应用文写作英语四级考试计划【经典20篇】

积累一些英语格言，对英文写作有一定的帮助。以下是小编带来的小学生经典英语格言，希望对你有帮助。

A cat may look at a king. 猫也可以看国王。

A friend in need is a friend in indeed. 患难识知已。

A good marksman may miss. 智者千虑，必有一失。

A good maxim is never out of season. 至理名言不会过时。

A good medicine tastes bitter. 良药苦口，忠言逆耳。

A good winter brings a good summer. 瑞雪兆丰年。

All roads lead to Rome. 条条道路通罗马。

Better early than late. 宁早勿晚。

Better late than never. 迟做总比不做好。

Great minds think alike.英雄所见略同。

It is good to learn at another man’s cost.前车可鉴。

It is never too late to learn. 活到老，学到老。

Love me, love my dog.爱屋及乌。

Men learn while they reach. 教学相长。

Second thoughts are best. 三思而后行 。

一、明确作文要求，提高写作能力

一篇好的作文，要有一个主题思想，整篇作文应该是紧扣文章主题，遵循特定的文体格式，选用恰当的语言合理组织文章结构，内容统一、连贯，语法、拼写、标点 正确，用词恰当。很多同学在准备英语写作时找不到方向，一味的想在考研英语写作上面抓分，却又不知道怎么样提高。杨老师在此特别提醒考生首先要学会抓住考研英语写作要领，尤其注意文章逻辑关系在阅读中的运用。逻辑关系散布在文章的句子内部、句句之间、以及段落之间。最基本的逻辑关系有以下几种：

1、因果关系：as a result ，therefore，hence，consequently，because,for, due to, hence, consequently等等。

2、并列、递进关系：and, or, then，in addition，besides，in other words，moreover等等

3、转折关系：however，but, yet, in fact等等。

这些其实是已经很熟悉的逻辑提示词在文章中起的效果，并非仅仅是衔接文章的句子，从阅读的角度来看，其实同时在给我们某种提示，告诉我们哪些句子是有效信息，相对重要的信息，哪些信息是相对不重要的信息，因为我们在英语写作的时候，有一条清晰的思路，你不是为了完整翻译文章而进行阅读，而是为了获取主旨来写作。

二、摆脱无话可说 练习“三段式”思维

在英语作文写作时，无话可说的确让人比较头疼，无话可说是一个极端，有的考生题目看得懂，提纲也一目了然，就是不知道该说什么，在考场上头脑一片空白，想到的也只是空泛的东西，在考试过程当中，这会在很大程度上影响大家的做题效果和做题速度。杨老师表示，当头脑出现空白时，应该从具体的、细小的、琐碎的、微不足道的事物所引发的思考变成观点，再进行论述。例如，领导讲话总是第一部分、、第二部分、第三部分…这样条理比较清楚。考官们看文章也必然要通过这些关键性的“标签”来判定你的文章是否结构清楚，条理自然。破解方法很简单，只要把下面任何一组的词汇加入到你的几个要点前就清楚了。

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8）most important of all, moreover, finally

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

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

建议：不仅仅在写作中注意，平时说话的时候也应该条理清楚！

三、用词准确保证语言连贯

考研英语写作中，同样是一篇作文，在没有语法、词汇等基础性错误的前提下，一个考生的句式平平，而另外一个考生的句式灵活多变，非常漂亮，毫无疑问，后者肯定比前者的分数高。但写英语作文时最忌讳的是用一些模棱两可的词，表达不够准确，而且考试时要特别注意语法、词语、语气、标点符号等，避免单词拼写错误、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。建议考生考试时，最好选择自己最有把握的词汇、短语和句式。

很多考生习惯背诵模版，在写作文是喜欢套用背诵模版，但由于仓促，紧张等原因，很容易犯一些简单的错误，如语句不通。所以提醒考生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。总之，无论想要套用那个模版，前提都要保证语言通顺，文章思想连贯。此外，要有自己的style，一来通过背诵或研究范文，把握考研英语作文的整体结构特点，以及写作格式，二来要在研究范文的基础上寻找自己的闪光点，比如闪光词汇。如果大家仔细研究真题，就会发现，几乎所有的高分作文都有一个共同点，那就是都具有几个闪光词汇，这个词汇可能并不是什么高级词汇，但是你能把它的延伸意，或者说你能把我它的一词多义，并且应用到你的文章中。

四、长短句巧搭配 精悍短语当亮点

写作时，尤其是在考试时，如果使用短语，有两个好处：其一、用短语会使文章增加亮点，如果老师们看到你的文章太简单，看不到一个自己不认识的短语，必然会看你低一等。相反，如果发现亮点—精彩的短语，那么你的文章定会得高分了。此外短小精辟的句子，也可以起到画龙点睛的作用。而且如果把短句放在段首或者段末，也可以揭示主题：

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

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

暑假就要到来了，我已经为它制定了一个忙绿的计划表了。

首先，我会找一份兼职，也许在我家附近的工厂工作，这样我就可以陪陪我父母。其次，之前我参加了一个小提琴的培训班，因为我对它很有兴趣。所以，我会在家多多联系。因为正如谚语所说的，熟能生巧。在假期末尾的时候，我会去好好地玩一玩。我比较想和朋友去旅行，也许去云南，也许是其他地方。去那些我从来没去过的地方肯定可以开拓我的视野。

制定一个好的计划并玩得开心。我希望大家都能有一个有意义的假期。

Here comes the summer holiday, I have planned a busy schedule on it.

Firstly, I will find a part time job, probably work in a factory which is near my home, so that I can accompany with my parents. Secondly, I have joined a violin course in the previous time, because I have interest on it. therefore, I will do more practice at home by myself. As an old saying goes, practice makes perfect. At the end of the holiday, it’s time for me to have a good time. I tend to go on a trip with my friends, maybe Yunnan or other wonderful places. Travel to the place I have never been to certainly can broaden my mine.

Make a good plan and enjoy it. I hope we all can have a meaningful holiday.

邀请信

Class 1，Grade 7

Beijing Sunshine Secondary School

Sunshine Town

Beijing

April 20

Dear＿＿

We are happy to invite you to________________________________ We’ll hold___________from…to… (time). We will meet at________ _________(place) and have it at _________(place). We’ll do_______ (activities). We’d like everyone _____________(reminding).

