WRITING TASK II: 在篇章或段落写作中，需特别注意所表达内容的连贯与一致，一份好的写作提纲可以帮你做到这一点。提纲中应包括：主题句，发展句和结尾句。试比较下面两个段落：

Model 1: 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.

Model 2: 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 survive. It has been proven that smoking is a direct cause of lung cancer. However, the battle has not yet won. Although cures for some forms of cancer have been discovered, other forms of cancer are still increasing. Heart disease is also increasing.

PRACTICE 5: UNITY I

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 1 Read the entire essay once or twice

Step 2 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 either, 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 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 content 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

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summarizes those examples in a single statement at the end of the paragraph. In either case, however, the flow of ideas occur 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 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 rules 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 6: Unity II

A Each of the following paragraphs breaks the rules 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 sentences 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 tourist 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.

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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 also a means of conserving energy because they use less gas than big cars. 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.

B Each of the following paragraphs has not only two or more topic sentences but also irrelevant sentences.

STEP 1 Decide where each paragraph should be divided into two or more paragraphs. Underline the topic sentence of each.

STEP 2 Find the irrelevant sentences and cross them out.

Paragraph 1

The recent water shortage in California forced changes in Californians’ lifestyles. When water was rationed, Californians learned to conserve water. They didn’t water their lawns and gardens or wash their automobiles. Also, they took fewer showers and baths. The water shortage lasted two years. Californians also learned to recycle water. For example, they used the rinse water from their washing machines to water their houseplants and gardens. California’s agricultural industry was also severely affected by the water shortage. Because their water was also rationed, farmers planted fewer acres and had to plan their crops more carefully. Many farmers planted crops that required less water and reduced the number of crops that needed a lot of water. This eventually caused an increase in the price of food in supermarkets all over the country.

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Paragraph 2

The United States and Canada will someday join the 95 percent of the world that uses the metric rather than the English system of measurement. No longer will North American schoolchildren have to memorize that there are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 51/2 yards in a rod, 40 rods in a furlong, and 8 furlongs in a mile. Inches will become centimeters, pound swill become kilograms, quarts will become liters, and degree Fahrenheit will become degrees centigrade (also called Celsius). The English system of measurement has been used in English-speaking countries since about the year 1200. The conversion to the metric system will not be easy, however, and will require enormous amounts of money and time. Proponents of the change argue that it is necessary in order for North American products to compete in world markets with metric products. For example, every piece of machinery in every factory and every office will have to be replaced. Furthermore, every machine and tool that makes, repairs or supplies another piece of equipment will have to be changed. Not only every nut, bolt and screw, but also every wrench, drill and screwdriver will have to be replaced, as any auto mechanic who has tried to fix an imported car with a set of American tools realizes. Therefore, although the United States and Canada are committed to “going metric”, it will not happen next week or even next year. Because of the magnitude of the problems that metric conversion will involve, the change will have to be gradual and , above all, carefully planned.

***** 一篇作文的提纲就象一张建筑图纸，写作者可以依据这份提纲，写出既完整又符合逻辑的文章或段落来。提纲的写作一开始很可能既难又无从下手，但万事开头难。一旦熟悉了提纲的写作，你就会发现你自己的文章也会越写越快，越写越好。有了一份好的提纲，也就等于完成了作文写作的75%。

提纲中应包括一个完整的主题句，以及发展这一主题所需要的论据， 如事实、事例、和统计数字等等。 Example 1:

Topic Sentence: Learning to outline will improve your writing for three reasons. Evidence: A. It will help you organize your ideas. B. It will help you write more quickly. C. It will help you improve your grammar.

Concluding Sentence: For these three reasons---improved organization, speed, and grammar—learning to outline is well worth the effort.

下面这篇文章就是依据上述提纲完成的。

Learning to outline will improve your writing for three reasons. First of all, it will

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