大学英语四级考试指导之写作点津

一、 大纲解读

(一) 具体要求
全国大学英语四、六级考试委员会2007年出版的《大学英语四级考试大纲(2006修订版)》(以下简称《大纲》)对写作的具体要求是：写作选用考生所熟悉的题材；考生根据规定的题目和所提供的提纲、情景、图片或图表等，写出一篇不少于120词的短文；要求思想表达准确、意义连贯、无严重语法错误；考试时间为30分钟。

(二) 评分原则
CET作文采用总体评分法(Global Marking)，主要从内容和语言两个方面进行综合评判。语言和内容是一个统一体，内容上，作文应切题，充分表达思想；语言上，作文应使用清楚而准确的语言。

(三) 考核内容
考纲中规定写作部分考核的技能包括：①思想表达：表达中心思想；表达重要或特定信息；表达观点、态度等。②篇章组织：围绕所给的题目叙述、议论或描述，突出重点；连贯的组句成段，组段成篇。③语言运用：运用恰当的词汇；运用正确的语法；运用合适的句子结构；使用正确的标点符号；运用衔接手段表达句间关系(如对比、原因、结果、程度、目的等)。④写作格式：运用正确的符合英语表达习惯的写作格式。

(四) 常考体裁
纵观近10年的大学英语四级考试，中文提纲式作文占70%左右，其他题型涉及图表作文、应用文(写信为主)。目前，四级作文题型还是主要考中文提纲式作文，图片作文至今没考过。

二、 写作方法

(一) 如何开篇

(1) 现象入题：以介绍某一社会现象或热点引出文章主题。例如：
As the pace of life continues to increase, we’re facing more stress than ever before.
Recently, the problem of piracy has become the focus of public concern.
It is indeed the case that the problem of waste on campus is becoming increasingly serious.

(2) 观点入题：以某一种观点或以两种对立的观点引出文章主题。例如：
There arises a controversial topic as to whether it is necessary for a college student to take CET6. Views on the issue in question vary widely. Quite a few students think it unnecessary to take CET6. They hold this view because CET6 is not compulsory and they can get a degree so long as they pass CET4. However, I think it necessary and beneficial to take CET6. The reasons for this can be addressed as follows.
Although some people claim that information technology will make people less creative, I believe that whether the Internet will enhance or impair people’s creativity depends totally on how they use it.

(3) 释图开头：对考题给定的图表进行描述，引出文章主题。例如：
The chart shows a rapid increase in the average number of hours a student spent on a computer per week in a university between 1990 and 2000. In 1990, a student spent only about 2 hours a week on a computer while in 1995 this figure rose to 4 hours. In 2000, however, the average number of hours spent by a student soared to 20 hours.

(4) 引用开头：利用名人名言或谚语引出文章主题。例如：
“Honesty is the best policy”, as an old English saying goes. Being a lofty virtue, it is supposed to be cherished by people from all walks of life. However, there are a lot of cases of dishonesty in a wide range of circles in our daily life. In business, for instance, some world famous corporations have committed some immoral blunders and cheated their employees and stockholders. In political circle, some officials abuse their power to get illegal money. And at college, some dishonest students cheat on exams for higher scores. All these have brought about a negative effect on social morality.

(二) 如何展开

(1) 列举法：把所要包含的写作内容要点罗列起来，逐一论述。列举不要过三，多了就显得啰嗦，且容易出错。以下是不同层次的连接词：
firstly, first of all, to begin with, ...
also, besides, meanwhile, moreover, furthermore, what’s more, ...
finally, last but not least, ...

(2) 举例法：在段落中,作者运用实际的例子来证明自己观点的方法。举例不要过二，多了有故意增加字数的嫌疑。常用于举例的过渡词语和结构有：
for example, for instance
such (as)
A case in point is ...
Another good example is that ...

(3) 因果法：通过分析原因和结果来进行论证。常用于因果法的词(组):
cause, raise, trigger, ignite, fuel, spark, inflame, incur, provoke, evoke, generate, ...
arise from, stem from, derive from, result from, lie in, be attributed to, ...
lead to, contribute to, bring about, result in, ...
because of, owing to, due to, on account of, thanks to, ...
as a result, for this reason, therefore, hence, so, consequently, accordingly, ...

