英语写作中常见的语法错误(汇集20篇)

导语：英语在小升初入学考试中的作用越来越大，小六的学生英语水平差距不大，如何才能在小升初英语考试中脱颖而出，小升初英语写作成为关键，下面是小编收集的如何写出高分英语作文方法，欢迎大家阅读!

书面表达是考查学生英语综合水平的一个重要途径，很多孩子英语口语好，却无法写好英语作文。而现实情况却是从初一甚至从小学开始就已经有了对书面表达的考查，所以练习英语写作也是我们学而思小升初课程的重要环节，帮孩子们打好基础。

1、语法：这是现在孩子们在英语写作中丢分最多的一项。

(1)写完作文后要记得检查：语法知识需要靠我们平时一步步积累，但是孩子们要注意在写完作文之后一定要细心检查自己的作文，一些学过的语法点不要再错了。

(2)避免使用自己拿不准的句子：很多孩子喜欢用长句、复合句等。可是又对这些句子掌握得不是很牢固，所以很容易出错。一切拿不准的词和句子，都应该使用自己会的简单句和简单词，这样才能给考官留下好印象。

2、格式：拿到作文题，一定要把握好题目的要求，看清是哪种类型的题目，确定好相应的格式。

常考的题如日记，日记的格式就是需要在第一行左方顶格写上日期和星期，右方写上天气，然后再开始写正文。需要提醒大家的是，日记基本上都是描写已经发生过的事情，所以孩子们注意一定要用一般过去时哦!

还有一类常考的作文题型就是书信，书信的格式更需要大家注意：

3rd April 2008

Dear Mr. I

How are you these days? I will go to shanghai for my holiday.

Yours truly，

Nancy

3、词汇：如果在文章中能够正确使用一些高级词汇和词组，而不再是简单词汇，这会让老

师耳目一新。例如：如果要孩子们来写holiday。很多孩子们一开始就会写I went to …… last year. 用went就很大众化了，但是如果用take a trip这个词组就会显得你的英语水平跟其他人不一样了!对于词汇这个点，我向孩子们提两点建议：

(1)词汇需要平时积累，但是大家积累的时候一定要注意灵活使用学过的词。大家已经学过很多词组和单词了，可是大家都不会拿出来用，原因就是在于大家学的时候只记得了它的意思，没有认识该怎么使用，该在什么情况下使用。所以大家以后学习词汇的时候一定要翻翻词典学习例句，自己也拿来造个句子，要知道自己以后该怎么用。

(2)学习语言并不是纸上谈兵，练习写作也应该要多加练习。熟能生巧，练得多了，自然也就会知道什么时候用什么词，该怎么写作文了。

4、书写：这一点看似不重要，却最影响老师对你作文的整体评价。我们不要求要做到美观，但那是一定要整洁、认真。这样老师也能很快读懂你的文章，更能对你作文产生好的印象。

写作是英语的第二大重头戏，仅次于阅读。但是这部分又经常被考生忽略，考前不动手，依赖临考模板，很难写出高分作文。下面是小编为大家整理的大学基础英语写作诀窍，欢迎阅读。

1、灵活改变句子开头

在通常情况下，英语句子的排列方式为“主语+谓语+宾语”，即主语位于句子开头。但若根据情况适当改变句子的开头方式，比如使用倒状语或以状语开头等，会使文章增强表现力。

- You can do it well only in this way.→ Only in this way can you do it well.

只有这样你才能把它做好。

- A young woman sat by the window.→ By the window sat a young woman.

窗户边坐着一个年轻妇女

2、避免重复使用词语

为了使表达更生动，更富表现力，同学们在写作时应尽量避免重复使用同一词语来表示同一意思，尤其是一些老生常谈的词语。如有的同学一看到“喜欢”二字，就会立刻想起like，事实上，英语中表示类似意思的词和短语很多，如 love, enjoy, prefer, appreciate, be fond of, care for等。

- I like reading while my brother likes watching television.→ I like reading while my   brother enjoys watching television.

我喜欢看书，而我的兄弟却喜欢看电视。

3、合理使用省略句

合理恰当地使用省略句，不仅可以使文章精练、简洁，而且会使文章更具文采和可读性。

- He may be busy. If he’s busy, I’ll call later. If he is not busy, can I see him now?→ He may be busy. If so, I’ll call later. If not, can I see him now?

他可能很忙，要是这样，我以后再来拜访。要    是不忙，我现在可以见他吗?

- If the weather is fine, we’ll go. If it is not fine, we’ll not go.→ If the weather is fine, we’ll go. If not, not.

如果天气好，我们就去；如果天气不好，我们就不去了。

- She could have applied for that job, but she didn’t do so.→ She could have applied for that job, but she didn’t.

她本可申请这份工作的，但她没有。

4、运用非谓语结构

非谓语结构通常被认为是一种高级结构，适当运用非谓语结构，会给人一种熟练驾驭语言的印象。

- When he heard the news, they all jumped for joy.→ Hearing the news, they all jumped for joy.

