英语写作基础课件.pdf
A Basic Course in English WritingChapter 1Manuscript FormArrangementa.Leaving marginsb.Writing titlesThe title is always put in the middle of the firstline.Remember to capitalize the first letter ofeach word except articles,short prepositions,that is preposition under four letters),andcoordinating conjunctions such as and,or,but,nor,for,and the to in infinitives.The firstword in the title,of course,is alwayscapitalized.RULES TO ABIDE BYc.IndentingTips:If you want to delete words,just draw ahorizontal line through them.If you want to begin a new paragraph withinan existing paragraph,put the sign Par.before the sentence that is to begin the newparagraph.When you want to remove aparagraph division,write No Par.in themargin.If you want to make a brief insertion,writethe new material above the line and indicatethe point of insertion by placing a caret(A)below the line.Word DivisionSyllabicationWhen you find that you can write only part ofa word at the end of a line and must completethe word on the next line,divide the wordbetween syllables and use a hyphen to indicatethe break.Always place the hyphen at the endof the line after the first part of a divided word,not at the beginning of the next line on whichyou complete the word.When you are in doubt about the syllabicationof a word,consult a good dictionary.A.Do not divide words of one syllable.WRONG thr-ee,cl-own,yearn-ed,plough-edREVISED three,clown,yearned,ploughedB.Do not divide a word so that a single letterstands alone on a line.WRONG wear-y,e-rupt,a-way,o-valREVISED weary,erupt,away,ovalC.When dividing a compound word thatalready contains a hyphen,make the breakwhere the hyphen occurs.AWKWARD pre-Dar-winian,well-in-formed,Pan-Amer-icanREVISED pre-Darwinian,well-informed,Pan-AmericanCapitalizationRules for Capitalization:Capitalize the first word in asentence:Every sentence,including this one,beginswith a capital letter.The pronoun I is always capitalized.(3)Proper names,and nouns used asproper names,are capitalized.a.Names of people and races:George Gissingthe Caucasianb.A title preceding a proper noun:Professor Sandra CarpenterPrime Minister Margaret Thatcherc.Specific geographical locations,streets,andbuildings:Amazon RiverNew JerseyMount EverestEmpire State BuildingFifth AvenueNotre Dame Cathedrald.The words north,south,east,and west whenthey refer to a specific section of the countryrather than a direction.the Midwestthe Middle Eastthe Far Eastcf.Her aunt lives thirty miles south of Dallas.e.Nationalities and languages:the Germanthe Koreanf.The specific names of high school andcollege courses(as they would appear in aschool bulletin):Pm taking Latin and Introduction to Biology.cf.Im taking courses in computer science andbiology.g.Names of religions,religious figures,sacred terms,and religious books:MoslemProtestantthe Ten Commandmentsthe Bible;the Koranh.Days of the week,months,and holidays:MondaySeptemberIndependence DayDo not capitalize the names of the seasons.i.Titles of books,articles,periodicals,songs,poems,movies,plays(the first word and allimportant words of the title are capitalized;asa rule,articles and prepositions are not):Death of a SalesmanTime MagazineTake Me Home,Country Road1j.Names of ships and trains:the Queen Elizabeth IIthe Orient Expressk.Names of documents,historical events orperiods,and organizations:the Declaration of Independencethe Franco-Prussian Warthe Middle Agesthe League of Women VotersNumbersConventions governing the choice betweenspelling out numbers and using figures varywith the kind of writing.The more scientific ortechnical the writing,the greater the use offigures as opposed to spelled-out numbers.In any case,be consistent in your use offigures or spelled-out numbers in a given pieceof writing.In nonscientific writing spell out numbers oramounts less than one hundred;use figuresfor other numbers or amounts.He spent ninety-seven dollars for a cellphone.Miriam is twenty-two years old.How can anyone govern a country that has 246different kinds of cheese?Use figures for dates and addresses.DatesAddressesMay 4,191413 Milford AvenueJuly 2,201257 East 121st Street1997-2012Route 1 P.O.Box 353Apartment 6 A17B.C.to A.D.21Grinnell,Iowa 50112The ordinal numbers(first,third,ninth)or theforms 1st,3rd,9th,may be used in dates if theyear is not given:March first,March 1st.In formal invitations dates are usually writtenout:Sunday,September ninth,two thousandand twelve.Ordinarily,use figures for the following:DecimalsPercentagesMixed numbers and fractionsScores and statisticsIdentifications numbersVolume,chapter,and page numbersAct,scene,and line numbersFigures followed by symbols or abbreviationsExact amounts of moneytimes Except in legal or commercial writing,donot repeat in parentheses a number that hasbeen spelled out.COMMERCIAL The original order was forfifty(50)pumps.STANDARD Carol has trained fortysopranos in four years.Spell out numbers that occur at thebeginning of a sentence.INAPPROPRIATE 217 bales of hay werelost in