英語修辭與寫作·3.2　寫文章的幾個要領(lǐng)

3.2A　注重內(nèi)容，避免兩種傾向

1） 內(nèi)容是文章的主體，又是文章的靈魂，言之無物的東西算不上好文章。為此，本章開頭講到寫文章的基本步驟時首先強調(diào)要有醞釀，要打開思路，并建議使用提綱，把思考到的內(nèi)容加以條理化，以便更好地把內(nèi)容表達出來。有人認(rèn)為，寫文章就要提起筆來自由發(fā)揮，用不著顧及什么步驟，因為那樣會束縛思想、限制內(nèi)容。其實這是一種誤解。我們也曾聽說，某位詩人觸景生情，一首好詩脫口而出；或某位作家靈機一動，一篇文章一氣呵成。其實，即便是這樣，也是詩人和作家觀察生活的結(jié)果，腦海里早有某種醞釀，在某種觸發(fā)下寫出了東西，這好比“十月懷胎，一朝分娩”。對于我們青年學(xué)生來說，生活經(jīng)驗不夠，寫作基本功不夠，應(yīng)當(dāng)在一般規(guī)律指導(dǎo)之下練就寫作本領(lǐng)。

2） 這里所說的避免兩種傾向，是指文章的內(nèi)容展不開或者中心不突出。在筆者接觸的美國學(xué)生中，寫文章時通常能開門見山，中心內(nèi)容突出，但毛病是三言兩語，幾句話寫下來，文章就結(jié)束了。而東方學(xué)生似乎相反，寫的東西往往較長，但兜圈子的話多，讀者難以抓住作者的主題。我們還有的學(xué)生一見寫文章就感到“話不投機”似的，既寫不出多的話，又寫不到點子上。這是由于思路沒有打開的緣故，或者說腦筋沒有開動。此外，也還有個知識積累的問題。古人說：“讀得多胸中有主，寫得多筆下生花”；“熟讀唐詩三百首，不會寫詩也會吟”。多讀書，多積累知識，多觀察生活，是寫好文章的必要準(zhǔn)備。這對我們學(xué)習(xí)寫作是大有好處的。

3.2B　遵循規(guī)則，力求規(guī)范

1） 這里所說的規(guī)則，指拼寫、移行、大小寫等。試看下面兩個不合規(guī)則要求的句子：

a. last wednesday they argued for hours about the best place for a holiday.

b. Last Wednesday, they spent an hour in arguement about where to go for a holiday.

上述a句句首字母l和表示周日（星期三）的為首字母w均應(yīng)大寫，Last Wednesday后應(yīng)加逗號，句尾應(yīng)加上句號，b句中的arguement拼寫錯誤，where不應(yīng)移行。這些都違反了英語的基本規(guī)則，因而未達到規(guī)范要求。

2） 關(guān)于拼寫、移行、大小寫等規(guī)則，一般教科書和語法書中均有說明。這里需要指出的是，不同書中的移行規(guī)則可能不盡相同，或詳略不一。如果使用電腦，其中編輯程序會自動處理移行問題；如果用手寫或用打字機，則首先記住兩點：一是盡量避免移行，二是不得已要移行而又非確有把握從哪個字母開始移時，最好查對詞典：凡中間有黑圓點的字，可從黑點后邊的字母往下行移，有幾個黑點則表示有幾種不同的移法，沒有黑點的字不可移行，如：change（不能移行），change·a·ble（兩種移法），change·ful（一種移法），change·a·bil·i·ty（四種移法），等。

3.2C　提高修辭技巧，寫出個人風(fēng)格

1） 提高修辭技巧和寫出個人風(fēng)格體現(xiàn)了繼承和發(fā)展的關(guān)系，或者叫做學(xué)習(xí)和創(chuàng)新。有人問：是不是每個會寫文章的人都系統(tǒng)地學(xué)過修辭技巧？顯然，實際情況并不一定如此，但我們可以說，每個會寫文章或善于辭令的人都肯定具有較高的修辭涵養(yǎng)。有這樣一個例子：一個男青年乘公交車站在一個女青年的后邊。突然遇到急剎車，男青年朝前踉蹌一步，碰了女青年一下。那女子很不高興，白一眼道：“德性!”男青年感到委屈，但未以牙還牙地回罵，而是輕聲辯白：“不，這是慣性!”說得女青年撲哧一笑。一字之差，贏得了令人滿意的效果。這是為什么？因為使用了修辭學(xué)上的“仿化”或“換語”（分別見第13章和第14章），既得體，又詼諧。有些人不一定上過修辭學(xué)課，甚至未讀過修辭學(xué)著作，但善于從其他讀物和別人的言談中學(xué)習(xí)各種說話和寫文章的技巧，因而不論出口的話或出手的文章都顯得很有教養(yǎng)。

2） 俗語云：青出于藍而勝于藍。不論繪畫、武術(shù)、戲曲各界，都有高徒出自名師，然又自成一派，與師長齊名，甚至超過師長。這些徒弟的共同點在于：他們一方面很好地繼承了師長的技藝，另一方面又有所發(fā)展，形成了自己的獨特風(fēng)格。我們在本書中討論的修辭技巧，有些是大家熟悉的，甚至從小就學(xué)會了（如我曾聽到兩個美國小姐妹用夸張形容口渴：“I'm dying of thirst!” “I can drink the whole sea!”），也有些是比較生疏的，或者只知其然而不知其所以然。如能進一步加以系統(tǒng)化、條理化，就會更加得心應(yīng)手地運用，并逐步在實踐中形成自己的風(fēng)格。

