自考英语写作真题及答案（通用20篇）

英语是一种语言，从语言学角度来看，学生在掌握一定数量的词汇与语法知识后，就要用来表达自己的思想、见解，这些落实到纸面上就是书面表达。针对初中生的实际能力，书面表达为初中英语教学的一大难题，其常见形式多为看图作文。结合自己教学与写作的经验，对看图作文谈几点体会。

看图作文的写作从整体上可分为两个过程：一，感性认识过程，即通过画面直接获得信息的过程(究竟画面展示了一个什么情景);二，理性认识过程，即针对画面让学生发挥想象力，挖掘画面间的内在联系融入自己的思想与见解(画面的内涵是什么)。在实际教学过程中我将这两个过程具体渗透到五个环节(一“抓”，二“列”，三“变”，四“连”，五“检”)中去。

一“抓”为抓主题。首先，根据图片内容确定好题材与体裁 — 是写人还是写景，是说理还是叙事，是书信还是日记或其他应用文体。这一环节可采用 a, 求同法，即寻找画面中相同的人物、地点或时间等，来帮助学生确定主线，不致于跑题; b ，求异法，即启发学生观察几幅图的不同之处，挖掘出它们之间的内在联系从而确定体裁。

二“列”为列要点。由于书面表达是以一定的情景为基础，考查具有一定的针对性，因此要点要全面，无遗漏。要点主要是结合图片中的情景用自己熟悉的结构与词汇列出，忌用生疏的结构与词汇按汉语思维盲目罗列，原则“不求难，不求异，唯求准”。

三“变”为变要点为句子。将第二个环节中所罗列的要点，先按一定的时间、空间及逻辑顺序排列;然后选定恰当的主语与人称，再根据动作发生的时间与主谓关系拓词成句。结合初中生的实际，要求用他们熟悉、简单的结构来表达，避免因用长句和大量的复合句而出现过多的语法错误。如果遇到必须用长句表达时，可仿照、套用课本或各种阅读材料中出现的句型，切勿用汉语思维生造句子。

四“连”为连句成篇。这一环节是最关键的一环。首先，要根据题目所要求及画面展示确定好题材与体裁。其次，要确定好行文的人称与时态的基调。再次，要在句与句以及段与段之间加一些表转折、递进和因果等关系的关联词与过渡句，使文章前后照应，行文流畅。最后结合题目要求字数适当加入一些表达自己思想、见解的内容，使文章丰满显得有血有肉。

五“检”为文章检查。文章写成之后错误在所难免，检查这一环节不能省。检查可从如下几方面入手： 1 ，文章的体裁格式是否正确。 2 ，要点有无遗漏。 3 ，句子(人称、时态、语态、主谓一致、结构、词语搭配等)。 4 ，词汇(意义、拼写、时态语态，形容词与动词的形式，名词单复数)。 5 ，标点符号是否有遗漏与错误。

在经过以上几个环节之后，一篇符合要求的看图作文就算完成了。在这里还要提到的是，英语做为一门语言基本功的训练不可忽视，书面表达中书写尤为重要。此外，还应不断加强基础词汇与语法的积累与锤炼，只有这样书面表达才能有真正的提高。

下面是语文迷网精心为大家整理的关于高考英语作文素材，背熟以下句子有助于你的写作哦。

1、 Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility. -Picasso , Spanish artist 成功是危险的。一个成功的人开始模仿自己，而模仿自己比模仿别人更加危险。因为这样做将毫无结果。 ── 毕加索 , 西班牙画家

2、 But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. 但是, 失败还使我懂得, 生活的道路充满了无法预测的岔路口和无法预料的明天。

3、 The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary, it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant, and kind. Failure makes people cruel and bitter. -W. Somerset Maugham , British author 人们普遍认为成功使人变得虚荣、自以为是、自满, 从而毁了他们, 但这种看法是错误的;恰恰相反, 成功在很大程度上使人变得谦恭、宽容、善良。失败则使人变得残忍、怨愤。 ── W•萨默塞特•莫姆 , 英国作家

4、 Against all the odds she achieved her dream of becoming an actress. 她冲破重重困难，实现了当演员的梦想。

5、 He is too smart not to jump at the chance. 他这个人很精明，不会错过这个机会的。

6、 I’m not sure if I’ll succeed, but I certainly hope so. 是否成功我没有把握, 不过我当然希望会成功

7、 I wish you every success. 祝你万事如意!

8、 He seems to be successful in anything he tries. 他好像不论做什么事都能成功。

9、 Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. 经验告诉我们，成功与其说是由于才能，不如说是由于热情。

10、 Ambition is to life just what steam is to the locomotive. 抱负之于生活, 恰似蒸汽之于火车头。

11、 With their advanced features and compact size, portable electronic devices offer consumers freedom, productivity, and organization. 由于本身小巧玲珑, 又具备种种先进的特点, 便携式电子设备为消费者带来了自由, 提高了生产力, 改进了对信息的组织。

12、 However, the ease and speed with which messages can be sent and received has increased and accelerated to such an extent that many people are receiving hundreds of electronic messages of all kinds each day. 但是, 信息发送与接收的便捷发展得如此之快, 以至于很多人每天都会收到各种各样、成百上千的电子邮件。

13、 Weak men wait for opportunity, but the strong men make it. 弱者等待机会，强者创造机会。

14、 Opportunity meets the prepared mind, as the old saying goes. 正如俗话所说，机遇只属于那些有心理准备的人。

15、 Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth. 十九次失败，到第二十次获得成功，这就叫坚持。

16、 He tried hard to learn, and to be a good boy, and he succeeded fairly well. 他用心学习，又很听话，因此一切倒还顺利。

17、 In fact, there’s an old Chinese saying which goes, “He who hasn’t been to the Great Wall is not a true man.” 实际上，中国有句古谚语说：“不到长城非好汉。”

18、 A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. -John Barrymore只要一个人还有所追求, 她就没有老。 ── 约翰•巴里莫尔

19、 To take advantage of them, you can’t let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve. 利用它们, 你就不会被一次失败击倒, 也不会让别人来限制住你成功的能力。

20、 Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. 只有有耐心圆满完成简单工作的人才能够轻而易举地完成困难的事。

21、 The most important thing in life is to have a beautiful dream and good ways to realize it. 人生最重要的是要有美梦，并有好的方法去实现它。

22、 We must carry on till success in spite of the extremely difficult conditions. 尽管条件极端困难, 我们必须坚持下去, 直到成功。

23、 This belief in equal opportunity has produced a spirit of competition. It’s like a race to the top of the success ladder. 这种机会均等的信念造就了一种竞争的精神, 它就像一场通往成功之梯顶端的比赛一样。

24、 Just as history has shown that species which fail to adapt die out, businesses will die out if they don’t get to grips with the Internet. 正如历史所示, 适者生存, 企业如果不紧跟互联网就将退出历史的舞台。

25、 Television is different from radio in that it sends and receives pictures. 电视与无线电不同, 电视能播送和接收图像。

26、 When people master the digital organization, it will greatly simplify and improve both their professional and personal lives. 当人们掌握了这种数码管理方法后, 他们的工作与个人生活都会得以极大地简化并改善。

27、 A new IT high-tech park in Beijing is helping the city keep its promise to be the country’s center of the knowledge-based economy. 一所焕然一新的IT高科技园帮助北京实现了它的诺言：成为全国知识型经济的中心。

28、 Observation is the best teacher. 观察是最好的老师。

29、 Imagination is more important than knowledge. 想像力比知识更重要。 ── 爱因斯坦

30、 Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. 知识是一座宝库，而实践是开启宝库的钥匙。

31、 We can kill two birds with one stone by combining our honeymoon with our business trip. 我们可以把蜜月和出差合在一起，这样一举两得。

32、 Greatly inspired, he made up his mind to read as much as he could, and what’s more, he would study harder than ever before. 他深受鼓舞，决心尽可能多读书，而且，比以往任何时候都努力学习。

33、 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. 世界上再也没有比实实在在的无知和认认真真的愚蠢更危险的了。

34、 Eat to live, but live to eat. 吃饭是为了生存而不是生存为了吃饭。

35、 To my knowledge, my daughter has never told a lie before. 据我所知, 我女儿以前从未说过谎。

36、 In the long run, basic knowledge and technological applications go hand in hand—one helps the other. 归根结蒂, 基础知识和技术应用是并进的, 相辅相成的。

37、 Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. 读书之于思想, 就如运动之于身体。

38、 English is now the international language for airline pilots, scientists, medical experts, businessmen and many others. Consequently, more and more people are learning it. 现在, 对于航空公司飞行员、科学家、医学家、商人及许多其他行业的工作者来说, 英语是一门国际性语言, 因此越来越多的人开始学习英语。