听了这消息他们都高兴得跳了起来。

- As I didn’t know her address, I wasn’t able to get in touch with her.→ Not knowing her address, I wasn’t able to get in touch with her.

由于不知道她的地址，我没法和她联系。

5、结合使用长、短句

在英语写作中，过多地使用长句或过多地使用短句都不好。正确的做法是，根据实际情况在文章中交替使用长句与短语，使文章显得错落有致，这样不仅使文章在形式上增加美感，而且使文章读起来铿锵有力。

-At noon we had a picnic lunch in the sunshine. Then we had a short rest. Then we began to play happily. We sang and danced. Some told stories. Some played chess.→ At noon we had a picnic lunch in the sunshine. After a short rest, we had great fun singing and dancing, telling jokes and playing chess.

中午我们晒着太阳吃野餐。休息一会儿后，我们唱的唱歌，跳的跳舞，还有的讲笑话、下棋，大家玩得很开心。

6、使用短语代替单词

使用短语代替单词。

- He has decided to be a teacher when he grows up.→ He has made up his mind to be a teacher when he grows up.

他已决定长大了当老师。

- He doesnt like music.→ He doesnt care much for music.

他不大喜欢音乐。

- He told me that the question was now under discussion.→ He told me that the question was now being discussed.

他告诉我问题现正正在讨论中。

7、套用某些固定表达

套用某些固定表达

- He was very tired. He couldn’t walk any farther.→ He was too tired to walk any farther.

他太累了，不能再往前走了。

- The film was very interesting. Both the teachers and the students liked it.→ The film was so interesting that both the teachers and the students liked it.

这电影很有趣，学生和老师都很喜欢。

- Your son is old. He can look after himself now.→ Your son is old enough to look after himself now.你的儿子已经长大，可以自己照顾自己了。

8、使用地道英语

使用地道英语

- Dont worry. Be bold and try it, and youll learn it soon.→Dont worry. Just go for it, and youll get it soon.

别担心，大胆试一试，你很快就会学会的。

-Thank you for playing with us.→Thank you for sharing the time with us.

谢谢你陪我玩。

9、综合使用“高级”结构

综合使用“高级”结构

- We had to stand there to catch the offender.→ What we had to do was (to) stand there, trying to catch the offender.

我们所能做的只是站在那儿，设法抓住违章者。

- If her pronunciation is not better than her teacher’s, it is at least as good as her teacher’s.→ Her pronunciation is as good as, if not better than, her teacher’s.

如果她的语音不比她的老师好的话，至少也不会比她老师的差。

10、引用名言警句点缀

在写作时根据实际情况恰当地用上一两句名言警句来点缀文章，不仅使文章显得有深度、有智慧，而且会让文章在评分中上一个“得分档次”。

- As the proverb says, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Though you fail this time, you needn’t lose heart. As long as you work hard and stick to your dream, you will succeed one day.- There is a proverb goes like this “Life isn’t a bed of roses.” It is ture that it is likely for everyone to meet problems and difficulties in life.- In the modern world, more and more people live alone, which is not so good for our life. It is better for us to make more friends and enjoy friendship. Just as a proverb says, “A near friend is better than a far-dwelling kinsman.”

1.A great poem is a fountain forever overflowing with the waters of wisdom and delight.(P.

B. Shelley ， British poet )伟大的诗篇即是永远喷出智慧和欢欣之水的喷泉。(英国诗人 雪莱。 P.B)

2.Art is a lie that tells the truth 。( Picasso ， Spanish painter )美术是揭示真理的谎言。 (西班牙画家 毕加索)

3.Humor has been well defined as thinking in fun while feeling in earnest. (Mark Twain ， American novelist )幽默被人正确地解释为“以诚挚表达感受，寓深思于嬉笑”。(美国小说家 马克·吐温)

4.The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation; the two keep in their downward tendency.( Johan Wolfgang von Goethe ， German poet)文学的衰落表明一个民族的衰落。这两者走下坡路的时间是齐头并进的。(德国诗人歌德 。 J 。 W 。)

5.When one loves one‘s art no service seems too hard 。(O. Henry， American novelist)一旦热爱艺术，什么奉献也不难。 (美国小说家 欧·亨利)

Education 教育篇

6.And gladly would learn ， and gladly teach 。( Chaucer ， British poet)勤于学习的人才能乐意施教。(英国诗人， 乔叟)

7.Better be unborn than untaught ， for ignorance is the root of misfortune.(Plato ， Ancient Greek philosopher)与其不受教育，不如不生，因为无知是不幸的根源。(古希腊哲学家柏拉图)

Friendship 友谊篇

8. Some friends come and go like a season. Others are arranged in our lives for good reason.(Sharita Gadison)一些朋友随季节离去，而另外一些则伴我们度过美好的季节。

9.A true friend is someone you can disagree with and still remain friends. For if not， they weren‘t true friends in the first place.(Sandy Ratliff)真朋友是可以与你有不同见解的，如果不是，首先就不是真朋友。

10.True friendship is felt， not said.(Mariecris Madayag)朋友是说不出的感觉。

11.Friends are like stars，you don‘t always see them， but you know they‘re always there.(Hulali Luta)朋友是感觉不到的存在。

12.Memories last forever， never do they die. Friends stay together， never say goodbye.(Melina Campos)记忆永不死，朋友永不说再见。

Health 健康篇

13.light heart lives long.( William Shakespeare ， British dramatist)豁达者长寿(英国剧作家莎士比亚。 W.)