Please complete the note on the next page to tell us if you can come. We hope you can come. We look forward to seeing you at out party. Yours faithfully ∕ sincerely,

(Signature) (打印)

Amy (手写)

Monitor of Class 1, Grade 7

注意:邀请信的关键是要体现出邀请的主旨，反映出邀请人的盛情，并明确表示活动的时间、地点及相应的安排。这些都是邀请信不可缺少的内容。

实用套语

1．Will you do us a favor of joining our party？您能光临我们的聚会吗？

2．May I take this opportunity to invite you to our university to give a lecture？我可以借此机会邀请您到我们大学给我们演讲吗？

3．If you have no other plans for Monday, May 15th, will you come to our party at my home？如果本周五，即五月15号，您没有其他安排的话，可以来我家参加我们的聚会吗？

4．Shall we have the pleasure to invite you to our party this weekend？我们可以荣幸地邀请您参加我们本周末的聚会吗？

经典用语

1. If you haven’t made any definite plan for the coming weekend, I’d love to invite you to come to our school and join us in the party.如果您本周末尚无安排，我想邀请您来参加我们的晚会。

2. If you haven’t promised to join your friends elsewhere, we shall be delighted to have you with us.如果您还没有答应别的朋友的邀请，我们将十分高兴地邀请您到我们这儿来。

3. With your presence on this occasion, we are sure to have a most delightful evening.您的到来一定会让我们的晚会增色不少。

4. All of us here are longing for the pleasure of seeing you.您这儿的所有朋友都在盼望着能见到您。

推荐信

Address of sender

Date

Name （Title）of receiver

Address of receiver

Dear _________（Greeting）

I’m writing to recommend sb. To become／be ______（Subject）

Para1: abilities

Para2: personalities

Para3: examples of details

Para4: Ending: We all think … should… Para1--- Para4: Message Yours sincerely,_____ （Closing）

(Signature) (打印)

(Signature of sender) ((手写)

Monitor of Class 1, Grade 7(Title of sender)

注意:

写推荐信的关键在于:

1. 在新的主体部分的首尾各用一句话明确表示写此信的目的,如:

篇首:I’d like to recommend sb. to be/do…

篇尾:We all think sb. should be…/should get the reward

2. 文中所写的这个人的性格特点与能力要与所推荐的任务或职位相关。

3. 在用事例说明这个人的某个优点时，事例要与该优点相吻合。

实用套语

1. I would like to recommend sb. to be ／become….我愿意推荐某人成为／当／做….

2. It’s my pleasure to recommend sb. to be ／become….我乐意推荐某人成为／当／做….

经典用语

1. I am writing to recommend Mary to become the new chairperson of the Students’ Union.我写此信的目的是推荐玛丽当学生会的主席。

2. May is a hard-working and helpful student.梅是个努力且乐于助人的学生。

3. I think John is good enough to be the chairperson. I hope you will agree.我认为约翰很适合主席这个职务。希望您能同意我的想法。

感谢信

Date of writing

Name（Title）of receiver

Dear______（Greeting）

I am writing the letter to say thank you for______（Subject）

Para1: reasons for writing the letter

Para2: examples or details

Para3: Ending: Thank you for… Para1--- Para3: Message

Yours sincerely,_____ （Closing）

(Signature) (打印)

(Signature of sender) (手写)

注意:

写感谢信应注意以下几点:

1. 在新的开头，第一节中明确表示感谢，即“开头言谢”；

2. 信的主体部分要写出感谢的原因。如果原因不止一个，要分段写。每段写一个主题句，表明一个原因，再辅以具体的事例进行说明，使感谢落到实处，不让人产生客套或做作的感觉；

3. 在信的结尾，还要把感谢的话再说一遍，并加上对对方的祝福。

实用套语

1. With many thanks to you for entertaining me so generously.非常感谢您如此慷慨大方的招待。

2. Indeed I do not know how to express my appreciation for your valuable services.对您优质的服务我无以言谢。

3. We express our sincere and hearty thanks for the favors you have done for us.衷心感谢您为我们所做的一切。

4. It will give me much pleasure to do whatever I can in return for your favor.若能对您的好意有所回报，我将不胜荣幸。

5. Please accept our warmest thanks for what you have done for us.您如此帮忙，请接受我们最热忱的谢意。

经典用语

1. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your letter and for your kindness to me during my long illness.衷心地感谢您在我漫长的卧床期间给我来信，给我关心。

2. I am grateful for your kind wishes for my success.感谢您对我成功的祝福。

3. Thank you very much for the letter of congratulation and the nice gift you sent to me.感谢您寄来的祝贺信及礼物。

4. I’d like to thank you for always being by my side on Thanksgiving Day. 值此感恩节来临之际，感谢您一直以来陪伴在我身边。

[中考英语应用文作文模板

小作文一般以书信居多，因此，在写作时要注意一下两点。

第一，既然是书信，一定要按照书信的格式写作。阅卷老师最先注意到的就是格式，其次才通过阅读看看内容是否符合要求。不注意格式，肯定被扣分。还不熟悉书信格式的同学赶紧多多练习。

第二，要仔细审题。这个问题年年在强调，但是年年有人不注意，写作时往往会跑题。这样怎么能得高分?考试时时间很紧张，怎样快速审题?笔者建议大家首先要脑子里要迅速构建一副写作场景，接下来要抓住关键词，然后围绕场景和关键词进行扩展。这一点不是说一说看一看就能掌握，需要同学们现在多做强化训练。

具体写作就按照题目要求一个点写一段，总共分三段。这样给人的印象是重点突出、条理清晰。下面就以2014年小作文为例，简单分析一下每一段怎么写。

称呼：Dear John,注意称呼中，所有实词首字母全部大写，Dear John后面的逗号不可丢，也不能写成冒号。

正文：

第一段：写作内容需涵盖两点：自我介绍，写信目的。文章开门见山就是自我介绍，用到了这样的表达：I am Li Ming who will go to study in your university and live together with you in one department. 其中的“I am …who…”这个句型来自于建议信的表达，放在这里也十分贴切。接下一句话表明了写信目的：Now I am writing this letter to tell you some of my habits and ask you for some suggestions to adapt myself there.

第二段：写作内容为习惯介绍以及寻求建议。首先，介绍自己的生活习惯，自己一般早上六点起床外出锻炼;周末一般在图书馆看书;其次，希望John就如何适应当地生活给自己一些建议。

第三段：写作内容表示期待，良好祝愿。用到了这样的表达：I am looking forward to seeing you soon and wish everything goes well.

