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高职英语写作范文(汇集20篇)

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如何做到让英语写作更加简单顺畅

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一个完整的英语句子,单词的数量最好不要超过20个,否则的话,句子偏长,听话人的注意力有可能不集中,漏听一、两个单词,从而影响对整个句子的理解。为了避免句子冗长,通常采取两种办法:一种是将一个长句子划分为几个短句子,每个短句子之间有语气上的停顿,让听话人有间歇的感觉;另外一种则是简化句子的单词构成,用一些简单的单词,代替一些复杂的单词。下面给各位介绍三种常用的简化方法:

第一种方法是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)

第二种方法是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。)

第三种方法是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)

最后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。)

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篇1:英语四级写作高分方法集锦

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【提要】英语四六级四级信息 : 20176月英语四级写作高分黄金句式【1】

▌列举法

列举法是四级写作中常用的方法,一般用first, second等一系列标志词引出原因或者可能的影响等。列举法常用的素材有:

引出列举

1. There may be a combination of factors which contribute to/are responsible for/can explain ______. 也许有一些因素造成/可以解释______。

2. There are probably three/many/several/a variety of reasons for this dramatic/significant increase/decline in ______.引起______显著增长/下降的原因有三个/许多/几个/很多。

3. Some reasons can explain this trend. 一些原因可以解释这一趋势。

4. Why ______ ?为什么______?

5. The causes of ______ are varied. They include______ , perhaps the main cause is ______. 造成______的原因有很多,包括______,主要原因可能是______。

6. The reason for this is not far to seek. 这一问题的原因不难发现。

7. It is no easy task to identify the reasons for this phenomenon which involves several complicated factors. 要找出这一现象的原因并非易事,因为它涉及若干复杂的因素。

8. There are numerous reasons why ______, and I would explore only a few of the most important ones here. ______的原因有很多,这里我只想探讨其中几个最重要的原因。

9. There are many reasons responsible for this phenomenon, and the following are the typical ones. 导致这种现象的原因有很多,以下是其中比较有代表性的。

10. There are many reasons explaining this case. As for me, I regard the following as the typical ones. 有很多原因可以解释该问题。就我而言,我认为以下原因比较典型。

11. A number of factors could account for/contribute to/lead to/result in the change of ______. 引起______变化的因素有很多。

分条列举

1. In the first place, ______. In the second place______ .首先,______。其次,______。

2. First,______ . Second, ______ . 首先,______。其次,______。

3. To begin with, ______. Secondly, ______. Last but not least, ______.首先,______。其次,______。最后但并不是最不重要的,______。

4. The first reason is that ______. The second one is ______. The third is ______. 第一个原因是______。第二个原因是______。第三个原因是______。

5. First of all, ______. Secondly,______ . Furthermore,______ .首先,______。其次,______。另外,______。

6. For one thing, ______. For another, ______.一方面,______。另一方面,______。

7. Firstly, ______. Secondly, ______. Thirdly, ______.首先,______。其次,______。再次,______。

8. Another reason why I disagree with the above statements is that I believe______.我不同意上述观点的另一个原因是我认为______。

▌对比法

对比法是指通过对比两种截然不同的观点来陈述其中的利弊,从而得出自己的结论。对比法常用的素材有:

1. The advantages gained in ______ outweigh/are much g

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篇2:商务英语写作技巧

全文共 1943 字

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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。

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篇3:优美英语写作段落句子摘抄中英互译

全文共 1992 字

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1 天空没有翅膀的痕迹,而鸟儿已飞过

there are no trails of the wings in the sky, while the birds has flied away。

2 没有谁对不起谁,只有谁不懂得珍惜谁。

no one indebted for others,while many people dont know how to cherish others。

3 我的世界不允许你的消失,不管结局是否完美。

no matter the ending is perfect or not, you cannot disappear from my world。

4 凋谢是真实的 盛开只是一种过去

fading is true while flowering is past。

5 为什么幸福总是擦肩而过,偶尔想你的时候…。就让…。回忆来陪我。

why i have never catched the happiness? whenever i want you ,i will be accompanyed by the memory of.。。

6 如果你为着错过夕阳而哭泣,那么你就要错群星了

if you weeped for the missing sunset,you would miss all the shining stars

7 如果只是遇见,不能停留,不如不遇见

if we can only encounter each other rather than stay with each other,then i wish we had never encountered 。

8 宁愿笑著流泪,也不哭著说后悔 心碎了,还需再补吗?

i would like weeping with the smile rather than repenting with the cry,when my heart is broken ,is it needed to fix?

9 爱情是一个精心设计的谎言

love is a carefully designed lie。

10 当香烟爱上火柴时,就注定受到伤害

when a cigarette falls in love with a match,it is destined to be hurt。

11 人活着 总是要得罪一些人的 就要看那些人是否值得得罪

when alive ,we may probably offend some people.however, we must think about whether they are deserved offended。

12 命里有时终需有 命里无时莫强求

you will have it if it belongs to you,whereas you dont kveth for it if it doesnt appear in your life。

13 爱情就像一只蝴蝶,它喜欢飞到哪里,就把欢乐带到哪里。

love is like a butterfly. it goes where it pleases and it pleases where it goes。

14 永远不是一种距离,而是一种决定。

eternity is not a distance but a decision。

15 在回忆里继续梦幻不如在地狱里等待天堂

dreaming in the memory is not as good as waiting for the paradise in the hell。

16 哪里有真爱存在,哪里就有奇迹

where there is great love, there are always miracles。

17 每一个沐浴在爱河中的人都是诗人

at the touch of love everyone becomes a poet。

18 假如每次想起你我都会得到一朵鲜花,那么我将永远在花丛中徜徉。

if i had a single flower for every time i think about you, i could walk forever in my garden。

19 有了你,我迷失了自我;失去你,我多么希望自己再度迷失。

within you i lose myself, without you i find myself wanting to be lost again。

20 承诺常常很像蝴蝶,美丽的飞盘旋然后不见

promises are often like the butterfly, which disappear after beautiful hover。

[优美英语写作段落句子摘抄中英互译

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篇4:英语写作50条常用短语句子

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导语:英语写作中有不少短语和表达大家会经常用到,下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的相关英语写作50条常用短语句子,欢迎阅读与借鉴,谢谢!