39、 Unlike many other widely used languages, English can be correctly used in very simple form with less than one thousand basic words and very few grammatical rules. 与许多其他被广泛应用的语言不同, 英语仅凭借将近一千个基础词汇和很少的语法规则，就能够用简单的形式正确地表达意思。

40、 English will doubtless continue to change and develop as a living language always does. 毫无疑问, 英语将像一种活的语言贯常的变化和发展一样继续变化和发展下去。

41、 Another reason for the popularity of English is that English-speaking countries are spread through out the world. 英语流行的另一个原因是说英语的国家遍布世界各地。

42、 Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. 天才是百分之一的灵感和百分之九十九的汗水

43、 An estimated 310 million people in Britain, U.S.A., Canada, Australia, South Africa, etc. use English as their mother tongue. 据统计，在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚和南非等国有三亿一千万人以英语为母语。

44、 It is surprising that some students have little or no knowledge of English. 令人感到吃惊的是, 有些学生英语懂得很少, 或者根本不懂英语。

45、 The rush to learn English has reached even China. 这种学习英语的浪潮甚至波及到中国。

46、 Washington is known as “the father of his country” and is one of those “larger than life” historical figures who are known around the world. 华盛顿被称为“美国国父”，是一位誉满全球的具有传奇色彩的历史人物。

47、 Many immigrants have come to this land of opportunity for that reason-to seek a better future. 许多移民基于这个缘故来到了这块充满机会的土地上──为了追求一个更好的未来。

48、 Not all Americans are rich, but most are concerned about money. Success-oriented Americans often measure people’s worth by how much they have. 并非所有的美国人都很有钱, 但大多数美国人都在乎钱。以成功为取向的美国人常常用人们拥有财产的多少来衡量他们的价值。

49、 As a result, nearly half of foreign students in the U.S. are concentrated in just 100 out of 2,500 post-secondary institutions, mostly brand-name schools. 结果, 在美留学生几乎有一半集中在2500所高校的仅100所, 这些学校大多是名牌学校。

50、 Credit cards symbolize American shopping habits: “Buy now, pay later.” 信用卡反映美国人的购物习惯：“现在买, 以后付。”

51、 In general, the act is designed to keep the U.S. high-tech industry on top by filling the need for skilled technology workers. 总之，这个法案是为了填补美国对熟练技术工人的需求，以保持美国在高科技工业中的领先地位而制定的。

52、 Tom’s college education gave him an advantage over boys who had not been to a university. 汤姆的大学教育使他比没上过大学的男孩们占优势。

53、 Educators also claim that calculators are so inexpensive and commonplace that students must become competent in using them. 教育家们还声称, 计算器如此便宜而又普遍, 学生必须学会熟练使用。

54、 He already has five honorary doctorates-the latest bestowed upon him by Yale University late of May, 2002-but what he really wanted was this humble bachelor’s degree. 斯皮尔伯格已获得5个荣誉博士头衔，其中最近的一个是在2002年5月下旬由耶鲁大学授予的，然而他最想得到的却是这个不起眼的学士学位。

55、 Calculators do have their place in the world outside school and, to a limited extent, in higher-level math classes, but they are hardly education tools. 计算器在学校之外的社会中的确有其地位, 在高等数学课堂上也有一定的作用, 但它们很难算得上是教育工具。

56、 Very heavy objects or bulky materials like coal, cement, mineral ore, and the like, are weighed in tons. 非常重的物体或者像煤、水泥、矿石等堆积如山的原材料用吨计重。

57、 By the end of this century, about 5,000 modern windmills will be in operation, generating about 20% of the electricity of the country. 到本世纪末, 将有5000架现代化的风车投入运行, 生产约全国20%的电力。

58、 Deep down, they realize that happiness can’t be bought, but it can be given away. 在内心深处,他们认识到幸福是买不来的, 但却可以与人分享。

59、 It is wrong to define happiness as owning a lot of money, but some people take it as their life philosophy. 把幸福定义为有很多钱是错误的，但是有些人却把它奉为人生哲学。

60、 He is rich in terms of money, but not in terms of happiness. 从钱的角度说他是富有的，但从幸福的角度说他不是。

61、 All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. —Leo Tolstoy 所有幸福的家庭彼此都很相似，而每个不幸的家庭却各有各的不幸。 ── 托尔斯泰

62、 Unfortunately, there are still some people who do not look after their pets properly or are even cruel to them. 遗憾的是，仍然有一些人对他们的宠物不好好照管甚至虐待它们。

63、 She sat up straight and pretended to believe in herself, so much so that she actually started believing in herself. 她坐直了身子, 假装对自己充满信心, 装得连她自己都开始以为自己确实很有信心。

64、 It’s not easy to keep in touch with friends when they are far away, however, they are always on her mind. 和远方的朋友保持联系不是一件容易的事，但是她一直记挂着他们。

65、 Agriculture will have to undergo a drastic change to meet the needs of the new situation. Otherwise, the country will starve. 农业必须进行深入的改革, 以满足新形势的需要。否则, 国家将遭受饥荒。

66、 In the northern area, it is necessary to plant varieties which are outstandingly resistant to low winter temperature. 北部地区只能种植确实能抗冬季低温的品种。

67、 Synthetic, or man-made, diamonds have been manufactured from carbon since the mid-1950s, when General Electric Co. developed the process for making small diamonds for industrial uses. 人们从20世纪50年代中期就开始用碳来制造或人工合成钻石，当时通用汽车公司开发出了生产工业用小钻石的工艺。

68、 The WTO’s creation on January 1 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since the Second World War. 1995年1月1日世贸组织的诞生，标志着第二次世界大战之后国际贸易的最大改革。

69、 A student who has grown up with a calculator will struggle with both strategies and computations. 一个伴着计算器长大的学生既要对付解题策略, 又要对付实际运算。

70、 Students learn far more when they do the math themselves. 学生自己进行数学运算所获得的收益远比依赖计算器多。

71、 A student who learns to handle numbers mentally can focus on how to attack a problem and then complete the actual calculations easily. 学会心算的学生能把注意力集中到如何解题上, 然后轻而易举地完成实际运算。

72、 It’s my mother who has been encouraging me never to lose heart when I had difficulties in study. 这些年来，当我在学习中遇到困难时，是我的母亲一直在鼓励我从不要泄气。

73、 With more students applying to college than ever before, admissions directors are paying especially close attention to essays, interviews, and teacher recommendations. 由于有比以往更多的学生申请上大学, 招生部主任将格外注重作文、面试和教师的推荐信。

74、 Calculators prevent students from seeing this kind of natural structure and beauty in math. 计算器妨碍学生认识数学中这类自然结构和美。

75、 If we don’t require students to do the simple problems that calculators can do, how can we expect them to solve the more complex problems that calculators cannot do? 如果我们不让学生做那些计算器能代劳的简单的运算, 又怎么能期待他们去解决计算器解决不了的更为复杂的问题呢?

76、 Your parents are the people responsible for helping you make decisions until you’re 18. 父母是有责任帮助你在18岁之前做决定的人。

77、 But he is too young to understand cheating won’t do him any good in the long run. 就长远而言, 他太小, 还不懂得欺骗会给他带来害处。

78、 What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul. 教育之于心灵, 就如雕刻术之于大理石。

79、 He began to study accounting at night sessions of the City University of New York, earning his tuition during the daytime. 他开始晚间在纽约城市大学学习会计，白天做工赚学费。

80、 Those who educate children well are to be more honored than the parents, for the latter only give them life while the former teach them the art of living well. —Aristotle 把儿童教育好的人们甚至应该比他们的父母更受尊敬，因为后者仅仅给予他们生命，前者却教给他们生活好的艺术。 ──(古希腊)亚里士多得

81、 The cloning of Dolly the sheep nearly 5 years ago raised the hopes of transplant scientists looking for an endless supply of lifesaving organs. 将近5年前,克隆羊多莉给寻求无穷无尽的救命器官供货的移植学家带来了希望。

82、 I would rather join you in research work than go on a holiday to the seaside. 我与其到海滨去度假，倒不如和你们一起参加科研工作。

83、 The further that Joy dug into the cutting edge of research in the new technologies-robotics, genetic engineering and nanotechnology-the more horrified he became. 乔伊在机器人学、基因工程和纳米技术等新技术研究领域的前沿钻得越深, 就越感到恐惧。

84、 What Henry Ford is to the automobile, George Eastman to photography, and Charles Goodyear to rubber, Edison is to not one but several of today’s essential technologies. 对当今不止一项而是多项重要技术的贡献, 就如同Henry Ford 对汽车、George Eastman 对摄影、Charles Goodyear 对橡胶的贡献一样大。

85、 I am not afraid of tomorrow for I have seen yesterday and I love today. -W.A.White我并不害怕明天, 因为我已见过昨天而又热爱今天。 ── 怀特

86、 He invested his money in several different companies, by which means he hoped to reduce the natural hazards of investment. 他把自己的钱向几个不同的公司投资, 希望借此减少投资的自然风险。