落款：Yours sincerely, 特别提醒sincerely后面逗号不能丢;

签名：Li Ming，特别注意Li Ming 后面一定不能出现句点。

附注：

1、格式

称呼：英语应用文称呼有这样的特点，如果是不认识的人，一般称呼为敬词+尊称。例如，DearSirorMadam或者ToWhomItMayConcern(需注意每个单词首字母都大写);如果是写给关系正式的某团体或个人，称呼为敬词+尊称+名。例如，DearMr.xx或DearMs.xx;;对于关系较亲密的人可以直呼其名，即Dearxx。需要注意的是：1.称呼要顶格写;2.称呼之后要加逗号或者冒号(推荐大家用逗号，因为历年的高分范文都是用逗号的)。

正文：正文格式一般有两种格式，一是缩进式，即首段开头空四个字母，段落之间不空行;一是齐头式，即每段开头不空格，但是各段之间空一行。老师建议考生采用缩进式，因为如果用齐头式，段间空行的话很可能答题空间不够，导致字数不够。

2、语言

写作用词准确是最基础的要求之一。其次，句型可以多变，例如既有并列句，也有复合句，还有从句，但注意语法运用要正确。此外还要注意，正式语言一般是写给具有正式关系的团体或机构，这种情况不用缩略语和口语用法。除了正式的文体以外，其他的文体皆为非正式文体，像写给朋友的书信等。

一般小作文的考查要求中会体现出写该篇的目的和场合，所以考生在写作时要注意针对不同场合使用不同语言，使交流得以进行。另外，考生也要注意不同的应用文有不同的用语。建议考生对某些应用文的格式和习惯用语，应该加以熟悉和背诵，以便运用自如。

3、其他

考生在考试时注意在看到题目要求后不要忙于动笔，虽说小作文的字数充其量在一百多个单词，但是依旧要在脑子里理清思路。最好能够在仔细审题以后，认真列个提纲，这样更有利于思路清晰。写作时，注意表达清楚以下几个方面：首先交代清楚写信目的;其次为了让阅卷者对你的文章结构及表意一目了然，注意关联词或衔接词的运用;接下来，应该对个人的观点进行阐述(在写作有此必要的时候)。最后，行文间要注意简化描述，用简短的语句代替冗长的语句。在作文完成的时候，应该检查、修改，以免遗漏一些需要表达清楚的要点和细节。

书面表达是近几年初中英语中考的重要题型，是一种反映学生表达、传递信息和解决实际问题的重要的语言测试手段，同时也是用于测试学生的语言交际能力和语言知识活用能力的一项综合性试题。《英语课程标准》对各个年级学生“写”的技能提出了明确目标，它要求学生具有较高的书面语言表达能力。然而，目前初中英语教学的书面表达相对滞后，学生的写作水平提高甚微，一提起写作学生们就犯愁，甚至一字不写，有的干脆放弃。写一篇像样的英语作文对80%的学生来说是“难于上青天”。究其原因是多方面的。学生方面：(1)汉语影响、生词造句;(2)词汇贫乏、搭配不当;(3)句型误用、语法不通;(4)信息不全、条理紊乱。因此，笔者结合新教材的内容，在教学中探索了学生写作训练的方法。

一、积累词汇

初中学生在阅读理解方面最大的障碍就是词汇量的缺乏，而扩大词汇量绝非死记硬背就能做到。最有效的方法就是大量接触各种不同体裁的英语文章，利用“在句中记，在文中记”的方法来积累词汇。因此我们指导学生依据英语报刊的特点，按栏目、话题、题材、体裁归类收集常用词，将出现频率较高的常用词汇积累到单词本子上，查字典写例句，初步学会这些单词的运用，放在身边，利用零散时间反复记忆，加强印象。还要求学生给出与单词有关的同义、近义、反义和词形相似的词，使词汇量得到最大限度的复现。如：反义词appear/disappear， crowded/uncrowded，polite/impolite/rude.词形相似的词except/expect，chance/change/challenge.这样，通过大量的词汇练习不仅仅能有效地积累词汇，还为组句打下了基础，同时还能训练学生的发散性思维和总结、归纳、比较的能力，为学生正确使用词句奠定了良好的基础。

二、活用词句

当学生有了一定的词汇量的时候，教师在教学中可以采用先易后难的方法，让学生用简单的词组成句子，再以句子的构成作为学生进行写作训练的起点，引导学生从对单个句型的掌握，逐渐过渡到多种句型的混用，直到学生能连贯自如地表达思想。一句多译，句型转换，是书面表达能力的关键。总的来说，教师在平时的教学中要将日常生活中经常出现的词、句作为材料让学生训练，使学生乐于接受，轻松完成，享受成功感。

例如：以study为中心组成句子。

I study in No.3 Middle School.I study very hard.My sister studies in the same school.But she studies harder than me.等等。

三、创设情景

例如，学生举行运动会，开“生日聚会”，以“A sports meeting”和“My birthday party”为语境，让学生在活动中仔细观察，亲身体验，然后试着用自己所学的语言知识，表达“A sports meeting”和“My birthday party”这些话题。在我们新教材的每个单元中，都设有写作训练题，它们用英语设置语境，用英语提示内容，这些写的练习，与我们平时用汉语给语境、用英语完成段落的方式相比，更为理想。当然，教师在设立语境话题时要与学生的水平和能力相适应，应从简到难，从浅到深进行。否则，学生会无从下笔，久而久之，他们会失去信心。

四、注重听、说和阅读的培养

在英语写作中听、说、读、写应同步发展。写作是一种语言输出形式，只有语言输入大于语言输出，语言输出才有可能。英语写作训练作为英语综合能力训练之一，是与英语的听说读不可分割的，它们是相互影响、相互作用的有机统一体，必须注重听、说、读、写能力的同步发展。

比如笔者实施多年的“五分钟课前演讲”：在上正课前五分钟里，要学生用英语讲述一个故事(积累素材);或者课前朗读一篇短小精 的文章，让大家课后模仿;或者就大家平时关心的话题写一个发言稿或演讲稿进行课前发言;或者让学生自立主题，围绕自己喜欢的主题写一段话。这种课前训练取得了很好的效果。

