中級寫作精講

1、 unit three: pop icons and heroesmain tasks to learn 1) how to support you claim in an argumentative essay 2) the use of language (conciseness)i. revision: argumentation1. essential elements of argumentation 1) the issue 2) the claim 3) the support types of support reasons, evidence, emotional appea

2、l) 4) refutation the claim in an argumentative essay1) it is the point of view the author tries to prove about the issue, that is, the authors view on the issue (the thesis statement) 2) a claim is basically composed of two parts: the first part is the issue under the discussion and the second part

3、is the comment or the judgment on the issue. 3) it is not objective/ impartial, but subjectively asserted by the author, based on his/her specific knowledge structure, value system, etc.4) a claim in argumentation is meant to be presented for “public acceptance” - any claim that clashes with the bas

4、ic interests and principles of the targeted public is most likely to be rejected (based on the public good)5) it requires supportive evidence to show to the audience/readers that it is well-founded and trustworthy. types of claims see p. 26- nclaims in argumentation are usually classified into three

5、 types, each with a different question to address: l a claim of factl a claim of valuel a claim of policy1). a claim of fact a) it refers to the type of claim an author makes about a certain fact; in other words, it is a statement about the status or conditions of a fact. b) as a claim of fact conce

6、rns the factual status of an issue, to justify it requires one to demonstrate how true it is in realitya claim of fact can only be supported by factual evidence a) direct factual evidence (statistics, hard proof, etc.) b) indirect factual evidence (authority, inferences based on known facts) c) a cl

7、aim of fact should not be confused with the fact itself. a) a claim of fact is a mental interpretation of a certain reality; a report or a description about a fact, usually based on the authors belief, outlook, way of perception, knowledge structure, etc. b) the author actually gives the fact a stro

8、ng subjective coloring.2) a claim of value - it is different from a claim of fact a) not a statement about the truthfulness of facts b) not intend to assert whether something has existed, exists, or will exist, but used to make judgments c) to express ones attitude towards something by approving or

9、disapproving according to some standard or value system b) effective claims of value are based on a) some value system, tastes or preferences shared by a certain public b) supported by sufficient evidence/proof to show to the audience/reader that it is well-founded and trustworthy 3) a claim of poli

10、cya) as the name suggests, it advocates adoption of policies or courses of action because problems have arisen calling for solution b) it usually contains two subclaims: claim of policysubclaimsubclaim problem to be addressedaction to tackle the problemii. argumentation (the support) 1. the support

11、defined nthe evidence the author provides to show that his/her claim is well-founded. nthe 3 common types of support are: 2. types of support nreasons (p. 51) nevidence (pp. 51-52) nemotional appeal (pp. 51,125) a) emotional appeal is effective a) when pure evidential support is not sufficient to wi

12、n over the audience to your side b) the author makes a direct appeal to the audience for support trying to bring the audience around to accept his /her claim by saying that they share the same value, needs, etc.b) in real argumentation a) these types of support are often combined to work for the eff

13、ect; b) it is of vital importance to make sure the support provided for the claim is sufficient, up-to-date and relevant practicing the guidelines p. 53- nex. 2 study the following short passages and find out what type(s) of evidence used in each to support the topic sentence (reason).1) examples2)

14、statistics3) personal observation 4) expert opinion iii. the use of language (conciseness) 1. what is conciseness? a) it means being direct and to the point, without using unnecessary words. if the idea is fully expressed, the fewer words, the better. b) the opposite of conciseness - nredundancy (us

15、ing more words than necessary) wordiness (using too many words) only obscure, instead of clarifying, the idea. navoid redundancy and tighten wordy sentences to achieve conciseness. 2. how to achieve conciseness 1) avoid repetition of ideas 1. thanksgiving fosters a sense of belonging and togethernes

16、s. nrevised: thanksgiving fosters a sense of belonging. 2. it was blue in color nrevised: it was blue. 3. it was small in size. nrevised: it was small. 4. mary is a quiet and careful woman.n revised: mary is quiet and careful. 2) avoid unnecessary repetition of words example:n1. the first woman to c

17、hair the committee was li ming. ms. li ming was also the youngest person ever to hold the office.nrevised: ms. li ming, the first woman to chair the committee, was also the youngest ever to hold the office. 2. my father complains that im always on the phone, at any time of the day. he means that i d

18、ont give anyone else a chance to use it.nrevised: my father complains that no one else has a chance to use the phone because im on it all day. 3) take out the padding (unnecessary and uninteresting words added to make a sentence longer) examples 1. he returned in the early part of the month of augus

19、t.nrevised: he returned in early august.2. what i believe is that you succeed largely because of your perseverance.nrevised: i believe you succeed largely because of your perseverance.4). change clauses/ phrases into phrases/single words. examples1. the report, which was released recently, shocked e

20、veryone in the school. nrevised: the recent report shocked everyone in the school. 2. the class showing the best performance the best class3. a man with ambition an ambitious man 5) avoid overusing the noun forms of verbs.nthe function of this department is the collection of funds for children not i

21、n school. nrevised: this department collects funds for children not in school. 3. practicing the guidelines p.55 nex. 1 1) w; 2) w; 3) c); 4) c; 5) w; 6) w; 7) w; 8) w; 9) w; 10) c ex. 2 rewrite the following sentences to make them more concise p. 55 1. the teaching plan took two months to revise.2.

22、 the students completed the project by the deadline3. in may people of different professions in this city will elect representatives, who will attend a national congress of model workers in beijing in october.4. all members agreed that a meeting was necessary. 5. surrounded by trees, the house can h

23、ardly be seen from the outside.6. mrs. johnson approved of my idea to reduce the homework load.7. the committee agreed to help mr. smith decide on priorities.8. if you need help in completing your project, please notify mr. wills, my assistant.9. we will not know the results until we complete this c

24、ontest.10. i am amazed to discover that we have been contacting the wrong person for a solution. reading for writing nyour peers compositions pp. 65- nli ao - gong yiduonhe jiong: is he worth admiring? - li nanpleas for sister lin - song ruinkeep a safe distance from pop icons - fei chen questions t

25、o think about1. what are the arguments for the four essays?2. do you consider the writers ways of developing their thesis effectively? why? 1. what are the arguments for the four essays? npassage 1: the writer argues that she admires li ao for his knowledge, pertinacity and out-spokenness despite all the criticisms he has received. npassage 2: the writer states the