the fire.REVISED Two hundred andseventeen bales of hay were lost in the fire.If necessary,recast a sentence to eliminatenumbers at the beginning.INAPPROPRIATE 1984 marked theoccurrence of the fourteenth Winter Olympics.Appropriate In 1984 the fourteenthWinter Olympics occurred.HandwritingPunctuationThe comma is used to separate main clausesjoined by a coordinating conjunction.Thereare,however,two exceptions.1.Some writers omit the comma before thecoordinating conjunction when one or both ofthe main clauses are very short:The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.2.When one or both of the main clausesjoined by a coordinating conjunction are longor internally punctuated,use a semicolonbefore the coordinating conjunction.The Canadian Mounted Police wereestablished in the 1870*8 to assure peacefulsettlement of the northwest wilderness;andthey became symbols of political and socialorder.The mounties,dressed in red tunics and ridingwell-trained horses,were a familiar sight onthe Canadian frontier;but few people in theUnited States saw Mounties except in themovies.Unnecessary and confusing punctuation:The people of this company,have,always,been aware,of the need,for products of betterquality,and lower prices.None of the commas in this sentence isnecessary.Unnecessary commas:NOT The H.M.S.Bounty was a hundred-foo,three-masted,vessel.BUT The H.M.S.Bounty was a hundred-foo,three-masted vessel.NOT He had called the men,damnedthieving rascals.nBUT He had called the men damnedthieving rascals.nChapter 2DictionThe choice and use of wordsA.some basic concepts concerning thediction1.levels of words:There are five layers of style:The oratorical or frozen style:is generallyused in written reports,official documents,business letters,scholarly and scientificarticles,or in dignified public speechprepared beforehand with a written draft.The deliberate or formal style:in writtenform,general usage.The consultative or moderate style:occursin everyday use.It is a polite and fairlyneutral style;it is used when we are talkingto a person whom we dont not know well,or to someone who is senior in terms of ageor social position.The casual or colloquial style:occurs ineveryday use.Implying informality,familiarity,or friendliness,is mainly used inconversation between people who knoweach other very well or in personal letters.The intimate style:showing a very closerelationship,may be used between familymembers,lovers,etc.The frozen and the intimate are two extremesand do not have much practical use for collegewriting.So these five levels of style can besimplified further into three:the formal,theneutral or moderate,and the informal orcolloquial.None of these three styles is betterthan the other.The most important thing thatyou should be concerned with is the choice ofan appropriate style and the consistent use ofit.The two sentences in each of the followingpairs mean the same thing but have differentstylistical effects:Penalties for overdue books will be strictlyenforced,(written,formal)You have got to pay fines for overdue books,(spoken,informal)The price of meat has been decliningalarmingly.The price of meat has been going downsteeply.They approved of the plan for the developmentof the inner city.They went along with the plan for thedevelopment of the inner city.They made a decision to abandon the project.They decided to walk out on the project.Following are groups of popular and learnedwords:PopularLearnedagreeconcurendterminatebreakfractureclearlucidcleverintelligentshowexhibitquitresignmake easyfacilitateproveverifysurrendercapitulatewordyverboseIn general,as language moves closer to causalspeech,it becomes more informal.Free use ofcontractions,loose sentence structures,andconversational,everyday words andexpressions characterize informal language.Formal language moves away from theconversational,its sentence structures morecomplex,elaborate,and rigid,its vocabularyoften more Latinate,and its tone more serous,less relaxed.Slang:Slang is the language of the in crowd.Slang consists of the rapidly changing wordsand phrases in popular speech that peopleinvent to give language novelty and vigor.Slang words,in fact,are fun unless you donthappen to know what they mean.Then theycan seem like the strange tongue of a secretsect.Slang often contributes directly to the growthof the language as slang terms move graduallyinto general use.A-bomb,ad,gym,phone,dropouts,junk foodBut slang is often imprecise,understandableonly to a narrow social or age group,andusually changes very rapidly.2.the meaning of words:denotation and connotationDenotation:the direct,explicit meaning orreference of a word or term.本义The core of a word*s meaning,sometimescalled the dictionary or literal meaning:forexample,a tree is a woody perennial planthaving a single stem or trunk.Connotation:idea or notion suggested by orassociated with a word,phrase,etc.in additionto its explicit meaning,or denotation.