英语写作干货【推荐20篇】

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。

一、积累固定搭配，避免中式英文

在高考中，很多考生写作文时都是要先想好中文内容再来翻译成英文。这看起来并没有什么不对的地方，因为一般考生的水平都达不到直接用英文来思考的程度。但差别在于英文很好的人在整体构思自己的作文时可能会用汉语，但是写作时完全的英语写作并不会存在什么障碍;只有英语水平一般的人才会将每句的意思大致用汉语想好，但写作时还是要用英文的习惯句型和固定搭配来表达，有时甚至没办法流畅的翻译出自己想的内容，再者也存在一个单词一个单词累积拼凑句子的情况 ，这就是我们常说的中式英语;之所以会这样，主要原因还是在于考生自身积累的英语习惯句型和固定搭配太少了，所以考生平时要注意积累考试常用的句型和语法基础知识，这些内容并不是太多，只要用心总结，需要很少一部分时间就能掌握的很好。

二、模糊叙述，避免不确定词汇

英语考试写作中经常遇到的一个问题就是不确定的词汇，想要描述一个事物，但是那个单词始终想不起来，这是每个考生都会遇到的问题，不论你的词汇量有多丰富，总会有你不认识的词汇出现。那么这时在考场上，我们该如何应对呢?首先我们应该想到的是找一个类似的词来代替它，也就是模糊化即用同义词表达。其次，我们可以用一句完整的话来描述出来它，对其加以解释说明。再次，如果我们实在描述不了也替代不了，那么我们还可以把一些解释不清的东西略去不写。只写那些自己会写的，避开那些自己不会写的。扬长避短，在写作中才能避开容易犯的错误而得到高分。

三、基础不过硬，少用复杂句

不少考生在考试中喜欢用很长很复杂的句式来填充自己的作文，对于英语语法熟练的考生来说这很随意，但是英语水平不过硬的考生最好不要过多地运用复杂句、长难句，因为考试作文是检验一个考生写作水平的工具，命题人虽然会以复杂句来判断考生的英语水平，但是复杂句也表示它容易出错的几率要高很多。因此，在考试中虽然我们要写复杂句但是注意不能写太多这样的句子，考试作文的句子要长短结合。基础不好的考生避免运用长难句，这样自己出错扣分的概率也小很多。

四、认真审题，思考作文分支观点

很多考生在拿到考试作文题时第一感觉是这个作文自己有话说，并且知道应该说什么，但是认真开始提笔时却往往不知道从何写起，之所以会这样是因为考生对作文的审题和观点把握并不清晰，此时考生应该先审题;其次思考简单的分支观点并且考虑可以采用的哪些简单而又成熟的句型。近几年的四级或六级题目大多都会给出提纲，一般提纲中都会包含考生需要的中心句，围绕这个中心句，考生可以考虑自己的文章结构。对于分支观点这方面，考生要尽量量力而行，不要思考太深的观点，要结合自己语言表达的能力而定。

五、重点研究近几年真题作文，掌握固定结构

准备作文的时候背诵真题作文是不可避免的，但是四六级作文真题范文数量太多，有些历时已经有些久远，参考的价值并不是很大，而要把这些都背下来似乎也不太可能，所以考生要把注意力放在近几年的作文范文上，在复习时间不太充裕的时候，并不需要整篇全部背诵，主要是学习范文的行文结构，熟悉适合自己的固定句型，这样大家背诵范文的目的就已经达到了。

1、开头部分

How nice to hear from you again. Let me tell you something about the activity. I’m glad to have received your letter of Apr. 9th. I’m pleased to hear that you’re coming to China for a visit. I’m writing to thank you for your help during my stay in America.

2、结尾部分

With best wishes. I’m looking forward to your reply. I’d appreciate it if you could reply earlier.

if a man deceives me once, shame on him, if he deceives me twice, shame on me.

上当一回头，再多就可耻。

if you make yourself an ass, don‘t complain if people ride you.

人善被人欺，马善被人骑。

if your ears glow, someone is talking of you.

耳朵发烧，有人念叨。

if you run after two hares, you will catch neither.

脚踏两条船，必定落空。

if you sell the cow, you sell her milk too.

杀鸡取卵。

if you venture nothing, you will have nothing.

不入虎穴，焉得虎子。

a cat may look at a king.

人人平等。

adversity makes a man wise, not rich.

逆境出人才。

a fair death honors the whole life.

死得其所，流芳百世。

a faithful friend is hard to find.

知音难觅。

a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.

吃一堑，长一智。

a fox may grow gray, but never good.

江山易改，本性难移。

a friend in need is a friend indeed.

患难见真情。

a friend is easier lost than found.

得朋友难，失朋友易。

1.I hate hiking and Im not into classical music.

2.I surf the Internet all the time and I like playing computer games.

3.Rock music is OK, and so is skiing.

4.Chuck is a businessman who is always so busy that he has little time for his friends.

5.One day Chuck is on a flight across the Pacific Ocean when suddenly his plane crashes.

6.He realizes that he hasn’t been a very good friend because he has always been thinking about himself.

7.Chuck learns that we need friends to share happiness and sorrow, and that it is important to have someone to care about.

8.When he makes friends with Wilson, he understand that friendship is about feelings and that we must give as much as we take.

9.The lesson we can learn from Chuck and all the others who have unusual friends is that friends are teachers.

10.I found the bathroom, but I didn’t find what I was looking for.

11.Don’t forget to buy me some ketchup on your way back.

12.There are more than 42 countries where the majority of the people speak English.

13.In total, for more than 375 million people English is their mother tongue.

14.In China students learn English at school as a foreign language, except for those in Hong Kong, where many people speak English as a first or a second language.

15.In only fifty years, English has developed into the language most widely spoken and used in the world.

16.With so many people communicating in English every day ,it will become more and more important to have a good knowledge of English.

17.For a long time the language in America stayed the same, while the language in England changed.

18.In the same way Americans still use the expression “I guess “(meaning “I think”),just as the British did 300 years ago.

