名师精讲大学英语四级议论文写作课程笔记二

　　语篇的连贯性

　　英语议论文的段落多采取直线展开式，即段落开始直接切入主题，并给出事实、例证、推理等。英语议论文段落这种展开方式是形成其语篇连贯的基础。语篇的连贯是指段落中各句的意义通过某种有序的排列(如时间顺序、因果顺序、逻辑顺序等)而相互关联。在论述该段落主题的时候，每后一个句子都是建立在前面一个句子的基础之上的。如果去掉段落中的一个句子，这种连贯便会受到影响，就会造成读者在理解上的困难。

　　3. 议论文中心段落的主题句及其论据、议论文中常用的词句与短语

　　(1) 议论文中心段落的主题句及其论据

　　一篇议论文能否获得高分与其中心段落主题句的质量不无关联，而主题句质量的高低则又取决于审题的好坏和论据的选择(即所选的论据在逻辑性、说理性、准确性及与主题内容的关联性等方面是否都经得起推敲)。需要明确的是，中心段落只应有两个组成部分：段落的主题句和支持主题句的论据。

　　段落的主题句也应有两个部分组成，即：主题句=主题+作者对主题的看法或态度，两者缺一不可。假设应试者被要求写一篇有关吸烟的议论文，那么 SMOKING 就是中心段落的主题。请看下面这个主题句：

　　Smoking is a habit of many men.

　　该主题句暴露出两个问题：(1)作者审题不清;(2)作者没有表明对主题的看法或态度。

　　一般说来，议论文要求应试者阐明自己对某问题的看法或态度。因此当我们拿到议论文的题目以后，要认真审题，权衡某事的利与弊，然后确定我们的立场。

　　如何构建段落的主题句呢?

　　拿到议论文的题目以后，经认真审题后，用英文列出你所能想起的与主题有关的例证。我们还用吸烟这个话题为例：

　　SMOKING

　　1. Smoking can cause such a disease as lung cancer.

　　2. Reports say that merely 3 grams of nicotine can kill a large animal.

　　3. Experts say that smoking one cigarette can reduce one s life by about 15

　　minutes and that chain smoking is even more hazardous.

　　4. Smoking after a meal can also disturb one s digestive system.

　　5. Heavy smoking can seriously affect an adult s sexuality.

　　6. Smoking does harm to second-hand smokers as well.

　　7. Smoking makes one s mouth smell.

　　8. The life expectancy of smokers is shorter than that of nonsmokers.

　　9. Smoking in bed may cause fire..

　　根据上面所列出的七个句子，我们可以选择以下两个主题句，即：

　　1 Smoking is a bad habit.

　　2 Smoking is a bad habit that does a lot of harm to human health.

　　第一个主题句表明了作者的态度，但不如第二个具体，因此在展开中心段落时不仅要谈吸烟对人体健康的不良影响，还要涉及吸烟在其它方面造成的危害。这样的段落考生较难掌握。因此主题句越是相对地具体段落就越好展开。但这并不等于说第一个主题句不好;如果主题句太过具体，段落可展开的范围就会过窄。如果范围较窄，有些考生所能列出的例证就会相对较少，整篇文章写下来后可能达不到所要求的字数。因此选择哪一个主题句要视具体情况而定。

　　用于支持段落主题句的论据其实就是我们开始列出的那些例证，但应视主题句所涉及范围的大小而有所取舍。下面我们就上面的两个主题句分别构建两个不同的中心段落：

　　Smoking is a bad habit. For one thing, smoking in bed may cause a terrible fire. For another, regular smoking makes one s mouth smell bad. And worst of all, cigarette smoking does great harm to human health. In many cases, cigarette has proved to be the direct cause of such a fatal disease as cancer-hence its nickname, Cancer Stick . Experts say that smoking one cigarette can reduce one s life by about 15 minutes and that chain smoking is far more hazardous. Recent findings of medical research show that even a tiny drop of nicotine can kill a large animal like a horse. Some medical reports have also proved that heavy smoking would seriously affect an adult s sexuality, and smoking after a meal also disturbs one s digestive system. Cigarette smoking not only jeopardizes the physical health of a smoker, it also affects the health of a nonsmoker who passively inhales the polluted air into his or her lungs when he or she is exposed to a winding shroud of cigarette smoke. The impact on such passive smokers , according to the experts in the medical field, can be even more damaging, and that is why smoking is usually prohibited in most public places.