I 篇章构成

引言+主体+结尾 

1. 引言部分 Introductory paragraphs

引言段也叫主题段。它具有信息性，呈现具体问题，表明作者的态度和观点，告诉读者文章写什么；它还具有趣味性，从围绕主题泛泛而谈，到逐步缩小话题，引入文章要谈论的主题，吸引读者读下去。通常，引言段由能提供相关背景的引导句(introductory remarks)和表明文章中心思想的主题句(thesis statement)两部分组成。前者的目的是引起读者注意；后者的目的是向读者交代该文的主题或观点。

引言段的写作方法:

1) 对比法：作者观点与通常观点不同甚至相悖时，在文章开头先提出通常的观点，然后话锋一转，提出自己的不同观点。

e.g. As we all know, most of the material things in our daily life have to be bought with money. But money is not all powerful. There are many things which money can not buy, such as time and true love. (arousing attention → stating thesis → introducing topic)

2) 背景法：通过叙述与主题相关的背景材料, 然后引出主题的内容。

e.g. People from Great Britain bought the english language to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. But during next 300 years, there were so many changes in both places that now people can easily tell an English from an American by the way he or she talks. (英式英语和美式英语的来历----他们的现状, 为讲两种英语的区别做了铺垫)

3) 提问法：在开头以设问的方式引起读者思考。

e.g. Do you see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty ? Do you keep eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole ? Suddenly these cliches have become scientific questions, as researchers scrutinize the power of positive thinking.

4) 定义法：如果文章涉及新的或不常见的事物, 可以先给这个事物下定义。

e.g. A hobby, as I see it, is an activity that takes up most of your spare time and all of your spare money. At least that has been my experience since I became interested in photography.

5) 引经据典法：引用名言警句作为文章的开头。

e.g. I agree with the saying that “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. For I think that we human beings are different from the machine. We have life, soul and feelings. We can not work all the time, without any form of recreation.

除了上述方法外，还有直叙法，数据法，故事法等。

2. 主体部分 Main Body

正文部分大约占全篇的60% 到80%，由一个或多个段落组成，各段有自己的小主题，从不同的方面阐述或拓展语篇的主题思想。如果我们将英语语篇的结构及功能跟汉语语篇的结构及功能加以类比的话，不难发现，英语语篇的引言部分相当于汉语语篇“启”部分，而其主体则类似于汉语语篇的“承”、“转”部分，其结论部分自然就等于汉语语篇的“合”部分。英语语篇的正文部分主要是“承接”引言的主题展开说明、叙述或论证。要注意各段落的语句在结构和内容上的衔接与连贯一致。另外，在必要的时候可以转换角度，从另一个方面来支持语篇的主题。英文语篇的“转”根据主题内容的需要可有可无，可自成一个段落，也可用一个语句、一个短语或一个词，起到转变话题的作用。主体段落的推进方式有：平行、递进和正反。

    3. 结尾部分 Conclusion

结尾部分有两个功能：一是总结全篇，使文章完整；二是给读者留下深刻印象。一般结论段要与引言段相呼应。下面介绍几种结尾的写作方法：

1) A summary repeats the main points of the composition

e.g. Whatever changes responsible for the rise in divorce rate, one thing is certain: there is a significant change in people’s traditional view of marriage and divorce.

2) A prediction discuss what will happen in the future

e.g. With the increasing college population, employment for graduates will become more serious. Among many solutions, having a correct attitude toward it is a very important one.

3) An evaluation compares the main points and states what is best

e.g. We need both individual studies and attending lectures. The former helps sharpen our awareness, and the latter contributes to broadening our minds. The secrets of academic success lie in the combination of both.

4) An appeal or warning to the readers

e.g. In a word, we should get into the good habit of saving time. Do not put off what can be done today until tomorrow. Laziness will not only bring us failure but also lead us to the road of poverty.

    II 篇章分析

The Value of Time

A proverb says: “Time is money”. But in my opinion, time is even more precious than money. Why? Because when money is spent, we can earn it back. However, when time is gone, it will never return. This is the reason why we must value time.

It goes without saying that the time at our disposal is usually limited. Hence, even an hour is extremely precious. We should make full use of our time to do useful things. As students we must not relax our efforts to engage in our studies so as to serve society and our nation in the future.

But it is a pity that there are a lot of people who do not know the importance of time. They spend their precious time smoking, drinking and gambling. They do not realize that wasting time is equal to wasting a part of their valuable life.

In a word, we should get into the good habit of saving time. Do not put off what can be done today until tomorrow. Laziness will not only bring us failure but also lead us to the road of poverty.

Sex: There is a Difference

    Everyone agrees that men and women are different. And everyone----both men and women---believes that they understand those differences. But there are aspects of those differences that would make for better relationships and stronger marriages if they were really understood by men and women. （首句是中心思想，but 引出要讨论的内容。）

In the ways they think, women perceive the world differently. This is partly because their brains develop somewhat differently and they use their brains differently. A girl’s verbal brain develops earlier than a boy’s , and a boy’s visual brain develops earlier than a girl’s. This is why little girls generally read and write better than boys, and why little boys can figure out how to put things together more easily than girls. In addition to this, women usually seem to think more intuitively, because they use both sides of their brains at the same time. Men usually use one hemisphere at a time when they approach a problem. This means that men are usually more literal in their approach. （用对比法展开主题思想）

These differences between the sexes are created, in large part, by biology. But if both see knew and understood the importance of these differences and how they were caused, there would be much happier couples.（归纳前文内容, 强调理解差异的重要性，与首段呼应，重申论点。）