19.At the same time, British English and American English started borrowing words from other languages ,ending up with different words.

20.Except for these differences in spelling, written English is more or less the same in both British and American English.

21.However,most of the time people from the two countries do not have any difficulty in understanding each other.

22.Many people travel because they want to see other countries and visit places that are famous, interesting or beautiful.

23.Many of today’s travelers are looking for an unusual experience and adventure travel is becoming more and more popular.

24.Instead of spending your vacation on a bus, in a hotel or sitting on the beach, you may want to try hiking.

25.Hiking is fun and exciting, but you shouldn’t forget safety.

26.A raft is a small boat that you can use to paddle down rivers and streams.

27.If you want a normal rafting trip, choose a quiet stream or river that is wide and has few fallen trees or rocks.

28.The name “whitewater “comes from the fact that the water in these streams and rivers looks white when it moves quickly.

29.As with hiking ,you should always think about your safety and wear good clothes.

30.Jane and Betty are going on separate holidays in a few days’ time.

31.When are you off to Guangzhou?

32.My plane leaves at seven, so I think we’ll take a taxi.

33.See you when I get back.

34.The next moment the first wave swept her down, swallowing the garden.

35.Now ,the water, which was cold as ice and flowed faster than a river, was above her knees.

36.Jeff and Flora looked into each other’s face with a look of fright.

37.Flora,whose beautiful hair and dress were all cold and wet, started crying.

38.Tree after tree went down, cut down by the water, which must have been three meters deep.

39.The garden that was once so beautiful was completely destroyed, swept away by the wild water.

40.I found some photos of interesting places which were not too far away from Chengdu.

41.He told me that I could go on a two-day trip to Leshan and Emei, which wasn’t too expensive.

42.First,we went to Leshan, where we climbed all the way up the mountain to see the Buddha.

43.Looking up at the large head and down at the large feet makes you feel so small.

44.Wei Bin took photos of us standing in front of the Buddha.

45.Steven Spielberg, whose mother was a music teacher, was born in 1946 in a small town in America.

46.In 1959 Spielberg won a prize for a film which he made when he was thirteen years old.

47.The reason why he could not go there was that his grades were too low.

48.Here he worked on a short film, which won him a job as the youngest film director in the world.

49.This was the moment when Spieberg’s career really took off.

50.It is about a big white shark that attacks swimmers who are spending their holidays in a small village by the sea.

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。)

一、主语+不及物动词(S+Vi)。如：

The teacher left. 老师离开了。

All the children laughed. 所有的孩子都笑了。

二、主语+及物动词+宾语(S+Vt+O)。如：

Everyone likes him. 大家都喜欢他。

We study English and French. 我们学习英语和法语。

三、主语+(双宾)动词+间接宾语+直接宾语(S+Vt+Oi+Od)。如：

He told us a story. 他给我们讲了个故事。

He showed me his new radio. 他给我看他的新收音机。

四、主语+连系动词+表语(S+V+P)。如：

She is Peters sister. 她是彼得的妹妹。

That dog looks dangerous. 那只狗看起来很危险。

五、主语+动词+宾语+宾语补足语(S+V+O+Oc)。如：

The news made her sad. 这消息使她很生气。

I find English grammar very difficult. 我发现英语语法很难。

值得说明的是，以上各成分根据情况可以有多种表示方法，用作主语和宾语的是可以是名词、代词、动词不定式、动名词、从句等。如：

Mr. Smith / He likes it. 史密斯先生 / 他喜欢它。(名词、代词作主语)

We like Mr. Smith / him. 学生喜欢史密先生 / 他。(名词、代词作宾语)

To see is to believe. 眼见为实。(不定式作主语)

Some of us decided to stay. 我们有些人决定留下。(不定式作宾语)

Dancing is fun. I love it. 跳舞很有意思，我很喜欢。(动名词作主语)

Every one of them loves dancing. 他们个个喜欢跳舞。(动名词作宾语)

另外，有的成分可带有自己的修饰语，如名词可受定语修饰，动词可受状语修饰等。如：

He is an excellent teacher. 他是位优秀的老师。

Tell us something interesting. 给我们讲点有趣的事吧。

They all work very hard. 他们工作都很努力。

The plane flew very low. 飞机飞得很低。

Will you dance with me? 你愿意和我跳舞吗?

1.用形容词"very"，"single"等表示强调

eg.You are the very person Im looking for.

你就是我要找的那个人。

Red Army fought a battle on this very spot.

红军就在此地打过一仗。

Not a single person has been in the office this afternoon.

今天下午竟然没有一个人来过办公室。

2.用反身代词表示强调

e.g.I myself will see her off at the station.

我将亲自到车站为她送行。

You can do it well yourself.

你自己能做好这件事情。

3.用助词"do/does/did+动词原形"表示强调

e.g.The baby is generally healthy，but every now and then she does catch a cold.

那孩子的健康状况尚好，但就是偶尔患感冒。

Do be quiet.I told you I had a headache.

务必安静，我告诉过你，我头疼。

4.用"...and that"，"...and those"，等结构表示强调

e.g.They fulfilled the task，and that in a few days.

他们在几天内完成的就是那项任务。

I gave her some presents，and those the day before yesterday.

前天我送给她的就是那些礼物。

5.用双重否定结构表示强调

e.g.There is no reason why this new immigrant should not have the same success.

完全有理由相信这些新移民应该拥有相同的成功。

A man can never have too many ties.

一个男人有再多的领带也不为过。

I cant thank you too much.

我无论怎样感谢你都不过份。

A mother can never be patient enough with her child.

I am not unfaithful to you.我对你无比忠诚。

6.用短语"in every way"，"in no way"，"by all means"，"by no means"，"only too"，"all too"，"but too"，"in heaven"，"in the world"，"in hell"，"on earth"，"under the sun"等表示强调

e.g.His behaviour was in every way perfect.

他的举止确实无可挑剔。

The news was only too true.

这消息确实是事实。

Where in heaven were you then?