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

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篇5:2024小学英语作文写作技巧解析

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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。

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篇6:高考英语作文常用写作句式句型汇总

全文共 10058 字

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一.开头用语:

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

1.议论论文:

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. 书信:

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

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

C. Thank you for your letter of May 5.D. How happy I am to receive your letter of January 9.

E. How nice to hear from you again.

3. 口头通知或介绍情况:

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

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

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

4. 演讲稿:

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

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

二.并列用语:

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

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

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

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

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

三.对比用语:

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

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

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

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

四. 递进用语:

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

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

五. 例证用语:

in one’s opinion, that is to say, for example, for instance, as a matter of fact, in fact, namely

A. As a matter of fact, advertisement plays an informative role in our daily life.

B. There is one more topic to discuss, namely/that is ( to say ), the question of education.

六. 时序用语:

first/firstly, meanwhile, before long, ever since, while, at the same time

in the meantime, shortly after, nowadays,

A. They will be here soon. Meanwhile, let’s have coffee.

B. Firstly, let me deal with the most important difficulty.

七. 强调用语:

especially, indeed, at least, at the most, What in the world/on earth.. , not at all ,

A. Noise is unpleasant, especially when you are trying to sleep.

B What in the world/on earth are you doing?

八. 因果用语:

thanks to, because, as a result, because of/as a result of , without, with the help of..., owe ...to...

A. The company has a successful year, thanks mainly to the improvement in export sales.

B. As a result, many of us succeeded in passing the College Entrance Examinations.

九. 总结用语:

in short; briefly/ in brief ; generally speaking, in a word, as you know, as is known to all

A. Generally speaking, sending an e-mail is more convenient than sending letters.

B. In short, measures must be taken to prevent the environment being polluted.

常用句型

(一)段首句

1. 关于……人们有不同的观点。一些人认为……

There are different opinions among people as to……Some people suggest that ……

2. 俗话说(常言道)……,它是我们前辈的经历,但是,即使在今天,它在许多场合仍然适用。

There is an old saying……Its the experience of our forefathers,however,it is correct in many cases even today.

3. 现在,……,它们给我们的日常生活带来了许多危害。首先,……;其次,……。更为糟糕的是……。

Today, …… which have brought a lot of harms in our daily life. First, ……Second,……What makes things worse is that…….

4. 现在,……很普遍,许多人喜欢……,因为……,另外(而且)……。

Nowadays,it is common to ……. Many people like …… because …… Besides,……

5. 任何事物都是有两面性,……也不例外。它既有有利的一面,也有不利的一面。

Everything has two sides and …… is not an exception,it has both advantages

and disadvantages.

6. 关于……人们的观点各不相同,一些人认为(说)……,在他们看来,……

People’s opinions about …… vary from person to person. Some people say that ……To them,……

7. 人类正面临着一个严重的问题……,这个问题变得越来越严重。

Man is now facing a big problem …… which is becoming more and more serious.

8. ……已成为人的关注的热门话题,特别是在年青人当中,将引发激烈的辩论。

……has become a hot topic among people,especially among the young and heated debates are right on their way.

9. ……在我们的日常生活中起着越来越重要的作用,它给我们带来了许多好处,但同时也引发一些严重的问题。

……has been playing an increasingly important role in our day-to-day life.it has brought us a lot of benefits but has created some serious problems as well.

10. 根据图表/数字/统计数字/表格中的百分比/图表/条形图/成形图可以看出……。很显然……,但是为什么呢?

According to the figure/number/statistics/percentages in the /chart/bar graph/line/graph,it can be seen that……while. Obviously,……but why?

(二)中间段落句

1. 相反,有一些人赞成……,他们相信……,而且,他们认为……。

On the contrary,there are some people in favor of……t the same time,they say……

2. 但是,我认为这不是解决……的好方法,比如……。最糟糕的是……。

But I dont think it is a very good way to solve …….For example,……Worst of all,…….

3. ……对我们国家的发展和建设是必不可少的,(也是)非常重要的。首先,……。而且……,最重要的是……

……is necessary and important to our countrys development and construction. First,……Whats more, ……Most important of all,……

4. 有几个可供我们采纳的方法。首先,我们可以……。

There are several measures for us to adopt. First, we can……

5. 面临……,我们应该采取一系列行之有效的方法来……。一方面……,另一方面,

Confronted with……we should take a series of effective measures to…….

For one thing,For another,

6. 早就应该拿出行动了。比如说……,另外……。所有这些方法肯定会……。

It is high time that something was done about it. For example. ……In addition.……All these measures will certainly…….

7. 为什么……?第一个原因是……;第二个原因是……;第三个原因是……。总的来说,……的主要原因是由于……

Why…… The first reason is that ……The second reason is ……The third is…….For all this, the main cause of ……use to …….

8. 然而,正如任何事物都有好坏两个方面一样,……也有它的不利的一面,象……。

However, just like everything has both its good and bad sides, ……also has its own disadvantages, such as ……

9. 尽管如此,我相信……更有利。

Nonetheless, I believe that ……is more advantageous.

10. 完全同意……这种观点(陈述),主要理由如下:

I fully agree with the statement that ……because…….

(三)结尾句

1. 至于我,在某种程度上我同意后面的观点,我认为……

As far as I am concerned, I agree with the latter opinion to some extent. I think that ……

2. 总而言之,整个社会应该密切关注……这个问题。只有这样,我们才能在将来……。

In a word, the whole society should pay close attention to the problem of ……Only in this way can ……in the future.

3. 但是,……和……都有它们各自的优势(好处)。例如,……,而……。然而,把这两者相比较,我更倾向于(喜欢)……

But ……and……have heir own advantages. For example, …… while……

Comparing this with that, however, I prefer to……

4. 就我个人而言,我相信……,因此,我坚信美好的未来正等着我们。因为……

Personally, I believe that…… Consequently, I’m confident that a bright future is awaiting us because……

5. 随着社会的发展,……。因此,迫切需要……。如果每个人都愿为社会贡献自己的一份力量,这个社会将要变得越来越好。

With the development of society, ……So its urgent and necessary to ……If every member is willing to contribute himself to the society, it will be better and better.

6. 至于我(对我来说,就我而言),我认为……更合理。只有这样,我们才能……

For my part, I think it reasonable to…… Only in this way can you……

7. 对我来说,我认为有必要……。原因如下:第一,……; 第二,……;最后……但同样重要的是……

In my opinion, I think it necessary to……The reasons are as follows. First ……second …… Last but not least,……

8. 在总体上很难说……是好还是坏,因为它在很大程度上取决于……的形势。然而,就我个人而言,我发现……。

It is difficult to say whether ……is good or not in general as it depends very much on the situation of…….however, from a personal point of view find……

9. 综上所述,我们可以清楚地得出结论……

From what has been discussed above, we may reasonably arrive at the conclusion that……

10. 如果我们不采取有效的方法,就可能控制不了这种趋势,就会出现一些意想不到的不良后果,所以,我们应该做的是……

If we can not take useful means, we may not control this trend, and some undesirable result may come out unexpectedly, so what we should do is

常用句型:

开头:

When it comes to ..., some think ...