14.Early to bed and early to rise ， makes a man healthy ， wealthy and wise.(Benjamin Franklin ， American president )早睡早起会使人健康、富有和聪明。 (美国总统 富兰克林。B.)

15.The first wealth is health 。( Ralph Waldo Emerson ， American thinker)健康是人生第一财富。 (美国思想家爱默生。 R. W.)

Love,It would have to be to you

[爱，它只属于你]

Softhearted is sick, but you are life.

心软是病，可你是命.

island is the scar of the sea

[岛是海的疤痕]

You ever far is my fixed lattice

(你永远是我的定格.)

The time that you are my most fatal.

时光深知你是我最致命的爱

Learn to sorrow blind eye.

[学会熟视无睹对于悲伤]

You dont laugh tears away.

[你别笑了眼泪都掉了]

I want to be your bride .

【 我想成为你的新娘 】

Lets make thing better.

(让我们做得更好)

Does not belong to me,I will let go

不属于我的 我会离开.

I am not greed but I envy.

我没有贪婪 我羡慕海枯石烂.

Let the time tell the truth.

任由时间说真话

Promises are often like the dust

承诺像尘埃

Everybody wants to be loved

谁都想被疼爱

I will always be, even if love pale.

我会一直在,纵使爱变苍白

The time that you are my most fatal

时光深知你是我最致命的爱人

Let me make you whole life youth

[愿我许你一生青涩年华]

You are my most adventure youth dream

[你是我年少时最冒险的梦]

If through time, through love

[倘若看透时光看透爱]

Who gives us meet but not concurrently give us forever.

是谁赐我们遇见 却不一并赠我们永远。

I think I will love you for a long time

我想我会爱你很久

Laugh Until You Cry; Cry Until You Laugh

笑到终于哭出来;哭到终于笑出来。

You were never mine to lose.

你从来就不属于我，谈不上什么失去

一、句式多变，词汇丰富。

鉴于这部分的写作要求和难度，不论是写书信还是编故事，由于100词的字数要求，考生必须要学会用具体的，多样化的语句来描写某样东西或某件事情。有的学生从头至尾都用"Thereis"的句式，而且重复多遍，看来单调乏味，很难得高分。我们不妨用主动和被动句式、各种不同的从句、动词不定式、强调句、虚拟语气等等，当然我们要写的句式必须是自己熟悉的，有把握的。

词汇量的大小影响写作成绩。试想你形容餐馆good，食品good，氛围good，那也太无聊了，我们平时就积累一些词汇，比如餐馆cleanandtidy，食品niceandtasty，氛围friendlyandpleasant等等，而不至于到考试时言之无物。

二、问题都答，加上连词。

如果第二单元你要给笔友写一份回信，信中有这么一个问题Haveyougotafavoriterestaurant?Tellmeaboutthefoodandwhatyoulikeabouttherestaurant。这个问题看似非常简单，但如果你就回答一句Ihavegotmyfavoriterestaurant.可以，但如果你不学会怎么扩展这个话题，那一封信中根本就写不了上百个单词。因此，学会拓展话题这一点在这部分中尤为重要，如你可以写餐馆的名字、位置、特色等等。

如果你选择编故事也很好。我们PET考生大多是青少年，正是想象力非常丰富的时候，很适合去编故事。但在书写的过程中，一定要注意尽量用自己有把握的语言来表达和描述。此外，既然是故事，就应该把事情发生的时间、地点、人物、过程以及结果都完整地表述出来。因此，我们在平时就把日常生活中所发生的有意义的小事儿用英文记录下来，日积月累你会发现，你的书写素材会越来越多，这种考试对你来说，将会是"apieceofcake"。

另外注意适当使用一些关联词，如and,but,so,if，使行文更加流畅。

三、平时勤练，克服畏惧。

因为该部分要求比较高，建议考生平时可以多做这样的书写练习。在学而思PET，我们会练习四五篇大作文，希望同学们平时就认真对待，描写到位，在老师的指导下，逐步明白自己的弱项在哪里，进而逐渐消除无话可写的心理恐惧，并提高写作水平。

每年的英语中考都有写作这一考查的内容，所以同学们要重视写作的方法，消除畏惧心理，排除心理障碍。纵观近几年中考英语写作题，题材一般是写人、写事、写物、写景、日记、书信、通知、便条等文体。一般来说，不同的写作题材，它的人物，时间，写作的重点也是不尽相同的。下面简单介绍一下中考英语写作六个要素：审题清，要点明，列提纲，全文顺，无病句，打草稿。