五、写英文日记

要养成记英语日记勤练笔的习惯。经常用英语记日记等于天天在练笔，这无疑是提高英语写作行之有效的好办法。在记日记时，不要总是用简单句，要有意识地用一些好的词组、句型和复合句等，使文句更优美生动。对一些所给情景写的文章，写好后要对照一些范文，找出差距，然后再去练习，不仅能促使学生及时巩固所学的知识，还能锻炼他们的恒心和学习毅力，同时对提高英语作文也是很有帮助的。只有这样，学生才能通过多练习提高英语写作水平。

总之，学生英语写作水平的提高不是一朝一夕的事，英语写作能力培养的训练方法也是多方面的，因此需要我们英语教师在教学工作中不断探索、不断研究，总结出一些更富有创新活力的英语写作方法。鼓励学生平时要多积累语素材，要求他们坚持长期写作训练，做到善于思考、勤于训练、勇于探究，充分发挥学生的潜力。久而久之，学生的写作水平就会有大幅度的提高。

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

高考英语任务型写作训练练习（一）

读写任务（满分25分）

请阅读以下的短文，然后根据提供的任务说明和写作要求， 写一篇150字左右的英语短文。

（任务说明）

1.概括短文的内容要点（该部分的字数大约60-80）；

2.清楚地陈述你自己的看法；

3.提供具有一定说服力的论据或实例来支持你的观点，可以参照文中的内容，但不能抄袭文中的句子；

4.文章体裁不限，但必须结构合理，内容连贯，有条理性。

（阅读材料）

Almost everyone knows that water covers three-fourths of the earths surface. Most of it， however， is in the oceans and is too salty to drink. Also， some of it is frozen and cannot be used. In fact， less than one percent is left for the use of people， animals and plant life. All through history men have tried to build their homes near the sources of fresh water. Now fresh water is becoming scarce， but more and more is needed because of the increasing number of people in the world. Some industries also use large amounts of fresh water in the production of things such as steel， petroleum， paper and rubber and so on. Scientists estimate that the need for fresh water will have doubled by the year 2003. If they are correct， we must find new ways of saving it or producing it. Some nations have worked on the problem and are already sharing their information with others. They are trying to keep their rivers from becoming polluted. Deep wells are also being dug， and rain water is being collected in huge artificial lakes. In one way or another， they hope to provide enough water to satisfy the needs of their people.

参考范文

With the worldwide increase of population， more and more water is needed. Meanwhile，the water sources are getting polluted by human beings in one way or another. Some nations are taking measures to solve this problem. They even communicate with each other hoping to find better ways to save and produce water to meet the needs of their people.

随着世界范围内的人口增长,越来越需要更多的水。与此同时,水源被污染,人类以一种方式或另一种方式。一些国家正在采取措施来解决这个问题。他们甚至相互沟通希望能找到更好的方法来保存并生成水来满足人民的需要。

On a personal level， to solve the problem with fresh water， both the government and inpiduals should make every effort. For example， for the government， it is urgent to make detailed laws that require businesses and inpiduals to stop polluting the environment and to save water while it is not necessarily used. Besides， education should be offered to all the citizens to raise their awareness of the importance of protecting environment and saving water. As inpiduals， we need to take action to play our own part in our everyday life.

在个人层面上,用淡水来解决这个问题,政府和个人都应该尽一切努力。例如,对于政府来说,迫在眉睫的是做出详细的法律,要求企业和个人停止污染环境,节约用水,而不一定是使用它。除此之外,教育应该提供给所有的公民提高他们的意识保护环境和节约用水的重要性。作为个人,我们需要采取行动来扮演自己的角色在我们的日常生活。

教学课件是辅助教学的多媒体教具，是现代教育技术发展的产物，具有很强的时代特点，也是教育现代化的标志之一。下面是小编整理的英语写作基础教程课件，希望对你有帮助。

一、课程教学目标

本课程为高等学校英语专业课程体系中一门英语专业知识课程，属专业必修课性质。通过本课程的教学，使学生能正确理解和掌握英语写作的基础知识和技巧，例如词汇的恰当用法、英语成分与各类型结构的多样化运用等，并能按照不同要求正确书写便条、信函和通知等应用文，缩写课文内容，组织提纲并根据提纲书写短文（150单词左右），正确使用标点符号。

二、先修课的要求

本课程面向英语专业一年级学生，学生应具备基本英语写作能力，达到英语专业入学时的各项要求。

三、教学环节、内容及学时分配

Unit 1:正确用词

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

通过举例及练习提升学生对词汇的敏感度，学会如何正确运用词汇；写便条。

【本章重点及难点】

辨析词汇不同侧面的意义，如：denotative & connotative meanings; affective & collocative meanings.

【教学内容】

1. Denotation and connotation

2. Attitude and collocation

3. False friends

4. Subject-verb agreement

5. Note-writing

5. Follow-up exercises

Unit 2:恰当用词

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

学会鉴别不同文体，即正式、常用、口语和俚语，并根据不同文体使用恰当的词汇；写较为正式的便条。

【本章重点及难点】

避免中式英语

【教学内容】

1.Various styles in English

2. Chinglish

3. Writing notes to older people, strangers and business clients

5. Follow-up exercises

Unit 3:简洁精确用词

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

纠正学生习作中常见的冗余用词，帮助学生建立分类记忆词汇的习惯从而精确用词；写正式通知。

【本章重点及难点】

提高学生对词汇细微差别的敏感度，尤其是名、动、形容词，培养良好的词汇学习的习惯。

【教学内容】

1. Conciseness

2. Preciseness

3. Effectiveness

4. Modifiers and related problems

5. Informal notice

Unit 4：基本句型

【学时】 3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

通过例句比较，使学生理解并学会选择恰当的词汇作主语，避免动词的名词化倾向；明确主语通常的位置及主语后置时的影响；总结何种情况下使用主动语态或被动语态的原则；归纳一般现在时的较特殊用法及单句中时态的匹配；掌握虚拟语气的常见用法；学写正式通知。