There is a public debate today that ...

A is a commen way of ..., but is it a wise one?

Recentaly the problem has been brought into focus.

提出观点:

Now there is a growing awareness that...

It is time we explore the truth of ...

Nowhere in history has the issue been more visible.

进一步提出观点:

... but that is only part of the history.

Another equally important aspect is ...

A is but one of the many effects. Another is ... Besides, other reasons are...

提出假想例子的方式:

Suppose that...

Just imagine what would be like if...

It is reasonable to expect...

It is not surprising that...

举普通例子:

For example(instance),...

... such as A,B,C and so on (so forth)

A good case in point is...

A particular example for this is...

引用:

One of the greatest early writers said ...

"Knowledge is power", such is the remard of ...

"......". That is how sb comment ( criticize/ praise...).

"......". How often we hear such words like there.

讲故事

(先说故事主体),this story is not rare.

..., such delimma we often meet in daily life.

..., the story still has a realistic significance.

提出原因:

There are many reasons for ...

Why .... , for one thing,...

The answer to this problem involves many factors.

Any discussion about this problem would inevitably involves ...

The first reason can be obiviously seen.

Most people would agree that...

Some people may neglect that in fact ...

Others suggest that...

Part of the explanation is ...

进行对比:

The advantages for A for outweigh the disadvantages of...

Although A enjoys a distinct advantage ...

Indeed , A carries much weight than B when sth is concerned.

A maybe ... , but it suffers from the disadvantage that...

承上启下:

To understand the truth of ..., it is also important to see...

A study of ... will make this point clear

让步:

Certainly, B has its own advantages, such as...

I do not deny that A has its own merits.

结尾:

From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw

the conclusion that ...

In summary, it is wiser ...

In short...

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篇7:英语写作素材积累:常用成语

全文共 2014 字

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导语:在英语作文中,运用一些成语或者俗语能够给作文加分哦,下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的优秀英语素材,欢迎阅读与借鉴,谢谢!

1. 瞒天过海crossing the sea under camouflage

2. 围魏救赵relieving the state of Zhao by besieging the state of Wei

3. 借刀杀人killing someone with a borrowed knife

4. 以逸待劳waiting at one’s ease for the exhausted enemy

5. 趁火打劫plundering a burning house

6. 声东击西making a feint to the east and attacking in the west

7. 无中生有creating something out of nothing

8. 暗渡陈仓advancing secretly by an unknown path

9. 隔岸观火watching a fire from the other side of the river

10.笑里藏刀covering the dagger with a smile

11.李代桃僵palming off substitute for the real thing

12.顺手牵羊picking up something in passing

13.打草惊蛇beating the grass to frighten the snake

14.借尸还魂resurrecting a dead soul by borrowing a corpse

15.调虎离山luring the tiger out of his den

16.欲擒故纵letting the enemy off in order to catch him

17.抛砖引玉giving the enemy something to induce him to lose more valuable things

18.擒贼擒王capturing the ringleader first in order to capture all the followers

19.釜底抽薪extracting the firewood from under the cauldron

20.混水摸鱼muddling the water to catch the fish; fishing in troubled waters

21.金蝉脱壳slipping away by casting off a cloak; getting away like the cicada sloughing its skin

22.关门捉贼catching the thief by closing / blocking his escape route

23.远交近攻befriending the distant enemy while attacking a nearby enemy

24.假途伐虢attacking the enemy by passing through a common neighbor

25.偷梁换柱stealing the beams and pillars and replacing them with rotten timbers

26.指桑骂槐reviling/ abusing the locust tree while pointing to the mulberry

27.假痴不癫feigning madness without becoming insane

28.上屋抽梯removing the ladder after the enemy has climbed up the roof

29.树上开花putting artificial flowers on trees

30.反客为主turning from the guest into the host

31.美人计using seductive women to corrupt the enemy

32.空城计presenting a bold front to conceal unpreparedness

33.反间计sowing discord among the enemy

34.苦肉计deceiving the enemy by torturing one’s own man

35.连环计coordinating one stratagem with another

36.走为上decamping being the best; running away as the best choice

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篇8:2024年高考英语写作必备佳句

全文共 1656 字

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1. According to a recent survey, four million people die eachyear from diseases linked to smoking.

依照最近的一项调查,每年有4,000,000人死于与吸烟有关的疾病。

2. The latest surveys show that quite a few children haveunpleasant associations with homework.

最近的调查显示相当多的孩子对家庭作业没什么好感。

3. No invention has received more praise and abuse than Internet.

没有一项发明像互联网一样同时受到如此多的赞扬和批评。

4. People seem to fail to take into account the fact that education does not end with graduation.

人们似乎忽视了教育不应该随着毕业而结束这一事实。

5. An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that education is not complete withgraduation.

越来越多的人开始意识到教育不能随着毕业而结束。

6. When it comes to education, the majority of people believe that education is a lifetime study.

说到教育,大部分人认为其是一个终生的学习。

7. Many experts point out that physical exercise contributes directly to a persons physical fitness.

许多专家指出体育锻炼直接有助于身体健康。

8. Proper measures must be taken to limit the number of foreign tourists and the great effortsshould be made to protect local environment and history from the harmful effects of internationaltourism.

应该采取适当的措施限制外国旅游者的数量,努力保护当地环境和历史不受国际旅游业的不利影响。

9. An increasing number of experts believe that migrants will exert positive effects on constructionof city. However, this opinion is now being questioned by more and more city residents, whocomplain that the migrants have brought many serious problems like crime and prostitution.

越来越多的专家相信移民对城市的建设起到积极作用。然而,越来越多的城市居民却怀疑这种说法,他们抱怨民工给城市带来了许多严 重的问题,像犯罪和卖淫。

10. Many city residents complain that it is so few buses in their city that they have to spend muchmore time waiting for a bus, which is usually crowded with a large number of passengers.