87、 With the rise of the Internet, personal finance magazines and TV shows find information on investing. 随着因特网、个人理财杂志和专事选股的电视节目的兴起，人们很容易找到有关投资的信息。

88、 Nothing is more precious than time yet nothing is less valued. 时间最宝贵，却最不被爱惜。

89、 If indeed silence is golden, it is also becoming as rare as gold. 如果宁静真是贵重如金的话，那它也在变得像金子一样稀罕了。

90、 Man is not creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of man. 人不是环境所造就的，乃是环境由人所创造。

91、 Pollution is a global problem which needs a global response. 污染是一个全球性的问题，需要全球关注。

92、 Greenhouse effect means the gradual warming of the air surrounding the earth. 温室效应意味着地球周围的空气逐渐变暖。

93、 Air is to us what water is to fish. 我们离不开空气, 就像鱼离不开水。

94、 As our country is populous, it is confronted with a more and more serious crisis of resources. 我国由于人口众多，面临着越来越严重的资源危机。

95、 The government has to provide against a possible oil shortage in the coming months. 政府不得不预防未来几个月里可能出现的石油短缺。

96、 Why do Americans emphasize money so much? Well, this “land of plenty” has long enjoyed abundant natural resources, and people have gotten used to material wealth. 为什么美国人这么看重金钱呢? 这么说吧, 这块“丰饶之地”久已享有充裕的自然资源, 而人们已习惯于丰富的物质财富。

97、 A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over. -Benjamin Franklin 失足可以很快弥补, 失言却可能永远无法补救。 ── 富兰克林

98、 The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea’, the Mother of the Gods. 庆祝母亲节的习俗最早 可以追溯到古希腊, 当时人们在春天举行庆祝活动, 来向众神之母──莉雅女神表示敬意。

99、 I am grateful to you for the opportunity to express my conviction in this most important political question. 感谢你们使我有机会就这个最重要的政治问题发表意见。

100、 I am thankful for America and thankful that we are able to resolve our electoral differences in a peaceful way. 我感谢美国, 我们终于用和平的方式解决了选举中的分歧。

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。

巧用过度句能使整个文章看起来结构更加清晰，表达的更清楚，成为一个整体。下面是语文迷网整理的过渡句，希望对你有帮助。

1)To prevent this phenomenon/trend from worsening/running wide/To guide the matter/situation to the best advantage， it is necessary/important to……(可用于分析建议类、原因分析类等议论文)

2)In the face of……some people take the position that……/some people come to believe that……， to which I cant attach/add my consent.(可用于批驳分析类议论文)

或：In the face of……people retain/take/show/assume different attitudes/position s/standpoints.(可用于各抒己见类议论文)

或：In the face of……many people have come up with……(可用于对比分析类议论文和知识性说明文等)

3)But many people feel puzzled about/perplexed at/over whelmed with……(the changes/situation)， so this essay is intended to……(可用于批驳分析类议论文和知识性说明文)

4)Although lots of people follow the fashion/trend， I still set my heart on……(可用于理由陈述类议论文)

5)To get a sense of how……we must turn first to causes for it/to what benefit(harm/problems/difference)it has brought to our society.(可用于分析建议和原因分析类议论文)

6)This is a(n)favorable/unfavorable/unhealthy/essential/marked/grateful change/tendency/situation， but factors/causes/reasons for it are not hard to find(或but its appearance/existence derives from a variety of factors)。(用于原因分析类议论文)

7)The progress/improvement/change(s)in……is(are)really tremendous/remarkable/prodigious/marvelous， so it is necessary to understand(see)what it(they)illustrate(s)/prove(s)/account(s)for.(用于原因分析类议论文和知识性说明文)

8)A comparison between these changes may be a good way to learn more about……(可用于对比说明文)

9)More insight/inspiration/truth/thought can be deduced from these changes.(可用于知识性说明文)

10)This situation/phenomenon/trend/tendency is rather distressing/disturb ing/depressing/heart-rending， for the opposite of it is just in line with our wishes/just what is to be expected.(可用于分析建议、批驳分析和原因分析等议论文)

11)In that case， however， I prefer to……rather than……(用于理由陈述、比较分析、批驳分析类议论文和知识性说明文)

12)This is what we are unwilling to see， so some way must be found out to……(可用于分析建议、对比分析、批驳分析类议论文和知识性说明文)

13)Fortunately， however， more and more people come/begin to realize that……(可用于分析建议、对比分析和各抒己见类议论文)

14)Unfortunately， things have worsened/come/developed to the point where……(用于分析建议、原因分析、批驳分析、各抒己见类议论文和知识性说明文)

15)But have you ever stopped to think what/how/why……?(可用于除理由陈述之外的各种议论文和知识性说明文)

16)If we take a further/colder/closer look at this problem/matter， however， more secrets/grounds/chances/ways will be found out for……

(e.g.……putting it right/taking action against it/improving it)(可用于分析建议、对比分析、原因分析等议论文和知识性说明文)

17)But this(dis)agreement ceases to exist as soon as……(用于各抒己见、批驳分析、对比分析等议论文和对比说明文)

18)A further/deeper analysis/study/exposure of……/A further comparison between……can reveal more about……/can show us more ways to……(how to……)可用于分析建议、原因分析、对比分析、批驳分析等议论文和对比说明文及知识性说明文)

19)If you push the analysis/study/argument/comparison/exposure further， you will see that……(用于分析建议、对比分析、批驳分析、各抒己见类议论文和对比说明文及知识性说明文)

20)The same is true of many cases in life.(用于举例说明文)

21)Now， lets see what would happen to……in this case/light(或in different conditions/circumstances)。(用于分析建议类议论文和对比说明文)

22)Perhaps， it is ideal/high/ripe time for us to tackle/handle/answer/take up the question in no half-hearted manner.(用于分析建议、原因分析类议论文和知识性说明文)

23)To be frank， I have turned the question over and over in my mind， but found no reason to sidestep it;so here are my ways to……/my reasons for……(用于理由陈述类议论文和知识性说明文)

24)I was once cursed/perplexed/seized with this question， but I have forged/made my own way out of it.(用于知识性说明文)

25)People from different backgrounds， however， put different interpretations on the same thing.(用于各抒己见类议论文和展开式界说性说明文)

26)But different people hold completely different views as to its nature.(用于各抒己见类议论文和界说性说明文)

27)If/When adopted to account for/define/expose……， it can come in different meanings.(用于具体定义说明文)

28)If it is intended for……， however， the divergence of outlook on it ceases to continue while a new meaning to it begins to stand out.(用于归纳性定义说明文)

29)Our life abounds with examples in point.(或The truth in the definition goes for/is applicable to many cases in our life.)(用于举例说明文)

1、参考历年真题，总结规律。一般来说，高考英语作文体裁相对稳定，考生可参考当地最近五年的高考作文题目，从中分析规律，得出大的命题方向。如陕西对高考英语作文这一板块的考察，从新课改后重点突出的是学生对日常文体的应用，从09年至11年分别以电子邮件或写回信的方式让学生表达出对老师的真挚友谊、与家长沟通学习压力、或解决一些基本的学习难点等。因此我们不难看出，高考对学生作文的考察，会从学生的生活、学习、交友、家庭、社会活动等高中生较熟悉的层面，结合应用文的常见考察点：申请类、投诉类、感谢类、祝贺类等进行综合考察。

2、把对语言基础的应用作为考前强化重点。近年来的高考作文都非常注重考查学生的语言综合运用能力，根据《普通高中英语课程标准》对写作技能目标的要求，英语作文写作须“能根据所读文章进行转述或写摘要;能根据用文字及图表提供的信息写短文或报告;能写出语意连贯且结构完整的短文，叙述事情或表达观点和态度;能在写作中做到问题规范、语句通顺。”2012年高考英语作文的命题趋势，仍将会把学生对语言基础的应用作为首要考察点。

3、关注热点话题。纵观近几年的高考作文，可以发现，题材始终贴近社会、贴近现代生活，是中学生所熟知的热点话题。

除了把握好命题原则，掌握高考英语作文写作技巧更不可少：

1、审题：审题是做到切题的第一步。所谓审题就是要看清题意，确定文章的中心思想、主题，并围绕中心思想组织材料。

2、进行构思，列出简单的提纲，打造文章之骨架：审好题、立好意后，就要写提纲，打造文章的骨架。文章布局要做好几件事：安排好层次段落，铺设好过渡，处理好开头和结尾。

3、扩展成文：根据字数多少扩展成篇。扩展的内容一定要紧扣主题，千万不要写那些与主题不相关的内容。展开的方式包括：顺序法、举例法、比较法、对比法、说明法、因果法、推导法、归纳法和下定义等。可以根据需要任选一种或几种方式。

1.1词汇方面

如果把写英语作文比作建楼房的话，英语词汇在英语写作中起着砖、瓦的作用，是句子的最基本的组成部分，所以词汇是我们高中英语教学中的重点，单词听写是课堂教学必不可少的一个环节，但学生的词汇量毕竟有限，遇到问题时，便会用汉语词汇去补充英语词汇的空缺。

例如：交通十分繁忙。误：The traffic is busy. 正：The traffic is heavy.