当时你到底在哪里?

7.用倒装句表示强调

8.用强调句型表示强调

It is that或 It is who

e.g.It was the headmaster who opened the door for me.

正是校长为我开的门。

It was yesterday that we carried out that experiment.

就是在昨天我们做了那个实验。

一、用于描写图表和数据

1. It has increased by three times as compared with that of 1998.

2. There is an increase of 20% in total this year.

3. It has been increased by a factor of 4since 1995.

4. It would be expected to increase 5 times.

5. The table shows a three times increase over that of last year.

6. It was decreased twice than that of the year 1996.

7. The total number was lowered by 10%.

8. It rose from 10-15 percent of the total this year.

9. Compared with 1997, it fell from 15 to 10 percent.

10. The number is 5 times as much as that of 1995.

11. It has decreased almost two and half times, compared with…

二、用于解释性和阐述性论说文

1. Everybody knows that…

2. It can be easily proved that…

3. It is true that…

4. No one can deny that

5. One thing which is equally important to the above mentioned is…

6. The chief reason is that…

7. We must recognize that…

8. There is on doubt that…

9. I am of the opinion that…

10. This can be expressed as follows;

11. To take …for an example…

12. We have reason to believe that

13. Now that we know that…

14. Among the most convincing reasons given, one should be mentioned…

15. The change in …largely results from the fact that

16. There are several causes for this significant growth in…,first …,second …,finally…

17. A number of factors could account for the development in…

18. Perhaps the primary reason is…

19. It is chiefly responsible of…

20. The reasons for…are complicated, And probably they are found in the fact…

21. Here are several possible reasons, excerpt that…

22. Somebody believes/argues/holds/insists/thinks that…

23. It is not simple to give the reason for this complicated phenomenon…

24. Different people observes it in different ways.

三、用于文章的开头

1. As the proverb says…

2. It goes without saying tan…

3. Generally speaking…

4. It is quite clear than because…

5. It is often said that …

6. Many people often ask such question:“…?”

7. More and more people have come to realize…

8. There is no doubt that…

9. Some people believe that…

10. These days we are often told that, but is this really the case?

11. One great man said that…

12. Recently the issue of… has been brought to public attention.

13. In the past several years there has been…

14. Now it is commonly held that… but I doubt whether…

15. Currently there is a widespread concern that…

16. Now people in growing number are coming to realize that…

17. There is a general discussion today about the issue of …

18. Faced with…, quite a few people argue that…, but other people conceive differently.

四、用于文章的结尾

1. from this point of view…

2. in a word…

3. in conclusion…

4. on account of this we can find that…

5. the result is dependent on…

6. therefore, these findings reveal the following information:

7. thus, this is the reason why we must…

8. to sum up …

9. as far as…be concerned, I believe that…

10. It is obvious that…

11. There is little doubt that…

12. There is no immediate solution to the problem of …, but …might be helpful

13. None of the solutions is quite satisfactory. The problem should be examined in a new way.

14. It is high time that we put considerable emphasis on…

15. Taking into account all these factors, we may safely reach the conclustion that…

五、用于论证和说明

1. As it is described that…

2. It has been illustrated that…

3. It provides a good example of…

4. We may cite another instance of…

5. History man provides us with the examples of…

6. A number of further facts may be added…

7. The situation is not unique, it is typical of dozens I have heard.

8. A recent investigation indicate that…

9. According to the statistics provided …

10. According to a latest study, it can be predicted…

11. There is no sufficient evidence to show that…

12. All available evidence points to the fact that…

13. Examples given leads me to conclude that…

14. It reveals the unquestionable fact that…

15. The idea may be proved by facts…

16. All the facts suggest that…

17. No one can deny the fact that…

18. We may face the undeniable fact that…

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

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

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

1.?????? Proverbs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Damaging Research

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

3. Education and Citizenship

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

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

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

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

4. The Teacher’s Role

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

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

5. Education Philosophy

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

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

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

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

6. Student Life

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

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

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

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

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

7. Adult Education

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

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

8. Moral Relativism in American

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Schools Should Teach Values

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. College Pressures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then why are you going?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. To Err Is Wrong

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

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

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

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

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

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

Playing It Safe

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

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

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

Different Logic

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

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

Errors as Stepping Stones

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

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

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

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

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

要写好英语作文，具体要做到以下几点：

注重英文阅读习惯的养成与坚持

坚持英语阅读的习惯，不仅可以保持对英语语感的敏感度，更重要的是它有助于培养英式思维，从而避免汉式思维句子的出现。

(1)平时多读，积累句型：读的越多，语感欲强烈，写作的时候自然而然就可以自如的运用灵活多变的句式来完整一篇小作文了，另外建议多积累名言警句、谚语等以作为高级句型运用与作文中。

(2)选出一些代表性范文精读：选出不同题材的优秀作文范文，读的时候注意文章的开头、结尾、层次结构以及所用句型等。要有目的、用学习的心态来精读优秀范文，并做到学以致用。

注重平时的写作训练

英语写作训练可以以日记、话题或仿写的形式来进行。通过坚持一个学期的英语日记，保持英语写作的习惯。所以一定要坚持每周两到三次的写作训练，正所谓习惯成自然就是这个道理。

五步写出一篇好作文

什么才是好作文呢?很多同学误认为只要像学校平时测验那样子“句子结构正确，无单词拼写错误”就应该得满分。而小升初对作文的考核并非如此简单，同学们应该走出对英语写作认识上的误区。那么除了以上两个方面外，我们怎样才能写出一篇优秀作文而在小升初中获取高分呢?下面就来看我们的“高分作文五步法”。

(1)认真审题，确定时态人称，同时关注题材格式

时态：故事性文章一般用过去时，其中表达感受时可用现在时。说明性或议论性文章一般用现在时，举例时可用过去时。根据题目要求也会出现时态的交错使用，如过去和现在的对比等。如果句中出现了时间状语，时态则要遵循时间状语。

如ago，last…过去时;next，in…将来时等

人称：注意在句子中人称的统一。

例如：

Thanks to the teachers， we have improved our English.