许多市民抱怨城市的公交车太少,以至于他们要花很长时间等一辆公交车,而车上可能已满载乘客。

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篇9:最有用的商务英语写作技巧

全文共 921 字

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在今日全球化的经济环境下,有效地用英语(精品课)交流已经变得至关重要。

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。

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。

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”

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。

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。

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篇10:2024考研英语写作素材:关于元旦

全文共 1983 字

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Most of us look away when we pass strangers. It is the expectional person who stops to help the woman maneuvering her kids and groceries up the staircase. We rarely give up in line or on the subway or bus. Locked into our automobiles, we prefer gridlock to giving way.

当我们与陌生人擦肩而过时,多数人往往把目光移开。要是有人停下来帮妇女哄她的小孩和帮她把食品搬上楼梯,反而会被人看成另类。无论是排队还是乘地铁或公共汽车,我们很少让位于他人。坐在自己的汽车里,我们宁愿堵塞交通也不愿给人让路。

These daily encounters, when they are angry or alien, diminish our lives. When they are pleasant, we feel buoyed. Yet when we sit at home and make resolutions, we think about what we can accomplish in private spaces:home, work. Too many have given up the belief that they control the shared, the public world.

这些日常接触,要是气冲冲的或是使人反感的,那便会减少我们生活的乐趣,要是它们令人愉快,那便会使我们精神振奋。然而,当我们坐在家里做出各种决定的时候,我们考虑的仅是在个人天地--家庭和工作里可以实现的目标。太多的人已经放弃了他们也管理着共享的、公共的世界这一信念。

As individuals we can change the contour of a day, the mood of a moment, the way people feel. The demolition and reconstruction of public life is the result of personal decisions made every day:the decision to give up a seat on the bus;the decision to be patient or pleasant against all odds;the decision to let that jerk take a left-hand turn from a right-hand lane without rolling down the window and calling him a jerk.

作为众人的一员,我们可以改变一天的面貌,一时的情绪,以及人们对某件事的感觉。公共生活的毁坏和重建是人们每日所做的种种个人决定的综合结果。这些决定包括:公共汽车上让座,面对逆境而能容忍或具有乐观精神;让那个笨蛋从右车道往左拐而不摇下车窗骂他蠢货。

Its the resolution to be a civil, social creature. This may be a peak period for the battle against the spread of a waistline and creeping cholesterol. But it is also within our will power to fight the spread of urban rudeness and creeping hostility. Civility doesnt stop nuclear holocaust and doesnt put a roof over the head of the homeless. But it makes a difference in the shape of a community, as surely as lifting weights can make a difference in the shape of a human torso.

这是做一个文明的、社会的人的决定。今天也许是人们为减少腰围和降低胆固醇而斗争的高峰期。然而,反对城市野蛮行为和人际敌对态度的蔓延,也是我们只要愿做就能做到的事。有礼貌不能制止核战争,也不能为无家可归者提供栖身之所,但它的确能改变一个社会群体的面貌,犹如举重定能改变一个人的体形一样。

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篇11:英语写作教学方法

全文共 1902 字

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英文写作是一种综合能力训练,临阵磨枪是不能取得好成绩的,也是不可取的,应该重视平时的英语作文训练。下面是小编帮大家整理的英语写作教学方法,希望大家喜欢。

高考英语作文占25分,有着不可忽视的比重,它足可以说明写作教学在高中英语教学中占有相当重要的位置。然而高考现状却不乐观,部分学生由于平时缺乏足够的训练,所以对英语写作要么感到无从下手,充满畏难情绪,胡乱写些英语单词或不着边际的句子充当字数,权作心理慰藉;要么用词不当,构句无章,错误频出,行文不流畅,表达不地道,无写作质量可言。如何提高学生的写作水平和促进写作教学呢?笔者认为应注意下列几个问题:

一、注重写作教学的基本训练阶段

语言教学最高层次是应用。英语属于结构语言,它有自己的基本句型、固定搭配、固定短语等,这些都是不可变的,要想在写作中用上它们,用好它们,必须加强这方面的基本训练。首先,加强五种基本句型结构教学。几乎所有的英语句型都是五种句型的扩大、延伸或变化,因此训练学生“写”就要抓住五种基本句型的训练,让他们把这五种基本句型记牢,不断运用。五种基本句型是:

(1)S+V;

(2)S+V+O;

(3)S+V+O+O;

(4)S+V+P;

(5)S+V+O+C。

五种基本句型虽然能表达一定的意思,但无法比较自由地表达思想,因此还必须对学生进一步进行扩句训练,在课堂上充分发挥学生的想像力,进行扩句练习。其次,加强句型教学,要对一些句子进行分析,增强他们利用各种句子进行一意多种表达的训练。再次,充分利用新教材中“巩固语言的练习,”对学生进行基本语感的训练。

二、注重写作训练的多样化

听、说、读、写四种技能是相互依赖的,说的能力有赖于听的能力,进而有助于写作。听是理解和吸收口头信息的手段。听和读是输入,只有达到足够的输入量,才能保证学生具有较好的说和写的输出能力。因此,在日常的教学中要注重写作训练的多样化。

首先,在Dialogue的教学中,除了听录音、对话、表演和编写相似的对话外,还要求学生把对话改写成一段短文,这样就要求学生在变成短文的过程中,注意时态、语态、人称和前后的逻辑关系,从而为写作打下基础。

其次,在Reading教学中,回答问题时要求学生必须用自己的语言,且人称、时态要做相应的变化,这样既能搞懂本意,又能用同义句表达,提高了表达能力。还要让学生用课文中的词组进行复述,学生复述课文不是件容易的事,既要把握课文中的重点,逻辑关系,又要用自己的语言把主要内容表达出来。这样既锻炼了他们组织篇章结构、句子与句子之间逻辑关系的能力,又提高了语言的精炼度,使自己的写作能力有了很快地提高。

再次,在“Listening”教学中,除了让学生听懂做完听力练习之外,还让他们把练习作为guide进行复述听力材料,有时还让他们写在作文本上。

三、注重写作训练的规范化

高中起始阶段的写作训练,培养学生的写作模式是非常重要的。我按教师用书上说明的写作步骤,即:①构思(讨论题目);②写提纲(理顺思想的逻辑关系);③起草(打草稿);④校订(检查错误,重新安排内容);⑤修改(定稿)。对学生进行写作模式的训练。这样看起来比较麻烦,但避免了反复,养成了好的写作习惯。再就是书写和文体格式要规范。严格要求学生正确、端正、熟练地书写字母、单词和句子,注意大小写和标点符号,养成良好的书写习惯。。同时对各种文体特点、格式要讲清楚,使学生熟悉规范的书面表达形式,用正确的标准评析和规范自己的书面表达。