她和一位教授结婚了。误：She married with a professor.

正：She married a professor.

英语词语的词义往往比较复杂，并和汉语有着一定区别。这种不同就会会导致学生仅把写作当作一词一句的翻译来做，结果是事倍功半。

1.2语法方面

英语中难点就是时态，语态的掌握。英语中常用时态共十六种，语态分为主动语态与被动语态，语气有陈述语气与虚拟语气之分。不同的时态有它特有的句法结构。如现在进行时态使用be＋v－ing形式来表示。现在完成时则用have／has ＋p．p来表示。一般将来时则用shall／will／be going to＋v来表示。英语中时间意义的表达是通过动词的时和体来加以反映，而汉语中不存在时、体等，汉语则依靠表示时间的副词（如“曾经”、“正在”、“已经”、“将要”）作状语，或利用虚词“了”、“着”、“过”等作补语这一语法手段来体现，动词本身无任何变化。在英语中，“already”和“ever”常常用在完成时态之中，不能与表示过去的时间状语连用。学生常常把上述句子错译成“Yesterday I have been to the park．”“Five years ago，they have known each other．”又如在英语中，我们常常用否定前置来

写作教学对于帮助学生了解英语思维方式，形成用英语进行思维的习惯，提高学生综合运用语言知识的能力大有益处。下面是小编为你带来的小学英语写作技巧指导，欢迎阅读。

对于小学3年级的学生，在他们已经掌握好了如颜色(colour)、衣服(clothes)、数字(number)、星期(day of the week)、月份(month)、宠物(pet)、情感(feeling)、身体部位(body)、文具(school things)的基础上进行文章的填空，如果学生能够按照文章的要求写进相关的信息，那就已经很不错了。下面是一个自我介绍的简单例子：

Myself

Hello，my name is_____. I am_____years old.My favourite colour is_____，_____， and_____.My favourite pet is______，_____ and______. My favourite food is_____，______and______.My favourite day is______. My favourite school thing is______and______.My favourite number is and______.I am______today.

上面的这个例子，如果学生能够依次能吧自己的姓名、年龄、喜欢的颜色、喜欢的宠物、喜欢的食物、喜欢的日子、喜欢的文具、喜欢的数字和今天的心情准确无误地写出来，那么就已经能够完成了3年级阶段的作文要求。

对于4年级的学生，可以写一篇介绍自己课室或者自己卧室的文章。下面是一篇4年级学生的介绍课室范文。

My classroom

I am studying at Tongji primary school.I am in Class Two, Grade Four. (介绍自己所在的学校和所在的年级) There is a blackboard in front of the classroom. There are twenty-five desks in our classroom, they are brown. There are many books on the desk. There are fifty students, thirty boys and twenty girls. There is a picture on the wall. There are two fans on the wall. (用there+be句型把班里和摆设和班上的人数都表达出来了) It is tidy and clean.I like my classroom very much.(最后是作者的总结)

对于5年级的学生，作文的要求也提高了很多，很多学生在介绍别人或者是写自己喜欢的小动物的时候很容易忘了第三人称单数动词要加ses，如：He get up at 7 o’clock(get忘了加s)，在用到现在进行的时候动词很容易忘了加ing(如I am play the piano，play就忘记了加ing)，介词和介词短语也占了很重要的位置如介词in，on，at，of。介词短语如dream of(区分dream that)和be afraid of都是很重要的介词短语，很多学生忘记了介词后面要加动词。

对于6年级的学生，作文考查的是英语的综合应用能力，而且出的题目大部分都是看图作文，这就在一定程度上增加了写作的难度，它也是综合了3年级的分类词汇，4年级的句型，方位介词，5年级的重点介词短语和时态，不过我相信只要平时多点积累单词和句型、多点动笔、多注意语法上的问题、多看作文书，那么就能写出流畅、有深度的文章。

一、写作决窍

总体把握，要点齐全;人称时态，逻辑清楚;

关键词汇，动词第一;组词成句，结构完整;

组句成文，连词增色;此路不通，绕道迂回;

字迹工整，留好印象;从句适量，高分有望。

二、写作步骤

1.认真审题。审题包括要点、格式、词数以及此篇文章要传递给读者什么样的信息，告诫读者什么(即写作目的)。

2.确定文体和时态。确定文体后，根据不同文体的特点和要求进行组织材料;同时确定出该篇文章的总时态与时态的变化。

3.写完要点，但不随意发挥。

4.先草稿，后抄写。

三、作文案例

[2004年全国中学生英语能力竞赛初赛初三组] (14分)

Choose one of your hobbies and write an article for the school magazine about it. Tell the magazine readers.

·What exactly your hobby is;

·When and how you became interested in this hobby;

·Why you enjoy your hobby;

·About your hopes and plans for the future.

写作要求：

1.根据所提供的内容，适当拓展想象空间，灵活地将提供的信息体现在文章中。

2.条理清楚，语句通顺，书写清晰、规范。

3.词数60-80.

[学生解答A]

My hobby is read books①.When I was seven years old.I became interested in reading books.I like needing books because there are a lot of useful things in books.I can learn a lot of knowledge from books. Books also② can teach me how to be a good person.Books even can solve many problems for me.I will read more good books to improve myself.

①改为reading books，动词作表语时应该用动名词。

②also的位置应放在can之后。

[点评]：档次9-11分。

①要点不全，漏掉最后一个要点。

②句子基本无误，能正确传递信息给读者但文章不流畅，句子与句子之间过渡不自然，给读者感觉在回答上述问题。

③有少量错误。

[学生解答B]

My hobby is reading.Reading books is very enjoyable.When I was young ,my mother used to tell me a story before.I went to bed every night.The stories were so interesting that I always felt they weren’t enough.So I began to read books by myself.Little by little I became interested in reading.I can learn much knowledge and many interesting things all over the world.When I read books,I can enjoy the beautiful sentences.At the same time I can improvemy writing.I want to be a writer in the future,so I must study hard and read more books so that my dream can come true.

①开门见山、点题。

②真情流露，理由充分。

③文中带圈的连词使用得恰当，使文章过渡自然、

④巧妙使用句型以表决心。

[点评]：档次13-14分。

①清楚表达写作目的，要点齐全。

②语言表达灵活多样，字里行间流露出真情实感，文章有感染力。

③恰当使用连词和从句，语言流畅，且无错误，是一篇高质量的作文。

[高分突破]

①文体：记叙文。

②要点：what → when →how → why → hope and plan for the future.

③时态：一般现在时，一般过去时，一般将来时的自然变化。

内容具有开放性，但它也是“控制性”的写作试题，因此不能随意发挥，要善于抓信息，写完要点。选用这两篇学生真实习作，一是因为他们选材相同，二是因为他们都是英语成绩优秀的同学。同学B灵活使用连词so…that,so,little by little,when,so that等，恰到好处地使用新句型和短语used to,became interested in,come true……等，使内容丰富，读起来优美流畅。其实这些表达同学A也会，只是缺乏技术加工。通过这两篇作文点评，同学们便能悟出其中的奥妙。

四、培养途径

1.根据老师布置的写作内容，独立完成一篇写作。

2.与同伴合作，交流自己的写作，通过交流找出各自作文中写得好的地方和优美的句子，合作创造一篇新的文章，供大家欣赏。

3.找老师点评，请求老师指点，尤其是怎样润色。

4.自己纠错，写下反思。

五、备考演练

A

缙云山是重庆著名的游览胜地，每天有大量的游客。请你根据下面提供的信息写一篇报道，说明现在的游客在环境保护方面的变化。

写作要求：

1.词数在100左右。

2.条理清楚，语句通顺。

3.开头已写好，但不计入总词数。

Jinyun Mountain is a famous place of interest …

B

阅读电视广告词：“If we don’t save water,the last drop of water will be a tear-drop.”根据提示，写一篇60-80词的短文。

提示：

1.生活离不开水。

2.可饮用水在减少。

3.水污染严重。

4.应保护水源，再利用水。

思路点拨与参考答案

A. [思路点拨]：

①文体：记叙文。

②时态：一般过去时态，一般现在时态。采用正反对比的写作手法，增加感染力。

③写作目的：告诉读者保护环境的重要性。

Jinyun Mountain is a famous place of interest.Every day a lot of tourists come here to enjoy its beauty. But a few years ago,some of them paid no attention to protecting theenvironment.They threw their rubbish,such as plastic bags,fruit skins and waste paper on the ground.Sometimes they broke trees,picked flowers and killed birds. Some even made fires in the woods to cook food.How dangerous it was.Luckily,great changes have taken place here.Tourists are used to putting their rubbish into dustbins,and they are doing their best to protect the birds and plants as well.They bring their own meals instead of cooking to preventstarting a forest fire in the mountains.All these changes make us very happy.