其中we和our就是人称的统一。

格式：注意书信格式的开头和结尾。

(2)找全信息点，紧扣主题，突出重点

切忌只看表格中或所列1、2、3中的信息点。一定把题读全，找齐信息点，建议用铅笔标出，写完后再涂掉。根据题目，可适当增加合理内容。特别注意文章要有开头和结尾。

(3)成文时表述正确，文字流畅

切忌与汉语提示的一一对应，使用所学表达方法将语义表达出来即可。首先考虑句子结构(如主谓宾，主系表等)。同时注意短语的正确使用和单词的拼写，最好使用课本上学过的短语和句式。

(4)文章结构清晰，重点句型画龙点睛，可使文章在得分上提高一个档次，考虑文章的篇章结构，使用适当的连接短语，使文章结构紧凑。

常用连接词：

1.表文章结构顺序：

First of all， Firstly/First，Secondly/Second…

And then， Finally， In the end，At last

2.表并列补充关系的：

What is more， Besides，Moreover，

3.表转折对比关系的：

However， On the contrary， but

On one hand… On the otherhand…Some…， while others…

4.表因果关系的：

Because， As、So， Therefore， As a result

5.表换一种方式表达：

In other words

6.表进行举例说明：

For example，句子;For instance，句子;such as + n/doing

7.表陈述事实：In fact

8.表达自己观点：

As far as I know， In myopinion

9.表总结：

In short， In a word.

文中正确使用两三个好的句型，如：感叹句、宾语从句、动名词做主语等。

宾语从句举例：

I believe Tianjin will be morebeautiful and prosperous.

感叹句举例：

How I want to study in thebest middle school in Guangzhou!

动名词做主语举例：

Reading books and swimming aremy hobbies.

常用状语从句句型：

1)时间：

when， not…until(直到…才…)， as soon as(一…就…)

2)目的：

so that + clause; (为了)

3)结果：

so…that…(如此…以至于…)， too…to do(太……以至于……)

4)条件：

if， unless(除非)， as long as(只要)

5)比较：

as…as…(与…一样)， not so…as…， than

(5)认真检查，检查信息点是否全面，时态、人称是否一致，句子结构是否清晰，短语使用、单词拼写是否准确等。

检查后，将草稿誊写在纸上，请注意按结构分段，书写清晰。

下面列举一些在检查中可发现的错误：

We livemore and more comfortable.

改正：comfortably(副词修饰动词)

2.we can getmany informations by reading newspapers.

改正：much information (不可数名词由much修饰)

3.There willhave a football game tomorrow.

改正：There will be a football game tomorrow.(Therebe句型的将来时结构)

4.I thinkride a bike can keep our health.

改正：I think riding a bike can keep us healthy.(动名词作主语)

1. According to a recent survey， four million people die each year 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 have unpleasant 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 with graduation.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 efforts should be made to protect local environment and history from the harmful effects of international tourism.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 construction of city. However， this opinion is now being questioned by more and more city residents， who complain 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 much more 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。

11. There is no denying the fact that air pollution is an extremely serious problem： the city authorities should take strong measures to deal with it.无可否认，空气污染是一个极其严重的问题：城市当局应该采取有力措施来解决它。

12. An investigation shows that female workers tend to have a favorable attitude toward retirement.一项调查显示妇女欢迎退休。

12a. A proper part-time job does not occupy students too much time. In fact， it is unhealthy for them to spend all of time on their study. As an old saying goes： All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.一份适当的业余工作并不会占用学生太多的时间，事实上，把全部的时间都用到学习上并不健康，正如那句老话：只工作，不玩耍，聪明的孩子会变傻。

14. Any government， which is blind to this point， may pay a heavy price.任何政府忽视这一点都将付出巨大的代价。

15.Nowadays， many students always go into raptures at the mere mention of the coming life of high school or college they will begin. Unfortunately， for most young people， it is not pleasant experience on their first day on campus.当前，一提到即将开始的学校生活，许多学生都会兴高采烈。然而，对多数年轻人来说，校园刚开始的日子并不是什么愉快的经历。

一、基础写作训练的方法

1.利用课文的词、句复习，训练学生的组句能力。从词和句入手，将每个单元课文的词和句与基础写作结合起来，是培养和提高学生的英语能力的有效途径。这不仅能帮助提高学生记忆和灵活应用词汇的能力，而且还有助于训练学生语句表达的正确性。

(1)归纳词汇和句型，帮助学生建立对词、句使用的感性认识。写作是一种语言的输出形式，只有大量的语言输入，语言输出才有可能;只有积累了一定的感受和大量的语言素材，写作才有可能进行。为了帮助学生记忆课文中的单词和短语，达到积累语言素材，掌握基本语法知识与语句结构的目的，教师可以从训练学生归纳每个单元课文中出现的重要词汇、短语和常用句型入手，使学生对句型结构的认识更加清楚，并对词、句的使用语境形成感性的认识。

(2)操练词汇和句型，训练学生的记忆和使用词、句的能力。为了使学生掌握和应用课文中所学词汇和句型，教师应为学生创设多层次的练习活动，拓宽写作的训练途径。教师可采用将学生从课文中归纳的词汇、句型进行词类转换、习惯用法、句型转换、完型填空、写短文等形式的训练，帮助提高学生的记忆和使用词、句的能力。

二、借鉴课文词、句进行仿写。

通过提供情景让学生模仿造句，不仅可以降低写作难度，而且可以增加学生写作的兴趣、自信和成就感，使学生的遣词造句的能力在实践中得到提升。

三、借鉴课文句型，训练写作多种表达与技巧，拓展学生思维。

教师在教学实践中会发现，学生在基础写作中往往出现句式雷同、语句呆板、行文单一等现象，缺乏用5个句子有效表达和传输信息的能力。因此，教师就有必要继续进一步加强句子多样化表达、句子转换替代、句子合并等训练，教会学生使用不同的短语、句型结构表达同一的意义;同时，还让学生明白写作的逻辑原则:一个句子表达的信息量越多，而且使用的句子越精练、清楚，那么句意表达和传输信息就越有效。

四、利用课文体裁，训练学生谋篇布局的能力。

教师会发现高三学生在写作中存在的另一个问题是层次不清、结构散乱以及逻辑性不强，这是因为学生缺乏谋篇布局的能力。针对这方面问题，教师可以在教学中利用课文的体裁进行文章结构方面的训练以及进行句子、段落间的连接训练。

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.

