英语二书信格式写作通用20篇

一、Nothing is + ~~~ er than to + V Nothing is + more +形容词+ than to + V

例句：Nothing is more important than to receive education. 没有比接受教育更重要的事。

二、~ the + ~ est +名词+(that)+主词+ have ever + seen(known/heard/had/read，etc)

~ the most +形容词+名词+(that)+主词+ have ever +seen(known/heard/had/read，etc)

例句：Helen is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen. 海伦是我所看过最美丽的女孩。

Mr. Chang is the kindest teacher that I have ever had. 张老师是我曾经遇到最仁慈的教师。

三、~~~ cannot emphasize the importance of ~~~ too much.(再怎么强调……的重要性也不为过。)

例句：We cannot emphasize the importance of protecting our eyes too much.

我们再怎么强调保护眼睛的重要性也不为过。

四、It is universally acknowledged that +句子~~(全世界都知道……)

例句：It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable to us.

全世界都知道树木对我们是不可或缺的。

五、There is no denying that + S + V……(不可否认的……)

例句：There is no denying that the qualities of our living have gone from bad to worse.

不可否认的，我们的生活品质已经每况愈下。

六、There is no doubt that +句子~~(毫无疑问的……)

例句：There is no doubt that our educational system leaves something to be desired.

毫无疑问的我们的教育制度令人不满意。

七、An advantage of ~~~ is that +句子(……的优点是……)

例句：An advantage of using the solar energy is that it wont create(produce)any pollution.

使用太阳能的优点是它不会制造任何污染。

八、The reason why +句子~~~ is that +句子(……的原因是……)

例句：The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can provide us with fresh air.

The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can supply fresh air for us.

我们必须种树的原因是它们能供应我们新鲜的空气。

九、Adj + as + Subject(主词)+ be，S + V~~~(虽然……)

例句：Rich as our country is， the qualities of our living are by no means

satisfactory. {by no means = in no way = on no account一点也不}

虽然我们的国家富有，我们的生活品质绝对令人不满意。

十、So +形容词+ be +主词+ that +句子(如此……以致于……)

例句：So precious is time that we cant afford to waste it.时间是如此珍贵，我们经不起浪费它。

一、代入法

这是进行英语写作时最常用的方法。同学们在掌握一定的词汇和短语之后，结合一定的语法知识，按照句子的结构特点，直接用英语代人相应的句式即可。如：

1. 他从不承认自己的失败。

He never admits his failure.

2. 那项比赛吸引了大批观众。

The match attracted a large crowd.

3. 他把蛋糕分成4块。

He divided the cake into four pieces.

二、还原法

即把疑问句、强调句、倒装句等还原成基本结构。这是避免写错句子的一种有效的办法。如：

1. 这是开往格拉斯哥的火车吗?

Is this the train for Glasgow?

还原为陈述句：This is the train for Glasgow.

2. 他是因为爱我的钱才同我结了婚。

It was because he loved my money that he married me.

还原为非强调句：Because he loved my money, he married me.

3. 光速很快，我们几乎没法想像它的速度。

So fast does light travel that we can hardly imagine its speed.

还原为正常语序：Light travels so fast that we can hardly imagine its speed.

三、分解法

把一个句子分成两个或两个以上的句子。这样既能把意思表达得更明了，又能减少写错句子的几率。如：

1. 我们要干就要干好。

If we do a thing, we should do it well.

2. 从各地来的学生中有许多是北方人。

There are students here from all over the country. Many of them are from the North.

四、合并法

就是把两个或两个以上的简单句用一个复合句或较复杂的简单句表达出来。这种方法最能体现学生的英语表达能力，同时也最能提高文章的可读性。如：

1. 我们迷路了，这使我们的旅行变成了一次冒险。

Our trip turned into an adventure when we got lost.

2. 天气转晴了，这是我们没有想到的。

The weather turned out to be very good, which was more than we could expect.

3. 狼是高度群体化的动物，它们的成功依赖于合作。

Wolves are highly social animals whose success depends upon their cooperation.

五、删减法

就是在写英语句子时，把相应汉语句子里的某些词、短语或重复的成分删掉或省略。如：

1. 这部打字机真是价廉物美。

This typewriter is very cheap and fine indeed.

注：汉语表达中的“价”和“物”在英语中均无需译出。

2. 个子不高不是人生中的严重缺陷。

Not being tall is not a serious disadvantage in life.

注：汉语说“个子不高”，其实就是“不高”。也就是说，其中的“个子”在英语中无需译出。

六、移位法

由于英语和汉语在表达习惯上存在差异，根据表达的需要，某些成分需要前置或后移。如：

1. 他发现赚点外快很容易。

He found it easy to earn extra money.

注：it在此为形式宾语，真正的宾语是句末的不定式to earn extra money。

2. 告诉我这事的人不肯告诉我他的名字。

The man who told me this refused to tell me his name.

注：who told me this为修饰the man的定语从句，应置于其后。

3. 直到我遇到你以后，我才真正体会到幸福。

It was not until I met you that I knew real happiness.

注：not...until...为英语中的固定句式，其意为“直到……才……”。

七、分析法

指根据要表示的汉语意思，通过进行语法分析和句式判断，然后写出准确地道的英语句子。如：

1. 从这个角度看，问题并不像人们一般料想的那样严重。

Seen in this light, the matter is not as serious as people generally suppose.

注：分词短语作状语时，其逻辑主语应与句子主语一致，由于the matter与see之间为被动关系，故see要用过去分词seen。

2. 我没有见过他，所以说不出他的模样。

Not having met him, I cannot tell you what he is like.

注：如果分词的动作发生在谓语动作之前，且与逻辑主语是主动关系，则用现在分词的完成式。

八、意译法

有的同学在写句子时，一遇见生词或不熟悉的表达，就以为是“山穷水尽”了。其实，此时我们可以设法绕开难点，在保持原意的基础上，用不同的表达方式写出来。如：

1. 汤姆一直在扰乱别的孩子，我就把他撵了出去。

Tom was upsetting the other children, so I showed him the door.

2. 有志者事竟成。

Where there is a will, there is a way.

3. 你可以同我们一起去或是呆在家中，悉听尊便。

You can go with us or stay at home, whichever you choose.