B. [思路点拨]：

①夹叙夹议(说明现状，谈谈感想)。

②时态：一般现在时态。

③广告词的含义——水很重要，应保护和再利用(写作意图)。

Water is very important to humans.We can’t live without water.The water we can drink is falling.But some people don’t seem to care about it.They waste a lot of water.They pour dirtywater into rivers and lakes.Water pollution is getting more and more serious.So we must do something to stop the pollution.We not only protect the water but also find ways to reuse it.If we don’t do this,the last drop of water will be a tear-drop.

导语：小编提醒大家，要想把作文写好，要想在考研写作中得高分，平时一定得多阅读优秀的范文，特别是一些漂亮精彩的句型。同时也有必要掌握一些写作模式和技巧，不断地模仿练习，最后才能真正打造出高分作文。

一、命题依据

考研话题牵涉面广，包罗万象，变幻莫测。但从历年考研真题研究中可以发现写作基本上可粗略地划分为两大类话题：永恒话题(everlastingtopic)和热点话题(hotissue)。所谓永恒话题，是指那些不以时间和空间的转移为转移的话题。这类话题一般都是一些宏观的大话题，没有明显的时代印痕。如有关社会道德范畴的话题。另一大类是热点话题，即近几年或某一年特殊的社会现象， 媒体普遍报道过或公众普遍谈论的话题。如AdvertisementonTV(93)，温室的花朵经不起风雨(2003)等，所以，平时在生活和学习中留意类似话题的英文素材预以备战不妨是个好的办法。

二、写作技巧

1.精心构造全文的引言段

考研作文阅卷老师每天工作量很大，工作时间也较长，因此长时间批改水平参差不齐、质量高下不一的作文难免感到疲劳，厌倦，甚至气恼。据测试统计，一口气读完12 篇后才走神的人极少，定力惊人。因此，在考研写作三段制中，第一段最能吸引他们的目光和注意力，因为考研作文采用的是总体评分法(GlobalScoring)，作文评卷老师往往主要凭借第一段的总体印象打分。有人把文章的第一段说成是黄金段落，说老师就是在这一段中不断地“淘金”。这一说法是很有道理的，因此，作文要想得高分，一定要精心构造全文的第一段，最大限度地满足阅卷老师的期待心理，力争给他留下良好的第一印象。经验告诉我们，阅卷老师在看完文章的第一段后就已基本上给文章定了分数档次，即使在第二，第三段中发现文章中的其他一些美中不足之处，他也只是微调几分，总体分数还是比先定的档次低的文章要好得多。总之，引言段在全文三段中的重要性再怎么强调也不过分。如果要按重要性依次递减的顺序来排的话，那么应是引言在先，其次是结尾段，再次是拓展段。

2.制造语言的闪光点

“言之无文，行而不远”，同理语言干瘪平淡，让人看之面目可憎，读后味如嚼蜡。要想攫住阅卷老师匆匆的一瞥，留住他们的兴奋点，就非得在语言上猛下功夫，多制造些表达上的闪光点。语言是思维的外壳，语言的好坏直接影响到实际作文分数的高低。语言表达的亮点体现在小到一个词，短语大到一个句子中。高分作文往往是“锱铢必较”，几乎字字计较。很多人作文分数很低往往是因为用词面太窄。当然，词汇的积累是有个过程的。可惜的是，很多同学只能认词，却不能再现，更不用说写作时运用了。

3.避免中国式英语

母语为非英语的人学习英语时往往会将母语的思维和表达方式直接迁移到英语表达当中。中国人学英语时往往会受母语根深蒂固的影响，最易造出中国腔的英语。有人把“价格便宜”直接写成“The price is cheap”，把“这件事小菜一碟”说成“This is a small dish”，让人看后苦笑不得。因此要尽量摆脱中国试英语，方法看来只有一条：多看外国人写的文章，多多阅读。不难想象，阅卷老师如果在短短的二百字文章中到处看到Chinglish，他无法使自己对你文章的印象好起来。

4.尽量有路标词

路标词(signalword)又称衔接词(connectives)就像灯塔为在茫茫大海中航行的船只指引方向一样，它能突出文章的层次性和逻辑性。英语文章讲究启承转合。“启”就是开启观点：“承”就是接着话茬进一步发展论证或补充：“转”就是讲相反或对立的观点：“合”就是总结概括。一篇文章若没有路标词便会杂乱无章的乱堆在一起，给人凌乱没有条理的感觉。标志词或衔接词的作用绝对不可小觑。

此外，多种句型的交替使用，文章脉络层次的分明，论据的合理充分等在写作中都应引起足够的重视。

我们都知道，想在小升初英语写作拿高分，就要摸透老师的喜好，引起“读者”的注意。而在写作中句子偏长恰恰会适得其反，很容易让人漏听一、两个单词，影响对整个句子的理解，所以我们要教大家一些化繁为简的技巧——

1、巧用单个词：即用一个单词代替一组意义相同的单词。比如：

用forget(忘记)代替do not remember(没有记住)

用ignore(忽视)代替do not pay attention to(不注意)

用now(现在)代替at this point in time(此时此刻)

用because(由于)代替due to the fact that(鉴于下列事实)

2、省略同义词或近义词。比如在下面例句中，形容词important(重要的)和significant(有重要意义的)，就是两个同义词(也可以说是近义词)，我们可以省略important，只保留significant。

The government project is important and significant.(这项政府计划是重要的，有重要意义。)

The government project is significant.(这项政府计划有重要意义。)

3、在不改变句子含义的前提下，省略所有可以省略的单词。比如在下面例句中，the cover of the book(书的封面)可以省略成the book cover，is red in color(是红色的)可以省略成is red。

The cover of the book is red in color.(书的封面是红色的)

The book cover is red.(书的封面是红色的)

现在我们把这三种方法结合起来，将一个冗长、绕嘴的句子，改写成一个简短、易懂的句子。

University malls must be accessible and free from congestion in order that students, faculty and employees may have unobstructed passage through those areas of the campus.(校内道路必须是便于通行的，不拥堵的，以便让学生、教师和职员能够无阻碍地通过，到达校园的各处。)

University malls must be free enough from congestion to allow people to walk through easily.(校内道路不应当拥堵，以便人们顺利通行。)

4、用介词短语替代从句。比如：

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.

5、删除诸如"who is”或"that is"之类的关系代词，变从句为短语。比如：

原句：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。

Communicating in English effectively is essential in todays global economy.

在今日全球化的经济环境下，有效地用英语交流已经变得至关重要。

But conveying your ideas clearly is a skill that needs to be learnt. Too often people simply copy the style of their co-worker and especially their superiors as they think this "good English". You see examples in your in-box every day - emails that are difficult to understand and that you need to read over and over again to get the message.

然而如何清晰地表达你的想法却是门大学问。太多时候人们只是简单地照抄他们眼中同事，尤其是上级写出来的“漂亮英语”。你每天都能在收件箱里看到很多例子——那些难懂的需要你读好多遍才能理解的邮件。

A big mistake is to pad out your writing with unnecessary words and phrases. Remember that the purpose of your writing is to communicate your ideas clearly.

一个巨大的错误就是用一些不必要的单词和词组让你的文章变得冗长。你要牢记你写作的目的是为了更清晰地交流你的想法。

Always try to reduce the number of words in your sentences and avoid lengthy phrases that can be replaced with a shorter alternative. Here are some examples:

总是尽可能减少你句子中使用的字数，避免使用可以用更短的词代替的长词。以下是一些例子：

*Instead of "prior to" use *before*

用“before”代替“prior to”

*Instead of "subsequent" use *after*

用“after”代替“subsequent”

*Instead of "in order to" use *to*

用“to”代替“in order to”

*Instead of "in the event that" use *if*

用“if”代替“in the event that”

*Instead of "with reference to" use *about*

用“about”代替“with the reference to”

*Instead of "state of the art" use *latest*

用“latest”代替“state of the art”

*Instead of "due to the fact that" use *since*

用“since”代替“due to the fact that”

*Instead of "not later than 2pm" use *by 2pm*

用“by 2pm”代替“not later than 2pm”

*Instead of "at the present time" use *now*

用“now”代替“at the present time”

Remember about organisation as well. Use topic sentences to indicate what each paragraph is about. In addition, keep your emails short. No one likes to read an email 10 paragraphs long!

同时也要记得文章有组织性。第一句话就要开门见山地点出你每一段要讲什么。除此之外，要控制你邮件的长度。没人想读一条长达10段的邮件。

By using simple words and easily understood phrases you can improve the clarity of your message no end.

