在往期推送中,小U曾推荐过外刊网站作为作文资源,有不少U粉儿在后台留言说,不知道该如何利用外刊提升自己的写作能力。今天小U特地选取一篇文章与大家分享,介绍应如何高效阅读外刊,提升写作能力。

今天选取的文章是来自《华盛顿邮报》(The Washington Post)的

"National service for young people should be encouraged — but not required"

这篇文章主要阐述了《华盛顿邮报》对于美国年轻人是否应被强制参加社区服务的态度,并深入分析了如何鼓励他们更多地参与到志愿活动中以实现自我价值。

这是一篇典型的问题解决型文章(problem-solution essay),下面将通过分析这篇文章的行文来介绍行文中的三种细节展开方式(detail patterns)。

1.Figures(数据佐证)

数据是最为有力的说理方式之一,这篇文章开头介绍了今年夏季《华盛顿邮报》在其读者中开展的问卷调查活动,以读者的反馈引出本文关注的焦点——美国青年人对社区志愿服务的态度。

OVER THE summer, we asked readers to submit topics on which they would like to see Post editorials. We got more than 1,000 submissions. We cut those down to 10 and asked readers to vote on them. The top vote-getter was the following: “Whether young Americans should be required and/or incentivized to spend a period of time in a program of national service.”

Ms. Sagawa says that a scaled-up national service program would cost $20,000 per person per year, and her organization sets a goal of recruiting a million people a year. Others have challenged this math, but even on its face, $20 billion a year could pay a lot of college costs.

“1000多个”问卷调查结果佐证了调查的广泛性,“10个”最受关注的问题从侧面说出了本研究的代表性,“2万美元”和“200亿美元”则是为了强调志愿服务项目成本之高。这些引用的调查数据从侧面有力地印证了作者想要表达的观点。

在英语写作的过程中,给出具体的数字往往会比单纯的描述更加令人信服。例如,为了强调一个人起床早,我们如果说他“六点不到便已经开始洗漱了”,比单纯说他起得早要生动得多。

2.Cause and effect(因果关系)

在文章首段说明了读者们关注的重点问题后,作者紧接着给出了造成此种现象的原因——美国国民精神凋零衰落。

The top vote-getter was the following: “Whether young Americans should be required and/or incentivized to spend a period of time in a program of national service.”

Our answer: Required, no. Encouraged and enabled far more than they are now, absolutely.

We can see why this topic got so much support. Civic spirit — including trust in traditional institutions, such as the government and the mainstream media — seems to be low and dropping.

The reasons for this state of affairs are many and varied, defying simple solutions. …

正是由于美国人变得比以往更加冷漠,人们才愈发想要呼唤青年人心中怀有博爱,积极投身到公益服务事业中去。而正是因为精神和意识层面的偏差难以纠正或消除,解决此种问题的方法不可能十分简单,我们需要想出一个有利于美国青年自身和社会长期和谐发展的办法。

环环相扣的因果关系让段落之间的逻辑层次变得十分明晰,能够有效帮助读者理清关系。

英语写作十分强调文内的连贯和一致(coherence),而因果联系是在分析问题原因和解决方法时较为常见的逻辑关系。

3.Exemplification (举例论证)

大部分的论点都可以采用举例论证来增强说服力。在第三段开头提出美国国民精神衰颓的论断后,作者提到了两种现象来论证自己的观点。

Over the past several decades, Americans have sorted themselves into warring camps that increasingly refuse to talk to one another. The nation is in the midst of a toxic presidential race based on identity and grievance rather than reason. (Cause& effect, exemplification)

首先,美国人越来越不愿意与对方交流,人际关系变得十分疏远;其次,选举腐败严重,整个美国政坛乌烟瘴气。前者是个人层面的信任危机和情感淡薄,后者是社会层面的制度危机和贪腐习气。这就比一味地批判美国精神如何消沉、颓废、败坏来得直观得多,也能给读者留下深刻的印象。

在英文写作中,大家可以根据实际需要灵活地使用这些细节展开方式,使自己的论证说理更加有力。大家还有哪些写作小技巧,还想知道哪些写作干货内容?快来留言区留言吧。

(原文链接:http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/national-service-for-young-people-should-be-encouraged--but-not-required/2016/09/18/40c5a220-7c4b-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html?tid=a_inl-amp&utm_term=.12e6ddc14183