英語中的風(fēng)格有不同含義，如某個知名作家的風(fēng)格（Hemingway's style），某種特殊文體（an academic style）等，但這里需要強調(diào)一點：風(fēng)格不是表面的裝飾，而是內(nèi)在美的體現(xiàn)；誰能根據(jù)主題、對象和場合靈活得體地應(yīng)用各種修辭規(guī)律和手法，把話說得打動聽眾，把文章寫得吸引讀者，收到良好的效果，那就算是有了自己的風(fēng)格。

練習(xí)三　（Exercise Three）

I. Preview Questions:

1. Do you make an outline when you write an essay?

2. Can you tell a “scratch outline” from a “formal outline”?

3. What do you think of the six points in revising an essay?

4. Do you think it necessary to make a draft in writing an essay?

5. Have you ever come across the problem in writing that you find it difficult to develop your ideas or expound your main point?

6. What norms do you think should be followed in preparing a fair copy of one's writing?

7. How is one's style in writing related with his/her command of rhetorical techniques?

II. Fill in each blank with a suitable word:

Instead of “stages”, researchers today （1）____________as Gordon Rohman and James Britton tend to speak of the “phases” of composition: planning, drafting, and revising. （Some people break （2）____________into “rewriting” and “editing”, or they use one of these terms instead.）

The problem with “steps” and “stages” to explain the writing process is that writing isn't linear, （though reading is.） It's recursive; like the “phases” of the moon, its phases can be repeated. But writing isn't circular, either. It goes back and forth, like alternating currents. We plan, we （3）____________, we revise, we plan again, we write ...

Planning is the “prewriting” phase of the process. In it, you look for a subject to write about, conceive ideas about that （4） ____________, gather information, and begin to select details from a growing mass of data. Because it is partly unconscious and so requires time for percolating, this is the phase that gets slighted most when you start a paper the night before it is due. （Well, come to think of it, so does drafting — and maybe revising, （5） ____________.）

The planning phase is traditionally considered the finding phase of composition; its main business is to “invent” a subject in the root sense of “to come upon”. The main （6）____________of the second, or drafting, phase is presentation. Here the writer orders what she / he is discovering into a form comprehensible to other people. But she / he goes on discovering, too. In the （7）____________phase, revision, the writer is not so much ordering as reordering what she / he has （8）____________say.

III. Go over the following passages and decide whether each of the statements is true （T） or false （F）.

Two students, identified by writing theorist Robert Brooke only as Writer A and Writer B, respond in opposing ways to what he calls “the paradox of control” in writing. What paradox do you suppose he has in mind? Who do you think, A or B, can possibly resolve it and how will he do so?

Writer A: I'm having trouble with my writing. I'm stuck; I can't figure out what I've got to say. I'm frustrated. I'm a lousy writer.

Writer B: I'm in the fun part of writing. At the moment, I don't know what I've got to say but I know if I just give myself time to wander around, to explore what I'm thinking, I'll end up with something insightful and powerful. Right now I just have to let go and let my writing do its thing.

Statements:

1. The word “lousy” is an adjective meaning “low in quality and quantity”, or simply （infml） “bad”, “poor”, “mean”, “disgusting”, etc. as “a lousy meal”, “a lousy holiday”, “to feel lousy-ill”, etc. According to the context in the above passages, we can say that both A and B are lousy writers.

2. The “paradox of control” he has in mind refers to the situation in writing when one does have something to say but hasn't formed a proper way to say it. B is probably to resolve it by giving himself time to express what he's thinking.

IV. Further reading: Go over the following passage and the notes, and try to apply what you have learned to your own experience.

Students who read for pleasure, whatever they read — science fiction, mysteries, the daily paper — have a better grasp of what written prose looks like. They have absorbed most of the conventions of punctuation, without being able to repeat the “rules”;they have a vision of how conventional spelling looks without doing drills; they understand, at least, that paragraphs are indented. In the same way, students who examine their own writing, no matter how short or simple it seems, to make sure they have made a clear point, that that point is supported with reasons, will be closer to becoming critical readers.

Note to the above passage:

1. The quotation of Elisabeth McPherson is taken from Thomas Cooley's The Norton Guide to Writing, p.60.

2. For many writers, reading is a more vital source of ideas than their own adventures. Since people learn complicated skills from other people, it figures that writers are also readers. For example, the table of contents of a big city newspaper is in face an index to the broad categories of human experience: arts, autos, books, business, fads, movies, deaths, music, political opinions, public events, etc.

3. Great writers are, generally speaking, critical readers. Some writers read widely and take extensive notes; others read a few favorite sources over and over, often memorizing the rhythms of passages they like.

參考答案
Ⅱ. 1. such　2. “revising”　3. write　4. subject　5. too　6. business　7. third　8. to
Ⅲ. 1. F　2. T