英语写作是中考学生的一个盲点，缺乏对英语写作的专门训练和反思，老师的工作量大，造成作文讲评大多数时候只谈现象，因此学生学得也不具体、不深入，忽略写作技能的提高，甚至误认为只要句子结构正确，无单词拼写错误就应该得满分。同学们应该走出对英语写作认识上的误区。那么怎样才能写出一篇优秀作文，而在中考中获取高分呢?下面是YJBYS网作文频道为大家整理的英语写作指导。

一、写作决窍

总体把握，要点齐全;人称时态，逻辑清楚;

关键词汇，动词第一;组词成句，结构完整;

组句成文，连词增色;此路不通，绕道迂回;

字迹工整，留好印象;从句适量，高分有望。

二、写作步骤

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

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

3.写完要点，但不随意发挥。

4.先草稿，后抄写。

三、习作点评

[2004年全国中学生英语能力竞赛初赛初三组] (14分)

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

·What exactly your hobby is;

·When and how you became interested in this hobby;

·Why you enjoy your hobby;

·About your hopes and plans for the future.

写作要求：

1.根据所提供的内容，适当拓展想象空间，灵活地将提供的信息体现在文章中。

2.条理清楚，语句通顺，书写清晰、规范。

3.词数60-80.

[高分突破]

①文体：记叙文。

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

③时态：一般现在时，一般过去时，一般将来时的自然变化。

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

四、培养途径

1.根据老师布置的写作内容，独立完成一篇写作。

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

3.找老师点评，请求老师指点，尤其是怎样润色。

4.自己纠错，写下反思。

五、备考演练

A

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

写作要求：

1.词数在100左右。

2.条理清楚，语句通顺。

3.开头已写好，但不计入总词数。

Jinyun Mountain is a famous place of interest …

B

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

提示：

1.生活离不开水。

2.可饮用水在减少。

3.水污染严重。

4.应保护水源，再利用水。

思路点拨与参考答案

A. [思路点拨]：

①文体：记叙文。

②时态：一般过去时态，一般现在时态。采用正反对比的写作手法，增加感染力。

③写作目的：告诉读者保护环境的重要性。

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

B. [思路点拨]：

①夹叙夹议(说明现状，谈谈感想)。

②时态：一般现在时态。

③广告词的含义——水很重要，应保护和再利用(写作意图)。

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

导语：不论从何种角度，环保都是当代世界发展不可忽视的一环。它也不再仅仅是一种措施和行动，而是一种经济行为，并带动了一系列相关的产业。下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的说明中国发展环保经济的状况的英语句子，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

1. While developing its economy， China will handle properly the relationship among the population， natural resources and the environment.

2. The Chinese government pays great attention to environmental problems arising from Chinas population growth and economic development.

3. China relies on improving supervision， management and technological progress to promote environmental protection.

4. Land， arable land in particular， should be used reasonably and economically. Strong measures will be taken to strengthen the building of the urban environmental infrastructure， regulate industrial structure and lay-out， shun the unpromising way of pollution first， treatment afterwards， and strengthen prevention and control of the pollution in major river valleys to ensure the security of the drinking water of the inhabitants.

【参考译文】

1、中国在发展经济的同时，将处理好的人口之间的关系，自然资源和环境。

2、中国政府高度关注中国人口增长和经济发展所带来的环境问题。

3、中国依靠强化监督管理和技术进步，促进环境保护。

4、土地，特别是耕地，应该合理和经济地使用。将采取强有力的措施来加强城市环境基础设施建设，调整产业结构和布局，避免“先污染，后治理的工作方式，加强预防和控制主要河流污染以确保居民饮用水安全。

1)做模版：拿几片范文，找几句比较拽的结构型句子，拼凑出一个你自己顺手的框架即可。不用到处找，也不用找很多，一个框架即可，当然，准备一些可以替换的词：比如recommendation替换conclusion.漂亮句子很多，但若水三千，我只掬一瓢饮。

2)找出主要的错误类型，每种写出一道两句经典的表述即可。

3)考时30分钟分三个阶段：一)12-15分钟，写出完整的第一段，三个征文段的topic sentence，和完整的末段。写第一段的同时就构思topicsentence,末段无非是重复结论和三句topic。这样的好处是结构已经完整了，你不用慌了。。二)13-10分钟，完成三段正文。我以前觉得这个很困难，后来想通了。无非是把这层意思说清楚就行。3句话就够了。也够长了。三)5分钟check.还一个作用时，是在前面没有完成，还有一个buffer,也不至于弹尽粮绝。

4)非常措施：考试万一时间不够，首段就抄原句;如果时间还不够，末段就cut-paste首段和topic 的文本，稍加修改即可。但是，结构是完整的。

5)ok作文法的精髓和适用范围：精髓：看上去很美。适用范围：不想得6分的人(因为想的6分的人追求的是实际上也很美。如果运气好，可以的5分，运气不好，可以的4分。

高考英语作文需要将有自己的想法，并且掌握好写作的方法，这样英语才能得到高分。

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

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

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

在这一步骤中还需注意三方面问题：

1)确保提纲中段落结构的思路与各段主题句的一致性。只有这样，才能保证所写段落不偏题、不跑题。

2)要综合考虑各个段落的内容安排，避免段落内容的交叉。

3)用好连接词，注意段落间、句子间的连贯性。要做到所写文章层次分明，思路清晰，文字连贯，就需要在句与句之间、段与段之间架起一座座桥梁，而连接词起的正是桥梁作用。

在扩展的过程中也有些窍门，以下几点可供参考：

1)在整篇文章中，避免只是用一两个句式或重复用同一词语。英语中存在着极为丰富的同义词，准确地使用同义词可以给读者清新的感觉。同时要灵活运用各种句式，如倒装句、强调句、省略句、主从复合句、对比句、分词短语、介词短语等，从而增加文章的可读性。