【本章重点难点】

构建最基本句子框架；句中词序的变化对语意重心的影响。

【教学内容】

1. Subject and its position

2. Active voice & passive voice

3. Tense and sequence of tenses

5. Mood

6. Extended notice

7. Follow-up exercises

Unit 5:基本句型的扩展（一）

【学时】 3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

使学生掌握扩展基本句型的方式之一：增添修饰成分，并会正确使用七种类型的修饰语；正确使用定语从句达到强调作用；为段落缩写。

【本章重点难点】

使用修饰语扩展句子，以及修饰语的顺序。

【教学内容】

1. Attributes

2. Relative clauses

3. Incomplete sentences

4. Word order

5. Precis for short paragragh

6. Follow-up exercises

Unit 6基本句型的扩展（二）

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

学会使用分词和独立主格结构来扩展句子；为较长篇章写缩写。

【本章重点难点】

复杂分词结构的使用；学会在两个或以上的动词中正确选择用作分词结构的动词；避免悬垂修饰语、连写句、连串句。

【教学内容】

1. Participles

2. Absolutes

3. Comma-split sentences

4. Fused sentences

5. Precis for longer articles

6. Follow-up exercises

Unit 7连接句子的方法之一：并列

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

了解并列在单词、词组、从句和句子这四个层面的使用；学会不同类型连接词的用法；掌握并列句的具体用法和功能，以及更为复杂的并列句的使用，例如并列词的重复或缺失、用分号连接的并列句和有插入结构的并列句。

【本章重点难点】

如何正确应用并列句；错误的并列。

【教学内容】

1. Coordinate structures

2. Coordination at the sentence level

3. Functions of coordinate sentences

4. Advanced usages of coordinate sentences

5. Lack of unity & faulty parallelism

6. Follow-up exercises

Unit 8连接句子的方法之二：从属

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

辨析并列句与从属句在表达语意上的区别；正确使用名词性从句，定语从句和状语从句；理解从属句的两大功能；学写提纲。

【本章重点难点】

从属句的有效使用；从属句与并列句的选用原则。

【教学内容】

1.Subordination vs.coordination

2.Types of subordination

3.Functions of subordination

4.Effective use of subordination

5.Misplaced modifiers

6.Basic format of a short composition

7.Follow-up exercises

Unit 9句子多样化

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

使学生理解句子多样化的重要性，并从句子长度、句子结构、语意重心和句子开头这四个方面达到句子多样化的目的；正确使用倒装，避免逐字翻译；学写短文开头。

【本章重点难点】

达到句子多样化的方法；如何通过重新排序和特殊结构达到强调的目的。

【教学内容】

1. Ways to achieve sentence variety

2. Inversion & word-for-word translation

3. Introduction of a short paragraph

4. Follow-up exercises

Unit 10标点符号

【学时】3

课堂讲授学时：2

其他教学学时：1

【教学目的和要求】

理解常用标点符号的功能和用法；学写短文结尾。

【本章重点难点】

标点的用法；插入语的三种不同标点组合的区别。

【教学内容】

1.Functions of punctuation

2. How to end a sentence

3. How to join sentences of equal weight

4. How to punctuate within a sentence

5. The conclusion of a short composition

四、教学策略与方法建议

本课程采用课堂讲授和写作实践相结合的教学方式。课堂讲授使用多媒体教学，由教师讲解写作技巧引导学生发现使用规律，结合小组活动和个人训练等各种形式提高学生的写作学习热情。在课外布置适量的写作任务，及时操练和巩固所学的写作知识和写作技巧，加强对语言的实际运用能力。

五、教材与学习资源

本课程教材为邹申主编的《写作教程（第一册）》，上海：上海外语教育出版社，2005。

看图作文是以图画或图表来提供目的、对象、时间、地点、内容等情景，要求作者借助图画，通过联想将一组画面的直观内容转换成传神达意的文字形式，用于反映图中所表现的思想内容。

从写作体裁上看，可说明介绍，可叙事记人、可写景状物，也可以发表议论。

1.仔细审题、弄清题目要求

看图作文主要考查考生的观察能力、分析能力、想象能力、创造能力和语言表达能力。

想写好看图作文，必须遵循以下步骤：

首先，必须通读试题中的每一个字，认真观察所给的每一幅图画，正确理解提示所提出的各种要求，从而明确作文的中心思想，判断文章的类型、特点，了解文章的重点内容，力求切中题意。

2.审好图，确定要素

认真观察图中的故事发生于何时?何地?图中的人物为何人?他们做了什么事情?结果如何?

3.考虑用恰当的词语、句型和时态

弄懂了图上的大意后，在内心构思一个基本的框架，考虑用什么样的句型、词语、时态来充分表达文章的内容，尽可能用你熟悉的词语或句型，力求语言准确、意思明了。

4.列出要点，组织语言

在认真审题、弄清题意的基础上，我们应逐个完整无误地把内容要点列出来，我们可以在每幅图画的旁边用简单的词语标出其所表达的要点，这样，既可以提醒自己不要漏写了要点，又能防止过分发挥。接着就可以将内容要点译成英文词语或句子，以便下一步组织语言，形成短文。要注意使用适当的连接词或过渡性语句，以使上下文更为连贯，过渡自然。

5.详细得当

对一些细节方面的内容，如果是文章必不可少的细节，在写作时不可将这些细节忽略;如果是可有可无的细节，则可视具体情况进行增删。因此，我们在审图时，一定要注意各图中的一些细节内容，看其是否影响文章的内容。

6.仔细检查、修改

文章写完后，应进行必要的检查、修改，力求全文内容表达准确、完整，并最大限度减少错误。

具体从如下做起：

(1)核对图中要点是否有遗漏;

(2)时态、语态是否正确;

(3)文章句、段、篇是否连贯;

(4)用词是否得当、词数是否符合要求;

(5)单词大小写、拼写、标点是否准确无误。

最后提醒大家：一篇好的作文不但要内容写得好，字迹也要美观、工整、漂亮。

Now National Day is coming.I have made a plan for it .I am going to Beijing with my parents.Because there are many places of interest .First we want to visit the Great Wall ,which is considered one of the seven wonders in the world.Second we want to visit the summer palace ,where lived many emperors during the hot days.Then we want to visit the Water Cube,where many important events are held .Finally we want to visit hutong to get a knowledge of the culture of old Beijing .I think this trip must be very interesting and we will have a good time.

国庆节要到了,我已经定了一个计划,我和我的父母去北京,因为那有很多名胜古迹.首先我们要去长城 ,它被认为是世界七大奇观之一.第二我们要参观颐和园,许多帝王避暑的地方.然后我们去水立方,很多重大的体育比赛都在那举行.最后我们要去参观胡同 去了解一下老北京的文化.我想这次旅行一定很有趣,所以我们一定会玩得很高兴.

1、Practice makes perfect.

熟能生巧。

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

积少成多。/小事谨慎，大事自成。

3、Swift to hear,slow to speak.

多听少讲。

4、Procrastination is the thief of time.

拖延就是偷走时间。

5、Tomorrow is another day.