通过使用简单的单词和易懂的词组，你就能最终提高你信息的清晰度。

导语：英语写作除了要求大家在词汇量和语法上有一定的积累外，也需要大家注意总结一些常用的写作技巧。下面是yjbs作文网小编为您收集整理的资料，希望能够对您有所帮助。

一、“功能段落”突破CET写作

诚然，六级写作是需要背模板的，但绝不是盲目地背。

整篇背诵模板不是最有效的方法，因为模板的写作思路是固定的，然而很多时候试题的命题思路可能与所背模板思路不同。因此，可能导致“所背非所考”，甚至导致文不对题，生搬硬套。

但是，无论六级写作话题如何变化，一般都对应三个或两个汉语提纲。只要按提纲要求去写相应的内容段落，就做到了紧扣主题。历年写作提纲可以总结为六种功能段落：现象描述、危害分析(弊)、原因分析、建议措施、观点阐述(观点的本质为利弊：支持方观点等于分析“利”，反方观点等于分析“弊”)、意义阐述(利)。

如果能够掌握住六种功能段落的写作实际就掌握了六级考试写作考题的最本质特征。那样的话，无论题目如何变化，我们准备都是有的放矢的。反观，死背模板容易导致生搬硬套，甚至文不对题。

二、写作短期提分方略

在了解了六级考试在命题特点的基础上，考生在备考阶段最需要准备的是两个内容：思路和表达。思路解决怎么写的问题，表达解决写什么的问题。如果拿到一个作文题目，你知道应该按照什么思路去写，又知道应该写什么表达，这篇作文就已经成功了一半。

表达积累

表达分为四个层次：词句段篇。其中篇章层面只要按照提纲要求去组织文章即可，因此篇章方面不足为虑。段落方面按照“功能段落”的六种形式去识别，也小菜一碟。

背写：思路+表达

很多同学考前也在背，背的滚瓜烂熟，脱口而出，觉得自己水平很牛!上了考场也顺利将文章写了出来，却得了一个很低的分数，为什么?因为单词都拼错了。请牢记：口头背诵得再好不等于能够写对。背写是提高写作和翻译唯一也是最有效的方法。

那么，背写什么内容哪?答案是思路和表达。思路上文中已有论述，遣词和造句的表达方面应该紧密结合功能段落来背诵有效句式和用词。考生不必刻意追求适用难词，但可以将常见词汇稍作替换：如，

exceedingly, extremely, intensely替换very;

an army of/a great many/a host of 替换a lot of;

advancement 替换 development;

positive, favorable, promising(有希望的)， perfect, pleasurable, excellent, outstanding, superior替换good;

give rise to, lead to, result in, trigger 替换cause;

harbor the idea that, take the attitude that, hold the view that替换think;

beneficial, rewarding替换helpful;

bear in mind that替换remember;

enjoy, possess替换have;

shopper, client, consumer, purchaser替换customer……

表达精彩体现在三个方面：遣词、造句、连贯。

三、复习安排建议

总体原则：先背再写、阶段总结、适当模拟。

先背再写：基础较差同学一定要先背一些功能句式和教材相关范文，然后模仿该作文的思路和表达去写。背写的目的是积累语言表达实力，同时练习书写的公正和优美。建议书写较差的考生买本英语字帖练一下书写，也许你会有意外的惊喜。

阶段总结：每过一周就要问自己几个问题：所背诵的表达可以用来写什么类型的文章?该类文章的相关词汇或表达有什么?关键词如何避免重复?请记住：没有复习，没有巩固。

适当模拟：在熟练掌握背写了六种功能段落的思路和表达之后，可以结合适当题目在写作中运用所讲所背所总结提分词汇、句式。建议大家能够灵活运用，做到一例多用。

附注：

中心句放开端

文章中心句是整个文章的主题和写作围绕的中心，通常应该放在段落的开端，这样一方面能够让阅卷老师一眼看出文章表达的主旨意思，起到开门见山的作用;另一方面可以使文章条理层次更加清晰，逻辑性强，文章的整体结构合理。中心句在作文中可以起到承接上下文的作用，放在段尾也可以起到总结全文的作用。这一方法对于写作初学者来说还是有一定困难的，因此在六级考试中，为了减少不必要的错误和损失，大家尽量将中心句放到文章的开头以保万无一失。

关键词要具体

文章的中心句一般是通过关键词来表现和限制文章的主旨思想的，所以为了突出主题，关键词需要尽量写得具体些。这里对“具体”的要求主要体现在两个方面：一方面是要具体到能限制和区分文章段落层次的发展;另一方面是要具体到能说明段落发展的方法。精确仔细地突出关键词是清楚地表达文章主旨、写好段落中心句的重要前提之一，这对考生来说有一定难度。

设问扩充内容

中心句及关键词确定后，文章的大概框架已经清晰了，这时候就需要选择和主题有关的信息和素材来填充这个框架。实质上，针对关键词测试每一个所选择的素材就是一个分类的过程。有一种常用的行文方法就是句子展开前加以设问，然后解答，即设问-解答(why-because)的方法，利用问题引出自己需要的话题再加以解答表现自己的观点，同时紧紧围绕主题。

中考英语试卷写作的分数各个省市有所不同，一般在15-20分之间。下面从阅卷老师的角度分析一下中考英语作文的得分点和扣分点。2.字数：少于60字的作文要酌情扣分。中考英语作文要求60字以上，标点符号不算，少了就要扣分。

中考英语试卷写作的分数各个省市有所不同，一般在15-20分之间。下面从阅卷老师的角度分析一下中考英语作文的得分点和扣分点。

中考英语作文对考生的要求有四点：1、内容要完整。 2、语句流畅。3、没有语法错误。4、书写规范。能达到上述要求的作文，都会得到相应的高分。

一：先看一下扣分点：

1.内容方面：要点缺失，可酌情扣分。比如中考作文“I want to do something for my school”，若没有写一件具体的事情，是要扣3分以上的;若写的事情太过于虚幻，没有实际内容，也会扣1-2分。

2.字数：少于60字的作文要酌情扣分。

中考英语作文要求60字以上，标点符号不算，少了就要扣分。但是60字的作文能不能得高分?从我们拿到的实例作文来看，16分以上的作文，没有少于75字的，甚至少于80字的也少之又少。当然，也极少有超过100字的，因为中考试卷的短线格一共80个，在格子下面大约还有2行的空间，可以加20字左右，再多阅卷人就很难看清了，也会影响卷面的美观。所以，同学们如果想让作文得到高分，最好是让字数在75-100字之间。

3. 语法和拼写错误：每个扣0.5，重复错误不计;

4. 标点错误：每4个扣0.5.

二：加分点

除了这些扣分点，还有一些得分点：比如说作文的组织结构分，就是根据学生使用复杂句型、单词和谚语、俗语的情况来加分。

只要文章中有1个亮点，基本就可以争取到1分(3分的文采分是很难全部拿到的)。而这1分的亮点，是可以提前准备的。例如，有一些“万金油”式的复杂句型，例如强调句型、only相关的倒装句等，只要同学们多操练几次，几乎是一定能用到作文当中，从而为自己争取到这1分。

其次就是卷面分

很多家长[微博]和同学，尤其是部分书法并不是十分整洁的同学，都会关心是否真的有“卷面分”的存在。虽然在阅卷标准里面并没有卷面分这一项，但是这个分数却真切地反映在了同学们的分数里面。

据阅卷老师的经验，在阅卷的时候并不是按这3个部分逐项打分的，而是在第一遍读完全文之后，心里已经形成了一个“印象分”，然后再细读第二、三遍，把印象分分配到各个打分部分。因此，这个“印象分”就非常重要，而同学们的书法，也正是在这个环节，影响到了自己的分数。所以初三的考生，如果书法不好，一定要注意。所谓的书法并不需要写的很漂亮，符合3个简单的标准即可：没有斜体、没有连笔、涂改较少。

"I like honest men of all colors."我喜欢所有诚实的人。

"I start out by believing the worst."我凡事先做好最坏的打算。

"It requires more courage to suffer than to die."茍活比牺牲需要更多的勇气。 。

"I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest."我已做了所有的打算，其余就交给上帝了。

"Our hour is marked, and no one can claim a moment of life beyond what fate has predestined."生死有命，没有人能要求多活一秒钟。

"If I had not been born Napoleon, I would have liked to have been born Alexander."如果今天我不是拿破仑的话，我想成为亚历山大。

"The great proof of madness is the disproportion of ones designs to ones means."一个人的计划与实践存在太大的落差即是疯狂的表现。

"The stupid speak of the past, the wise of the present, and fools of the future."聪明的人谈现在，愚蠢的人谈过去，傻子才谈未来。

"We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him. "与其后来替一个人婉惜，不如先嘲笑他算了。

"When you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna."一旦你着手要攻下维也纳，就把她拿下吧﹗

"What I did is immense. What I had decided to do, and what I had projected werestill more so"我所做的是大事业，而我当初的决定与计划亦是如此。