2)使用不同长度的句子。如果一个意思用一句话写不清楚的话，通过分句和合句或用两句、三句来表达，增强句子的连贯性和表现力。

3)改变句子的开头方式，不要总是以主、谓、宾、状的次序。可以把状语至于句首，或用分词等。

4)学会使用过渡词。

(1) 递进furthermore，moreover，besides，in addition，then，etc

(2) 转折however，but，nevertheless，afterwards，etc

(3) 总结finally，at last，in brief，to conclude，etc

(4) 强调really，indeed，certainly，surely，above a11，etc

(5) 对比in the same way，just as，on the other hand，etc

5)确定文章用第几人称写，基本时态是什么。使用人称时人物不能张冠李戴或指代不明。

时态要尽量保持一致。

4、检查修改：要检查复核，不要写完了事。

要留时间通读全文，修改可能出现的错误。检查上下文是否连贯，句子衔接是否自然流畅。检验的标准主要是句子是否通畅，该用连词的地方用了没有，所用的连词是否合适，是否有语法错误，主谓是否一致，动词的时态、语态、语气的使用是否正确，词组的搭配是否合乎习惯，是否有大小写、拼写、标点错误等，还有就是注意卷面整洁。

可归纳为：中心突出，主题明确;层次清楚，条理清晰; 表达力强，传情达意;语句通顺，句型多变;过渡自然，衔接紧凑;标点正确，大小无误;字迹清楚，卷面整洁。

高中英语写作常用开头句型

1.As far as …is concerned 就……而言

2.It goes without saying that… 不言而喻，…

3.It can be said with certainty that… 可以肯定地说……

4.As the proverb says， 正如谚语所说的，

5.It has to be noticed that… 它必须注意到，…

6.Its generally recognized that… 它普遍认为…

7.Its likely that … 这可能是因为…

8.Its hardly that… 这是很难的……

9.Its hardly too much to say that… 它几乎没有太多的说…

10.What calls for special attention is that…需要特别注意的是

11.Theres no denying the fact that…毫无疑问，无可否认

12.Nothing is more important than the fact that… 没有什么比这更重要的是…

13.whats far more important is that… 更重要的是…

写作是考研英语的第二大重头戏，仅次于阅读。但是这部分又经常被考生忽略，考前不动手，依赖临考模板，很难写出高分作文。那么，如何准备2018考研英语写作呢?一起来看下。

对于考研英语写作，最基本的要求是考前必须动笔写出35篇文章，其中十篇应用文，二十五篇图画作文。注意：动笔写的文章最好是有范文的题目。写作应分为五步：

NO.1 写作

写作写作，第一步首先是写!一定要动手写，你看多少，背多少，都没有动手写来得实在，建议同学们拿考题多加练习。

NO.2 仔细对比

第二个就是仔细对比，写完后对照范文从三个方面去研究：第一个是内容，也就是构思和原文有何区别;第二个是语言，也就是用词、用句和原文有何区别?第三个是结构，就是你的行文思路和原文有什么区别?这是第二个步骤，写作的区别其实就是写作的弱点。

NO.3 背诵

第三步骤就是背诵：也就是可以去背诵一些范文。有的同学说了，范文我背过了，但是写作的时候还是不会写。有两个原因，第一个原因是你背得不熟，背得结结巴巴，还不如不背;第二个原因是没有练过，只是死记硬背。

所以为什么背了还不会用，有两个原因，第一背不熟，第二没有练过。背到什么程度，有12个字“滚瓜烂熟、脱口而出、多多益善。”要背到不需要去想，不需要去动脑子!如果背一篇文章还需要去想，那就证明还背得不熟。大家上考场，如果能想起平时的70%，那已经是相当不错了。所以一定要背熟，这就是第三个步骤。

NO.4 默写

第四个步骤就是默写：背熟后把书合上，把这篇文章默写下来。默写后，做一个工作：仔细对比原文发现写作弱点，你会发现你默写的文章和原文会有一些出入，包括拼写、语法、标点等，这种错误就是你写作的弱点，最好能够把这些错误用红笔标出来。大家为什么写作拿不到高分，根源只有一个——错误太多。很多错误自己都不知道。

NO.5 仿写

第五个步骤就是仿写：什么叫仿写?就是模仿你背过的文章再写出一篇新文章。在背完一篇文章后，要想想这篇文章有什么精彩的词组、词汇和句型可以使用。然后换一个话题，把这篇作文用一下，用里面词汇、词组和句型去构思另一篇文章。

写作的注意点和技巧：写作首要的是，一、不跑题;二、字数达到要求;三、字迹整洁工整;四、少有语病。

这些是很基本的要求，考试的时候就要好好落实。比如，拿到作文题目后要审题。在写的过程中注意字数的限制，不要写太多，会扣分的，字数不够也会扣分。所以实在不行就写完一段话，停下来数一数字数。字迹工整可能短期内提高不了。只要你比平时稍慢一点写字母，就会写得比较整洁。要知道老师的印象分是很重要的。病句的避免技巧就是，凡是你想的过程中感觉别扭的句子，多半就是病句。干脆不要写出来，换一种形式去表达。不要追求好词，要追求准确性。

在考前，小作文的提高是非常快的。方法就是分析小作文的类型。应用文写作部分(小作文)考查内容包括投诉信、咨询信、道歉信、求职信等信函类应用文，而且涵盖报告、通知、海报等告示类应用文。不同类型的作文，要自己总结模版。小作文是完全可以准备模版的，其作用也是常明显。一定要注意：总结出自己的模板。