书信的种类很多，常见的有一般书信和专用书信两种，应用于作文常采用一般书信，因为一般书信的应用范围极其广泛，如政治、学术、文艺、家务、世俗、人情世故等各方面。所以书信可以议论，可以抒情，可以描写，可以叙事。它的针对性强，形式灵活。行文时可以与过去、未来和现实中的一切人交流，也可以和文学作品中的人物交谈，表达自己对政治、世界和人生的看法。此外，书信还有固定的格式;称呼、问候、正文、结尾语、具名、日期。它的语言要简明，口语化，还要考虑收信人的身份、经历、文化水平等方面的特点等。

书信体作文除了要符合书信格式外，正文部分谋篇布局相对灵活，内容方面可以写一件事，也可以写多件事，甚至可讲座问题。因为书信体作文一般用来与别人交流沟通，所以便于抒发感情。

由于书信体作文既能考查考生对应用文写作格式的掌握，又能考查考生的写作水平，因而受到了设题者的青睐。为让考生掌握书信体作文的写作技巧,下面小编为大家整理了书信作文的写作技巧，仅供参考。

一、要注意书信的格式和要求

书信的格式主要包括称呼、正文、结尾、署名和日期五部分。

称呼要从第一行顶格写起，后面加冒号，冒号后不要写字。

正文通常以问候语开头。问候语最常见的有“您好!”“近好!”根据时令节气的不同，问候语也有所变化，如“新年好!”“春节愉快!”问候语要写在称呼的下一行，前面空两格，一般自成一段。也有的不写问候语，而是直接进入正文内容。

正文部分要明确写信的主旨，做到有条有理、层次分明。如同时要写几件事，必须做到主次分明，有头有尾，详略得当，最好是一件事一个段落。

结尾要写上表示敬意、祝愿或勉励的话。正文写完之后，可空两格写“此致”，转一行顶格写“敬礼”;如不写“此致”，只写“敬礼”、“安好”、“健康”、“平安”等词，一定要另起一行空两格，不能直接缀写在正文的末尾。

二、要注意拟定新颖别致的标题

书信最常见的标题是“给××的一封信”。为了使标题新颖别致，可引用或化用名言、警句与歌词;可运用比喻或拟人等修辞手法;也可运用副标题与正标题相互辉映。如，《“老鼠爱大米”——给人类的一封信》，这个标题既引用了歌词，又巧妙运用了副标题，副标题与正标题互为补充，相互辉映。

三、要注意诉说对象和抒情性的特点

写书信，一定要注意诉说的对象，因为给不同的对象写信时，所谈的内容是不同的，抒发的感情和使用的语气等也是不相同的。只有弄清了写作对象，所写的书信才会符合要求，才会不跑题。

书信体最大的特点是抒情性很强。为了更好地表达情感，考生可突破一般书信叙述语多的写作窠臼，大胆地进行创新。如，可精选一些感人的事例，叙议结合;可选用意蕴深刻的词语，恰当抒发感情;可运用不同的句式，以增强文章的感染力。书信的内容做到了丰富、深刻、感情真挚，自然能引起读者的共鸣，从而能获得高分。

一.作为一个准SAT考生，需要明确以下几点：

2.从读题、写作到最终润色和定稿，共有25分钟时间。

3.作文要求自己的观点辩论，所以使用第一人称和发生在自己身上的例子是完全可以的。

4.作文得写在线上，且最多只能写两面，超出不给纸。

5.作文由两位考官给分，每人给1-6分，总分在2-12之间，考官受专业评分训练。如果两考官评分相差1分以上，会请第三位考官裁定，因此评分相当客观。

6. 每个考官平均花不超过2min的时间批改作文，考生可以自己去尝试一下两分钟内阅读一篇字迹陌生潦草的文章是什么样的概念，然后就会意识到考官一定在有意识地在文章中寻找一些要素和章法。

7. 写作部分(writing)分值为800分，而作文(Essay)占整个写作(writing)分值的三分之一。

正如以上第2点指出，SAT Essay写作中，时间无比珍贵。俗话说，万事开头难。对于中国学生而言，要迅速通过brainstorming确定好立场并写出比较漂亮的开头尤其困难。

本文将重点指导考生五分钟内审题并创作出漂亮的首段。

第一步：审题立意

一般，SAT作文题目由两个部分组成(如上Figure 1): 提示(Prompt，Figure 1小方框内文字)和写作任务(Assignment，Figure 1划红线的文字)。Prompt往往是源自某些名言语录或者

某些文学作品，主要是用于启发考生的思考。当我们看assignment的时候，我们可以沿着prompt提示的方向去思考，也可以直接按照自己对于assignment来思考。我们以Figure 1中的考题

作为本文中讲解的范例。读完这个题目后，首先要做的是用2-3min时间完成以下几个任务：

i. Understanding the topic (理解话题),

ii. Brainstorming for examples(头脑风暴回顾案例),

iii. Taking a position(确定立场),

iv. Creating an outline(创建提纲).

第二步：创作首段

确定了立场，接下类的重头戏就是快速创作文章的首段。首段是阅卷人重点关注的部分之一，一个好的首段应该完成以下几项任务:

i. Grab the graders’ attention(引发读者兴趣)

ii. Narrow down the topic & Position(告诉读者本文的话题和主旨)

iii. Transit smoothly to the examples(自然过渡到主体段)

毋庸置疑每个考官一次性需要给上百篇作文评分，而大部分的文章都有类似的观点，甚至给出的例子也是相同的。为了让你的文章脱颖而出，你必须设法让你的文章变得有趣，

在一开头就引人入胜，而且这个创作过程必须在2-3min内完成。这里给各位考生重点推荐两种万能开头写作法：“循循善诱”法 和“先扬后抑”法。

“循循善诱”法

“循循善诱”法作为引起读者兴趣的首段，是最常见的。之所以称之为“循循善诱”，是因为写作会按照从大范围到小范围、从概括到具体的循序渐进的模式展开，从而将读者“引诱”到文章的主旨，即作者的立场。

以上是笔者为各位准考生创作SAT Essay首段提供的两套“快餐”。相信各位考生经过多次练习和一定的积累，可以迅速掌握这些方法。当然，有了一个很好的开头你的文章已经成功一半了，另一半就应该交给主体段了。下面我们来看看主体段的写作技巧。

(二)留学路书SAT写作的核心内容通常也叫做SAT写作主体段落，在全文起着主心骨的作用。为了能简单明了的写明主旨意思，大家在备考时还需要多练习。下面就为大家介绍一下如何写好SAT写作主体段，期间又要注意些什么。

对于采用一般的四段式和五段式的SAT写作结构而言，中间的主体段在第二段和第三段。作文能取得一个什么样的分数，也就成败在此了。

1.详细叙述自己的观点。

SAT写作是表达对题目的一种看法，在主体段部分，要详细的叙述一下，自己的这种观点的原因。

SAT写作无非就像我们语文的作文。我们是在学习人家的英语，把它变成自己的表达和思考方式。

2.准备充分的例证。

在这部分中，需要大家调用自己所有的例子储备，展现对英美历史事件，人物事迹的掌握和认知程度，这里你可以灵活一点。挖掘该事件和你的论点的关系。为己所用。可以多看一些名人传记，

关心时事，善于思考，做一个兼收并蓄的人。

这三段的结构可以采用论点+例子+感想的方式，用到1-3个事例，尽量用到专有名词，具体时间，数字等等，如Norman Conquest，Peter the Great, Fitzgerald等，加强自己的文采。