转义Connotation refers to the readers emotionalresponse to a word and to the associations theword carries with it.Thus,tree may connoteshade or coolness or shelter or stillness orstrength.Connotation as a Diction Method in Writing:Eg：The girls are blooming with health and beauty.A soft wind kissed the tree top.The tuition is soaring.The price of food is soaring.Sweat pearled her forehead.3.general and specific wordsConcrete and specific words contributeexactness to abstract and general language.Abstract words name qualities,ideas,concepts:Honesty,virtue,poverty,education,wisdom,love,democracy.Concrete words name things we can see,hear,feel,touch,smell.Sweetness is abstract;candy,honey,molasses,and sugar are concrete.General words refer to all members of a classor group.Specific words refer to the individualmembers of a class.Vegetation is general;grass,shrubs,trees,flowers,and weeds arespecific.Animal is general;lions,elephants,monkeys,zebras,cats,dogs,mice,and rabbitsare specific.B.using words exactlyReading maketh a full man;conference,aready man;and writing,an exact man.Of StudiesFrancis BaconCompare the following five sentences:1.I met a writer who is related to apolitician.2.I met a newspaper writer who is related toa senator.3.I met a columnist who is related to asenator from New York.4.I met the columnist William F.Buckley,Jr.,who is related to Senator James L.Buckley of New York.5.I met the columnist William F.Buckley,Jr.,who is the brother of Senator James L.Buckley of New York.More examples:Trees surround the water near our summerplace.Tree:elm pine fir oak maplewillowWater:lake,river,stream,brook,sea,pondPlace:building,house,villa,chateau,cabin,skyscraper,towerOld elms surround the lake near our summercabin.How to be exact in our writing?1.From General to SpecificThe flowers were of different colors.The chrysanthemums were bronze,gold,andwhite.A few houses were destroyed yesterday.Five apartments were burnt down yesterday.If a person is reading his love letter,you mustnot lean over his shoulders to read it.shareAn elderly man had collapsed while crossingthe street,and an ambulance took him to ahospital.rushed2.from abstract to concreteThe cable consists of many wires.The cable consists of 100 strands of very finecopper wires.The cost of education has increased greatly.Tuition at many private universities hasincreased as much as 1,000 percent in the pastthree decades.He had a misfortune while swimming.A shell fragment ripped open his right armwhile he was swimming.3.from vague to definitevague/lazy adjectives:awful,dreadful,nice,good,terrific,wonderful.eg.It was a dreadful journey.Revised version:It was a tiring,tedious anddangerous journey.Although the commander had an awful temperand a terrible voice,he showed wonderful carefor his men.Although the commander had a fiery temperand a gravely voice,he showed fatherly carefor his men.Vague adverbs:dreadfully unhappydeeply unhappyawfully thinpitifully thinabsolutely handsomestrikingly handsomevery criticalsharply ciriticalterribly hotburning hotwildly cold nightfreezing nightverbI hate all exploiters.I hate hypocrites.DetestI hate traitors.LoatheI hate a coward.Despise meanI hate an insincere person.DislikeI hate parasite.AbhorI hate flattery.ScornIn the following passage,select from each setof words in brackets the one word which ismost specific.Creep(Going,Walking)through the NewHampshire woods one(time,afternoon)in thespring of my last year of boarding school,Ifound a(young,baby)owl in a pile of(leaves,foliage)at the foot of a beech tree.(Tiny,Palm-sized),covered with(grayish-white,light gray)fluff,he(looked,stared)up at mewith dark,shiny eyes that projected morechallenge than fear.(Overhead,Nearby)Icould see the(hole,opening place)from whichhe had(come,fallen)一a(drop,distance)of 30feet that should have broken his neck.Instead,the little(thing,animal,bird,creature)wasvery much(okay,alive,intact),hissing and(moving,fluttering)his flipper-like wings.Andrew Jones,Land of the Owl,“ReadersDigestC.using words economicallythe wordiness in Writing1.Nominals.Nominals are nouns created by adding suffixesto verbs:establishment,completion,deliverance.Using unnecessary nominals inyour writing tends to make it ponderous andslow-moving.Learn to spot nominal suffixes such as-ment,-tion,-ance in your writing and to changeunnecessary nominals back into verbs.Yoursentences will be both shorter and morevigorous.Strict enforcement of the speed limit by thepolice will cause a reduction in trafficfatalities.If the police strictly enforce the speed limit,traffic fatalities will be reduced.2.Weak verbs.Vague,weak verbs such as make,give,andtake often occur in combination with nominalsas replacements for the stronger,moreenergetic verbs that have been changed intonouns.At the next meeting,the city council will takethe firefighters*request for a raise underconsideration.At the next meeting,the city council willconsider the firefighters*request for a raise.3.Roundabout constructions.Words such as angle,aspect,factor andsituation,and phrases such as in t
