写作的要素（the elements of writing）

陈振煌

一、英文用法的基本规则

规则一  在三个以上的词并列时，除了最后一个词外，其他词用逗号隔开。

范例：red, white, and blue

      honest, energetic, but headstrong

      He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.

规则二  逗号之间放插入句/语（插入成分）

范例： The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.

       Mary’s husband, Colonel Nelson, paid us a visit yesterday.（同位语）

       Whenever I meet him, Which is fairly often, I like his sweet and soft smile.

       Australia, for example, is a country which has more land than government knows what to do with it.

规则三  在and 或but 前加逗号，引导独立句子

范例： The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.

      Excuse me for breaking in, but I have news to tell you.

      The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.

规则四  不要用逗号连接独立句子, 正确的标点符号应是分号

错句：Stevenson’s  romances are entertaining, they are full of exciting adventures.

      It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

注： 也可以换成句号或者使用一个连词。

规则五  不要将句子断成两部分,也不要把两句话硬挤在一起而不伦不类。

错句： He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world, and lived in half a dozen countries.  (句号改成逗号，A变成小写)

范例： Meeting my uncle after all these years was an unforgotten moment, one I will always treasure.

错句： There are many people help me in my life.

       There were a lot of people were killed in the traffic accident.

       I have something want to tell you.

规则六  放在句首的分词短语必须同句子的语法主语相一致

范例： Shining down out of the blue sky, the sun burnt our skins.

       Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.

       比较：He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.

错句： On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station.

     --- On his arrival, his friends...

     --- When he arrived in Chicago, his friends....

二、英文写作的基本规则

规则七  使段落成为文章的单元：一个段落只表达一个主题

规则八  通常，在每一个段落开始要点题，在段落结尾要扣题。

NMET2003 possible version

Dear Bob,

I’m so glad to learn that you’re coming in September. I’ve found a place for you. It’s a small flat of 25 square meters, with a bedroom, a bathroom and kitchen. In the bedroom there is a bed, a sofa, a desk and a chair. The rent is 500 yuan per month. The flat is in a building on Fangcao Street, which is not far from Jianxin Chinese School. Bus No.11 can take you straight to the school. In fact, it’s only one stop. Do you think you’d like it? If not, i can try and find another place for you. Just let know.

                      Yours,

                       Li Hua

NMET2002 Possible Version

Dear Editor,

     I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we’ve had about whether an entrance fee should be charged for parks.

Opinions are divided on the question. 60% of the students are against the idea of entrance fees. The believe a public park should be free of charge. People need a place where they can rest and enjoy themselves. Charging entrance fees will no doubt keep some people away. What’s more, it will become necessary to build gates and walls, which will do harm to the appearance of a city.

 On the other hand, 40% think that fees should be charged because we need money to pay gardeners and other workers, and to buy plants and young trees. They suggest, however, fees should be charged low.

                      Yours truly,

                       Li Hua

NMET 2001 Possible version

Dear Dick,

How nice to hear form you again. You want to know what is going on in schools in China? In shout, things have begun to improve since schools were called on to reduce learning load. I don’t know about others, but I used to have to work even at weekends doing endless homework and attending classes as well. Now I have more free time. I can follow my own interests such as reading books, visiting museums, and taking computer lessons. In the evening I can watch news on TV or read newspapers. What’s more, I can go to bed earlier. As far as I know, everyone is happy about this new arrangement of things.

 Best wishes,

     Li Hua

规则九  使用主动语态, 主动语态通常比被动语态更直接、更有力。

比较：I shall always remember my fist visit to Boston.

      My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

注：以下的被动句型经常使用(借助it )

It is/was reported/believed/said that...

It is/was forbidden/allowed/ to do

As is/was known to everybody, ....

规则十  陈述句中使用肯定说法

比较：

He did not think that studying Latin was much use.

He thought the study of Latin useless.

建议：充分利用构词法harmless/helpless/ unlucky/ unlikely/ unknown/unable/ impolite/impossible/ unnecessary/ undone/ unread/ disagree/ misunderstand, etc.

规则十一  删除不必要的词

This is my first time visit to China.

I want to tell you something opinions about the effect of TV.

规则十二  使用相同的结构表达并列的意思

规则十三  将相关的词放在一起

比较：All the members are not present./  Not all the members are present.

     He only found two mistakes./  He found only two mistakes.

规则十四  在总结中，要用同一种时态

规则十五  将强调的词放在句末

三、容易拼错的词,尤其是动词的形式，名词的单复数，形容词和副词的选择。

四、坚持两条原则

原则一：清楚clean  原则二：清晰clear

五、遵循三个步骤

1腹稿（成竹在胸）  2草稿（初试牛刀）  3正稿（大功告成）

六、改错

Correction 00

The day before the speech contest English teacher             1.____

 talked to me. She said that she and my schoolmate all         2.____

 wished me success, but it did not matter that I would          3.____

 win to not. When I was on the stage the next day, I felt so      4.____

 nervous as I shook like a leaf. There were so many people      5.____

 present! Suddenly, I caught a sight of my English teacher in    6.___

 the crowd. She was smiling but nodding at me. I remembered  7.___

 her words and calm down. I did a good job and won the first   8.____

 prize. Now my picture and the prize is hanging in the library.  9.____

 Whenever I see them I will often think of my English teacher.  10___

Correction 01

Like most of my schoolmates, I have neither brothers nor      1.__

sisters – in any other words, I am an only child. My parents    2.___

 love me dearly of course and will do all they can make sure   3.___

 that I get a  good education. They did not want me to do     4.___

 any work at family; they want me to devote all my time to     5.___

 my studies so that I’ll get good marks in all my subject. We    6.___

may be one family and live under a same roof, but we do       7.___

 not seem to get much time to talk about together. It looks      8.___

 as if my parents treat me as a visitor and a guest. Do they really 9___

understand their own daughter? What things are in         10___

 other homes, I wonder.

Correction 02

Last week my parents an I took a tow-day trip to Emei

Mountain in Sichuan. As everyone knows, it ‘s famous         1.___

 mountain with all kinds of plants and animals. The weather   2.___

Was fine. It was about noon we arrived at the foot of          3 ___

 the mountain. The three of them were very excited. As we.    4.___

Climbed the mountain, we fed monkeys, visiting temples      5.___

And told stories. On the way up I was busy taking picture     6.___

Since the scenery was so beautiful. The time passes quickly.   7.___

Evening came down we spent the night in a hotel at the top    8.___

Of the mountain. The food was expensive and the service was  9___

Good. I was tired that I fell asleep at the moment my         10___

Head touched pillow.

03

When I first learned to write in English, I ran into many      1.____

difficulties. The main problem was in that I always thought    2.____

in Chinese and tried to translate anything into English.        3.____

My teacher advised me to keep my diary. I followed her      4.____

Advice and should put down 100 words or so each day.       5.____

Soon I began to enjoy talk to myself on paper as I was        6.____

learning to express me in simple English. One day I wrote     7.____

a little story and showed to my teacher. She liked it          8.____

very much and reads it to the class. All said the story was     9.____

a good one. Their word were a great encouragement to me.   10.____