英语作文常用文体的写作知识

常用文体的写作知识

1．描写文（description）：描写文就是用生动、形象的语言把人物的状态和动作、景物的性质和特征具体地描绘出来，描写人时

则刻画人物的肖像、语言、行为、心理活动及生活细节。描写景物时则用时间与空间顺序的安排方式展开文章段落。描写文中每一段只能表达一种思想或主题的一部分。请读这段文章。（由于篇幅有限，每种类型的文章只取一个段落为例。）

It was noon. The hot sun above was bright. It made the temperature rise. On the road all was quite. There were few cars to be seen. There were even fewer people about. The shops alongside the road were wide open. Their bamboo shades were rolled down to keep out the blazing sun. There was no wind at all. The pavement way, though shady, was stuffy. Even the shopkeepers seemed affected by this mid –day heat and stuffiness. They looked bored and unwilling to serve the few occasional customers.

这是一段描写文。在读文章之前要求读者带着问题阅读：①段落的中心思想是什么？②段落是采用什么方法描写的？不难发现，段落的中心思想是描写某一天中午的高温、闷热的情景。作者采用由上到下、由远到近的空间顺序的方法描写。文章中用火热的太阳、道路安静、车辆稀少、为挡住阳光，商店的竹窗帘落下来、店主不愿接待顾客等情景的描写生动地衬托了段落的中心思想。

2．记叙文(narration)：记叙文叙述过去发生的事情，着重写事或人。其要素是五“何”原则，即在写作中必须交待清楚五个方面的内容：何时、何地、何人、何事以及何如。记叙文主要是按时间顺序陈述事件，中心思想是通过陈述、举例、解释及细节来说明。文章段落的中心思想可能是段落的任何一个句子或暗示。请读下面题为“My 35 Years In China”记述文章的开头段落，并注意体会文章的开头方式和展开手法：

There is a saying in China that “Time flies like an arrow.” When I came to China th e People’s Republic of China had just been born. Today, the new China has proudly celebrated her 35 th anniversary and now stands in full splendor and looks to the world with confidence. Meanwhile time has turned me from a strong 40-year-old into a gray-haired old man. This year marks 75 th birthday as well as 35 th year that I have been living and working in China. In that time I have lived in this fascinating land and shared joys and suffering with Chinese people, so that in my old age I can proudly say “the longer I live in China, the younger my heart become.”

这段文章的目的是通过时间顺序、举例对比的写作手法–––从中华人民共和国成立到如今中国面对全世界，骄傲地庆祝35周年纪念日；从一位四十岁的中年人变成了两鬓灰白的老人，感觉光阴似箭的心情。文章的中心思想是围绕着中国生活的35年时光过得很快而写成的。

又如：一九八八年六月全国四级统考的作文，题目是：An Early Morning Walk。这是一篇属于记叙文体裁的文章，要求学生写出“我”由起床开始到去公园以及在公园所见所闻的全过程。在第三段中，还要求写出自己的思想，对早上安静的环境的叙述以及对公园所见的情况给以具体的描述。见下面参考范文： An Early Morning Walk

One morning I got up early, and everything around was very quite. The sun had just risen, shining brilliantly. Everything seemed to be covered with a layer of golden silk, there were only some birds singing occasionally in the high trees. I tripped all the way toward the park, breathing the fresh air, feeling extremely happy.

When I arrived at the park, I found, to my surprise, there were so many people there. Men and women, boys and girls all enjoyed themselves by various activities. Some were doing morning exercises, some were playing badminton, some old people were having their tea while talking to each other cheerfully

Walking around the park, to my delight, I found a few middle school students were talking to each other in English in the southeast corner of the park, I went to them at once and spoke to them in English, we became friends right away. I was very glad to find another opportunity to practice my spoken English. On the way home, I thought early morning walk was really helpful. Taking an early walking makes a man healthy and wise.注：（打横线的句子为段首句和段尾句。）

3．说明文（exposition）：说明文就是用言简意骇的文字向读者介绍事物的过程，讲解思想和信念，把信息展现给读者。写说明文要掌握的要素是“什么（what）”和“为什么（why）”，即通过点明论点和阐明缘由或过程，说明事物的特点和性能，或阐明某种观念、原理或现象。说明文包括实体事物说明文、事理说明文和文艺说明文。

请读下面一段题为“Read Good Books”的说明文章：

From good reading we can derive pleasure, friendship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surrounding and even our existence. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.