他们的事迹比较具有普遍代表性，换句话说就是什么题目都能挖掘挖掘内涵，套的上去。。。。

举例子时注意例子的真实性、典型性、及权威性。

文章例证过程中结构要清晰明了，对于句子和句子之间的逻辑关系一定要交代清楚，前因和后果更要分清。事例的叙述中，时间是非常好的顺序，需要把握。

3.前提是掌握词汇、句式和段落。

当然在解决这些问题的同时，大家要掌握一个基本问题，就是对词汇，句式和段落的掌握，也就是最基本的英语写作知识的掌握。

以上就是SAT培训频道小编为大家准备的SAT写作主体段怎么写的详细内容。包含了论述观点、充分地例证和写好主体段的前提。大家在冲刺阶段一定要对这些问题加以锻炼。

初中英语写作技巧书面表达，首先要抓住所给的提示，然后运用所学词汇、语法及句型，避繁就简，简明表达要讲的内容。小编整理了初中英语写作技巧，欢迎阅读。

一、充分准备。打好基础。

为了提高书面表达水平，平时应加强阅读，应背诵一些句型、段落甚至短文。只要读得多、背得多，就能出口成章，下笔成文。其实，用英文写信，记日记等都是学生力所能及且行之有效的练习写作的好方法。

二、仔细审题，明确要求。

对题目所提供的信息要认真分析，明确要求，做到心中有数。要对所提供的信息加以分析、整理，使之更加具体化、条理化，为开始动笔做好准备工作，还要搞清题目的要求，以便根据不同的题材、体裁，写出不同格式，风格各异的文章，此外，还要注意人称、时态、地点等信息，避免出错。

三、抓住重点。寻求思路。

根据题目所提供的信息，草拟提纲，寻求逻辑次序，确定如何下手，否则，语无伦次的文章将不会被人接受，也不可能得到高分。

四、遣词造句，表达规范。

用词要适当，不可逐句把提示汉译英，亦不可生拼硬凑，不要硬拿英语单词到中文句子里去对号，否则写出中文式英语，闹出笑话。一般来讲，写作时，应尽量选出你有把握的词，尽量使用短句(简单句)。如果有的单词不会写，有的思想不会用英语表达，你可以设法绕开，最好找一个同义词、同义句，或近义词、词组短语来代替。要正确使用关联词，如and，or，but，so，because，since等，以便行文自然流畅。

五、修改润色，锦上添花。

作文写完之后，应注意检查修改，修改时先从全局修改。首先要检查主题是否明确，表达方式是否恰当，接下来检查所写内容是否切题，该交待的内容是否交待了，最后检查所用时态、人称是否符合要求，最后是否一致。

写完后，还应仔细校阅1—2遍。校阅要逐词逐句进行，注意检查语法、拼写、标点、大小写等方面的错误。校阅是自检的最后一关，应严肃认真的进行，尽可能地消灭一切差错，增强文章的效果。

因此，要写好一篇作文，不仅需要具有丰富的思想内容，掌握扎实的词汇、语法及修辞等方面的语言基本功，而且还需要掌握因不同思维方式和文化背景而形成的英语特有的篇章机构模式 惟有这样才能进行最有效的书面交际活动。

亲爱的21岁：

快要毕业的你是否忙碌与学业与实习之间，每一年的毕业生数不胜数，我相信压力是很大的。大一的你给自己制定了一份学业规划，明确安排了自己的三年生活，希望三年后的你确确实实学有所成。

热爱写作的你有没有坚持这条路走下去呢？我理想是当一名写书的，大一的我只是起步阶段，每天跑图书馆是必要的行程，在网站上投了三次稿子，两次得奖，然而我更希望三年后的你能真正开始在网站上连载自己的小说，即使只有少数的点击量，谁也没有关注到你，你会心灰意冷的想要放弃的时候，拜托你要坚持下去，生活不易，这条路不可能一帆风顺，这就很考验你的决心和毅力，理想与现实的抉择。

我知道每一篇文开始动笔前都需要雄厚的知识积累，这是每一个写者无形的力量。显然，刚入大学还是小鸡仔的我，经过高考的磨炼，对书本的积累还远远不够。对小说文体结构的认知也不够充分，但我相信这并不能难倒三年后的你，三年说长不长说短不短，利用好了就是黄金的三年。

都说人外有人，天外有天，大学里人才济济，很容易就被别人比下去，比你优秀的大有人在，现在再也不是用成绩作为评判一个人的标准，相信你能做的就是去完善自己，充实自己，超越自己。

现在的我还不知道，未来三年或是十年甚至更久远，处在未来的你，人工智能这项科技是不是有了突飞猛进的发展，很多机械化工作都能被ai所替代，时代好像又进入了一个新纪元，可是我知道，ai不会幽默，它不懂人类的笑点，所以我的理想是不会被ai扼杀在摇篮。那么，加油吧，少年，青春是拿来奋斗的！

1. What is language for? Some people seem to think its for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words--- the longer the words the better. Thats wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas, for communication。

语言到底是用来干什么的呢?一些人认为它是用来操练语法规则和学习一大堆单词--而且单词越长越好。这个想法是错误的。语言是用来交换思想，进行交流沟通的!

2. The way to learn a language is to practice speaking it as often as possible。

学习一门语言的方法就是要尽量多地练习说。

3. A great man once said it is necessary to drill as much as possible, and the more you apply it in real situations, the more natural it will become。

一位伟人曾说，反复操练是非常必要的，你越多的将所学到的东西运用到实际生活中，他们就变的越自然。

4. Learning any language takes a lot of effort. But dont give up。

学习任何语言都是需要花费很多努力，但不要放弃。

5. Relax! Be patient and enjoy yourself. Learning foreign languages should be fun。

放松点!要有耐性，并让自己快乐!学习外语应该是乐趣无穷的。

6. Rome wasnt built in a day. Work harder and practice more. Your hard- work will be rewarded by god one day. God is equal to everyone!

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒。更加努力的学习，更加勤奋的操练，你所付出的一切将会得到上帝的报答，上帝是公平的。

7. Use a dictionary and grammar guide constantly. Keep a small English dictionary with you at all time. When you see a new word, look it up. Think about the word-- use it, in your mind, in a sentence。

经常使用字典和语法指南。随身携带一本小英文字典，当你看到一个新字时就去查阅它，想想这个字---然后去用它，在你的心中，在一个句子里。

8. Try to think in English whenever possible. When you see something think of the English word of it; then think about the word in a sentence。

一有机会就努力去用英文来思考。看到某事时，想想它的英文单词;然后把它用到一个句子中去。

9. Practice tenses as much as possible. When you learn a new verb, learn its various forms。

尽可能多的操练时态。学习一个动词的时候，要学习它的各种形态。

10. I would also like to learn more about the culture behind the language. When you understand the cultural background, you can better use the language。

我想学习和了解更多关于语言背后的文化知识，当你理解了文化背景，你就能更好地运用语言。

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

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

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

1.?????? Proverbs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Damaging Research

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

3. Education and Citizenship

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

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

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

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

4. The Teacher’s Role

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

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

5. Education Philosophy

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

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

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

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

6. Student Life

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

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

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

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

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

7. Adult Education

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

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

8. Moral Relativism in American

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Schools Should Teach Values

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. College Pressures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then why are you going?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. To Err Is Wrong

