Part I: Argumentative essay.
Looking back at the school audition stage of the FLTRP Cup National English Writing Competition, after the rematch list came out, the teacher shared with us their experience of correcting the composition at that time: many students' articles did not have a clear framework structure, or the structure was scattered, which affected the quality of the articles. And all the students who enter the semi-finals have a relatively reasonable and clear article structure, which can be recognized by the teacher who revised the paper. It can be seen that a good article structure is particularly important for an article.
To tell the truth, I have always adhered to my argumentative structure on the premise of seldom reciting template structure or sentence patterns. In my opinion, this structure is quick, neat and clear, and it is suitable for almost all argumentative papers. This structure is as follows.
Then take the once hot topic "Ice Bucket Challenge" as an example. The reason for choosing this topic is that both the semi-final questions of the writing competition and the composition questions of the TEM-8 exam appear under this background. Although the specific topics are different, the essence is the same. To put it simply, let's assume that the topic is whether the ice bucket challenge should be advocated.
When I answered these two questions, I held a negative opinion, so the general structure of my article is as follows:
The first paragraph:
Describe the background of the ice bucket challenge. What needs to be pointed out here is that there is often a paragraph introducing the relevant background in the exam, and some students are often unwilling to think for themselves and choose plagiarism, which is a taboo in writing. Teachers who grade papers are absolutely unwilling to give high marks to a student who lacks self-thinking. In this case, you must describe it in your own language, or at least explain the background given in the title. One principle should be remembered in this process: simplicity. At the end of the first paragraph, I put forward my own point of view: from my point of view, the ice bucket challenge should not be advocated.
The second paragraph:
At the beginning of the second paragraph, a sentence is needed to change the context. There are three reasons to support my view. /The following paragraphs will provide three reasons to support my point of view. Then say your first argument directly: first of all, due to the fact that different people's physical conditions are very different, the ice bucket challenge can pose a threat to some people's health. Next, give relevant examples or reasons. For example, someone caught a cold because of the ice bucket challenge, pointing out that the ice bucket challenge is not worth popularizing.
Paragraph 3/4:
The structure of the third and fourth paragraphs is the same as that of the second paragraph, except that there is no need for transitional sentences to put forward arguments directly. For example, some people tend to pay more attention to the stars who accept the challenge and ignore the true meaning of the challenge, which is the second reason why I don't agree. To some extent, the ice bucket challenge is a waste of water, which is the third reason why I have a negative attitude towards the ice bucket challenge. Then, similarly, give relevant examples or reasons to prove it.
The fifth paragraph:
Make a summary of the above, such as: take? Considering the above motives, I firmly believe that it is unwise to advocate the ice bucket challenge. Summary is often more than one sentence. You can summarize the above content again and express it in different languages. However, it should be noted that there can be no new topics and contents at the end, because often the new contents have not been discussed or proved and are not convincing.
A good article must be composed of rich vocabulary and sentence expressions. In the vocabulary part, we don't have to use advanced expressions, but try to avoid high-frequency words of junior and senior high school students, such as a lot of words that make me sad, and try to replace those bad street words with new words. For example, replacing "many" with "plentyof" and "tons of" makes me sad. With "a feeling of sadness comes to my mind when …" and the most classic one is "more and more" instead of "more and more".
In the sentence pattern part, when it comes to argumentative writing, "I think …" and "My opinion is …" are often used. Horribly, some students can only see "I think ..." everywhere, and at most occasionally add "I believe ..." to make the article look boring. In fact, there are many sentence patterns used to express one's views, and only a few changes are needed. From my point of view,+content; ? As far as I am concerned,+content; My firm belief is ... and so on.
In addition, since it is formal writing, the sentence pattern should not be too simple. Excessive repetition of overlapping simple sentences will make the teacher who marks the papers form the impression that the students' English level is not high. Only when clauses are used correctly and clauses, simple sentences and complex sentences are used alternately can a good article be written.
Under the premise of good structure and various lexical sentence patterns, clear logical relations are particularly important. In my opinion, logical relationship is mainly reflected in two aspects in argumentative writing. One is the relationship between the arguments put forward and the arguments, and the other is the relationship between the arguments and the supporting examples and reasons. Only when the logical relationship between the two layers is clear, the argument can fully prove the argument, and the reasons and examples can fully support the argument, can this argumentative paper written by myself stand on its own feet.
Part II: Explanatory text.
Explanatory writing and argumentative writing can be universal in many aspects, especially the diversified expressions of vocabulary and sentence patterns. Logically speaking, the requirement of expository writing is that the whole article can fully explain the theme you want to express. Structurally, the structure of the expository text that I advocate most is forever-divided-forever, so that the ending can echo. The first paragraph briefly points out what you want to explain, the second to fourth paragraphs explain from different aspects, and the last paragraph summarizes.
Take the expository essay that I participated in the writing competition at that time as an example. The topic requires several foreign students to come to your school for exchange. Please introduce your school from different aspects. Welcome. In the first paragraph of the article, I stated the purpose of this article, not only welcoming their arrival, but also pointing out that in this article, we will briefly introduce our school so that they can better adapt to life here. From the second paragraph to the fourth paragraph, I discuss from three aspects: study (courses, teachers, classmates), life (dormitory conditions, basic equipment) and extracurricular activities, and the last paragraph is a summary. The final result tells me that my article has been recognized to some extent.
The improvement of English writing can never be completed overnight, and it needs persistent accumulation and practice. Here, I put forward five suggestions, which I believe will help improve my writing level.
English writing examines formal writing. However, because our mother tongue is Chinese, it is easy for us to write Chinglish. It will be helpful for English writing to read more English original works and be familiar with authentic English expressions. In addition, perhaps the sentences in the original that I accidentally remembered will become extra sentences in my English article, which will also be an unexpected gain.
There is no doubt that English grammar learning is boring, but it is undeniable that if an article is full of grammatical errors, no matter how wonderful it is, the rest can't be masterpieces. Therefore, in normal times, we should read more grammar books as reference books, check up our grammar loopholes anytime and anywhere, and master the correct sentence expression methods.
As mentioned above, colorful words and sentence patterns can add luster to your own articles. Therefore, whether you study in class or do extensive reading after class, you need to cultivate your good habit of recording good words and sentences, and then apply them to your own articles in an appropriate way.
Nowadays, college students' compositions are more and more in line with society. For example, the "ice bucket challenge" I mentioned earlier is a hot spot in a certain period of time. Although the requirements of the article will basically involve the background and main overview of an event, it will undoubtedly enhance our confidence in writing and provide powerful help if we reserve knowledge about related events in advance, which requires us to maintain a good habit of paying attention to current events in peacetime.
As the saying goes, "all talk and no practice", diligent practice can help you find your own shortcomings and make clear your future efforts. It is one of the effective ways to improve one's writing level to trouble experienced teachers to correct and revise. Through the guidance of teachers, we can get more inspiration, broaden our thinking and make greater progress.
Finally, I hope that everyone who works hard can be treated gently, that hard sweat can water the flowers that improve the writing level, and that this article can give you even a little inspiration.