四、注重教师的指导作用

教师批改是写作教学的有机组成部分,批改过程中,教师的指导作用就在于肯定学生的成绩,指出错误,给学生以恰当的评价。但在批改过程中,如果抓住学生的错误不放,有错必纠,改到最后,就变成了教师自己的作品;如果对错误视而不见,写得再多也收效甚微。我根据教学实践,对于新教材中的“有指导的写”的写作训练,规定学生限时写完,同桌、前后桌互相批改,重新行文,再上交。这样批改起来就非常轻松,而且典型错误,很容易找出,有利于讲评。对于新教材中的“自由写作”训练,我指导学生弄清主题,抓住要点,组词造句,安排好顺序,过渡到段落形成短文,多用熟悉的单词和句型,多用五种基本句型表达。然后让学生共同研究,互相评论写好的草稿,以便最后写出修改的稿子来,这就有助于减轻教师修改作业的负担,也有利于学生写作水平的提高。

总之,英文写作是一个学生综合能力的书面体现,是一个长期复杂的训练过程。因此,培养学生的写作能力不能一蹴而就,而要在平时从学生的实际水平出发,有目的、有计划、有要求、有检查、有反馈地进行,由易到难,循序渐进。只有这样,到高考时才能做到厚积薄发、思如泉涌、下笔如有神。

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篇12:2024年高考英语写作必备词汇

全文共 864 字

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well-known 众所周知 important 重要的 pollution 污染

focus 面对 benefit 益处 development 发展

society 社会 knowledge 知识 necessary 必要的

opinion 观点 harm 危害 exception 例外

advantage 优点 disadvantage 缺点 serious严峻的

measures 措施 solve 解决 overcome 克服

increase 增加 decrease减少 deny 否认

prefer 喜欢 example 例子 addicted 沉迷

useful 有用的

play an important role in our life在生活中扮演重要角色

with the development of our society 随着社会的发展

bring a lot of benefits 带来很多益处

everything has two sides 任何事物都具有两面性

Become more and more serious 变得越来越严峻

on the contrary 相反 take measures 采取措施

solve this problem 解决这个问题

the best way to 最好的方法

overcome the difficulties 克服困难

be faced with 面对

No one can deny the fact that 没有人能够否认这个事实。。。

in favour of 赞同 支持 For example 例如

become addicted to the Internet 沉迷于网络 All in all 总之

come to the conclusion 得出结论

As far as I am concerned that 就我而言

There is no doubt that 毫无疑问

in a right way 正确的方法

waste a lot of time 浪费时间

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篇13:2024高考英语写作高分技巧

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下面是由语文迷网小编精心为大家整理的英语写作高分技巧,供大家阅读参考。

一、要善于模仿

一些同学的办法往往是背一堆范文,然后再到考场上进行一个“剪切”、“粘贴”的工作,真正的模仿重点永远要放在一定的句式结构上,而非个别的词汇。有一个句式说:“…for the simple reason that…”表示某种现象的原因是什么,用在高考(课程)写作中,我们就可以拿来解释为什么自行车在中国如此的流行:“The bicycle is very popular in China for the simple reason that…”。然而,很多同学一谈到原因仍然是“…because…”。如果要表示“总是能够”的概念,很多同学提笔就会写can always,但理想的句子应该是用双重否定表示强烈的肯定,用never fail to。

二、要灵活变通

在批改过上万份同学们英语(课程)作文中,经常能发现一些将中文生硬地翻译成英文的表达法。有一句话叫做“立志如山,行道如水”,写英文作文,一定要有决心把它写好,有信心把意思表达清楚,这是“立志如山”;但关键是遇到问题时要有个灵活的态度,能像流水一样变通解决问题。有个翻译界的故事说:在某大型国际会议的招待会上,一道菜是用鸡蛋做的。与会的客人问翻译:“What is it made of”本来是非常简单的一个问题,结果翻译太紧张,忘了“egg”这个词,但是他急中生智,回答:“It is made of Miss Hen’s son.”这里,就是一个灵活变通的范例。绕道表达,是写作中应该常常运用的一种方法。

三、要细心观察

注意英语中一些表达上的习惯。比如在正式文体的写作中,很少用 “it isn’t”这样的略缩形式,而往往是一板一眼地写作 “it is not”。同理,在正式文体中的日期一般不缩写,阿拉伯数字一般会用英文表达(特别长的数字除外)。

许多同学在写作文时,习惯于把 “since” “because” “for”这样的词放在句首引导原因状语从句。事实上,在我们见到的英语报刊杂志文章中,这样的从句一般都是放在主句之后的。另外, “and”也常常被误放在一句话的开头,表示两个句子之间的并列或递进关系。其实,经常留心地道的英语文章能发现,如果是并列关系,完全可以不用连词;如果是递进关系,用 “furthermore” “what is more”更为普遍。

四、要心有全局

英文写作如果结构意识良好,应试写作就简化成为一个填空的过程了,适当地填入观点、素材,文章就自然而然立起来了。

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篇14:大学英语四级写作方法

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Where possible, reduce the use of "which," "who" "that" "whom" "whether... or not" etc.

少用关系代词

学会运用关系代词是你学习英文过程中的一个重要的阶段。学会少用它们则表明你取得了更大的进步。在校对你的作品时,仔细检查一下所有的which’s, who’s that’s和whom’s是否必要。删除不必要的关系代词会使你的文章更精彩。

Example:

Unnecessary: It is a truth that is universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

(用两个 that’s,读起来很别扭)

Better: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

-- Jane Austin

注:被动语态修饰的名词通常不须用关系代词。

Unnecessary: In 1970 India dedicated a nuclear power plant near Bombay, which was built with American assistance.

Improved: In 1970 India dedicated a nuclear power plant near Bombay, built with American assistance.

Unnecessary: During this period, Churchill spoke for a nation which was undivided and curiously happy, as it has never been in my lifetime, before or since.

Improved: During this period, Churchill spoke for a nation undivided and curiously happy, as it has never been in my lifetime, before or since.

Unnecessary: Justice theories have a long tradition, which goes back to Plato and Aristotle in the 5th century B.C.

Improved: Justice theories have a long tradition, going back to Plato and Aristotle in the 5th century B.C.

Unnecessary: Shirley Temple’s father blew nearly the entire $3 million that she made by tap dancing which made her famous in the movies.

Improved: Shirley Temple’s father blew nearly the entire $3 million she made tap dancing her way to fame in the movies.

Unnecessary: We told them they were the victims who deserved sympathy the most.

Improved: We told them they were the victims, most deserving of sympathy.

