SAT作文写作误区 唯“洋例子”论

　　Since the essay section was first introduced to the SAT Reasoning Test in 2005, it has been a thorn in the side of many Chinese test takers. One of the biggest challenges students face is in knowing what examples will help them make the strongest arguments possible. A study done at MIT revealed that writers who used examples from history and literature tended to score higher than those who used just personal anecdotes. However, for Chinese students a key question has always been: Should I use Chinese or Western examples?

　　Nearly all test prep centers in China currently advise their students to use only Western examples. The reasoning for this is that the graders are likely to be confused by or uninterested in Chinese examples. This may seem like a reasonable philosophy, but my research has found just the opposite to be true. Far from hurting them, Chinese students benefited from using Chinese examples.

　　When we had our Lucy Haagen Method students try first writing essays that used only Western examples to support their thesis, and then later had them use a combination of Chinese and Western examples, students saw their scores jump by an average of 1.5 points. On a scale of just 12 points, that is a huge difference.

　　There are four key reasons why using Chinese examples can be greatly advantageous to you.

　　1)They are fresh and original. You may think that anecdotes about the dynastic period in China are simple and straightforward because you and all your peers know them by heart. However, they will be fresh and interesting to Western readers. Imagine the poor high school teacher who has to grade 500 SAT essays on his or her day off. Imagine how sick he or she must get of reading the millionth reference to Thomas Edison developing the light bulb. By using Chinese examples, you will be writing something a little bit more interesting and creative than what the grader is used to seeing.

　　2)You can get a Chinese example a little bit wrong. Lets say you need to write an essay about overcoming hardships. Lets say you cant think of a great historical figure who has overcome hardships. Your American grader will know you are just fabricating a story if you tell him that Bill Clinton spent the first ten years of his life blinded by a childhood illness. If you make the same claim about the Emperor Kangxi, no grader will be the wiser. This gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility to make sure that your examples neatly fit the argument that you are trying to make.

　　3) You dont know American examples as well as you think you do. Time and again, Chinese students overestimate their knowledge of American history. Additionally, even if you have your facts straight, they dont just need to be right, they need to be the same as what Americans learn. I had one student who wrote about the beginning of the American Civil War, and the gruesome toll taken by the Battle of Gettysburg. Knowing that he was a Chinese student, I was very impressed that he knew so much about the war. However, any American who has been through American history knows that the Battle of Gettysburg did not happen until the mid-point of the war, and that the first big battle was actually the Battle of Bull Run. If that seems like I am splitting hairs, it is just another reason to heed this warning. When you use American examples, you are going to need to be much more accurate and that raises your degree of difficulty.

　　4)It helps to let them know you are Chinese. When one of our students wrote the essay with Chinese examples and submitted it for scoring, the results astounded us. Her essay received a score of 7 despite the fact that it was simply riddled with spelling errors, run-on sentences, and suffered from very poor organization. The reason why the essay was scored so generously is the exact same reason why Chinese people compliment my terrible Mandarin, while they make fun of my Chinese-American friends . The expectations are simply different, and at a small level, that can do much to change your score. Remember these are people doing the grading. They are not machines.

　　Now, you would be foolish to think that you could simply discuss Chinese examples in your essay in the same way that you could when speaking to people in China. Even for some of the most famous figures in Chinese history you will need to provide some background information before making your point about them. However, that is a simple and easy change to make. Other test prep centers will tell you to shy away from Chinese culture and history. I promise you that it is better to embrace it. You must learn to explain it in a way that resonates with American readers, but never listen to anyone who tells you that Chinese culture and history has no value to Americans. It definitely does!