明天又是新的一天。/明天还有指望。

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

扬长避短。

7、Promise little，but do much.

少许愿，多做事。

8、cripples learns to limp.

近朱者赤，近墨者黑。

9、Bend the willow while it is still youn.

修树要趁早，育人要趁小。

10、Knowledge is power.

知识就是力量。

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

激情虽难驾驭，却是强大动力。

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

取长补短。

13、He than run fast gets the rin.

捷足先登。

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

井干方知水宝贵。

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

人生最大的光荣，不在于永不失败，而在失败还能站起。

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

人之需要理想，如水手之需星辰；星辰虽不可及，但可指引我们航程。

17、Youth’s stuff will not endure.

青春易逝。

18、A pet lamb makes a cross ralTl.

宠坏的羊羔会变成恶羊。

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

做最坏的准备，怀最好的希望。

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

别把小孩和洗澡水一起泼掉。

21、Wisdom is only found in truth.

惟有在真理中才能找到智慧。

22、A stitch in time saves nine.

小洞不补，大洞吃苦。

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

一天之计在于晨。

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

有志者事竟成。

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

拓宽知识，开拓视野。

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

惟坚韧者始能遂其志。

27、Thought is the seed of action.

思想是行动的种子。

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

种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。

29、Every man is the master ofhis own fogune.

每人都是自己命运的主人。

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

健康是一个人最宝贵的财富。

31、Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom.

失败是成功之母。

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

走向知识的第一步是知道自己无知。

33、Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.

孩子不见世面，知识少的可怜。

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

自己有缺点，勿揭他人短。

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

给我一个支点,我可以跷起整个地球。

下面是语文迷网为大家整理的一些英语写作常用的句子，希望对你有帮助。

1、Time flies.

时光易逝。

2、Time is money.

一寸光阴一寸金。

3、Time and tide wait for no man.

岁月无情;岁月易逝;岁月不待人。

4、Time tries all.

时间检验一切。

5、Time tries truth.

时间检验真理。

6、Time past cannot be called back again.

光阴一去不复返。

7、All time is no time when it is past.

光阴一去不复返。

8、No one can call back yesterday;Yesterday will not be called again.

昨日不复来。

9、Tomorrow comes never.

切莫依赖明天。

10、One today is worth two tomorrows.

一个今天胜似两个明天。

11、The morning sun never lasts a day.

好景不常;朝阳不能光照全日。

12、Christmas comes but once a year.

圣诞一年只一度。

13、Pleasant hours fly past.

快乐时光去如飞。

14、Happiness takes no account of time.

欢娱不惜时光逝。

15、Time tames the strongest grief.

时间能缓和极度的悲痛。

16、The day is short but the work is much.

工作多，光阴迫。

17、Never deter till tomorrow that which you can do today.

今日事须今日毕，切勿拖延到明天。

18、Have you somewhat to do tomorrow,do it today.

明天如有事，今天就去做。

19、To him that does everything in its proper time,one day is worth three.

事事及时做，一日胜三日。

20、To save time is to lengthen life.

节省时间就是延长生命。

21、Everything has its time and that time must be watched.

万物皆有时，时来不可失。

22、Take time when time cometh,lest time steal away.

时来必须要趁时，不然时去无声息。

23、When an opportunity is neglected,it never comes back to you.

机不可失，时不再来;机会一过，永不再来。

24、Make hay while the sun shines.

晒草要趁太阳好。

25、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。

26、although this view is wildly held, this is little evidence that education can be obtained at any age and at any place.尽管这一观点被广泛接受，很少有证据表明教育能够在任何地点、任何年龄进行。

27、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。

28、in fact, we have to admit the fact that the quality of life is as important as life itself.事实上，我们必须承认生命的质量和生命本身一样重要。

28、in the last decades, advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past.在过去的几十年，先进的医疗技术已经使得人们比过去活得时间更长成为可能。

30、in view of the seriousness of this problem, effective measures should be taken before things get worse.考虑到问题的严重性，在事态进一步恶化之前，必须采取有效的措施。

31、it is indisputable that there are millions of people who still have a miserable life and have to face the dangers of starvation and exposure.无可争辩，现在有成千上万的人仍过着挨饿受冻的痛苦生活。

32、many experts point out that physical exercise contributes directly to a person’s physical fitness.许多专家指出体育锻炼直接有助于身体健康

33、many experts point out that physical exercise contributes directly to a person’s physical fitness.许多专家指出体育锻炼直接有助于身体健康。

34、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

35、no one can deny the fact that a person’s education is the most important aspect of his life.没有人能否认：教育是人生最重要的一方面。

36、people equate success in life with the ability of operating computer.人们把会使用计算机与人生成功相提并论。

37、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。

38、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。

39、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

40、the majority of students believe that part-time job will provide them with more opportunities to develop their interpersonal skills, which may put them in a favorable position in the future job markets.大部分学生相信业余工作会使他们有更多机会发展人际交往能力，而这对他们未来找工作是非常有好处的。

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay

commenting on the saying “Knowledge is a treasure, but

practice is the key to it.” You can cite one example or two to

illustrate your point of view. You should write at least 150 but

no more than 200 words.

我计划这个暑假独自去旅行。我曾经去旅游过几次，但是都是跟我家人或者朋友去的，从来没有自己去过。我想独自旅行一次，这样可以锻炼自己更坚强更自信。我把我的计划告诉了我的父母，他们非常支持我，还认为这是帮我成长的一个号机会。他们还告诉了我许多旅行要点，并帮我准备行李。我非常感激父母的理解以及他们对我的决定的尊重。我不会让他们失望。

I plan to go to travel alone this summer vacation. I have traveled several times, but gone with my family or friends, never did it alone. I want to do it once, so I can train myself to be stronger and more confident. I told my parents about my plan, they supported me very much, and they thought it is a good opportunity to help me grow up. They also told me many tips of traveling and prepared the package for me. I am grateful that my parents understand me and respect my decision. I won’t let them down.