一、审题要清

看到考题后，先不要急于动笔，要仔细看清题目要求的内容。在自己的头脑中构思出一个框架或画面，确定短文的中心思想，不要匆匆下笔，看懂题意，根据提供的资料和信息来审题。审题要审格式、体裁、人物关系、故事情节、主体时态、活动时间、地点等。

二、要点明确

要点是给分的一个重要因素。为了防止写作过程中遗漏要点，同学们要充分发挥自己的观察力，把情景中给出的各个要点逐一罗列出。

三、列出提纲

为写作做好准备。根据文章要点短文的中心思想将主要句型、关键词语记下，形成提纲。

四、写顺全文

写短文时要做到五个方面：

1.避免使用汉语式英语，尽量使用自己熟悉的句型。

2.多用简单句型，记事、写人一般都不需要复杂的句型。可适当多使用陈述句、一般疑问句、祈使句和感叹句。不用或少用非谓语或独立主格结构等较复杂的句型。

3.注意语法、句法知识的灵活运用。语态、时态要准确无误;主谓语要一致，主语的人称和数要和谓语一致;注意冠词用法，例如：It takes Tom half an hour to go to school by bus.中的an不能写成a;注意拼写，例如：fourteen，forty，ninth等不要写成forteen，fourty，nineth等;注意标点符号和大小写。

4.描写人物时，要生动具体，可以选择使用下列词汇，例如：外形：tall，short，fat，thin，strong，weak，pretty等;颜色：red,yel-low，blue，white，green，brown，black等;心情：glad，happy，sad，excited，anxious，interest-ed等;情感：love，like，hate，feel，laugh，cry，smile，shout等。

5.上下文要连贯。同学们应把写好的句子，根据故事情节，事情发生的先后次序(时间或空间)，使用一些表示并列、递进等过渡词进行加工整理，使文章连贯、自然、流畅。同学们应注意下面过渡的用法：并列关系：and,as well as,or…;转折关系：but,yet,how-ever…;时间关系：when,while,after,before,then,after that…;因果关系：so，there-fore，asaresult…;目的：in order to，in order that，so as to,so that…;列举：for example ,such as…;总结性：in general,in all,in a word,generally speaking…

五、没有病句

中考作文时，由于时间紧、内容多，同学们出错在所难免。因此，改错这一环节必不可少。中考作文评卷是根据要点、语言准确性、上下文的连贯性来给分，根据错误多少来扣分。因此中考时花几分钟时间用来检查错误显得尤为重要。检查错误应从以下几个方面入手：(1)看字数是否达到要求，看有无遗漏要点。

(2)看文体格式是否正确规范。

(3)看有无语法或用词上的错误。

(4)看单词拼写、字母大小写是否有错，标点符号有无遗漏或用错等等。

(5)注意时态、语态、人称是否上下文一致。

六、先打草稿

考试中，书面表达应做到先打草稿，写完后多读几遍，检查是否有误，然后再抄到试卷上，注意字迹要工整，不涂、不画、不勾不抹，避免不必要的扣分。

一、审题——若即若离

虽然近年来高考作文多以“话题作文”或是“新材料作文”出现，题目宽泛，不设审题障碍，但也并不是想写什么就写什么，想怎么写就怎么写，依然要在所给话题、材料范围内进行审题写作，不可抛开话题、另辟蹊径地“信马由缰”。否则，就会不着边际，偏离话题。比如高考作文题《必须跨过这道坎》，就应该牢牢抓住“必须”“跨”“坎”等“题眼”进行审题，还要重点关注、开掘出“坎”的引申义、比喻义。

规避：要加强审题训练，针对题目“辨字析词”，盯准“题眼”，尤其对于哲理性命题，涉及辩证关系的，更要深入分析题目的深刻内涵。审题越细、越准、越透，立意的思路就越宽、越深、越广。

二、入题——千呼万唤

高考作文因字数、时间的限制，不可能写得太多，但有相当多的考生往往出现“入题慢”的弊病，废话很多，以一当十的内容却千呼万唤不出来。引用原材料或可有可无的内容占去了很大的篇幅，重点部分无法展开。

规避：多看名家精短美文，为我所用，在“实战”中寻找不足，总结经验。

三、扣题——蜻蜓点水

有的考生写作文，从头到尾没有出现话题、话题的关键词或与话题相近的表述，犯了扣题不紧的错误，看不出是就所给特定“话题”或是“新材料作文”而写的文章，这样得分自然不会理想。

规避：在行文时牢记“考纲”中对作文扣题一项的具体要求，依照标准去做，回想老师的相关叮嘱及传授的方法。

四、立意——平庸病态

见解独到、构思新巧、主旨积极的文章无疑是任何人都梦寐以求的。可惜的是，在考场上有的学生为了追求所谓的标新立异，甚至写出了令人匪夷所思的文章。如有的学生在《假如记忆可以移植》中这样写：“我要把爱因斯坦的大脑移植过来，为自己发财致富……”由于思想格调不高，不符合高考作文“思想健康”的要求，降低了作文品位。