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

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

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

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

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

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

Playing It Safe

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

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

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

Different Logic

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

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

Errors as Stepping Stones

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

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

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

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

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

1. 内容切题

内容切题是命题作文的基本要求，考生可从以下几个方面入手：

第一要认真审题。根据题目类别，弄清文体的要求，并判明文章的种类(议论文、说明文、记叙文)，同时确定文章要阐明的主题或要表达的中心思想，若题目已经提供了提纲，还要注意弄清各提纲要点之间的逻辑关系。考生在拿到作文题后，切勿惟恐时间不够，提笔就写。一旦跑题，发现了再改就来不及了，常言道：“磨刀不误砍柴工”。

第二要注意设计安排段落。根据文章的中心思想，确定各个段落的主题内容和主题句。如果是议论文，一般要从论点的正反两个方面来考虑，首先是某观点的合理成分或某物的长处，然后是该观点的不合理成分或该物的短处，最后阐明自己的观点。如果题目提供了提纲，只要把提纲扩展成主题句即可。

第三要避免将记忆里较熟悉的句子生拉硬扯地搬进作文，使作文结构松散，意思不明确，甚至会偏离主题。

2. 表达清楚，文字连贯

文章要做到表达清楚，文字连贯，文章各段落就必须根据提纲所确立的不同主题来展开，而且各段落的主题句要将段落的各个部分凝聚在一起，流利地表达段落大意，使段落中各部分以及段落之间的联系一目了然。

3. 句式有变化

有些考生对写作没信心，不敢大胆地使用所掌握的语言基础知识，包括英语句法知识，结果整篇文章都是以主、谓、宾句式为主的简单句子，文章显得刻板无生气。实际上，

导语：写英语作文是有规律可循的，你记住了一些英语句型，就可以直接套用。下面是yjbys作文网小编为您收集整理的资料，希望对您有所帮助。

1.welcometosp欢迎到某地

Eg.WelcometoChina。

2.What’sthematterwithsb./sth?

出什么毛病了?

Eg.What’sthematterwithyourwatch?

3.bedifferentfrom与---不同

Eg.TheweatherinBeijingisdifferentfromthatofNanjing。

4.bethesameas与……相同

Eg.Histrousersarethesameasmine。

5.befriendlytosb。对某人友好

Eg.Mr.Wangisveryfriendlytous。

6.wanttodosth。想做某事

Eg.Iwanttogotoschool。

7.wantsb.todosth。想让某人做某事

Eg.Iwantmysontogotoschool。

8.whattodo做什么

Eg.Wedon’tknowwhattodonext。

9.letsb.dosth。让某人做某事

Eg.Lethimentertheroom。

10.letsb.notdosth。让某人不做某人

Eg.Lethimnotstandintherain。

11.whydon’tyoudosth?

怎么不做某事呢?=

Eg.Whydon’tyouplayfootballwithus?

12.whynotdosth.?怎么不做某事呢?

Eg.Whynotplayfootballwithus?

13.makesb.sth。为某人制造某物=

Eg.Myfathermademeakite。

14.makesthforsb。为某人制造某物

Eg.Myfathermadeakiteforme。

15.What…meanby…?

做……是什么意思?

Eg.Whatdoyoumeanbydoingthat?

16.likedoingsth。喜爱做某事

Eg.Jimlikesswimming。

17.liketodosth。喜爱做某事

Eg.Hedoesn’tliketoswimnow。

18.feellikedoingsth。想做某事

Eg.Ifeellikeeatingbananas。

19.wouldliketodosth。愿意做某事

Eg.Wouldyouliketogorowingwithme?

20.wouldlikesb.todosth。愿意某人做某事

Eg.I’dlikeyoutostaywithmetonight。

21.makesb.dosth。逼使某人做某事

Eg.Hisbrotheroftenmakeshimstayinthesun。

22.letsb.dosth。让某人做某事

Eg.Letmesingasongforyou。

23.havesb.dosth。使某人做某事

Eg.Youshouldn’thavethestudentsworksohard。

24.befarfromsp离某地远

Eg.Hisschoolisfarfromhishome。

25.beneartosp离某地近

Eg.Thehospitalisneartothepostoffice。

26.begoodatsth./doingsth。

擅长某事/做某事

Eg.WearegoodatEnglish。

Theyaregoodatboating。

27.Ittakessb.sometimetodosth。

某人花多少时间做某事

Eg.Ittookmemorethanayeartolearntodrawabeautifulhorseinfiveminutes。

28.sb.spendssometime/money(in)doingsth。

某人花多少时间做某事

Eg.Ispenttwentyyearsinwritingthenovel。

29.sb.spendssometime/moneyonsth。

某事花了某人多少时间/金钱

Eg.Jimspent1000yuanonthebike。

30.sth.costssb.somemoney。

某物花了某人多少钱

Eg.ThebikecostJim1000yuan。

31.sb.payssomemoneyforsth。

某人为某物付了多少钱

Eg.Jimpaid1000yuanforthebike。

32.begin/startwithsth。开始做某事

Eg.Thestartedthemeetingwithasong。

33.begoingtodosth。打算做某事

Eg.WearegoingtostudyinJapan。

34.callAB叫AB

Eg.TheycalledthevillageGumtree。

35.thanksb.forsth./doingsth。

感谢某人做某事

Eg.Thankyouforyourhelp。

Thankyouforhelpingme。

36.What……for?为什么

Eg.WhatdoyoulearnEnglishfor?

37.How/whataboutdoingsth.?

做某事怎么样?

Eg.Howaboutgoingfishing?

38.S+be+the+最高级+of/in短语=

Eg.Lucyisthetallestinherclass。

39.S+be+比较级+thananyother+n。

Eg.Lucyistallerthananyotherstudentinherclass。

40.havetodosth。不得不做某事

Eg.Ihavetogohomenow。

41.hadbetterdosth。最好做某事

Eg.You’dbetterstudyhardatEnglish。

42.hadbetternotdosth。最好别做某事

Eg.You’dbetternotstayup。

43.helpsb.todosth。帮助某人做某事

Eg.LucyoftenhelpsLilytowashherclothes。

44.helpsb.dosth。帮助某人做某事

Eg.HeusuallyhelpsmelearnEnglish。

45.helpsb.withsth。帮助某人做某事

Eg.Isometimeshelpmymotherwiththehousework。

46.makeit+时间把时间定在几点

Eg.Let’smakeit8：30.

47.takesb.tosp带某人到某地

Eg.Mr.WangwilltakeustotheSummerPalacenextSunday。

49.havenothingtodo(withsb)

与某人没有关系

Eg.Thathasnothingtodowithme。

50.主语+don’tthink+从句

认为……不……

Eg.Idon’tthinkitwillraintomorrow。

1、Practice makes perfect.

熟能生巧。

2、Take care of the pence/pennies，and the pounds will take care of themselves.

积少成多。/小事谨慎，大事自成。

3、Swift to hear,slow to speak.

多听少讲。

4、Procrastination is the thief of time.

拖延就是偷走时间。

5、Tomorrow is another day.