在英语教学中，培养学生听、说、读、写的能力是相辅相成的。经常练习写作，可以巩固和发展听说能力 ，还可以促进阅读能力的提高。写作能促使学生勤复习、多思考。通过对一词一句反复推敲，有助于提高使用 语言的准确性。学习用英语写作是培养英语思维能力的重要途径之一，有了一定的英语思维能力，英语学习就 能产生一个相应的飞跃。因此，在高中阶段指导、培养学生写英语作文是不容等闲视之的。

用英语解释生词，为学生打好写作基础。教师应创造语言环境，通过耳濡目染、潜移默化，培养用英语思 维的习惯。在教每课的单词和词组时，要尽量用学生学过的单词、词组进行解释。刚开始时，可由教师用英语 解释生词，后来可让学生根据汉语释意，用自己学过的单词、词组解释。这样，经过一段时间的训练，学生的 英语思维能力就会有所提高，为英语写作打下较好的基础。在作文时，如果不知道某个东西的英语表达方式而 又无词典可查，这时学生就会用其释义来代替，如用“a person who nakes clothes”来代替“atailor”， 这虽不完全符合英语语言习惯，但对初学写作的高中生来说还是值得鼓励的。

通过缩写和改写课文，培养学生的英语概括能力。缩写课文会激励学生去认真钻研课文内容，有助于加深 学生对课文的理解，提高学生归纳总结和进行简要表达的能力。缩写课文允许改动原意，不允许删去主要内容 。缩写课文一般应该用自己的话来写，不能只停留在拼凑原文的词句上，也不要逐句、逐段照原文去改写。这 些均通过示例让学生明白和掌握，并在实践中让他们仔细加以体会。改写课文可以培养学生举一反三的语言表 达能力，熟练掌握英语表达方法，促使学生去钻研、去思考，调动学习的积极性，学生把学过的知识运用到实 际中去，这对于提高英语水平大有裨益。改写，除了我们通常所说的句子、段落的释义之外，还包括用其他体 裁改写整篇课文。如高中英语第一册第三课短剧“The Lost Necklace”可改写为记叙文。有的课文，如高中英 语第一册“The Blind Men And The Elephant”和第十课“At A Tailors Shop”等，就可以让学生改写成短 剧，并让他们在班上表演。有的课文故事是第三人称叙述的，如“The Footprint”，就可以让学生用第一人称 加以改写，使他们身临其境，自由发挥。这样可创造情景，促使他们“下笔如有神”。

以多题材、多形式的自由作文训练，加强意念功能的培养。经过一段时间的缩写和改写的笔头训练之后， 学生对写作有了一定的基础和兴趣，就可以放手让他们进行多种题材的自由作文训练，使学生在自由表达思想 和内心感受中，加强意念功能培养。(1) 练习写周记日记是培养学生英语自由写作能力的第一步。写周记日记 ，学生不受内容和经验的限制，可就熟悉的题材，充分发挥自己的想象力，自由表达。(2) 看图作文新颖活泼 ，能激发学生英语写作的积极性。可以用流传较广的传说、故事作图，让学生写记叙文。比如画几幅老鼠商议 给猫挂铃铛的图，让学生以“The cat and the bell”作文。也可画一幅漫画，让学生写简易议论文。如画一 幅之人向三个方向划一条小船，让学生写出情景加以评论，并命题。(3) 作文可由教师统一命题，也可由学生 自由命题。命题作文要注意先易后难，开始让学生写一些自己熟悉、易于表达的题材。如：“Our School”、 “My Family”、“A Letter To Somebody”、“ARepectable Teacher”、“Life In Summer Vacation”等。 在此基础上，提高一步，写一些较难的题目。如:My Idea, Money And Happiness等。刚开始练习命题作文写作 时，可让学生课外完成，规定交作文日期即可。经过一段时间后，可要求他们在课堂上完成，借以培养他们的 思考能力，提高快速写作的能力。

通过讲评帮助学生逐步掌握写作要领。作文批阅应与课堂讲评相结合，一方面在班上朗诵优秀作文，说明 其好在哪里。另一方面要分析各种典型错误，尤其是汉式英语，务必通过讲译，使学生进一步了解错误产生的 原因，以及如何纠正。为了加深印象，避免讲评中烦琐指点，最好对各种错误进行分类整理，教师应注意分类 的合理性和系统性。

Usually, I am free at the weekends, but sometimes I also have something to do.

This weekend, I will be busy, because at Saturday, I am going to read a magazine in the morning. Afternoon, I will go to the zoo with my grandparents.

On Sunday, I will go to the bookstore to buy some books for reading. Afternoon, I will go to the train school to learn Kongfu.

At night, I will stay at home and have a good rest.

翻译：

通常,我在周末很空闲,但有时我也有事情要做。这个周末,我将会很忙,因为在星期六,我打算在早上读一本杂志。下午,我将和我的祖父母一起去动物园。周日,我要去书店买一些书阅读。下午,我要去培训学校学习功夫。在晚上,我将呆在家里,好好休息。

为了考一个好的成绩，为了给这学期的学习画上一个圆满的句号，同学们都在紧张地筹备着考前复习工作。我也不例外。

我的复习工作是这样的：上好复习课。在复习课上认真参与，开动脑筋与老师一起总结归纳知识规律，进行有目的的练习。掌握老师所讲的内容，并及时消化，做做好巩固工作。

敢于提问。如果感到自己哪方面的知识不过关、有疑问一定要提出来，问同学、问老师、问家长，弄懂以后还要多练习两次，直到真正学会为止。

认真完成作业。复习期间，老师会根据知识的重点难点布置作业。按老师要求，认认真真地做好作业，只有这样才能达到事半功倍的效果。

自我复习。对自己的知识结构进行认真的分析，找出自己知识上的落后环节，自己制订计划，有选择性地进行自我复习。

自己定一些时间限制。连续长时间的学习很容易使我们产生厌烦情绪，这时可以把功课分成若干个部分，把每一部分限定时间，例如一小时内完成这份练习、8点以前做完那份测试等等，这样不仅有助于提高效率，还不会产生疲劳感。

从改正错题开始，当初做错的题都暴露出学习上的隐患或漏洞，错题改过后进入知识归纳、题型归类、查漏补缺、巩固提高阶段。

立足课本。问渠哪得清如许，为有源头活水来。对课本中基本概念、基础知识掌握不到位是学习中好多问题的根源，所以应从源头抓起。但这绝不是简单地把课本看一遍，做例题就比看例题效果好，做题后发现问题及时看书就比单纯地看书效果好。

要注意适当锻炼，合理休息，劳逸结合。只有休息好，才能学习好，讲究效率才是最重要的。

这就是我的期末复习计划，希望同学们能够互相学习，取得优异的成绩!

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

The annual summer arrived, I was very happy. In order to complete the teacher the assignment, and Mr. Gong

Good solid knowledge, particularly from already made the following a few!