"The word impossible is not in my dictionary."在我的字典里找不到「不可能」这个字。

"I wished to found a European system, a European Code of Laws, a European judiciary; there would be but one people in Europe."我想建立一个整合的欧洲体系，包含了法律，法庭，与人种。

"The French complain of everything, and always."法国人终其一生都在抱怨所有的事。

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."害怕被征服的人，注定要失败。

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."坚持必将成功。

"Adversity is the midwife of genius." 逆境造就天才。

"Circumstances? I make circumstances!" 英雄造时势。

"Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities."人们常只想到自己的需要，而没考虑自己的能力。

"Men are moved by only two levers: fear and self interest."恐惧和兴趣能激励人。

写作词汇提升是把“阅读词汇”转化为“写作词汇”的过程。举个例子，当我在课堂上问及大家“害怕”这个词英文表达的时候，很多同学不加思维的就告诉我是“afraid”，我再问大家这个词是什么时候学的时候，很多人恍然大悟，原来词汇早在初中甚至是小学的时候就学过了。那么，考研阅卷的老师如何以“afraid”这个词判断你到底是一个合格的大学毕业生还是一个仅仅上过初中的同学呢，现在我们就不难理解为什么考研写作的平均分只有满分的一半了。

当我们翻开大学的英语课本我们会发现，在大学的四年中(甚至只是大一大二的两年中)我们就学过很多表示“害怕”但却比“afraid”要高级的多的词汇，比如：horror，scared，astonished 等等。这当中的任何一个词都会比afraid得的分数要高，这就是所谓的高级词汇取代低级词汇的过程。

现在，我们就要树立一个思想，写作的最小组成单位是词汇，词汇有低级的(baby words)也有高级的(advanced words)，想要得到考研写作高分的第一步就是要有意识的在写作中用高级词汇去取代相对低级的词汇，从而反映出自己的词汇表现能力(lexical resource)。

英语写作技巧二、句型 —— 学会自创简单句

考研写作最基本的句式称之为“自创句”。“自创句”是根据所要表达的含义完全自主创作的英文句子，其基础是语法知识。阅读时不理解某些语法现象仍然能理解文章，而写作要求精确，是和语法联系最为紧密的语言功能。其中，简单句是一切句子的基础，简单句的创作可三步走：

1. 根据句义确定唯一的谓语动词。

2. 根据动词种类(无宾、单宾、双宾、宾补或系动词)补全句子成分，如主语、宾语、宾语补足语和表语等。

3. 注意谓语动词和主语在人称和数上的一致。

英语写作技巧三、构思 —— 学习英文独特的思想表达方式

当我们有了高级的词汇和复杂的句型之后，是不是就一定能写出高分的作文了呢?不一定。写作是一个人思维的理性表达，因此，对于写作来说，思维方式的优劣更是一篇文章好与坏的根本性的指向标。

英文有自己独特的思想表达模式，要学会用英文的表达模式写作。所以建议大家在夯实词汇、句型之后多读多背多写，练习地道的英文写作思维方式。阅读和背诵是积累语言素材的关键，《新概念》序言中甚至提到“只写读过的语言”。在此基础之上，“纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行”，阅读背诵素材之后，写作提高需要大量的实战演习

一、句式多变，词汇丰富。

鉴于这部分的写作要求和难度，不论是写书信还是编故事，由于100词的字数要求，考生必须要学会用具体的，多样化的语句来描写某样东西或某件事情。有的学生从头至尾都用"Thereis"的句式，而且重复多遍，看来单调乏味，很难得高分。我们不妨用主动和被动句式、各种不同的从句、动词不定式、强调句、虚拟语气等等，当然我们要写的句式必须是自己熟悉的，有把握的。

词汇量的大小影响写作成绩。试想你形容餐馆good，食品good，氛围good，那也太无聊了，我们平时就积累一些词汇，比如餐馆cleanandtidy，食品niceandtasty，氛围friendlyandpleasant等等，而不至于到考试时言之无物。

二、问题都答，加上连词。

如果第二单元你要给笔友写一份回信，信中有这么一个问题Haveyougotafavoriterestaurant?Tellmeaboutthefoodandwhatyoulikeabouttherestaurant。这个问题看似非常简单，但如果你就回答一句Ihavegotmyfavoriterestaurant.可以，但如果你不学会怎么扩展这个话题，那一封信中根本就写不了上百个单词。因此，学会拓展话题这一点在这部分中尤为重要，如你可以写餐馆的名字、位置、特色等等。

如果你选择编故事也很好。我们PET考生大多是青少年，正是想象力非常丰富的时候，很适合去编故事。但在书写的过程中，一定要注意尽量用自己有把握的语言来表达和描述。此外，既然是故事，就应该把事情发生的时间、地点、人物、过程以及结果都完整地表述出来。因此，我们在平时就把日常生活中所发生的有意义的小事儿用英文记录下来，日积月累你会发现，你的书写素材会越来越多，这种考试对你来说，将会是"apieceofcake"。

另外注意适当使用一些关联词，如and,but,so,if，使行文更加流畅。

三、平时勤练，克服畏惧。

因为该部分要求比较高，建议考生平时可以多做这样的书写练习。在学而思PET，我们会练习四五篇大作文，希望同学们平时就认真对待，描写到位，在老师的指导下，逐步明白自己的弱项在哪里，进而逐渐消除无话可写的心理恐惧，并提高写作水平。

写作练习：旅游活动（中段考范文）

【单元财富运用】

假定你是李华，上周末和家人开车去大角湾度假。请你根据以下要点，给你的美国朋友Tom介绍你的旅游经历。

1. 出发时间：周六早上7点；

2. 准备物品：零食、衣服、相机等；

3. 旅游活动：游泳，欣赏海水、海滩、日出和日落等美景，吃海鲜，买纪念品；

4. 你的感受。

【注意】：1. 词数100；

2. 开头已给出，但不计入总词数；

3. 可以适当增加节，以使行文连贯。

Last weekend my family and I went to Dajiaowan Gulf for a holiday.______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

步骤1：认真审题，提炼要点。

一定体裁：记叙文，记叙一次旅游活动

二定时态：旅游发生在过去，因此描述旅游前的准备和过程都应该采用一般过去

时；而感想则可以用一般现在时或现在完成时。

三定要点：结合写作内容，整理和罗列要点。

表达旅游活动的常用词汇：

步骤2：整合信息，连词成句。

1. 星期六早上7点开车出发。

_____________________________________________________________________

2. 准备好零食、衣服、相机等。

__________________________________________________________________

3. 在海滩游泳，欣赏海水日出和日落等美景。

__________________________________________________________________

4. 吃海鲜，买纪念品；

___________________________________________________________________

5. 谈感受。

___________________________________________________________________

步骤3：连句成段，用上适当的关联词。

not only…but also…, where, what’s more /besides / in addition, then, because…..

【我的作文】

Last weekend my family and I went to Dajiaowan Gulf for a holiday.______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

俗语写作

根据下面中文提示写一篇150词左右的短文。

俗话说：早起的鸟儿有虫吃。请根据你生活中亲身经历的一件事，说明一切成功源于干凡事早做规划，不断追求，辛勤劳作。

The early bird will catch worms

【猜题理由】2010年高考写作题应该是学生较为熟悉的、身边的与他们生活、学习和当今的教育密切相关的话题。一些俗语具有教育意义。2010年有些省份可能对考生进行人生规范、立志等方面有关的俗语进行考查。

【构思点拨】本题属于题目、提纲式作文，给出的要点虽然不多，但要求考生根据生活中亲身经历的一件事，说明一切成功来源于凡事早做规划，不断追求，辛勤劳作这个道理。因此要注意结合自己的经历，谈出自己对此的感受即可。

【参考范文】

The early bird will catch worms

An old saying The early bird will catch worms reminds us that if people want to be successful and outstanding, they must plan ahead of time and make their efforts to overcome all the possible difficulties.

For example, the Chinese athletes excellent performance in 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver is definitely the result of their early planning and hard training. If they don t set the aim and word work, even though they have the best talents, they cant compete with others and get more medals.

Another case in point is my learning experience. I was good at English, but I couldnt pass the exam, for I wasnt prepared well before the examination. I had many things to solve at that time. As I met the complex things, I was at a loss. The reason was that I had no plan and involved in many things and didnt study more hard, so I failed.

