研究生英语写作讲义之三

Unity and simple outlining

Every good paragraph has unity, which means that in each paragraph, only one main idea is discussed. If you start to discuss a new idea, start a new paragraph. Furthermore, every supporting sentence in the paragraph must be directly related to the main idea. Do not include any information that does not directly support the topic sentence.

Surviving Cancer

         Progress is gradually being made in the fight against cancer. In the early 1900s, few cancer patients had any hope of long-term survival. In the 1930s, less than one in five cancer victims lived more than five years. In the 1950s, the ratio was one in four. Currently, the ratio is down to one in three. The gain from one in four to one in three represents about 58,000 lives saved each year.

Surviving Cancer

              Progress is gradually being made in the fight against cancer. In the early 1900s, few cancer patients had any hope of long-term survival. But because of advances in medical technology, progress has been made so that currently one in three cancer patients survives. It has been proven that smoking is a direct cause of lung cancer. However, the battle has not yet been won. Although cures for some forms of cancer have been discovered, other forms of cancer are still increasing. Heart disease is also increasing. [???]

Practice

The following short essay has not been divided into paragraphs, but it should contain six: an introductory paragraph, four “body” paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.

Step I    Read the entire essay once or twice.

Step II    Decide where each new paragraph should begin. (Where does the author begin to discuss a different topic?)

Step 3     Underline the first sentence of each paragraph.

Culture, Logic, and Rhetoric

Logic, which is the basis of rhetoric, comes from culture; it is not universal. Rhetoric, therefore, is not universal, but varies from culture to culture. The rhetorical system of one language is neither better nor worse than the rhetorical system of another language, but it is different. English logic and English rhetoric, which are based on Anglo-European cultural patterns, are linear—that is, a good English paragraph begins with a general statement of its contents and then carefully develops that statement with a series of specific illustrations. A good English paragraph may also use just the reverse sequence: it may state a whole series of examples and then summarize those examples in a single statement at the end of the paragraph. In either case, however, the flow of ideas occurs in a straight line from the opening sentence to the last sentence. Furthermore, a well-structured English paragraph is never digressive. There is nothing that does not belong to the paragraph, and nothing that does not support the topic sentence. A type of construction found in Arabic and Persian writing is very different. Whereas English writers use a linear sequence, Arabic and Persian writers tend to construct a paragraph in a parallel sequence using many coordinators, such as and and but. In English, maturity of style is often judged by the degree of subordination rather than by the degree of coordination. Therefore, the Arabic and Persian styles of writing, with their emphasis on coordination, seem awkward and immature to an English reader. Some Asian writers, on the other hand, use an indirect approach. In this kind of writing, the topic is viewed from a variety of angles. The topic is never analyzed directly; it is referred to only indirectly. Again, such a development in an English paragraph is awkward and unnecessarily vague to an English reader. Spanish rhetoric differs from English rhetoric in still another way. While the rules of English rhetoric require that every sentence in a paragraph relates directly to the central idea, a Spanish-speaking writer loves to fill a paragraph with interesting digressions. Although a Spanish paragraph may begin and end on the same topic, the writer often digresses into areas that are not directly related to the topic. Spanish rhetoric, therefore, does not follow the English rule of paragraph unity.   In summary, a student who has mastered the grammar of English may still write poor papers unless the rhetoric of English is also mastered. Also, the student may have difficulty reading an essay written by the rules of English rhetoric unless (s)he understands the “logical” differences from those of his/her own native tongue.

Practice

Each of the following paragraphs breaks the rule of unity because it contains one or more sentences that do not directly support the topic sentence.

Step 1     Locate and underline the topic sentence of each paragraph.

Step 2     Find the sentence (s) that do not support the topic sentence and cross them out

Paragraph 1

Tourism is the state of Hawaii’s leading industry. Every year, some 3.2 million tourists visit the islands. During the popular winter months, a planeload or shipload of tourists arrives every fifteen minutes. New hotels, new resorts, and new restaurants are being built every year to accommodate the increasing numbers of visitors. Sugar cane and pineapples are also important industries in Hawaii.

Paragraph 2

The rapid increase in crime in Chicago is causing a great deal of concern to the city’s citizens. People are afraid to go out into the streets at night because they are afraid of being robbed or even killed. More and more families are moving out of the city into the suburbs because of the high crime rate. The chief of police was fired last month because of his inability to reduce crime. People are buying strong locks for their doors and installing heavy iron bars across their windows to prevent burglaries. Some citizens are even purchasing guns to protect themselves and their property. Indeed, it seems that the increase in crime is turning the average home in Chicago into a prison for its inhabitants.

Paragraph 3

The convenience and economy of small cars account for their popularity. They are easy to park quickly and take smaller parking spaces. Small cars are inconvenient and uncomfortable on long trips, however, because of their limited passenger and trunk space. They are also more economical to operate and maintain, and they cost less. Because of all these advantages, the next car I buy is going to be an Econo-Midget.