今天我们将学习如何来写开篇和主题。例题如下：
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“If we are dissatisfied with our circumstances, we think about changing them. But the most important and effective changes—in our attitude—hardly occur to us. In other words, we should worry not about how to alter the world around us for the better but about how to change ourselves in order to fit into that world.” Adapted from Michael Hymers, "Wittgenstein, Pessimism and Politics" Assignment: Is it better to change one's attitude than to change one's circumstances? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. |
Writing an Effective Introduction
写出好的开头不外乎两点：
吸引读者的注意力
强调观点
让我们想来看看如何吸引读者的注意力。阅卷者看到的第一句话往往比别的句子要重要得多。所以，开篇的句子通常都影响深远。一是开头决定了该篇文章能否吸引读者的注意力，让阅卷者产生继续的好奇心；二是开头通常都与你整篇文章所要表明的观点息息相关。让我们看如何成功吸引读者的开头：
Hyperbolic statement夸张的陈述：使用一个大胆、牵强、极端或是夸张的陈述，这类陈述可以具有争议性甚至是虚构性。比如： “For thousands of years of human history, optimists have used religion, politics, and culture to try to change the attitudes of millions. They have miserably failed”。
Statistic数据型：运用相关数据来表达你的观点。例如：“Self-described optimists are five times more likely to be happy and satisfied than their pessimist counterparts”。
Personal experience个人经历：用自己的个人经历来表达观点。例如：“When I was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, the doctor told me I would concede to the wiles of destiny – instead, I made a choice to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life than I ever had before”。
Folksy/Common Statement常见陈述：用一个普遍的陈述来引出一个常见的观点。例如：“They say that if you aren’t an optimist, the glass is half-empty. And, if you’re a pessimist, it probably has cyanide in it anyway”。
Quote引言：引用一句家喻户晓的名言来表明自己的观点。例如：“'Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.'These were wise words from Colleen C. Barrett”。
当然，吸引读者的注意力方式不计其数。我们只是用上面的一些方法来激发你的灵感。
无论你选择如何开头，你都应该保证开头与你文章的观点一致，并且措辞要强硬，观点要清晰明确。切记不能模棱两可，模糊不清。
通常情况下，开头的长度以五个句子为宜，篇幅通常是半张纸，当然这也取决你文章的长度。总之，开头的关键就在于吸引读者注意力并且表明你的观点。
Detail and Description
一篇文章真正的精华其实在于开头和结尾得的主体段落。这个将成就或是击垮你的部分完全取决于考生的个人能力：能否能运用一系列相关的细节并清晰明确地表达出来。
题干中的要求如下：要求考生利用“examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations”，把这一点熟记于心。最好的方法就是把这四大类都非开，每一类给出两个相关论据。也就是说，引用两本你阅读过的书籍，两堂参与的课程，两次个人的经历以及两点源于对世界和生活的观察。当然每类各引用两点并不是硬性要求。但是如果有八点强有力的论据（每个论据两个句子左右），毫无疑问，你的文章有足够的信息点和足够长的篇幅。
那么，我们又该如何合理地运用各种论据呢？你要明白的是读者希望看到的是一篇结构清晰的文章，所以杂乱无章的信息点毫无用处。你需要一些论据来让你的各个分论据显得有逻辑，例如：
1. A positive change in attitude can effect a change in conditions
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Non-Violence Jesus Christ and Christianity |
2. Having a positive attitude allows you to make the best of a situation
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When I broke my leg and couldn’t play basketball, I studied harder The movie Little Miss Sunshine |
3. Negative attitudes historically yield bad results
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Marlowe in Heart of Darkness Decline of Roman Empire |
也许对于上面的论据你并不熟悉。首先，你需要对这些分论点和论据有一个基本的框架，让整篇文章富于结构性和逻辑性。
其次，所有的论据你有需要有“lead-in”和“lead-out”的部分。公式如下：
1. Lead-in：引出论据的过渡部分
2. Detail：论据
3. Lead-out：把论据和论点联系起来
举个例子：
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(Lead-in) “Maintaining a positive attitude in a negative environment can actually change your environment for the better. In fact, people who can maintain positive attitudes have created a difference and made the world around them better.” (Detail) “One such person was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who led the Civil Rights Movement in America through a strategy of nonviolence and non-confrontation. His work eventually allowed Blacks in the US more rights.” (Lead-out) “His involvement and non-violence philosophy shows that even though he could have become angry and violent towards the white establishment, his positive attitude allowed him to effect bigger and better changes.” |
当然，上面的论据都是相当长的细节。但这仅仅是为了让各位考生明白所谓的“lead-in”和“lead-out”系统。
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