Unnecessary: Only a person who is oblivious* to the facts of modern life would doubt the need of vocational education today.

Better: Only a person oblivious to the facts of modern life would doubt the need of vocational education today.

Unnecessary: Not everyone in North America likes the taste of green tea, whether it contains caffeine or not.

Better: With or without caffeine, not everyone in North America likes the taste of green tea.

Unnecessary: Usually the Washington family married people who were socially better off than themselves, but the second marriage of George’s father was an exception.

Better: Usually the Washingtons married their social betters, but the second marriage of George’s father was an exception.

Unnecessary: In some instances, a letter can take ten days by air and six to eight weeks by ship to reach the person to whom the letter is addressed.

Better: In some instances, a letter can take ten days by air and six to eight weeks by ship to reach its intended receiver.

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篇15:2024高考英语记叙文写作技巧

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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.

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篇16:广东高考英语写作基础题备考策略

全文共 4324 字

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导语:小编就高考英语广东写作题将由基础写作(满分15分)和任务型写作(满分25分)两节组成。为了更有效地备考基础写作题,需要搞清楚基础写作题的特点和对考生写作能力的要求。本文将探讨这两个方面的问题,并对备考给出一些建议,供考生参考。

一、基础写作题的特点

高考设置基础写作题目的目的是要检测考生最基础的书面语言表达能力,如用词的合理性、句子结构的复杂度、语法运用的正确性、信息内容的完整性、句子之间的连贯性等。因此,基础写作题与往年的书面表达依然会有很多相似点,但也会出现一些新的特点。

1. 写作题材贴近考生的学习和生活。历年来高考作文题的题材都非常贴近考生的学习和生活,如校园活动、校外见闻、交友、旅游,和考生有关的话题讨论等。可以预料明年高考写作题的题材还会在这些范围之内,并为所有所考所熟悉。

2. 写作的体裁主要是故事性描述和应用文。基础写作题的体裁主要有故事性描写和应用文写作两大类。命题形式可能是看图写故事、看图表说明、根据表格信息完成一封短信或一份通知这类的应用文等。

3. 内容呈现的方式具有半封闭性。作文试题逐步走向开放将是大势所趋。但是,基础写作题还只能是半封闭的,其特点是写作的内容是被规定了的,考生必须将文章所规定的信息点完整、全面地表达出来,但对于语言表达的方式、信息组织的先后秩序、需要补充哪些必要的信息等,考生又有一定的自主构思空间。

4. 用5句话表达。这是基础写作题与往年书面表达题最显著的不同点。往年是规定字数(100词左右),句子的数量不作规定,所以很多考生为了不犯句法错误总是用一些简单句。而基础写作只能用5句话来表达题目所给的全部信息点,但所给的信息点与往年的书面表达相比并不会减少,所以,用5个简单句很难完成任务,必须使用复合句或并列句来综合多个信息点,而且还要照顾句子之间的衔接和语意上的连贯。从这一点来说,基础写作题对考生运用语言能力的要求大大提高了。

二、基础写作题提出的新要求

由基础写作题的特点可以看出,它对考生提出了一些新的要求。

1. 信息组织能力。笔者认为,信息组织能力包括信息归类、信息排列和信息表达三个环节。对于题目所提供的各种信息点,考生首先需要依照一定的标准将信息进行归类,并初步计划将哪些信息放到同一个句子中;其次是将信息进行合理的排列,排列必须依照一定的标准,如时间顺序、空间顺序、因果关系、递进关系等;第三是选择信息表达的秩序,确定句子之间的先后关系,这既要考虑语法上能否衔接,还要考虑语意上的连贯。在组织信息的过程中,还要对某些信息进行必要的增删,使文章意思连贯、语言畅通、逻辑严密。

2. 运用复杂句子的能力。在整理和归类信息点之后,就需要正确地使用比较复杂的句子,综合地表达信息。复杂句子主要有三类:

第一类是复合句,包括含有名词性从句的复合句,含有定语从句的复合句,含有状语从句的复合句。

第二类是并列句,包括具有递进关系的并列句, 如由and,then,besides,in addition, furthermore,moreover, what’s more等连接的并列句,具有转折关系的并列句,如由but,however,on the contrary, after all等连接的并列句,具有平行选择关系的并列句,如由both…and…,as well as,as well,neither…nor…or,either…or…,not only…but also…等连接的并列句。

第三类是一些特殊句型,如使用强调句、倒装句、含有with复合结构的句子、there be开头的句子、以形式主语it开头的句子等。

正确地使用各种句型,不仅能够完成题目所要求的任务,还能使文章的句式变得丰富、行文更加流畅、中心和主旨更加突出。

三、基础写作题的备考策略

在基础写作的备考过程中,一方面要重视养成一些良好的写作习惯,如认真审题、巧妙构思、常写草稿、工整誊写、仔细核对等好习惯,另一方面在组织信息和训练复杂句子结构方面要多下些功夫。下面我们以“广东省普通高等学校招生全国统一考试广东省英语科考试说明”中的样题为例,探讨如何备考基础写作题。

第一节:基础写作(共1小题,满分15分)

假设你最近参加了由某电视台举办的中考生英语演讲比赛并获奖,该台准备组织获奖者去北京参加一次英语夏令营活动,下表是这次活动的时间安排和活动内容。

活动时间

7月15日-22日或8月15日-22日

活动内容

参加英语角 学唱英语歌曲

听英语讲座 表演英语短剧

看英语电影 教外宾学中文

【写作内容】

电视台现就活动时间和活动内容征求你的意见。请按照以下要求用英语以书信形式给予答复。

1. 选择适合你的时间并说明理由;

2. 解释你只能参加其中的两项活动(听英语讲座和教外宾学中文),虽然你认为所有的活动都很有意义;

3. 说明你选择的理由:听英语讲座了解英美文化的信息;教外宾学中文因为2008北京奥运让越来越多的外宾想了解中国。

【写作要求】

1. 必须使用5个句子表达全部的内容

2. 信的开头和结尾已给出。

Dear Sir or Madame,

I’m glad to be invited to the English summer camp.

Thank you very much.