2005年英语考纲有重大变化，其中之一就是作文考查的变化，如何在短期内提高考研英语作文。新增加一篇小作文，使作文考查由一篇变为两篇，而原来的大作文的字数也由“不少于200字”调整为“150至200字”，满分20分。新增的作文是一篇100字左右的应用性短文，文体包括有信件、便笺、备忘录等，满分10分。既然是新增题型，就不会太难，但不好预测文体，这就要求考生复习时力求面面俱到，掌握写作规律及注意事项，尤其是对常见的应用文体如书信等

大作文的写作一般会给考生写作提纲，或图表，图画，或图文并茂。命题方式虽然多样，但题目涉及面往往是考生比较熟悉的内容，目的是测定考生语言的实际应用能力。要求表达清楚，文字连贯，中心突出，内容丰富，句式多变，句子结构和用词正确。

语言的应用能力不可能一蹴而就，必须厚积薄发，必须经过长期的实践锻炼。在提高英语写作能力方面，我觉得：一是要背大量的优秀范文，整段整篇地背，并转换为自己的语言，写作时自己能随心所欲支配。考试时避免套用以前死记硬背的几个范文，把一些不达意的词堆积在一起，没有统一性，无法很好地表现主题；二是要多动手。包括对背过的文章进行词语替换，句式转换，句子重组等，以及对某一主题展开写作。多动手才能提高笔下功夫，才能保证在考场上顺利写作。可以说背诵范文是培养语感，积累素材，掌握写作方法，动手写作是实践，是最终目的，这两者结合起来，就是“理论联系了实际”。另外，背诵范文应有针对性，写作训练也是一样，在训练中要掌握每一类型作文的写作规律，根据其每一类作文的写作特点——如提纲式作文就要求考生根据提纲提示的思路和规定的要点展开段落——全面训练，但不要带有押题的心理，靠背几篇范文就能应付考试的心态是不可取的。

下面说一下英语写作过程中的注意事项

一、认真审题

作文第一步是仔细审题，考生要仔细阅读试题要求及相关信息，如图表，图画，数字等，准确把握出题者意图。考研作文忌信手掂来，提笔就写，根本不审题，想到哪儿就写到哪儿，或完全凭自己想象编故事，置考试要求于不顾， “下笔千言，离题万里”。比如1998是一幅卡通画，老母鸡申明外加一首打油诗，讽刺一些企业把该尽职之事作为推销产品的承诺。如果考生说老母鸡很可爱，但爱自夸，然后说自己某个同学也爱自夸，这就偏离主题。2000年的作文“A Brief Histiry of World Commercial Fishing ”.它给出了两张图，从1900年的渔船和鱼量之比到1995年的渔船和鱼量之比的变化谈如何保护渔业资源，应从商业性滥捕鱼这一主题展开话题，有的考生却大谈环境污染，其它英语写作《如何在短期内提高考研英语作文》。这就偏离了主题，因为题中自始自终都没有谈到环境污染问题。

有的同学没有审题习惯，或担心时间不够草草审题，最后发现文不对题，草草收场，这就影响了英语成绩，同时也会影响后两门考试的考试心情。

二、列出提纲

考试规定的时间是很有限的，所以不能花太多时间准备一个详细的提纲，但关键词提纲或粗略提纲还是非常有必要的。对原始材料分析归纳后要形成一个基本的框架。文章打算分几段写，每段大概怎样写，自数控制在多少，开头段落是道破主题，点名要旨，引人入胜还是先给出主题一般的背景情况和对主题进行浓缩的陈述呢，中间段落和结尾有怎样写呢。这些都要心中有数。有的考生习惯用汉语构思文章，逐句翻译提纲，当碰到某个词卡住时就翻译不下去，僵在那里。要注意列提纲是为了更好更全面的表达主题。主题的表达可有多种形式，不一定非要寻找一个特定的词或句子。考试时考生要充分调动大脑，灵活运用以前所学知识。

三、开始写作

一篇文章往往由四部分组成，标题(title)，首段(opening paragraph),主体(body paragraph),结尾段( concluding paragraph)。标题要新颖，能引起读者兴趣，首段的内容根据文章的体裁而变化，比如议论文可以从一种现象，一种观点出发引出作者的观点。记叙文往往交代人物和故事背景。主体是文章的主要部分，通过合适的语篇模式表达一定的观点，考生要围绕中心按一定顺序分层次有重点的展开叙述，描写，议论。结尾段是对全文的总结，论点上要与前面的叙述一致和统一。写作时要注意以下几点。

1、要统一，连贯。

选择那些最能体现中心思想最具代表性的材料，这些材料要共同表达一致的信息。选材时切忌胡子眉毛一把抓。词语堆积，不伦不类。前后及段落之间在逻辑关系上要紧密衔接，不能把没有任何逻辑关系的词放在一起。可以用恰当的关联词把思想连贯的表达出来。

2、用词准确，语法正确

考试时要特别注意语法，此语，语气，标点符号等，为了避免太多单词拼写错误，语法错误，不要为了追求词语的华丽而堆积一些自己也没把握的单词，不要刻意追求长句而写一些自己不知对错的有多个从句组成的长句。考试时最好选择自己最有把握的词汇，短语，句式。

3、足够字数，卷面整洁

绝对不能字数不够，即使一句话颠来倒去说也要凑够字数。字数不够，即使写的非常精彩，也不能拿高分。

四、修改

英语写作时考生由于仓促，紧张等原因，很容易犯一些简单的，一眼就能发现的错误。所以考生一定要留出几分钟时间用于修改。不要大幅度进行修改，更不要因为修改破坏卷面整洁，影响阅卷老师心情。修改时可以从以下几点进行

1、语法

包括时态是否一致，主谓是否一致，名词单复数是否对应，被动主动语态是否错用等

2、词汇

包括连接上下句或段落的关联词，习惯用语，固定搭配，词类混淆，误用及物不及物动词等。

3、拼写和标点符号

一、培养基础英语写作能力

转变英语学习观念，培养基础英语写作能力是提高商务英语写作能力的基础和关键。为此，必须抓好以下三个环节:

1.不断通过写作练习培养英语语法的应用能力，重视掌握有关词汇的用法，以便能运切实用有关语法和词汇去写作。这是英语写作的基础。

不仅要记住语法规则，更重要的是要通过做各种各样的写作练习，以达到在写作中能正确运用有关语法规则。要记住英语单词的汉语意思，更重要的是要通过阅读在上下文中准确掌握英语单词的用法。单词的用法(主要是实词的用法)主要包括：单词的确切意思-包括其情感意义、文体色彩等;它与有关同义词或近义词的区别;它的习惯性搭配。这样，学习者才能在写作中避免那些尽管语法上没有什么错误、用词却有明显错误的现象。

2.通过大量阅读逐渐培养英语思维，并掌握一些写好句子的技巧，以便在把句子写正确的同时，不断培养用地道的英语把句子写好的能力。

结合提高阅读能力，大量阅读各类题材的英语文章，有意识地逐渐培养英语思维，并把它用于写作。在阅读过程中要注意:不要死扣每句英语的汉语意思，而应着重获取作者所要传递的信息;对于相对简易的、与日常生活或所学专业有关的文章，应注意某些意思的英语表达方式，尤其要注意与汉语有明显不同的表达方式，注意其用词、词序、搭配等，以便将来写作时有效地模仿，使写出的句子地道化。掌握英语句子的写作技巧，恰当运用各种类型的句子。

3.了解一些英语段落、篇章的组织和写作知识。所写段落与篇章均要力求连贯(coherence)和衔接(cohesion)。篇章的用词和句式在文体上一般要保持一致(unity)。

二、商务英语文体特点

要提高商务英语写作水平，除了要有扎实的英语基本功，还要对商务英语文体特点有充分的认识，准确的区别不同体裁商务英语的风格特点，从而写出满足不同商务目的的要求的商务文件。不同的商务环境相对应的不同的商务活动也是不相同的，了解商务英语语言的共同特点、风格、语篇结构而且清楚认识在不同商务活动中商务英语写作的具体特点和要求。它包括构思、起草、修改3个阶段。

1.构思阶段

商务英语写作在此切断必须考虑三个文体：(1)写作目的-通知、请求、说服、存档;(2)写给谁-客户、上级、同事、下属;(3)字数要求;(4)形式结构-计划或建议报告、商务函件、备忘录、电子邮件。明确这些要求后，需要考虑语篇结构，采用那种陈述顺序-直接顺序、间接顺序、直接于间接混合顺序。

2.起草阶段

起草阶段，是将构思阶段在头脑中形成的想法以书面文字的形式呈现出来。商务英语写作的最终目的是为了获的读者的支持、信任和好感。而且还要注意礼貌用词，例如使用褒义词、适当的头衔、不带任何性别、种族和年龄偏见的词等。

作为专门用途英语的商务英语，因其特殊目的，希望通过最有效的沟通提供给合作者更容易理解的清楚具体的信息。其信函在词汇选择上，遵循3c原则:

(1)conciseness(精简)。在复合词与简单词之间、长词与短词之间，应选择简单词或短词;在词组与单词之间，选择单词，尽量不使用不必要的介词词组;

(2)clarity(明白)。要准确传达商务交流的内容，必须避免使用模棱两可的词语或表达方式，这样才能使信函意义明确，不被误解，表达思想才能够更突出。避免在同一信函或其他写作中使用同一词。避免使用“if”，“hope”，“but”等表示疑问的词。在日期表达上，涉及到具体某月，均使用那个月的具体名词，如“January，February，…”。避免用“instant， ultimo，approx”等不确定词语。另外避免将日期写成如“5/4/1995”类似的形式，因为对于英国习惯是4月5日，而美国习惯是5月4日。

(3)Courtesy(礼貌)。尽量使用表示肯定的词汇，少用否定词，因为否定词给人一种否定的印象，或者还有指责对方的意思肯定对方时用词多用“you”，“your”，少用“I”，“we”，“us”，“our”，此种方式即“以客户为中心的‘You—attitude’”表达形式，因为不管你的目的是提供信息、说服别人还是增进友谊，最能打动人。

3.修改阶段

商务英语写作在修改阶段，力求句子简洁明了，段落清晰完整如上文所述。

完成商务英语写作过程在商务写作中，还应注意所选词语的礼貌性，讲话要婉转客气。的第一阶段是写出高水平商务英语的前提。提高商务英语写作能力的关键是把握商务英语写作的三个基本原则-简洁、准确、完整以及商务活动应遵循的语用策略-礼貌、合作。总之，商务英语的文体决定了商务英语写作的基本原则;简洁-才能提高效益;准确-才能避免延误;完整-才能显示逻辑思考能力。

由于教育背景和工作经历的不同而写作风格各异，但他共同遵循的写作宗旨是明晰扼要，其商务文稿要力求开门见山，扣住主题，思路清楚，层次分明，内容具体而完整。现代商业写作做到这些还远远不够。要走出写作风格的误区:一是避免使用套话。二是少用大词多用小词。用简单的言词交流思想，使人感到亲切，书面语向口语化过渡。然而写作的口语化并不意味着要用俚语或行话，因为它们的用法是有局限性的，很难用得恰到好处，弄不好让人感觉随意无礼，容易产生费解和误解。时代的发展变化促使语言更新由繁到简，这不免引起一些人的抱怨，他们认为这是“稀释”了英语。竞争如此激烈的社会，人们惜时如金，那个人会愿意听您咬文嚼字，仔细去揣模字里行间的文学色彩，欣赏书面语措词如何地道。

由上可见，不同文体的英语语言有不同的使用标准、礼貌标准以及传达含义的约束化表达方式，只有了解和掌握现代商务英语词汇的文体特征和应遵循的要求，才能处理好对外业务往来中的各类商务写作，使相关业务顺利开展下去。