写作Chapter 5.docx

1、写作Chapter 5Chapter Five Writing Essays1. Structure of an essayAn essay is a piece of writing that has at least three paragraphs. All of the paragraphs in an essay are related to the same topic. An essay usually has a specific organization. It has three main parts: an introduction (or introductory pa

2、ragraph), at least one body paragraph, and a conclusion (or concluding paragraph).2. Steps of writing an essayGenerally speaking, there are seven steps in writing process.Step 1: generating ideas and brainstorming There are two methods to generate ideas or brainstorm: listing of ideas and clustering

3、.Step 2: organizing ideas and planningStep 3: getting feedbackStep 4: writing the first draft (rough draft)Step 5: revisingStep 6: editingStep 7: preparing the final draft3. Patterns of developing an essayTraditionally, essay writing has been divided into the following four patterns of development:

4、narration, description, exposition, and argumentation.3.1. Narration A narration is a story that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. A narrative can also be told by a character within a larger narrative.3.1.1. Steps on how to write the narrative essay.Step 1: Decide on a topic

5、. Step 2: Brainstorm several different ways the narrative can go. Step 3: Start writing. Step 4: Reread the essay. Step 5: Edit for grammar and the technical rules of writing. Step 6: Ask someone else to edit or read over your essay for content and grammar. 3.1.2. Elements of NarrationIn order for a

6、 narration to be interesting and meaningful, it must have the following elements: 1. Emotion. Writing is really such hard work that people ought not to bother writing something with which they are not emotionally involved. 2. Action. Something happens, that is, tension increases and conflict intensi

7、fies as various events occur. The action, however, whether it is exterior and visible or interior and invisible, causes the situation to change so that conditions are different at the end of the story from the way they were at the beginning. This movement, or development, is important. 3. Suspense.

8、Each passage suggests that something is going to happenso that the reader eagerly anticipates the outcome of these events. To build suspense, you plant seeds that hint at conflicts, problems, mysteries. You promise the reader that you will show the plants in bloom and all conflicts, problems, and my

9、steries solved at the end of the story. Suspense is a vital element in building and retaining the interest of the reader. 4. Structure or order. Events in real life happen in a definite orderthe order of time or chronological order, but in discovering meaning in the events or in imposing a meaning o

10、n them, the writer may need to arrange them differently from the order in which they originally occurred, and the writer may use flashback.5. Point or purpose. The best stories have a purpose or meaning of some kind. Indeed, even those written and told for their own sakes, often make some kind of st

11、atement of human beings, human values, or some aspect of life. To get the most satisfaction from the effort that goes in to writing a narrative, select an incident in which you can discover a meaning or an event on which you can impose meaning. Sometimes the meaning is an overall impression or attit

12、ude. At other times it is an idea that can be expressed in a single sentence. 6. Point of view. In every narrative, someone (or something) tells the story, and this person, animal or thing marks the story with his or her personal imprint. If the story is told in the first-person, you are narrating e

13、vents in the life of a fictional character rather than yours. In those cases, you have “assumed a persona,” or taken on the role of another person, much as an actor does. You then speak consistently from that persons point of viewseeing things as he or she sees them, reacting as that person would, a

14、nd even using the language appropriate for the character. Sometimes, when you are reading narratives, it is difficult to separate the author from the persona he or she is “speaking through.” Another point of view often used in narration is third-person narrator. When telling a story from that point

15、of view, you relate events as though you were an onlooker, and you use the pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they.” 3.1.3. Tips of writing a narrativeTip 1: Using an emotion to stimulate an idea. Tip 2: Concrete presentation involves appropriate use of details (sensory details, description, and dialog

16、ue). Tip 3: Description can slow down your pace, so do not do it all the time in your story. In other words, you may “show” and “tell” in turn.Tip 4: Dialogue is usually very effective. Tip 5: Pay more attention to the introductory paragraph of the narrative. It should begin with general information

17、, be more specific in the middle, and end with a thesis statement. Usually the thesis statement focuses on the story or the event. Look at the introduction of the essay about Rosa Parks, and think about how to write the thesis statement for a narration.3.2. Description The purpose of description is

18、to re-create or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader may picture that which is being described. Descriptive essays are lucid explanations and descriptions. They use sensory details to appeal to readers. They are usually the personal experience of an individual and a

19、means of expressing the individuals attitude and temperament. Descriptive essays can be about a person, a place, an experience, an object and so on.Description essays follow the same general structure as do other essays. When writing a descriptive essay, try to stick to this structure. In the introd

20、uction, tell the reader what the focus of your essay is going to be and what aspects of the object you will be focusing on. In the body of the paper describe places, people and events in vivid manner. Delve into the subject in as much detail as possible. Describe the whole thing as you have seen it.

21、 Use words that appeal to the senses. And in the conclusion, restate the essence of your thesis and summarize your thoughts. Writing a descriptive essay is not always easy. Hence you may be required to draft and redraft till it turns out the way you want it to. As you write your descriptive essay, t

22、he best way to create a vivid experience for your readers is to focus on the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.3.2.1. Seven steps to descriptive writingStep 1. Read the topic thoughtfully and carefully. Step 2. Avoid writing a story. Even though all narrative or storytelling depends

23、on description to set a scene or mood, when writing to describe, its best to avoid writing a story. Stick to describing, making the readers feel as if they were actually experiencing the thing being described. Step 3. Describe only what is relevant to helping develop the underlying message. Recognis

24、ing what to include and what to leave out in a piece of descriptive writing is vital to making it effective. Effective description is finely detailed but very carefully focused. By including only what is relevant, effective description adds unity and coherence to writing.Step 4. Put your reader into

25、 the right frame of mind to become involved in your writing. Interest and involvement are central to a good reader response. Without it your writing will not work well. Its important to use your description to create, develop or assist a mood suited to your subject matter or theme. Step 5. Describe

26、“how you felt at the time” - make the reader feel as if they were there. Describe what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. You probably do need adjectives to do this, but try hard to find words that do not need an adjective if you can. Choose precise vocabularythe kind of words that almost contai

27、n their own descriptionas this will be far more interesting to read. And use vivid similes and metaphors which help to etch an image into your readers imagination. Step 6. Avoid excessive or boring description. If you do describe all of your nouns with extra adjectives, the effect is actually to wea

28、ken the description. It is better to follow the advice given above and choose precise vocabulary. Besides, what strengthens description a great deal is to use a few but carefully chosen and vivid similes and metaphors.Step 7. Create a clear structure. A planned structure provides “shape” to your wri

29、ting and adds enormously to its effect. Aim to describe aspects of a scene in an interesting and logical order, one that seems “natural” to your reader. This might mean working from inside to outside, from the past to the future, from the general to the particular, from the small to the large, and s

30、o on. 3.3. Exposition Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform. The purpose of exposition is to present background, completely and fairly, and inform the readers about the plot, character, setting, and theme of the essay or story

31、, or motion picture. Such writing is discourse designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand. Since clarity requires strong organization, exposition usually proceeds by the orderly analysis of parts and the use of familiar illustrations or analogies. 3.3.1. Some Expositor

32、y Organizational PatternsIn order to give more information about oral and written exposition, eight different examples of expository organizational patterns are provided. Most of these organizational patterns are very familiar to you.PatternDescriptionCue WordsCircumlocutionDepicts a pattern in which the speaker discusses a topic; then diverts to discuss a related but different topic. Narrative InterspersionA pattern or a sub-pattern imbedded in other patterns in which the speaker or writer intersperses a narrative within the expo