Yours truly,

Li Ping

【评分标准】

句子结构的准确性和复杂度;信息内容的完整性和连贯性。

由此我们可以看出,信息点的数量与往年的书面表达题相比并没有减少,要想用5个句子把所有的信息都表达出来,考生必须从以下三个方面进行备考:

1. 养成重视审题的习惯。虽然基础写作题是半封闭性的,但审题仍然十分重要。现以样题为例,谈谈如何审题:

思考的问题

样题分析

要写的文章主题是什么?(topic)

参加夏令营。

为什么要写这篇文章?(purpose)

电视台邀请参加夏令营,写信回复

要写文章的信息点有哪些?(information items)

选择的时间、参加活动的内容、解释为什么。

怎样安排信息点的逻辑顺序?(order)

说明要参加的活动并解释原因—→说明要参加的时间并解释原因。

动作是什么时候发生的(时态)?(when)

夏令营还没有开始,文章主要用一般将来时。

2. 提高组织信息的能力。组织信息的过程包括信息分类、信息排列和信息表达三个环节。这些步骤看起来好像很繁琐,但对于中下成绩的考生来说,一步一步地思考这些问题是很有必要的。现以样题为例,说明该怎样组织信息。

信息分类

信息排列

信息表达

时间信息:两个时间段。

内容信息:6项活动。

选择信息:其中的两个活动及其理由。

夏令营的内容信息点排列:可以将自己要参加的两项活动放在前面,其它信息点可以略写。

作者的选择信息点排列:依照自己所参与的活动顺序逐项表述,紧接着给出选择的理由。

结合已经给出的头和尾,写作的顺序可安排如下:

很高兴被邀请(已给出)——感谢安排这么多的活动——说明活动的意义——表达自己只能参加两项活动的遗憾和原因——说明参加的活动内容及原因(两项活动用两句话)——说明自己选择的时间及原因。

3. 夯实基础,掌握基本的句子结构及其用法。对于大多数考生来说,用词不准和句子结构错误是写作失分的“罪魁祸首”。夯实基础、掌握基本的句子结构及其用法是基础写作备考的主要任务,完成这项任务可以分步骤进行:

第一步:练习写简单句,练就写简单句基本不犯语言错误的“真功”。简单句大体上可以分为两个基本类型,考生必须掌握:“主语+谓语+(其它成分)”“主语+系动词+表语”。

第二步:练习运用复杂句。要提高运用复杂句的能力,考生必须要攻克三个易错点:一是主句与从句之间主谓结构混乱,造成主句缺谓语;二是没有掌握关联词的用法,错用、多用、漏用关联词;三是该使用简单句的地方人为地复杂化,如可以用分词或介词短语来表达的,却偏要用从句。

下面以样题为例,介绍笔者是如何思考写这篇文章的(为了分析方便,笔者将5个句子进行编号),仅供参考:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’m glad to be invited to the English summer camp. ①Thank you very much for arranging so many activities, such as English corner, English lectures, English films, English songs, English plays and helping foreigners learn Chinese. ②I am sure all the activities will do a lot of good to us students. ③But it’s a pity that I can only take part in two of them, because I will have to spend some time in doing my research project. ④I would like to listen to the lectures, by which I will learn more about western culture, and help foreigners learn Chinese, as more and more foreigners want to know about China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

⑤I want to see my grandparents in the country right after our school finishes in mid-July, so I am going to attend the camp from August 15th to 22nd.

Thank you very much.

Yours truly,

Li Ping

第①句顺应已给出的句中的glad心情,表示感谢安排这么多的活动,具有较好的连贯性。同时很自然地将活动内容做一介绍。

第②句用简单句表达活动的意义,语意上连贯,句式上没有继续用“长”句,有变化。

第③句用but转折并用it’s a pity 句型表示委婉的歉意,然后解释原因。

第④句用一个长句子表达自己要参加的两个项目,并解释原因,解释原因的第一句用定语从句,第二句用状语从句,使句子结构富于变化。

第⑤句解释参加的时间并给出解释。之所以把时间放在后面,主要是考虑它与题目已经给出的句子之间在语意上的连贯性不够。

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篇17:2024英语写作必背经典句型集锦

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英语写作少不了积累句型。以下是小编带来的2017英语写作必背经典句型【集锦】,希望对你有帮助。

the + 形容词最高级 + n. + (that) + S(主语) + have ever seen / known / heard / had / read, etc

例句:Helen is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen.

(海伦是我见过的最美丽的女孩。)

Nothing is + 形容词比较级 + than to + V(谓语)

例句:Nothing is more important than to receive education.

(没有比接受教育更重要的事。)

S cannot emphasize the importance of sth. 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。)

There is no doubt + that + 句子:毫无疑问,……

例句:There is no doubt that the economy is recovering.

(毫无疑问,经济已经逐渐复苏。)

It pays to + V + O(宾语):……是值得的。

例句:It pays to help others.

(帮助别人是值得的。)

An advantage of + 名词结构+ is that + 句子:……的优点是……

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

(使用太阳能的优点是它不会产生任何污染。)

There is no denying that + 句子:不可否认……

例句:There is no denying that the quality of our life has gone from good to better.

(不可否认,我们的生活质量日益改善。)

On no account can we + V:我们绝对不能……

例句:On no account can we ignore the value of knowledge.

(我们绝不能无视知识的价值。)

It is universally acknowledged that + 句子:全世界都知道……

例句:It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable[不可或缺的] to us.

(全世界都知道树木对我们是不可或缺的。)

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.

(我们必须种树的原因是它们能给我们提供新鲜空气。)

be closely related to sth.:与……息息相关

例句:Taking exercise is closely related to health.

(做运动与健康息息相关。)

So + 形容词 + be + S + 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,它经不起我们浪费。)

It is time + S + 动词过去式:该是……的时候了。

例句:It is time the authorities concerned took proper steps to solve the traffic problems.

(有关当局是时候采取适当措施解决交通问题了。)

S + enable + O + to + V:……使……能够……

例句:Listening to music enables us to feel relaxed.

(听音乐使我们获得放松。)

be + forced / obliged / compelled + to + V:不得不……

例句:Since the examination is around the corner, I am compelled to give up doing sports.

(既然考试迫在眉睫,我不得不放弃做运动。)

a. + as + S + be, S + V + O:虽然……, 但是……

例句:Rich as our country is, the quality of our life is by no means satisfactory.

(虽然我们的国家富有,但我们的生活质量仍差强人意。)

It is conceivable / obvious / apparent that + 句子:可想而知/明显/显然……

例句:It is apparent that knowledge plays an important role in our life.

(显然,知识在我们人生中扮演着重要角色。)

The + 形容词比较级 + S + V, the + 形容词比较级 + S + V:……愈……,……愈……

例句:The harder you work, the more progress you make.

(愈努力,愈进步。)

Since + S + 动词过去式,S + 现在完成式: 自从……,……一直……

例句:Since he went to senior high school, he has worked very hard.