规避：树立正确的人生观、世界观、价值观，突破定向思维、线性思维，走向逆向思维、发散思维，视角独特，出人意料又在情理之中。

五、选材——陈旧苍白

有的学生作文材料陈旧苍白，缺乏厚重感。要么记叙一件事，有骨架没血肉;要么议论一个道理，观点+例子+结论，缺分析少论证;要么连例子都没有，翻来覆去，空谈漫议，写到哪儿算哪儿，凑够字数为原则。

规避：积累材料。一是在高三这段时间里继续收集鲜活的材料，并选记一些名言警句;二是把长期以来的“库存”分门别类筛选一下，选择出可供用于写作的精品材料列出提纲。

六、语言——艰涩难懂

有的考生喜欢使用缩写、英文单词、网络语言，其实这是要冒一定风险的。有的阅卷教师对这类语言很反感，就会对考生有害无利。高考大纲对于作文的要求是语言通顺、用词贴切，文句有表现力。因此，考生应当尽量用优美、有内涵的语言来表情达意，要用最规范、最传统的语言来写作，最好不用或少用网络语言。

规避：平时写作时尽量不使用网络语言或少数人才知道意思的语言。

七、形式——千篇一律

考场作文，事关重大，不仅内容要出彩，形式上也应该不拘一格，使内容与形式相得益彰，完美统一，方可获得高分。但教师在批改作文中却发现，形式创新的寥寥无几，多为千篇一律、似曾相识的“老面孔”，这应当引起注意，尤其是写作能力强的学生，不要因为形式的“不适宜”而失去了本不该丢的分。

规避：运用题记、后记、演讲稿、采访记录、日记体、书信体、小标题等新奇的形式来诠释思想，表达意旨。

八、文体——似是而非

有的学生写的文章好像属于“四不像”的文体，因而阅卷老师难以读懂、把握这样的文章，判分就有争议。所以，一般说来，文体还是明朗为好。

规避：就高考作文而言，最好多使用记叙文(夹叙夹议)、散文(记事、抒情)、议论文三种常见形式，少采用或不用诗歌、戏剧、文言等体裁。

九、结篇——虎头蛇尾

有的学生由于没有分配好答题时间，以致在写作文时所剩时间不够了，有的考生来不及结尾，结果或用一句话硬断，或点上一串省略号，或干脆空在那儿。无论哪一种情况，都会被视为未完篇处理。因为阅卷老师衡量一篇文章的好坏，首先是看文章的整体，虎头蛇尾的文章是要被扣分的。

规避：考生平时要训练自己在大约45~60分钟内能够写出一篇完整作文的能力，最后交上的作文无论如何都应该是一篇结构完整的作文。

十、卷面——乱涂乱改

现在是电脑阅卷，字迹模糊、扫描不清就会丢失信息，老师看得吃力无疑会影响分数。我们都有这样的感觉：书写工整、卷面整洁的作文使人赏心悦目，印象分立即增加;而字迹潦草、涂改得难以辨认的答卷，无形中就会多扣几分。高考作文如果接二连三地出现错别字，就会被认为语文基础太差，得分也会大打折扣。2008年高考作文对错别字要求更高，有的省已经规定每错一字扣一分，应予以特别重视。

规避：养成好的书写习惯，不会的字、词要查字典、词典。

1. 内容切题

内容切题是命题作文的基本要求，考生可从以下几个方面入手：

第一要认真审题。根据题目类别，弄清文体的要求，并判明文章的种类(议论文、说明文、记叙文)，同时确定文章要阐明的主题或要表达的中心思想，若题目已经提供了提纲，还要注意弄清各提纲要点之间的逻辑关系。考生在拿到作文题后，切勿惟恐时间不够，提笔就写。一旦跑题，发现了再改就来不及了，常言道：“磨刀不误砍柴工”。

第二要注意设计安排段落。根据文章的中心思想，确定各个段落的主题内容和主题句。如果是议论文，一般要从论点的正反两个方面来考虑，首先是某观点的合理成分或某物的长处，然后是该观点的不合理成分或该物的短处，最后阐明自己的观点。如果题目提供了提纲，只要把提纲扩展成主题句即可。

第三要避免将记忆里较熟悉的句子生拉硬扯地搬进作文，使作文结构松散，意思不明确，甚至会偏离主题。

2. 表达清楚，文字连贯

文章要做到表达清楚，文字连贯，文章各段落就必须根据提纲所确立的不同主题来展开，而且各段落的主题句要将段落的各个部分凝聚在一起，流利地表达段落大意，使段落中各部分以及段落之间的联系一目了然。