这是一段事理说明文，要把事情理由讲清楚。段落的中心思想是段落的中间句Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life.其它句子都是为了衬托中心思想，要说明读书是生活中最大乐趣之一的原因。要注意，说明文除了要掌握其空间顺序（从上到下，由外到内）、还要掌握其逻辑顺序（先因后果或先果后因）、认识顺序（由浅入深、由此及彼、由局部到整体、由现象到本质、由具体到抽象）。这段说明文就是用读书可以使人忘掉周围一切，可以使人愉快时心情更愉快，伤心时可以减少痛苦等现象说明其本质–––读书可以

使我们获得享受和满足。

又如：一九九二年六月全国四级统考的作文题目是：How I Overcame My Difficulties in Learning English.段首句是：①在英语学习中存在的困难。

②我是怎样克服困难的。多数学生能根据所学知识较好地写出文章所给的提纲内容，从文章开头交待英语学习中有哪些困难，回答说明文what,到论及如何克服这些困难的过程，完成说明文的why 和how的阐释，内容较充实，解释清晰。但少数学生审题失误，全文只说明了英语学习的困难是什么，却疏漏了说明文最关键的一步，即没有扣住how 的阐明，而是表决心似的大喊“今后要努力学习英语”之类的口号，导致全篇跑题。这就要求学生在实际写作中掌握好写说明文的要点。

4.议论文（argumentation ）：议论文就是讲道理、讲是非。一段完整的议论文是由论点、论据和论证构成的。说明文是把信息展现给读者，那么议论文则是用信息去说服读者。这两种文章都是以来自各方面的事实和印象为基础的。最常见的议论文顺序为：①提出问题或表达一种观点即引论。②分析、评论提出的问题或观点即正文.③对提出的问题、观点表明态度或提出解决方法即结论，也就是文章的结尾。

现引用一篇题为“Smoking and Cancer”议论文的引论和结论段落，分析如下：

[引论] Americans smoke six thousand million cigarettes every year. This is roughly the equivalent of 4:195 cigarettes a year for every person in the country of 18 years age of more. It is estimated that 51% of American men smoke compared with 34% of American women.

[结论] While all tobacco smoking affects life expectancy and health, cigarette smoking appears to have a much greater effect than cigar or pipe smoking. However, nicotine consumption is not diminished by the latter forms, and current research indicates a causal relationship between all forms of smoking and cancer of the mouth and throat. Filters and low tar tobacco are claimed to make smoking to some extent safer, but they can only marginally reduce, not eliminate the hazards.

这是一篇典型议论文的开始和结尾段落。引论中，作者用数字、男女吸烟的比率提出了吸烟问题。结论中，作者对吸烟问题做了明确具体的分析，无论是香烟、雪茄烟还是烟斗对健康都有害处，一切吸烟方式与口腔癌、喉癌之间都有一种因果关系。通过阅读可以体会到，文章的标题是“吸烟与癌症”，一直到结尾段落也没有脱离吸烟与癌症这一话题。此处虽然没有足够的篇幅给出文章的正文，但要注意正文的内容必须要：论点正确、鲜明；论据确凿、典型、恰当、有说服力；论点之间要有本质的必然联系。

综上所述，四种类型文章的阅读写作训练，仅是起到一种提示作用。文章写作手法多种多样，训练时必须结合文章的性质、写作方式，灵活地改变训练方法、训练手段。要想写出好文章，必须要多阅读、多体会、多模仿、多练习。