(4) 对比法：包括比较(comparison)和对照(contrast)。比较是指出两个人或事物的相同点，对照是指出两个人或事物的不同点。常用于对比的词(组)和结构：
likewise, similarly, in the same way, ...
be similar to, be identical to, be the same as, ...
however, on the contrary, on the other hand, by contrast, ...
conversely, unfortunately, unluckily, unhappily, ...
be different in that ...
while, whereas, but, ...

(三) 如何结尾

(1) 发表看法:表明自己的态度和看法。常用的词(组)和结构：
in my opinion, to my mind, ...
as far as I’m concerned, ... / It is my viewpoint that ...

(2) 得出结论：得出作者的结论，再现或强调文章的主题。常用词(组)和结构：
to sum up, to conclude, to say it briefly, in a word, in short, in conclusion, ...
It may be concluded that ... / It may be learned from the above that ...
(3) 提出建议：提出建议和打算。常用的词(组)和结构：
It is, therefore, suggested that, ...
I suggest that ...

三、 高分绝招

(一) 插入成分
使用插入成分，增加语言的地道性。
To enlarge one’s vocabulary, I believe, is not the most important for improving writing ability.
There is, as has been suggested, a growing body of research literature in journalism and broadcasting.
In China, however, students get financial support mostly from their parents.
The bridge between people, though invisible, plays an important role in our life.
Our knowledge of social systems, therefore, while it is in many ways extremely inaccurate, is not likely to be seriously overturned by new discoveries.
The unclear reactor represents an enormous step in our scientific evolution and, whatever the antinuclear group says, it is wrong to expect a return to more primitive sources of fuel.

(二) 名言谚语
引用名言谚语，既能论述观点又能增加篇幅。
As a good saying goes, “a good beginning makes a good ending.”
Just as an ancient Chinese proverb says, “to err is human.”
It is quite often said that a friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.
Just as a famous educator says, “we learn not at school, but in life.”
To sum up, honesty is a virtue, which is valuable both in our daily life and in the ever-changing modern world. As Benjamin Franklin put it, “Honesty is the best policy.”

(三) 被动结构
多用被动结构，力显英语特点。
It is generally accepted that production highly correlates to consumption.
It can never be denied that men enjoy superiority over women in such fields as job-hunting, product-developing.
Greater importance should be attached to agricultural development.
More emphasis should be laid on maritime industry.

(四) 倒装结构
适当使用倒装，可以增加句型的多样性。
Only through much extensive reading can we achieve good results in reading comprehension.
So enormous are the differences between dialects that even people from neighboring areas have great trouble understanding each other.

(五) 从属结构
使用从属结构，既突出主句又增加篇幅。
Although the article is very useful and informative, it is much too academic for the average reader.
Whatever happens to the Google share price, the firm’s innovation is a glorious thing.
When he graduate from university, he is determined to pursue his own business.
While much is known about what occurs during sleep, the precise function of sleep and its different stages remains largely in the realm of assumption.

(六) 并列结构
使用并列结构，既能突出句型变化又能起到强调作用。
It is generally accepted that production decides consumption and that consumption stimulates production.
Many people believe that nuclear energy provides an inexhaustible and economical source of power and that it is therefore essential of an industrially developing society.
Some people are learning the laws not only to abide by them but also to take advantage of them.
Most of these books stress the “how to” aspects of journalistic interviewing rathter than the conceptual aspects of the interview.

四、 应试建议

(1) 多背质量高的范文，在训练中多模仿使用自己容易掌握的词(组)、句型、修辞等。
(2) 看到题目先审题，花点时间想想整体怎么行文安排。实行新题型后，写作放在第一道题。通常在发下答题卡到考试正式开始还有几分钟，足以用来打打腹稿。想好了以后一气呵成。
(3) 注意书写工整，不要乱涂乱改，给判卷人一个好印象。