3. 句式有变化

有些考生对写作没信心，不敢大胆地使用所掌握的语言基础知识，包括英语句法知识，结果整篇文章都是以主、谓、宾句式为主的简单句子，文章显得刻板无生气。实际上，

记叙文是记人叙事的文章，它主要是用于说明事件的时间、背景、起因、过程及结果，即我们通常所说的五个" W "( what, who, when, where, why )和一个" H "( how )。记叙文的重点在于"述说"和"描写"，因此一篇好的记叙文要叙述条理清楚，描写生动形象。下面就谈谈英语记叙文的特点和写好记叙文的基本要领。

一、记叙文的特点

1. 叙述的人称

英语的记叙文一般是以第一或第三人称的角度来叙述的。用第一称表示的是由叙述者亲眼所见、亲耳所闻的经历。它的优点在于能把故事的情节通过"我"来传达给读者，使人读后感到真实可信，如身临其境。如：

The other day, I was driving along the street. Suddenly, a car lost its control and ran directly towards me fast. I was so frightened that I quickly turned to the left side. But it was too late. The car hit my bike and I fell off it.

用第三人称叙述，优点在于叙述者不受"我"活动范围以内的人和事物的限制，而是通过作者与读者之外的第三者，直接把故事中的情节展现在读者面前，文章的客观性很强。如：

Little Tom was going to school with an umbrella, for it was raining hard. On the way, he saw an old woman walking in the rain with nothing to cover. Tom went up to the old woman and wanted to share the umbrella with her, but he was too short. What could he do? Then he had a good idea.

2. 动词的时态

在记叙文中，记和叙都离不开动词。所以动词出现率最高，且富于变化。记叙文中用得最多的是动词的过去的，这是英语记叙文区别于汉语记叙文的关键之处。英语写作的优美之处就在于这些动词时态的变化，正是这一点才使得所记、所叙有鲜活的动态感、鲜明的层次感和立体感。

3. 叙述的顺序

记叙一件事要有一定的顺序。无论是顺叙、倒叙、插叙还是补叙，都要让读者能弄清事情的来龙去脉。顺叙最容易操作，较容易给读者提供有关事情的空间和时间线索。但这种方法也容易使文章显得平铺直叙，读起来平淡乏味。倒叙、插叙、补叙等叙述方法能有效地提高文章的结构效果，让所叙之事跌宕起伏，使读者在阅读时思维产生较大的跳跃，从而为文章所吸引，深入其中。但这些方法如果使用不当，则容易弄巧成拙，使文章结构散乱，头绪不清，让读者不知所云。

4. 叙述的过渡

过渡在上下文中起着承上启下、融会贯通的作用。过渡往往用在地点转移或时间、事件转换以及由概括说明到具体叙述时。如：

In my summer holidays, I did a lot of things. Apart form doing my homework, reading an English novel, watching TV and doing some housework, I went on a trip to Qingdao. It is really a beautiful city. There are many places of interest to see. But what impressed me most was the sunrise.

The next morning I got up early. I was very happy because it was a fine day. By the time I got to the beach, the clouds on the horizon were turning red. In a little while, a small part of the sun was gradually appearing. The sun was very red, not shining. It rose slowly. At last it broke through the red clouds and jumped above the sea, just like a deep-red ball. At the same time the clouds and the sea water became red and bright.

What a moving and unforgettable scene!

5. 叙述与对话

引用故事情节中主要人物的对话是记叙文提高表现力的一种好方法。适当地用直接引语代替间接的主观叙述，可以客观生动地反映人物的性格、品质和心理状态，使记叙生动、有趣，使文章内容更加充实、具体。试比较下面两段的叙述效果：

I was in the kitchen, and I was cooking something. Suddenly I heard a loud noise from the front. I thought maybe someone was knocking the door. I asked who it was but I heard no reply. After a while I saw my cat running across the parlor. I realized it was the cat. I felt released.

这本来应是一段故事性很强的文字，但经作者这么一写，就不那么吸引人了。原因是文中用的都是叙述模式，没有人物语言，把"悬念"给冲淡了。可作如下调整：

I was in the kitchen cooking something. "Crash!" a loud noise came from the front. Thinking someone was knocking at the door, I asked, "Who?" No reply. After a while, I saw my cat running across the parlor. "Its you." I said, quite released.

二、写好记叙文的基本要领

1. 头绪分明，脉络清楚

写好记叙文，首先要头绪分明，脉络清楚，明确文章要求写什么。要对所写的事件或人物进行分析，弄清事件发生、发展一直到结束的整个过程，然后再收集选取素材。这些素材都应该跟上述五个" W "和一个" H "有关。尽管不是每篇记叙文里都必须包括这些" W "和" H "，但动笔之前，围绕五个" W "和" H "进行构思是必不可少的。

2. 突出中心，详略得当

在文章的框架确定后，对支持故事的素材的选取是很关键的。选材要注意取舍，应该从表现文章主题的需要出发，分清主次，定好详略。要突出重点，详写细述那些能表现文章主题的重要情节，略写粗述那么非关键的次要情节。面面俱到反而使情节罗列化，使人不得要领。这一点是写好记叙文要解决的一个基本问题，也需要一定的技巧。如：

One night a man came to our house and told me, "There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days." I took some food with me and went.