明天又是新的一天。/明天还有指望。

6、Exploit to the full one’S favorable conditions and avoid unfavorableones.

扬长避短。

7、Promise little，but do much.

少许愿，多做事。

8、cripples learns to limp.

近朱者赤，近墨者黑。

9、Bend the willow while it is still youn.

修树要趁早，育人要趁小。

10、Knowledge is power.

知识就是力量。

11、Passion，though a bad regulator,is a powerful sprin.

激情虽难驾驭，却是强大动力。

12、Learn from other’S strong points to offset one’S weaknesses.

取长补短。

13、He than run fast gets the rin.

捷足先登。

14、We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

井干方知水宝贵。

15、Our greatest glory consists not in never failin9，but in rising every time we fall.

人生最大的光荣，不在于永不失败，而在失败还能站起。

16、Ideals are like stars-we never reach them，but like marlners，we chart our courses by them.

人之需要理想，如水手之需星辰；星辰虽不可及，但可指引我们航程。

17、Youth’s stuff will not endure.

青春易逝。

18、A pet lamb makes a cross ralTl.

宠坏的羊羔会变成恶羊。

19、Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

做最坏的准备，怀最好的希望。

20、Do not throw the baby with the bath water.

别把小孩和洗澡水一起泼掉。

21、Wisdom is only found in truth.

惟有在真理中才能找到智慧。

22、A stitch in time saves nine.

小洞不补，大洞吃苦。

23、An hour in the morning is worth two in the evenin9./The morning hour has gold in its mouth.

一天之计在于晨。

24、Where there is a will，there is a way.

有志者事竟成。

25、Broaden one’S scope ofknowledge and widen one’S horizon.

拓宽知识，开拓视野。

26、He that can have patience can have what he will.

惟坚韧者始能遂其志。

27、Thought is the seed of action.

思想是行动的种子。

28、As you give，as you receive./As you sow，you shall mow.

种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。

29、Every man is the master ofhis own fogune.

每人都是自己命运的主人。

30、Good health is the best treasure a person can procure.

健康是一个人最宝贵的财富。

31、Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom.

失败是成功之母。

32、The first step to knowledge is to know that we are ignorant.

走向知识的第一步是知道自己无知。

33、Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.

孩子不见世面，知识少的可怜。

34、People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

自己有缺点，勿揭他人短。

35、Give me where to stand，and l will move the world.

给我一个支点,我可以跷起整个地球。

考试就要开始了，对还有什么不了解的呢？为考生们提供各种面试、学习、择校等技巧及经验，希望可以帮助大家考得好成绩。在这里先网预祝大家考出理想成绩。

1.表文章结构顺序：

Firstofall,Firstly/First,Secondly/Second…

Andthen,Finally,Intheend,Atlast

2.表并列补充关系的：

Whatismore,Besides,Moreover,

3.表转折对比关系的：

However,Onthecontrary,but

Ononehand…Ontheotherhand…Some…，whileothers…

4.表因果关系的：

Because,As、So,Therefore,Asaresult

5.表换一种方式表达：

Inotherwords

6.表进行举例说明：

Forexample,句子;Forinstance,句子;suchas+n/doing

7.表陈述事实：Infact

8.表达自己观点：

AsfarasIknow,Inmyopinion

9.表总结：

Inshort,Inaword.

文中正确使用两三个好的句型，如：感叹句、宾语从句、动名词做主语等。

宾语从句举例：

IbelieveTianjinwillbemorebeautifulandprosperous.

感叹句举例：

HowIwanttostudyinthebestmiddleschoolinGuangzhou!

动名词做主语举例：

Readingbooksandswimmingaremyhobbies.

常用状语从句句型：

1)时间：

when,not…until(直到…才…)，assoonas(一…就…)

2)目的：

sothat+clause;(为了)

3)结果：

so…that…(如此…以至于…)，too…todo(太……以至于……)

4)条件：

if,unless(除非)，aslongas(只要)

5)比较：

as…as…(与…一样)，notso…as…，than

以上即是网为大家整理的英语作文写作技巧，大家还满意吗?希望对大家有所帮助!

A man was going to the house of some rich person. As he went along the road, he saw a box of good apples at the side of the road. He said, "I do not want to eat those apples; for the rich man will give me much food; he will give me very nice food to eat." Then he took the apples and threw them away into the dust.

He went on and came to a river. The river had become very big; so he could not go over it. He waited for some time; then he said, "I cannot go to the rich mans house today, for I cannot get over the river."

He began to go home. He had eaten no food that day. He began to want food. He came to the apples, and he was glad to take them out of the dust and eat them.

Do not throw good things away; you may be glad to have them at some other time.

【译文】

一个人正朝着一个富人的房子走去，当他沿着路走时，在路的一边他发现一箱好苹果，他说：“我不打算吃那些苹果，因为富人会给我更多的食物，他会给我很好吃的东西。”然后他拿起苹果，一把扔到土里去。

他继续走，来到河边，河涨水了，因此，他到不了河对岸，他等了一会儿，然后他说：“今天我去不了富人家了，因为我不能渡过河。”

他开始回家，那天他没有吃东西。他就开始去找吃的，他找到苹果，很高兴地把它们从尘土中翻出来吃了。

不要把好东西扔掉，换个时候你会觉得它们大有用处。

A letter to Amy_给艾米的一封信

Dear Army:

How are you?I`m happy to tell you something about my lifestyle.

I get up at six.At six twenty.I have breakfast.I usually have an egg.a piece of bread and a glass of milk.This helps me start the day well.Next ,I run for twenty minutes.

I have lunch at eleven forty.I always have a bowl of rice. meat and vegetables. This meal gives me energy for the whole afternoon.

I have dinner at eleven.I often have a bowl of noodles, fish and an apple.Apples are good for us. There is a saying, An apple a day keeps the doctor away."So I always have an apple between meals.

After dinner .I do my homework ,and then. I go to bed at nine ,I sleep for nine hours every day .

Do you think my lifestyle is healthy? what about yours ? write to me soon.

yours

Kitty

修辞手段一般主要用于文学性写作中。但在大学英语的英文写作中有时也需要运用一定的具有英文特征的修辞手段，而且运用得好，会使语句生动从而增添语句亮点。因此，掌握一些一般常用修辞手段对于实现语句亮点也是非常必要的。对于大学英语写作来说，主要应该掌握以下修辞手段，又称语句辞格，包括结构辞格与语义辞格。对比、排比、重复、倒装等为结构辞格，转义、双关、矛盾等则为语义辞格。

1.对比正反对比就是要巧妙地运用对称的英文句式来表达互为补充的意思，因此恰当地运用反义词语往往是必不可少的。如果一旦所要表达的内容具有这种情况，就应尽力选用这种对称的句式并选用适当的反义词语来加强语句，实现语句的亮点。

1)如“很多人很快就会发现，他们在物质上是富裕了，精神上却很贫乏”，可以这样达：

Many people will soon find themselves rich in goods，but ragged in spirit.(注：句中rich in与ragged in，goods与spirit具有正反对比的关系和效果。)

