来源:环球教育
小编:环球教育 156众所周知,雅思写作是属于学术类写作即academic writing,是为了学生以后出国在将来的大学撰写论文,可以有能力写出正式文章而做的准备。这就决定了雅思写作和口语不论是在用词或是句型以及思维上都有很大的差异。中国学生虽然从小就开始学英语,但是学习的过程都是从听和读开始,在学习和生活中接触到的英文,也都是口语环境的英文,例如英文歌曲、美剧英剧以及英文电影。正式的英文文体相对来说接触地就比较少。因此,在进行雅思写作,将思维转化为文字的时候,学生通常会使用惯用的口语词汇和句式。最终带来的结果就是写出来的文章较为随意,用词不够正式,表达不够书面化,逻辑关系不明显等问题。下面,我们就来看一下学术写作的几个要求。
一、写作文体
学术写作的文体应该是用词准确的、正式或半正式的并且是客观的。我们通过一个具体的例子来学习什么样的才属于正式文体。请看下面一段例文:
A lot of people think that the weather is getting worse.They say that this has been going on for quite a long time.I think that they are quite right.Research has shown that we now get storms etc all the time.
不恰当短语 | 问题分析 |
A lot of people think... | Imprecise------不够明确,a lot 许多究竟是多少? |
...the weather... | Imprecise------weather是指短期特定时间的天气情况,即the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place; |
...getting worse... | Informal------非正式用词; |
...going on... | Informal------非正式动词词组; |
...quite a long time | Imprecise------相当长一段时间究竟是多久? |
I think... | Informal------非正式用语; |
Research... | Vague------模糊含义,是指谁的研究? |
...we now get... | Imprecise |
...storms etc... | Vague---模糊含义,还有哪些? |
...all the time. | Over-generalised------太过于笼统 |
根据以上表格右栏的分析,可改为如下段落:
It is widely believed that the climate is deteriorating.It is claimed that this process has been continuing for nearly 100 years.This belief appears to be supported by McKinley,who shows a 55% increase in the frequency of severe winter gales since 1905.
可以看出,改写后的段落,用固定句型主语从句It is widely believed that.../It is claimed that...取代了a lot of people think.../They say that...;改用了正式词汇climate、deteriorate、continue;把Research以及时间都细化;文体感得到极大的增强,论据更加具体化,不容易遭到质疑和挑战。
除了上述表格右栏会出现的文体问题,还为大家总结了以下几个方面:
a) 不要使用口语词汇,例如:dad、guy,改用标准英语:father、man;
b) 使用准确的词汇,例如:rule和law、currency和money是有区别的,具体单词的意思差异需要同学们在平时积累词汇的时候查阅英汉词典;
c) 避免使用绝对的论断,例如:education reduces crime,可改为:education may/is likely to reduce crime;
d) 避免使用带有主观感情色彩的词汇,例如:luckily、surprisingly;
e) 不要使用缩略形式,例如:don’t、can’t改为do not、cannot;
f) 不要使用疑问句,例如:what were the reasons for...?改为There were four main reasons for...;
g) 避免使用e.g.、etc或是and so on,在提到最后一个并列的时候,用and连接,例如:The forests of the twelfth century consisted of oak、ash and lime.;
h) 避免使用第二人称you;
i) 避免使用单词的缩略形式,例如:photo、TV改为:photography、television;
二、逻辑关系词
同学们很少会主动灵活地运用逻辑关系词来表达句子的因果、转折、让步等关系,这是由于中文表达方式不同所造成的,即中文强调意合,语言美观简洁,意境深远,逻辑词被省略了,而英文强调形合。因此在雅思写作时,要注意连接词的使用。下面我们以因果关系为例:
可写出句子:
Heavy rain causes/leads to/results in/produces flooding.
Flooding is caused/produced byheavy rain.(注意被动语态的使用)
Floodingresults from heavy rain.
以上都是简单句,我们可以使用连词来表达因果关系:
Cause | Effect |
because | so |
since | therefore |
as | consequently |
owing to | which is why |
due to/because of |
|
Because it rained heavily,the flooding was severe.(because +句子)
The flooding occurred because of days of heavy rain.(because of +名词/名词短语)
Owing to the heavy rain the flooding was severe.
It rained heavily,therefore the flooding was severe.
可以发现,有了逻辑连接词,句式多变,符合雅思写作评分标准的语法多样性要求。
三、同义替换词
雅思写作中使用同义替换是非常有必要的,可以摆脱词汇单一的现状,实现词汇多样性,并且引起读者即考官的兴趣,因此,在平时学习中,需要积累相应的同义词。看以下例子:
General Motors is the largest motor company in the world,with total revenues amounting to 15% of the global automotive market.The giant firm employs 360,000 people internationally.
largest company | giant firm |
motor | automotive |
in the world | global/internationally |
可以发现,同义替换并非是指意思完完全全一模一样,最重要的是不能改变句子的意思及语体风格。例如,firm是company的一个比较合适的替换词,但是boss替换manager就属于非正式用语,可以选用employer。