When I finally came to that family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured (破坏外貌) by hunger. There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger.

I gave the rice to the mother. She divided the rice in two, and went out, carrying half the rice. When she came back, I asked her, "Where did you go?" she gave me this simple answer, "To my neighbors - they are hungry also!"

3. 用活语言，准确生动

记叙文要用具体的事件和生动的语言对人、事、物加以叙述。一篇好的记叙文的语言既要准确、生动，又要表现力强，这样才能把人、事描写得具体生动，其可读性才强。试比较下面一篇例文修改的前后效果。

原文：

One day Xiaoqiang was wandering away. He was soon lost among people and traffic. He could not find the way back home and started crying. Just then, two young students who were passing by found him standing alone in front of a shop and crying. They went up to Xiaoqiang and asked him what had happened. Xiaoqiang told them how he got lost and where he lived. The two students decided to take him home. Mother was pleased to see Xiaoqiang come back safe and sound. She invited the two students into the house and gave them some money, but they didnt take it. She served them with tea but they left.

修改后：

The other day, five-year-old Xiaoqiang left home alone and wandered happily in the street. After some time, he felt hungry so he wanted to go back home. But he found he was lost among the crowded people and heavy traffic. When he could not find the way home, he started and crying. Just then, two young students who were passing by from school found him sanding crying in front of a shop. They immediately went up to him.

"Little boy, why are you standing here crying?" they asked.

"I want Mom, I go home." said the boy, still crying.

"Dont worry, well send you home."

And they spent the next two hours looking for the boys house. With the help of a policeman, they finally found it.

When the worried mother saw her son come back safe and sound, she was so thankful and she invited the students into her house. Gratefully, she offered them some money, saying it was a way to express her thanks, but the young students firmly refused it and left without even a cup of tea.

如何写通顺的英语

英语写作是语言应用的一个重要方面，也是语言能力测定的重要手段，衡量写作水平的标准便是看其是否能用学过的语言材料，语法知识等用文字的形式来表达描述。

书面语言表达一般分为三个过程：思维、组织、表达。先是思维，把要写的东西在脑中思考，这往往是个别的，孤立的一些素材，很凌乱琐碎；因此要对此进行组织，把这些思维作出整理，使其条理、系统化，但这还是较粗糙的，可能还有一些用词不当或语言错误；最后才是表达，把组织过的材料仔细推敲，确无问题了再落笔成文。

在撰写时要注意主谓语一致，时态呼应，用词贴切等，这就是写作。上述的三个过程，最难的就是第三个过程，这需要我们有较好的语法知识，掌握一定数量的句型，习惯用语，熟练的写作技巧，这样才能写出通顺生动的文章来。

总之，要提高英语写作水平，需要两方面的训练：一是语言基础方面的训练，要有扎实的造句、翻译等基本功，即用词法、句法等知识造出正确无误的句子；二是写作知识和能力方面的训练以掌握写作方面的基本方法和技巧。

那么，究竟怎样才能写好作文呢？

阅读优秀范文

首先要搞好阅读。阅读是写作的基础，在阅读方面下的功夫越深，驾驭语言的能力也就越强。所以要写好英语先要读好英语，在语言学习方面狠下苦功，教科书要读透，因为教科书中的文章都是一些很好的范文，文笔流畅，语言规范，精彩的一些课文段落要背诵。再就是要进行大量课外阅读，并记住一些好文章的篇章结构。

加强练词造句训练

其次，要加强练词造句的训练。词句对作文相当于造房的材料，无好材料就造不出好房子。平时在学习阅读时要注意收集积累，把好的词语、短语、句型做好笔记。平时在练习中的错误也要做好记录，再对照正确句子，使地道的英语句子如同条件反射，落笔就对。

了解英语写作格式

还有，要了解英语写作的不同体裁与格式。可以先看一本介绍英语写作入门的书，对英语写作有一个初步的概念，如怎么写议论文，如何提出论据，如何展开，如何确定中心句；又如，英语信的格式，如何根据不同身份写不同结束语等，然后根据不同的体裁进行写作练习。

用英语写日记

要养成记英语日记勤练笔的好习惯。经常用英语记日记，等于天天在练笔，这无疑是提高英语协作的行之有效的好办法。在记日记时，不要总是用简单句，要有意识地用一些好的词组、句型、关联词和复合句等，使文句更优美生动。还有要按照题目或所给情景写文章练笔。写好后对照范文，找出差距，然后再练习，这对提高英语作文也很有帮助，在游泳中学会游泳，只有多练习才能练好。