2)如“利远远大于弊”，可以这样表达：

The advantages for outweigh the disadvantages.(注：句中the advantages与the disadvantages具有正反对比的关系和效果。)

3)如“他们注意到了这些说法中的一些道理，但他们却忽视了一个重要的事实”，可以这样表达：

They have noticed a grain of truth in the statements，but have ignored a more important fact.(注：句中have noticed与have ignored，a grain of truth in the statements与a more important fact具有正反对比的关系和效果。)

4)如“这样做既有积极效果也有消极效果”，可以这样表达：

It will have both negative and positive effects by so doing.(注：句中negative与positive具有正反对比的关系和效果)

5)如“我们既有与我们很为相似的朋友，又有与我们很为不同的朋友”，可以这样表达：

We have friends similar to us and friends different from us.(注：句中similar to与different from具有正反对比的关系和效果)

2.排比英文中有时也使用排比句式，这种句式整齐而有气势，又不会使人感到单调。例如，如“读书使我们聪明，锻炼使我们强健”，可以这样表达：

Reading makes us wise while exercises make us strong. 3.重复英文一般讲求简洁，因此为表达强调偶尔使用重复可以使语句的强调内容得到突出。英文的重复又根据被重复词语在语句中的位置分为句首重复、句尾重复、首尾重复、尾首重复等。

1)如“现在是忘掉过去一切的时候了。现在是言归正传的时候了。现在是为未来而奋斗的时候了”，可以这样表达：

Now is the time to forget everything in the past. Now is the time to get down to the business. Now is the time to work hard for the future.(注：此句为句首重复，重复部分为句首的now it the time to)

2)如“我们渴望成功，而且正在为成功而努力工作”，可以这样表达：

We long for success and we are working hard for success.(注：此句为句尾重复，重复的部分为句尾的for success.)

3)如“我相信我们能够成功，我相信我们也一定会成功”，可以这样表达：

I am convinced that we can succeed，and Iam convinced that we must succeed.(注：and所连接的两个语句的句首与句尾部分同时重复，重复的部分为句首的I am convinced that与句尾的succeed)

4)如“我们现在生活在一个新的时代，而一个改革充满着风险与机遇”，可以这样表达：

We are now living in a new era，and a new era of reform is always full of ventures and chances.(注：and之前的句尾与and之后的句首重复，重复部分为a new era.)

4.倒装这里说的倒装不同于前述非修辞性的语法结构倒装。非修辞性的语法结构倒装是语句的语法结构所限定的，没有自由选择的余地，只要运用需要倒装结构的句型就要采用倒装结构。这里所说的倒装是指修辞性语义结构倒装，是进行强调的一种手段，它利用了语句句首(或句尾)的特殊位置。例如，如“充满着风险与机遇的改革的新时代正向我们走来”，可以这样表达：

Now on coming to us is the new era of reform full of ventures and chances. 5.转义转义是一种对词语灵活运用的修辞手段，主要有比喻、拟人、夸张、反语、婉转等，比喻又包括明喻、暗喻、换喻、提喻等。

1)如要表达“过去的经历就像图片一样总是在脑海中萦绕”，英文可为：

What had been experienced in the past was always looming in memory like a picture.(注：此句采用明喻，明喻的特点是使用了like一词)

2)如要表达“我们的英语老师就是我们最好的英语辞典”，英文可为：

Our English teacher is our best English dictionary.(注：此句采用暗喻，暗喻的特点是利用事物之间的相似之处进行比喻，与明喻不同之处在于不使用like一词)

3)如要表达“我正在读莎土比亚的书呢”，英文可为：

I am reading Shakespeare.(注：此句采用换喻，换喻的特点是直接借用一事物的名称宋代替另一事物的名称，使用通过联想理解其含义，但不是所有的事物都是可以用换喻来表达的)

4)如要表达“这里需要一个帮手”，英文可为：

A hand is needed here.(注：此句采用提喻，提喻的特点是用一个事物的部分来代表事物的整体或用一个事物的整体来代表事物的部分。这里用hand一词代表整个人)

5)如要表达“巨大的不幸笼罩着整个城市”，英文可为：

A great misfortune crept over the whole city.(注：此句采用拟人。拟人的特点是将事物人格化)

6)如要表达“这种想法可真是伟大的愚蠢”，英文可为：

This is really a great stupid idea.(注：此句采用反语。反语的特点是故意将话反说，具有讽刺意味)

7)如要表达“我太渴望成功了。听到成功的消息我欣喜若狂”，英文可为：

I was mad for success and on the news of success I went mad with joy.(注：此句采用夸张。夸张的特点是为表现事物的特征故意夸大其词)

英语写作中有不少短语和表达大家会经常用到，下面我们就总结了100条常用的短语和表达句子，希望能给大家一些参考。

1. 经济的快速发展 the rapiddevelopment of economy

2.人民生活水平的显著提高/稳步增长theremarkableimprovement/ steady growth ofpeople’s livingstandard

3.先进的科学技术advanced science and technology

4.面临新的机遇和挑战 be faced with new opportunities and challenges

5.人们普遍认为 It is commonly believed/ recognized that…

6.社会发展的必然结果 the inevitable result of social development

7.引起了广泛的公众关注 arouse wide public concern/ draw publicattention

8.不可否认 Itis undeniable that…/ There is no denying that…

9.热烈的讨论/争论 a heated discussion/ debate

10.有争议性的问题 a controversialissue

11.完全不同的观点 a totally different argument

12.一些人 …而另外一些人 … Some people… while others…

13. 就我而言/ 就个人而言 As far as I am concerned, / Personally,

14.就…达到绝对的一致 reach an absolute consensus on…

15.有充分的理由支持 be supported by sound reasons

16.双方的论点 argument on both sides

17.发挥着日益重要的作用 play an increasingly important role in…

18.对…必不可少 be indispensableto …

19.正如谚语所说 As the proverb goes:

20.…也不例外 …be no exception

21.对…产生有利/不利的影响 exert positive/ negative effects on…

22.利远远大于弊 the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages。

23.导致，引起 lead to/ give rise to/ contribute to/ result in

24.复杂的社会现象 a complicated social phenomenon

25.责任感 / 成就感 sense of responsibility/ sense of achievement

26. 竞争与合作精神 sense of competition and cooperation

27. 开阔眼界 widen one’s horizon/ broaden one’s vision

28.学习知识和技能 acquire knowledge and skills

29.经济/心理负担 financial burden / psychologicalburden

30.考虑到诸多因素 take many factors into account/ consideration

31. 从另一个角度 from another perspective

32.做出共同努力 make joint efforts

33. 对…有益 be beneficial / conducive to…

34.为社会做贡献 make contributions to the society

35.打下坚实的基础 lay a solid foundation for…

36.综合素质 comprehensivequality

37.无可非议 blameless / beyond reproach

38.加大了…的可能性 increase the chances of

39.致力于/ 投身于 be committed / devoted to…

40. 应当承认 Admittedly

41.不可推卸的义务 unshakable duty

42. 满足需求 satisfy/ meet the needs of…

43.可靠的信息源 a reliablesource of information

44.宝贵的自然资源 valuable natural resources

45.因特网 the Internet (一定要由冠词，字母I

46.方便快捷 convenient andefficient

47.在人类生活的方方面面 in all aspects of human life

48.环保(的) environmental protection /environmentallyfriendly

49.社会进步的体现 a symbol of society progress

50.科技的飞速更新 the ever-accelerated updating of scienceandtechnology

51.对这一问题持有不同态度 hold different attitudes towards this issue

52.支持前/后种观点的人 people / those in favor of theformer/latteropinion

53.有/ 提供如下理由/ 证据 have/ provide the followingreasons/evidence

54.在一定程度上 to some extent/ degree / in some way

55. 理论和实践相结合 integratetheory with practice

56. …必然趋势 an irresistible trend of…

57.日益激烈的社会竞争 the increasingly fierce social competition

58.眼前利益 immediate interest/ short-term interest

59.长远利益. interest in the long run

60.…有其自身的优缺点 … has its merits and demerits/ advantagesanddisadvantages

61.扬长避短 Exploit to the full one’s favorableconditions andavoidunfavorable ones

62.取其精髓，去其糟粕 Take the essence and discard the dregs。

63.对…有害 do harm to / be harmful to/ be detrimental to

64.交流思想/ 情感/ 信息 exchange ideas/ emotions/ information

65.跟上…的最新发展 keep pace with / catch up with/ keep abreastwiththe latest development of …

66.采取有效措施来… take effective measures to do sth。

67.…的健康发展 the healthy development of …

68.有利有弊 Every coin has its two sides。(不推荐用。。。) No gardenwithout weeds。

69.对…观点因人而异 Views on …vary from person to person。

70.重视 attach great importance to…

71.社会地位 social status

72.把时间和精力放在…上 focus time and energy on…

73.扩大知识面 expand one’s scopeof knowledge

74.身心两方面 both physically and mentally

75.有直接/间接关系 be directly / indirectly related to…

76. 提出折中提议 set forth a compromise proposal

77. 可以取代 “think”的词 believe, claim, hold the opinion/beliefthat

78.缓解压力/ 减轻负担 relievestress/ burden

79.优先考虑/发展… give (top) priority to sth。

80.与…比较 compared with…/ in comparison with

81. 相反 in contrast / on the contrary。

82.代替 replace/ substitute / take the place of 大写)

83.经不起推敲 cannot bear closer analysis / cannot hold water

84.提供就业机会 offer job opportunities

85. 社会进步的反映 mirror of social progress

86.毫无疑问 Undoubtedly, / There is no doubt that…

87.增进相互了解 enhance/ promote mutualunderstanding

88.充分利用 make full use of / take advantage of

89.承受更大的工作压力 suffer from heavier work pressure

90.保障社会的稳定和繁荣 guarantee the stability and prosperity ofoursociety

91.更多地强调 put more emphasis on…

92.适应社会发展 adapt oneself to the development of society

93.实现梦想 realize one’s dream/ make one’s dream come true

94. 主要理由列举如下 The main reasons are listed as follows:

95. 首先 First， Firstly， In the first place, To begin with

96.其次 Second, Secondly, In the second place

97. 再次 Besides，In addition, Additionally,Moreover,Furthermore

98. 最后 Finally, Last but not the least, Above all, Lastly,

99. 总而言之 All in all, To sum up, In summary, In a word,

100.我们还有很长的路要走 We still have a long way to go

写人的英语作文在高考中不少见，什么样的作文更能吸引人呢?下面请看语文迷为大家带来的技巧。

写人记叙文，一般为肖像描写、行动描写、语言描写、心理描写以及对细节的描写，应根据要求，灵活掌握，突出重点。

【几点注意】

1.使用正确人称和时态。

①时态：

一般现在时--描写人物外貌、性格、兴趣等

一般过去时-- 描写人物出生、教育背景、经历、事迹

②人称：第一人称或第三人称

2.介绍人物的姓名、年龄、外貌、学历、经历、专业、爱好、特长、事迹、性格等，包括所给的全部信息点，不能遗漏或随意添加。

3.对所给的信息进行适当重组，安排好写作顺序，突出重点信息。

4.正确运用描写人物的词汇和句型。

【常见词语】

①外貌特征：

pretty, beautiful, good-looking，handsome,ordinary-looking, with a big nose, with a big

smile, short, tall,thin, strong, white-haired，1.80 metres tall, …

②性格特点：

absent-minded, charming, attractive, bright, wise smart, confident, naughty，talkative, diligent,

lazy, friendly, generous, be ready to help others,kind-hearted, warm-hearted, patient, humorous,

have a good/ bad temper, independent,narrow-minded, …

③童年情况：

as a boy of 15, be born on, during his childhood, live a happy/hard life, the son of a poor family,

spend his childhood in, ...

④兴趣爱好： be delighted in doing, be good at , be interested in , be fond of , be crazy about, be pleased with, do well in, enjoy doing, have a strong desire to do, long for/long to do), take a pleasure in doing,…

⑤教育背景： be admitted to Beijing University, be enrolled in, fail in the test, get a master’s

degree, get on well with one’s lessons, go abroad to further one’s study, graduate from,major in, receive a doctor’s degree, pass the examination, take an active part in, …

⑥ 成就或事迹：

become a member of the team, encourage sb to do sth, give up one’s life for sth, receive the

Nobel Prize for physics, set a new world record of,win the first prize in, win a gold /silver/ bronze

medal, have a talent for, make up one’s mind to do sth., put one’s heart into, work hard at,

concentrate oneself to, devote oneself to,do sth.with great determination and perseverance, ...

⑦他人评价：

an inspiring leader, a model worker, an advanced teacher, be respected by , be honored as, be

considered/regarded as, be famous/known as,his hard work brought him great success, make

great contributions to our country, set a good example for , be highly spoken of for, ...

例文

你班要举办以“Ordinary but Great”为题的英语主题班会。

请根据下列信息准备一篇发言稿，介绍赵郁的成长经历。

注意： 1、词数不少于60。

2、文章的题目和开头已经给出。

3、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

提示词：首席技师 chief technician

Ordinary but Great

We are all ordinary people, but following what we are interested in and doing what we are good

at can help us make great achievements for society and go far. Here’s a convincing and inspiring example.

______________________________________

【范文】

Zhao Yu, the chief technician in the Benz Company,is regarded as a great success. However, his success is no accident. As a young boy with a sense of creativity, he was eager to learn and to make a lot of inventions. Being an ordinary worker in the Benz Company for 17 years, not only did he do well in his job, but he also made efforts to teach himself English and to learn how to use computers. Now it is easy for him to read English materials about cars. Besides, he became expert at solving various technical problems.Because of his great contribution, he has received awards many times.

Zhao Yu has set a good example that ordinary people can stand out by doing their jobs with interest and enthusiasm.

