situation, and realized that her problem is that she doesn’t know how to fail. She went through eighteen years of schooling to try any approaches where she might fail. She has been conditioned to believe that failure is bad in and of itself, rather than a potential stepping-stone to new ideas.

Look around. How many middle managers, housewives, administrators, teachers, and other people do you see who are to try anything new because of this failure? Most of us have learned not to make mistakes in public. As a result, we remove ourselves from many learning experience except for those occurring in the most private of circumstances.

Different Logic

From a practical point of view, “to err is wrong” makes sense. Our survival in the everyday world requires us to perform thousand of small tasks without failure. Think about it: you wouldn’t last very long if you were to step out in front of traffic or stick your hand a pot of boiling water. In addition, engineers whose bridges collapse, stock brokers who lose money for their clients, and copywriters whose ad campaigns decrease sales won’t keep their jobs very long.

Nevertheless, too great an adherence to the belief “to err is wrong” can greatly undermine your attempts to generate new ideas. If you are more concerned with producing right answers than generating original ideas, you’ll probably make uncritical use of the rules, formulae, and procedures used to obtain these right answers. By doing this, you’ll by-pass the germinal phase of the creative process, and thus spend litter time testing assumptions, challenging the rules, asking what-if questions, or just playing around with the problem. All of these techniques will produce some incorrect answers, but in the germinal phase errors are viewed as a necessary by-product of creative thinking. As Yaz would put it, “if you want the hits, be prepared for the misses.” That’s the way the game of life goes.

Errors as Stepping Stones

Whenever an error pops up, the usual response is “Jeez, another screw up, what went wrong this time?” the creative thinker, on the other hand, will realize the potential value of errors, and perhaps say something like, “Would you look at that! Where can it lead our thinking?” and then he or she will go on to use the error as a stepping stone to a new idea. As a matter of fact, the whole history of discovery is filed with people who used erroneous assumptions and failed ideas as stepping-stones to new ideas. Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. Johannes Kepler stumbled on to the idea of interplanetary gravity because of assumptions that were right for the wrong reasons. And, Thomas Edison knew 1800 ways not to build a light bulb.

The following story about the automotive genius Charles Kettering exemplifies the spirit of working through erroneous assumptions to good ideas. In 1912, when the automobile industry was just beginning to grow, Kettering was interested in improving gasoline engine efficiency. The problem he faced was“knockthe phenomenon in which gasoline takes too long to burn in the cylinder-thereby reducing efficiency.

Kettering began searching for ways to eliminate the “knock.” He thought to him, “How can I get the gasoline to combust in the cylinder at an earlier time?” the key concept here is “early”. Searching for analogous situations, he looked around for models of “things that happen early.” He thought of historical models, physical models, and biological models. Finally, he remembered a particular plant, the trailing arbutus, which “happens early,” i.e., it blooms in the snow (“earlier” than other plants). One of this plant’s chief characteristics is its’ red leaves, which help the plant retain light at certain wavelengths. Kettering figured that it must be the red color, which made the trailing arbutus bloom earlier.

Now came the critical step in Kettering’s chain of thought. He asked himself, “How can I make the gasoline red?” perhaps I’ll put red dye in the gasoline—maybe that’ll make it combust earlier.” He looked around his workshop, and found that he didn’t have any red dye. But he did happen to have some iodine—perhaps that would do. He added the iodine to the gasoline and, lo and behold, the engine didn’t “knock”.

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

Today after dinner, I sat on the sofa, to my college life began in the imagination.

My fantasy to our campus: the east is where the game of many students aspire to, a few sunshine big boy is playing in the playground, with one; The west is business lush bamboo forest, in the school green, let a person feeling refreshed, cui lust flow; The south is the place where our school knowledge, lang langs top coming from the classroom. North school gate is open, the "long" many "spikes", in order not to let the thief to enter easily.

My fantasy to our school uniforms: corridor, strange graffiti greeted. "Also I diaoyu islands!" "Reading for the rise of the Chinese," ah, these are the original good patriotic youth! "Mat" miles incense "brand insoles, for shame to his feet." "Drink kidney treasure, forever." Hey, these young grew up dream turned out to be a salesman! "Accidentally drops of kidney!" "It is not a good day." Ah, the youth is in a sad state. "I is the yan Lao tze, I biggest!" "I live in a mental hospital, room 302." This - let me call them what is youth?

Oh dear! Dad told me to go shopping together, bye bye, see you next time!

今天吃完饭后，我坐在沙发上，对我的大学生活展开了无限的想象。

我，幻想到了我们的校园：东边是许多同学向往的游戏地方，几个阳光大男孩在操场是玩耍，你追我赶;西边是学校里生意葱茏的竹林，翠色欲流的绿色让人神清气爽，;南边是我们学校知识的地方，朗朗的读书声从教室里传来;北面是敞开的学校大门，上面“长”了许多“尖刺”，为的是不让小偷轻易进入。

我，幻想到了我们的校服：走廊上，千奇百怪的涂鸦映入眼帘。“还我钓鱼岛!”“为中华之崛起而读书”呀，原来这些都是爱国的好青年啊!“垫‘十里香’牌鞋垫，要脚不要脸。”“喝肾宝，长生不老。”哟，这些青年长大的梦想原来是做推销员哪!“偶滴肾哪!”“今天不是个好日子。”哎，这些青年正处在伤心的境界。“偶是阎王老子，偶最大!”“我住精神病院302室。”这这---让我叫他们是什么青年好呢?

哎呀!爸爸叫我一起上街，拜拜，下次见!

1. In general, I don’t agree with

2. In my opinion, this point of view doesn’t hold water。

3. The chief reason why… is that…

4.There is no true that…

5. It is not true that…

6. It can be easily denied than…

7. We have no reason to believe that…

8. What is more serious is that…

9. But it is pity that…

10. Besides, we should not neglect that…

11. But the problem is not so simple. Therefore…

12. Others may find this to be true, but I believer that…

13. Perhaps I was question why…

14. There is a certain amount of truth in this, but we still have a problem with regard to…

15. Though we are in basic agreement with…,but

16. What seems to be the trouble is…

17. Yet differences will be found, that’s why I feel that…

18. It would be reasonable to take the view that …, but it would be foolish to claim that…

19. There is in fact on reason for us so believe that…

20. What these people fail to consider is that…

21. It is one thing to insist that… , it is quite another to show that …

22. Wonderful as A is , however, it has its own disadvantages too。

23. The advantages of B are much greater than A。

24. A’s advantage sounds ridiculous when B’s advantages are taken into consideration。