In short, the saying shows us the important of planning, working hard and constantly trying.

all the same 仍然,照样的

as regards 关于,至于

anything but 根本不

as a matter of fact 实际上

apart from 除...外(有/无)

as a rule 通常,照例

as a result(of) 因此,由于

as far as ...be concerned 就...而言

as far as 远至,到...程度

as for 至于,关于

as follows 如下

as if 好像,仿怫

as good as 和...几乎一样

as usual 像平常一样,照例

as to 至于,关于

all right 令人满意的;可以

as well 同样,也,还

as well as 除...外(也),即...又

aside from 除...外(还有)

at a loss 茫然,不知所措

at a time 一次,每次

at all 丝毫(不),一点也不

at all costs 不惜一切代价

at all events 不管怎样,无论如何

at all times 随时,总是

at any rate 无论如何,至少

at best 充其量,至多

at first 最初,起先

at first sight 乍一看,初看起来

at hand 在手边,在附近

at heart 内心里,本质上

at home 在家,在国内

at intervals 不时,每隔...

at large 大多数,未被捕获的

at least 至少

at last 终于

at length 最终,终于

at most 至多,不超过

at no time 从不,决不

by accident 偶然

at one time 曾经,一度;同时

at present 目前,现在

at sbs disposal 任...处理

at the cost of 以...为代价

at the mercy of 任凭...摆布

at the moment 此刻,目前

at this rate 照此速度

at times 有时,间或

back and forth 来回地,反复地

back of 在...后面

before long 不久以后

beside point 离题的,不相干的

beyond question 毫无疑问

by air 通过航空途径

by all means 尽一切办法,务必

by and by 不久,迟早

by chance 偶然,碰巧

by far 最,...得多

by hand 用手,用体力

by itself 自动地,独自地

by means of 用,依靠

by mistake 错误地,无意地

by no means 决不,并没有

by oneself 单独地,独自地

by reason of 由于

by the way 顺便说说

by virtue of 借助,由于

by way of 经由,通过...方法

due to 由于,因为

each other 互相

even if/though 即使,虽然

ever so 非常,极其

every now and then 时而,偶尔

every other 每隔一个的

except for 除了...外

face to face 面对面地

一、 主题句原则

国有其君，家有其主，文章也要有其主。否则会给人造成“群龙无首”之感!相信各位读过一些破烂文学，故意把主体隐藏在文章之内，结果造成我们稀里糊涂!不知所云!所以奉劝各位一定要写一个主题句，放在文章的开头(保险型)或者结尾，让读者一目了然，必会平安无事!

特别提示：隐藏主体句可是要冒险的!

To begin with, you must work hard at your lessons and be fully prepared before the exam(主题句).

Without sufficient preparation, you can hardly expect to answer all the questions correctly.

二、 长短句原则

工作还得一张一驰呢，老让读者读长句，累死人!写一个短小精辟的句子，相反，却可以起到画龙点睛的作用。而且如果我们把短句放在段首或者段末，也可以揭示主题：

As a creature, I eat; as a man, I read. Although one action is to meet the primary need of my body and the other is to satisfy the intellectual need of mind, they are in a way quite similar.

如此可见，长短句结合，抑扬顿挫，岂不爽哉?牢记!

强烈建议：在文章第一段(开头)用一长一短，且先长后短;在文章主体部分，要先用一个短句解释主要意思，然后在阐述几个要点的时候采用先短后长的句群形式，定会让主体部分妙笔生辉!文章结尾一般用一长一短就可以了。

三、 一二三原则

领导讲话总是第一部分、第一点、第二点、第三点、第二部分、第一点…如此罗嗦。可毕竟还是条理清楚。考官们看文章也必然要通过这些关键性的“标签”来判定你的文章是否结构清楚，条理自然。破解方法很简单，只要把下面任何一组的词汇加入到你的几个要点前就清楚了。

1)first, second, third, last(不推荐，原因：俗)

2)firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally(不推荐，原因：俗)

3)the first, the second, the third, the last(不推荐，原因：俗)

4)in the first place, in the second place, in the third place, lastly(不推荐，原因：俗)

5)to begin with, then, furthermore, finally(强烈推荐)

6)to start with, next, in addition, finally(强烈推荐)

7)first and foremost, besides, last but not least(强烈推荐)

8)most important of all, moreover, finally

9)on the one hand, on the other hand(适用于两点的情况)

10)for one thing, for another thing(适用于两点的情况)

建议：不仅仅在写作中注意，平时说话的时候也应该条理清楚!

四、 短语优先原则

写作时，尤其是在考试时，如果使用短语，有两个好处：其一、用短语会使文章增加亮点，如果老师们看到你的文章太简单，看不到一个自己不认识的短语，必然会看你低一等。相反，如果发现亮点—精彩的短语，那么你的文章定会得高分了。其二、关键时刻思维短路，只有凑字数，怎么办?用短语是一个办法!比如：

I cannot bear it.

可以用短语表达：I cannot put up with it.

I want it.

可以用短语表达：I am looking forward to it.

这样字数明显增加，表达也更准确。

五、 多实少虚原则

原因很简单，写文章还是应该写一些实际的东西，不要空话连篇。这就要求一定要多用实词，少用虚词。我这里所说的虚词就是指那些比较大的词。比如我们说一个很好的时候，不应该之说nice这样空洞的词，应该使用一些诸如generous, humorous, interesting, smart, gentle, warm-hearted, hospital 之类的形象词。再比如：

走出房间，general的词是：walk out of the room

但是小偷走出房间应该说：slip out of the room

小姐走出房间应该说：sail out of the room

小孩走出房间应该说：dance out of the room

老人走出房间应该说：stagger out of the room

所以多用实词，少用虚词，文章将会大放异彩!

六、 多变句式原则

1)加法(串联)

都希望写下很长的句子，像个老外似的，可就是怕写错，怎么办，最保险的写长句的方法就是这些，可以在任何句子之间加and, 但最好是前后的句子又先后关系或者并列关系。

比如说： I enjor music and he is fond of playing guitar. 如果是二者并列的，我们可以用一个超级句式：Not only the fur coat is soft, but it is also warm. 其它的短语可以用：besides, furthermore, likewise, moreover

2)转折(拐弯抹角)

批评某人缺点的时候，我们总习惯先拐弯抹角说说他的优点，然后转入正题，再说缺点，这种方式虽然阴险了点，可毕竟还比较容易让人接受。所以呢，我们说话的时候，只要在要点之前先来点废话，注意二者之间用个专这次就够了。

The car was quite old, yet it was in excellent condition.

The coat was thin, but it was warm.

更多的短语：despite that, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, not with standing

3)因果(so, so, so)

昨天在街上我看到了一个女孩，然后我主动搭讪，然后我们去咖啡厅，然后我们认识了，然后我们成为了朋友…可见，讲故事的时候我们总要追求先后顺序，先什么，后什么，所以然后这个词就变得很常见了。其实这个词表示的是先后或因果关系!

The snow began to fall, so we went home.

更多短语：then, therefore, consequently, accordingly, hence, as a result, for this reason, so that

4)失衡句(头重脚轻，或者头轻脚重)

有些人脑袋大，身体小，或者有些人脑袋小，身体大，虽然我们不希望长成这个样子，可如果真的是这样了，也就必然会吸引别人的注意力。文章中如果出现这样的句子，就更会让考官看到你的句子与众不同。其实就是主语从句，表语从句，宾语从句的变形。

举例：This is what I can do.

Whether he can go with us or not is not sure.

同样主语、宾语、表语可以改成如下的复杂成分：

When to go, Why he goes away…

5)附加(多此一举)

如果有了老婆，总会遇到这样的情况，当你再讲某个人的时候，她会插一句说，我昨天见过他;或者说，就是某某某，如果把老婆的话插入到我们的话里面，那就是定语从句和同位语从句或者是插入语。

The man whom you met yesterday is a friend of mine.

I don’t enjoy that book you are reading.

Mr liu, our oral English teacher, is easy-going.

其实很简单，同位语--要解释的东西删除后不影响整个句子的构成;定语从句—借用之前的关键词并且用其重新组成一个句子插入其中，但是whom or that 关键词必须要紧跟在先行词之前。

6)排比(排山倒海句)

文学作品中最吸引人的地方莫过于此，如果非要让你的文章更加精彩的话，那么我希望你引用一个个的排比句，一个个得对偶句，一个个的不定式，一个个地词，一个个的短语，如此表达将会使文章有排山倒海之势!

Whether your tastes are modern or traditional, sophisticated or simple, there is plenty in London for you.

Nowadays, energy can be obtained through various sources such as oil, coal, natural gas, solar heat, the wind and ocean tides.

We have got to study hard, to enlarge our scope of knowledge, to realize our potentials and to pay for our life. (气势恢宏)

要想写出如此气势恢宏的句子非用排比不可!

七、 挑战极限原则

既然是挑战极限，必然是比较难的，但是并非不可攀!

原理：在学生的文章中，很少发现诸如独立主格的句子，其实也很简单，只要花上5分钟的时间看看就可以领会，它就是分词的一种特殊形式，分词要求主语一致，而独立主格则不然。比如：

The weather being fine, a large number of people went to climb the Western Hills.

Africa is the second largest continent, its size being about three times that of China.

如果您可一些出这样的句子，不得高分才怪!

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”.

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