(自从上了高中,他一直很用功。)

By + V-ing, S can V:通过……,……能够……

例句:By taking exercise, we can always stay healthy.

(通过做运动,我们能够保持健康。)

be based on sth.:以.……为基础

例句:Progress in society is based on harmony.

(社会的进步是以和谐为基础的。)

That is the reason why +句子:那就是……的原因

例句:Summer is sultry[闷热的]. That is the reason why I dont like it.

(夏天很闷热。那就是我不喜欢它的原因。)

There is no one but + V + O:没有人不……

例句:There is no one but longs to go to college.

(没有人不渴望上大学。)

Due to / Owing to / Thanks to + sth. / V-ing:因为/ 多亏……

例句:Thanks to his encouragement, I finally realized my dream.

(因为他的鼓励,我终于实现了梦想。)

For the past + 时间, S + 现在完成式: 过去的……来,……一直……

例句:For the past two years, I have been busy preparing for the examination.

(过去两年来,我一直忙着准备考试。)

What a + a. + n. + S + V!= How + a. + a + n. + V!:多么……!

例句:What an important thing it is to keep our promise! / How important a thing it is to keep our promise! (遵守诺言是多么重要的事!)

get into the habit of + V-ing = make it a rule to + V:养成……的习惯

例句:We should get into the habit of keeping good hours.

(我们应该养成早睡早起的习惯。)

leave much to be desired:令人不满意

例句:The condition of our traffic leaves much to be desired.

(我们的交通状况令人不太满意。)

Those who + V + O:那些……的人

例句:Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished.

(违反交通规定的人应该受处罚。)

have a great influence on sth.:对……有很大影响

例句:Smoking has a great influence on our health.

(抽烟对我们的健康有很大影响。)

spare no effort to + V:不遗余力地……

例句:We should spare no effort to beautify our environment.

(我们应该不遗余力地美化我们的环境。)

do good / harm to sth.:对……有益/有害

例句:Reading does good to our mind.

(读书对心灵有益。)

pose a great threat to sth.:对……造成很大威胁

例句:Pollution poses a great threat to our existence.

(污染对我们的生存造成很大威胁。)

bring home to + S + O:让……明白……

例句:We should bring home to people the value of working hard.

(我们应该让人们明白努力的价值。)

do ones utmost to + V = do ones best to + V:尽全力去……

例句:We should do our utmost to achieve our goal in life.

(我们应尽全力去达成我们的人生目标。)

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篇18:2024中考英语作文写作万能句子积累

全文共 1494 字

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一、教育类

● And gladly would learn , and gladly teach .( Chaucer , British pot

勤于学习的人才能乐意施教。(英国诗人, 乔叟)

●Better be unborn than untaught , for ignorance is the root of misfortune .(Plato , Ancient Greek philosopher)

与其不受教育,不如不生,因为无知是不幸的根源.(古希腊哲学家 柏拉图)

●Genius without education is like silver in the mine. (Benjamin Franklin , American president )

未受教育的天才,犹如矿中之银。 (美国总统 富兰克. B.)

●The roots of education are bitter , but the fruit is sweet .(Aristotle , Ancient Greek philosopher )

教育的根是苦的,但其果实是甜的。( 古希腊哲学家 亚里士多德)

二、知识类

●Activity is the only road to knowledge .(George Bernard Shaw , British

dramatist)

行动是通往知识的唯一道路。 (英国剧作家 肖伯纳. G.)

●A free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books .(Thomas Jefferson ,

American president)

一个自由的人除了从书本上获取知识外,还可以从许多别的来源获得知识。(美国总统

杰斐逊 . T.)

●A great part to the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way .(Adams Franklin , American humorist )

我的大部分知识都是这样获得的:在寻找某个资料时意外的发现了另上的资料。(美国幽默作家

富兰克林. A.)

●If a man empties his purse into his head , no man can take it away from him , an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest .(Benjamin Franklin ,

American president )

倾已所有追求知识,没有人能夺走它;向知识投资,收益最佳。(美国总统

富兰克林. B.)

●Imagination is more important than knowledge .(Albert Einstein , American scientist )

想象力比知识更为重要。 (美国科学家 爱因斯坦. A. )

●Knowledge is power . (Francis Bacon , British philosopher )

知识就是力量。 (英国哲学家 培根. F.)

●The empty vessels make the greatest sound . (William Shakespeare , British dramatist )

满瓶不响,半瓶咣当。(英国剧作家 莎士比亚. W.)

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篇19:腊八节的由来_英语作文写作素材

全文共 1473 字

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Since ancient times first, laba is used to worship our ancestors and gods (including the goalkeeper, door god, house, kitchen, JingShen) sacrifice ceremony, praying for harvest and good luck., according to the si ji jiao, features "records, la is the" age of December, and get together to share everything without cable also."Dynasty called LaRi jia ping, shang dynasty to the qing si ", the zhou dynasty as the "big wax";Because the held in December said the month for the twelfth month, called the Greek festival this day LaRi.LaRi of pre-qin period after the winter solstice of the third day of the Buddhism was introduced later, at home in order to expand the influence by lines of traditional culture on the laba festival as the Buddha into way.Buddhism prevailed, followed the Buddha into day and LaRi fusion, known as a magic weapon "festival" in the field of Buddhism.Northern and southern dynasties began to fixed in the day.

According to the load: "three xu-gou after the winter solstice day god Greek festival."Visible, the third xu-gou days after the winter solstice was LaRi.Since Buddhism after intervention, LaRi change on December 8, since xiangyan into the vulgar.

自先上古起,腊八是用来祭祀祖先和神灵(包括门神、户神、宅神、灶神、井神)的祭祀仪式,祈求丰收和吉祥。据《祀记·郊特牲》记载,腊祭是“岁十二月,合聚万物而索飨之也。”夏代称腊日为“嘉平”,商代为“清祀”,周代为“大蜡”;因在十二月举行,故称该月为腊月,称腊祭这一天为腊日。先秦的腊日在冬至后的第三个戌日,后来佛教传入,为了扩大在本土的影响力逐附会传统文化把腊八节定为佛成道日。后随佛教盛行,佛祖成道日与腊日融合,在佛教领域被称为“法宝节”。南北朝开始才固定在腊月初八。

《说文》载:“冬至后三戌日腊祭百神。”可见,冬至后第三个戌日曾是腊日。后由于佛教介入,腊日改在十二月初八,自此相沿成俗。

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篇20:英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

全文共 45713 字

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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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