To do morning reading 1. 8:00 a.m. to get up every morning, as usual.

No. 2. Each pair to cram school English.

3. Do the text every day, mathematics summer vacation homework 1. As documents 1-2 hours.

4. To play for the 2 for 1 hour, every afternoon siesta 1 hour, 2 hours to play computer.

Tentative above a few, I will follow your article 4, hope mom dad urged.

一年一度的暑假到了，我非常的开心。为了完成老师布置的作业，及巩

固好所学的知识，特别自已制定了如下几条!

1.每天早上8：00钟起床，照常早读。

2.每双号到学校补习英语。

3.每天做课文，数学暑假作业1张.看作文书1----2小时。

4.每天下午去二中打球1小时，午睡1小时，玩电脑2小时。

暂定以上几条，我一定会按自已的4条去做，望妈爸督促。

【论文摘要】在高考英语试题中，写作是有效提高学生整体成绩的重要手段，写作是目的也是为了测试学生直接运用英语表达的能力而设置的，因此通常都会放在试卷的最后面作为压轴题出现。在高考英语写作要求中，明确提出要让考生运用所学知识进行书写，能组词成句、组句成文，语句符合英语语法和习惯。在写出的书面材料中，要求达到：切中题意，文理通顺，语言准确，得当。那么，怎样才能在高考英语写作中出类拔萃呢？这正是本文要探讨的内容。

一、有的放矢，了解高考英语写作要点

要对高考英语写作的题型及内容有所了解，才能把握好高考英语写作的考点，在此基础上才能找到行之有效的对策及方法。纵观近几年各省高考英语试题中，写作测试的命题思路，有一种从指导性写作逐步向半开放式写作过渡的趋势。半开放式写作，具体地说，就是给考生们提供一定的材料(包括图、文或图文结合)然后要求学生根据材料来进行书面表达，这样的考题形式，既限制了考生随心所欲的思维，又给予考生适当的发挥空间。这种命题方式能较好地考查考生的语言组织能力、书面表达能力以及思维能力。而在文体方面，记叙文、议论文、应用文及书信为最常见的写作题材。因此，我们可以做一个形象的比喻，写文章就像工厂里制造一台机器那样，首先要确定机器由几部分组成，然后对这几部分分别细化，形成初步的设计图；再根据要求对初步的设计图进行完善、补充、修改，随之形成最终的设计图；然后我们再按照图纸的设计，使用我们所掌握的零件去制造出机器；同样的道理，学生写作时可参照以下模式：

1．理解话题：学生在动笔前必须对指定的话题进行反复细读，认真思考，理解其真正的含义，了解出题者的意图，这是进行写作的第一步；

2．明确文体，确定人称时态：这一阶段的判断中，主要强调近十年高考最常见的两种文体：(1)说明文：必须按照事物的原貌加以说明、介绍、解释，常采用一般现在时，被动语态也常使用；(2)记叙文：通常采用第一人称，描述本人的经历或耳闻目睹之事；或用第三人称讲述他人的事情，如果是过去的事情，要用过去时。

3．初拟提纲，再理解话题：明确文体的基础上，草拟写作提纲；提纲是文章的骨架，可以是一句活，也可以是一个词组，由于考试时间所限，提纲内容不必面面俱到，但必须体现文章的整体结构和思路；目前绝大部分高中学生在英语写作时，还习惯于使用母语进行构思，然后将构思好的中文内容翻译成英文，这种情况是正常的；关键在于翻译过程中的语言表达必须符合英语语言的表达习惯

4．开始写作：提纲完成后，应根据提纲充实内容，如果说提纲是骨架的话，那么这时你必须将骨架填充血肉；具体的说就是要扩展要点，连词成句，适当地变换句型，组句谋篇成文；注意应简明扼要，层次分明、用词准确、语法概念清楚，使文章更具说服力，然后在写作完成后，还要对文章进行快速的检查，减少单词的拼写错误和句子表达的错误。

二、高考英语写作指导的具体策略

根据以上对历年高考英语写作试题的分析，我们可以从以下三个方面去指导学生进行写作：

1．细读材料，认真审题

仔细阅读书面表达题所给材料的全部内容，准确理解题目要求。需要认真审查的内容有：(1)文章的开头和结尾是否已给出；(2)用第几人称写作，书面表达要求中会明确指出使用第一人称还是第三人称；(3)提供的情景是图画、图表，还是提纲，如果是连环画，要注意故事情节的连贯性，确定合理的情节发展；(4)是否提供参考词汇，如果提供有参考词汇，写作中最好要用到；(5)采用什么文体，如果是议论文，要有论点、论据和结论三部分。如果是应用文，要注意其格式。如果是记叙文，要抓住六个要素：时间、地点、人物、事件、事情起因、事情的发展与结果。

2．恰当选择词语和句式

认真审题后，就可以列提纲了，将重点单词、短语、句型写在提纲里，关于选词切忌使用生僻词语，要求做到用词准确、得体、达意。选择句式时，尽量使用多种句式，如强调句、倒装句、各种名词性从句、定语从句、状语从句和固定句型等，长句和短句视情况交错使用，这样可以提高文章的档次，使文章生辉。

选词大多是在一组同义词或近义词之间进行。例如，我们要表达“好”这个意思，一般来说，大家会马上想起“good”，因为口语中我们经常说agoodfriend、goodluck、agoodpicture等。但是，在不同的短语中，可以选择不同的英语单词使表达更加准确、生动、形象。

3．多背常识性语句，扩大知识面

语言是有规律的，不同体裁的书面表达都有其常识性语句。如果同学们平时有大量的语句积累，在写作时就能把积累的东西调动起来。这些常识性语句既可增加文章的连贯性、逻辑性和可读性，同时还能提供地道的表达方式。写人物介绍时，应着重写人物的姓名、性别、年龄、职业、身高、健康状况、业余爱好、工作态度、与人相处和社会评价等语句。例如：lipingisagoodteacher，whoisthirtyyearsold．heis175centimetrestallandheishealthy．等。

【参考文献】

[1]韩金龙，秦秀白.体裁分析与体裁教学法.[j].外语界2000(1)

[2]韩金龙.英语写作教学:过程体裁教学法.[j].外语界.2001(4)

[3]何星.“过程写作法”较之“结果写作法”在高中英语写作教学中的

有效性研究.[d]华东师大专业硕士学位论文.2007