怎样写大学英语四级图表式作文

图表式作文是四·六级考试中较难的一种作文类型（2002年6月的考试便是一例）。它要求考生根据图表所给出的信息，写出所要表达主题的作文。图表式作文最大的特点是所给的信息表达很集中，给人以一目了然之感。图表式作文一般可分三段来写：第一段描述出图表反映的总情况，用能充分说明主题的典型数据来描写。第二段对数字进行仔细的分析比较，归纳出增减速率并找出产生变化的原因。第三段写读图表后的想法和评论，从而得出自己的结论。请看实例：

际上从此文表格的提示中不难把握文章的内涵和范围。根据三段法写作的原则，第一段阐述近6年来人们饮食上变化的总况（包括哪些需求的降低或增加）。第二段是文章的重点，着重说明变化的原因。从归纳出的原因中反映出了人们现在在经济实力提高的前提下更加注意科学的营养。第三段则从个人的理解得出结论，展示人们饮食结构的变化所带来的益处和光明的前景，从而使主题思想更突出。

[参考范文] Changes in People’s Diet

As can be see from the table, great changes took place in people’s diet from 1986 to 1990. The consumption of grain decreased year by year, while that of some high—energy food, such as milk and meat, increased steadily.

While were there changes in people’s diet? There were two major reasons, I think. First, people could afford to buy more expensive food with better nutrition. Second, people paid more attention to the quality of their diet, because they knew it was of great benefit to their health to eat in a scientific way. Therefore, they were trying their best to improve the structure of their food.

From the above, we can see that people’s living standard improved markedly in the five years between 1986—1990. And we can also expect that their life would be more prosperous in years to come.

二、写作中常见的几种表达方式

列举法中常用的句型：First(ly),…; second(ly),…; third(ly), …

First of all, … ; then, … ; thirdly, …To start with … ; moreover, … ; last, …

To begin with, … ; most important of, … ; in addition, …First and foremost, … ; second, … ; finally

举例时常用的句型：For example/instance … A case in point is …

This can be illustrated by … Take … for example,…

Such …as …Another example is …say/suppose …as an illustration

表示比较和对比的常用词语：There are a lot of similarities between X and Y X is like Y in … X has nothing in common with Y Compared with X, Y … We can compare X to Y … , on the contrary/on the other hand in contrast. In comparison with in spite of the fact nevertheless whereas conversely.

表示分类法常用的句型：X may be classified/divided according to … / on the basis of … The classification is based on …

X may be put into … groups … consists of / comprises

表示时间顺序的常用句型：Before / until something has been done ( doing something),…

While / As something is done ( doing something), …

During this time / process

The process begins ( finishes / concludes ) with …

表示数量之间比较的语句：increase / decrease by X times (净增／减X 倍)

It increased ( rose, jumped, shot up ) to X It decreased ( dropped, fell ) to X

The figure ( percentage, number, population, amount) has almost doubled as against that of last year

表示观点的语句：The first thing to be considered is … I believe that … It is a fact that … This is unlikely to be true These views are open to doubt They would seem to be mistaken It is generally, / widely argued ( held / believed) that …

表示扩展的语句：On the other hand … aside from … There is limit to … No one can claim that … The surprising thing is that … The same is true of … W hat’s more series is that … No one can deny that …There ‘s no doubt that …

表示概括和总结：In short … ; In a word, … ; In brief, … ; In conclusion, … ; On the whole, … ; In all, … ; Altogether, … ; There fore, it can be concluded that… On the basis, / Given this, it can be inferred that … Finally, it can / may be said that … to sump up in summary

表示因果的词语：consequently, as a result, in consequence, therefore, hence, thus, accordingly, so, for, since

表示递进过渡的词语：besides, in addition ( to ), moreover, furthermore, what’s more, to make things still worse