【评析】

1.作者运用了所给出的全部信息：姓名、职务、经历。对所给的信息进行了适当重组，突出了重点信息(赵郁的经历)，内容完整、详略得当，体现了话题“Ordinary but great”所表达的内容。

2. 正确使用人称(第三人称)，灵活使用时态(一般过去时、一般现在时);合理使用过渡词，使文章层次分明、结构紧凑。

3. 语言规范，表达准确。文章运用了一些高级句式，如同位语、介词短语、分词短语、倒装句、同位语从句等，增加了文章的亮点。

初一是正式开始写英语作文，怎么样才能写出好的英语作文呢?

一、充分准备，打好基础。

为了提高初一英语作文写作水平，平时应加强阅读，多背诵一些句形、段落甚至短文。俗话说：“读书破万卷，下笔如有神”，只有多读，多记，多背诵，才能出口成章，下笔成文。此外，写好初一英语作文还要掌握一些应用文体的写作方法，如书信、日记、通知等，它们大多有固定的格式。

二、认真审题，明确要求

在写初一英语作文的时候仔细看清写作要求和提示，分清材料的主次，接着确定体裁、格式和人物、地点等要素;最后确定时态，同时考虑相关的语态搭配用法。

三、遣词造句、表达规范

初一英语作文用词要恰当，不可逐句把提示翻译成英语。写作时，应尽量选用你最熟悉、最有把握的词和句型来表达思想。如果有些单词不会些，有些句型不会表达，可以设法绕开，用熟悉的同义词、同义短语或同义句来代替。要学会善于运用适当的关联词，如and, or, but, so，because, since等，以使初一英语作文行文逻辑紧密，自然流畅。

四、认真撰写，卷面整洁

初一英语考试中也会有初一英语作文题，如果时间允许，书面表达一定要先写草稿。在抄写入答题卷前，要先进行检查修改。首先检查所写内容是否切题;之后检查主题是否明确，表达方式是否恰当;最后检查所用时态、语态、人称是否符合要求，前后是否一致。

英语写作常用名言

1.Knowledge is power. 知识就是力量 2.Live and learn. 活到老,学到老

3.The more you know, the more you find you don’t know. 知之愈多,便觉知之愈少

4.Never teach a fish to swim. 切勿班门弄斧

5.Never too old to learn; never too late to turn. 学习不厌老,改过不嫌迟 6.Better sense is the head than cents in the pocket. 口袋里有钱不如头脑里有知识

7. The greatest artist was once a beginner. 最伟大的艺术家也曾是个初学者 8.It’s never too late to learn. 活到老,学到老 9.A good book is a good friend. 好书如同挚友

10. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 只会学习不玩耍,聪明孩子也变傻

11. A young idler, and old beggar. 少壮不努力,老大徒伤悲

12. By reading we enrich the mind, by conversation we polish it.读书使人充实,交谈使人精明

13. Experience must be bought. 吃一堑,长一智

14. There is no royal road to learning. 学问无捷径

15. Imagination is more important than knowledge. 想象力比知识更重要 16. The empty vessels make the greatest sound. 满瓶不响,半瓶咣当

17. If you don’t learn to think when you are young, you may never learn.如果你年轻的时候没有学会思考,那么就永远学不会思考

18.There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.最有益的是知识,最有害的是无知

记叙文是以叙述人物的经历或事物的发展变化过程为主的一种文体。它是写作训练中最普遍、最基本的一种文体。记叙文以写实为主，但也可以虚拟。如人物传记、历史故事或新闻报导这类非虚拟的故事是记叙文，神话故事、寓言、幽默故事等也属记叙文。记叙文通常分为三类：

1. 以记人为主的记叙文。即以人物为中心组织材料，围绕这个人物来写一、两件事。

2. 以事件为主的记叙文。即以事件为中心组织材料，围绕中心事件，可以写一个人或几个人。

3. 以写景状物为主的记叙文。但应注意的是，在一篇记叙文中，写人、写景、写事往往是交织在一起的，不可截然分开，但各有侧重。

【写作注意】

写作中应遵循以下几点：

1. 交待要素，即人、时、地、事。

2. 按事件发生的先后顺序叙述, 完整、具体。

3. 要重点突出，目的明确。记叙文所记的都是过去发生的事，原则上通常用过去时态写。

【写作实例】

假如你是武汉大学附中高三(1)的李华，今年即将高中毕业。请根据以下要点给某英文报写一篇英语短文，谈谈你对高三生活的看法。

(1)对获得的帮助表示感谢;

(2)消除与 同学之间的误会;

(3)努力学习，实现人生梦想;

(4)对学弟、学妹的建议。

注意：

(1)可适当加入细节，以使行文连贯;

(2)词数：100左右(开头已给出，不计入总词数) 。

High school is regarded as the best time in a persons life. As a senior 3 student, it wont take lon g before I graduate._____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

【猜题理由】本篇书面表达能比较真实地反映学生的生活实际，话题内容关注学生的社交生活和树立健康的人生观，具有考查的现实意义和指导意义;在语言表达上，能够让学生充分运用所学知识，毫无词汇障碍地表达自己的思想;此外，在语言表达的设置上也有一定的伸展性，能有效地激发学生个 性观点的创建。

【构思点拨】本篇书面表达是常见 的提纲类型的写作，要点明确清楚，便于学生组织文章，理清脉络。行文时要注意处理好语言表达的控制性和伸展性之间的关系。

【参考范文】

High school is regarded as the best time in a persons life. As a senior three student, it wont take long before I graduate. Now, I have much to share with my fellow students.

Firstly, I would like to show my appreciation to those standing by me all the way, teachers, pare nts and friends included. Without their help and advice, my life would be different. Secondly, its high time to say sorry to classmates whom I hurt or misunderstood. Communication and smiles act as bridges to friendship. Above all, Ive made up my mind to make every effo rt to study, for I believe hard work is the key to success. Just as the old saying goes, "no pains, no gains."

Finally I hope that all the younger fellows can make full use of time, because time and tide wait for no men.

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.

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。

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。

英语写作注意两点

一、先审题，弄清写作要求审题是写好作文的前提，也是书面表达的基础。如果写偏了题，语言表达再好也很难得高分。审题时要注意两个方面：

1.认真地看两遍题目，包括提示，全面了解写作要求。

2.理清思路，确定体裁、框架结构和内容。

二、用英语进行思维英语写作时必须排除汉语思维的干扰。

从现在起应逐渐加大阅读量和听的输入量，将阅读、听力训练与书面表达有机地结合起来。经常体会和领悟作者传递信息和表达思想的方式。在话题讨论和写作中经常运用所学到的表达方式就会有所创造。还要尽量做到“五多”：多看、多听、多思考、多用心体验和感悟身边的人和事、多用英语说和写自己的体验和感受。

不管做什么是，找对技巧很重要。下面语文迷网整理了英语六级的写作技巧，供大家阅读参考。

一、 长短句原则。

工作还得一张一弛呢，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。

二、 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.

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, hospitable 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 enjoy 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, notwithstanding

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。

既然十挑战极限，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. 如果你可以写出这样的句子，不得高分才怪!