总之，平时学习语言素材积累多了，体裁格式记住了又经常练习不断提高，到作文下笔时就会得心应手，水到渠成。

一、作文文体不确切

在青岛考试中，不少孩子存在分不清作文问题的情况，作文标题表面看起来是议论文，但是实际的作文内容却是记叙文，这就叫做“议论文的脑袋，记叙文的身子”，结果导致作文扣分严重。其实，在“”考试中，主要考察的是记叙文，初中以后才注重考察议论文。针对这一点，“”作文训练的第二个重点就要集中在记叙文，通过让学生就日常生活展开话题作文，逐渐形成自己擅长的文体，以在考场上自然得心应手地发挥。

二、作文思路不清晰

不好孩子反映，在看到作文时往往会感到无从下手，最后导致作文得分并不是很高，其实，这主要是因为没有把握好作文的思路。“”作文训练平常就需要通过锻炼孩子写提纲，通过养成依照提纲写作的习惯，从而确保作文有条有理，不偏题，不跑题。

三、作文语言不丰富

由于学校重视数学程度往往赶超语文，所以，很多孩子并没有放太多精力在语文学习中，这也导致孩子写东西像记流水账，语言枯燥乏味，令人生厌。这样拉家常式的叙述在试卷中，尤其是开头部分，很容易给阅卷老师留下坏印象，最容易被扣分。因此，应该加强“”作文日常训练的重头戏，那就是要注重阅读，通过有目的的阅读，积累和丰富语言，同时还要注意学会运用多种修辞手法，形成学生自己生动丰富的语言库。

四、作文材料不真实

选材是考场作文获取高分的关键。很多学生在写作材料方面都是凭空捏造，脱离生活实际，结果写得没有真情实感，不是因为材料失真而丢分，就是缺乏材料，觉得无话可说，整篇文章写不到600字。“”作文补习首先要通过阅读培养写作的兴趣点，然后就读后的感受经过一番思考写出读后感，使学生逐渐形成自己意识的积累。

五、作文书写不规范

这具体表现为：字迹不工整，标点不正确。作文有固定的格式，如果不严格按照作文的格式写作，就会被扣分。“”作文补习的第一个重点就是规范书写格式。包括要求学生规范书写笔序，字迹工整，掌握标点的用法及位置等。通过这一课，学生在“”考试中凭卷面整洁度至少能提高3—5分。

英语写作是语言综合运用能力的具体体现，也是很多高中学生学习中的弱项。如何提高自己的英语写作能力呢?

一、提高英语写作能力的原则

(一)渐进性原则。要坚持“句—段—篇”的训练程序，由易到难，循序渐进。在英语写作的初始阶段，要始终注意培养学生良好的写作习惯，狠抓基本功训练。在学生掌握了基本句型并能写出简单句子后，再要求学生根据一些体例写出小段的文章。在段落写作中要引导学生分析段落的结构、段落的中心句、句与句之间的逻辑关系、写作手法等，这样有利于下一步一篇文章的写作。在文章写作中要教会学生如何构思文章、如何运用正确的写作技巧等。

(二)多样性原则。要坚持训练形式的多样化及写作文体的多样性。从形式上而言，可以用回答提问的口头作文，也可以用续写故事;可以改写课文，也可以仿写课文;可以写提纲训练谋篇布局，也可以写拓展段训练发散思维……。从文体上而言，可以写说明文、议论文、记叙文，也可以写书信、便条、通知等实用文体。

(三)结合性原则。要坚持听说读训练和写训练相结合。根据语言习得理论，学习者在学习时常先通过听和读吸取语言知识，从而了解别人的思想，再通过说和写来表达自己的思想，让别人了解自己。大量的听说训练能促进读写能力的提高。因此，写与听说读紧密结合，进行多元化的能力训练，可使学生的各项能力互相影响、互相渗透、互相促进。

(四)控制性原则。要坚持写作前的指导，控制学生的汉语语言思维，发展英语语言思维。语言学习在很大程度上主要是模仿，而非随心所欲地自由表达。教师要加强写作前的指导，可给出范文让学生模仿，以熟悉其语篇结构。同时要控制其汉语语言思维，尽可能让学生习惯英语语言思维，以便于学生学习和掌握地道、正确的英语。

(五)持久性原则。要坚持长期、正确的写作训练。英语写作能力的提高并非一朝一夕之事，而是一个长期的、艰巨的、渐进的过程。这就要求教师、学生都要有充分的思想准备，要有坚韧不拔的意志和必胜的信心。

二、提高英语写作能力的方法。

(一)通过积累词汇量，提高英语写作能力。犹如土木砖石是建筑的材料一样，词汇是说话写作的必需材料，也是制约写作能力提高的瓶颈。可以想象，如果要写一个句子，10个单词有8个单词拼写错误或拼写不出，有2 个单词用法不当，又怎么能清楚地表达自己的思想呢?因此，在平时的教学中要强调学生记忆单词，记住单词的拼读、用法、意思等。记忆单词的方法有很多，各人有各人的记忆方法和习惯，可因人而异。教师可通过要求学生朗读单词、听写单词、默写单词、遣词造句、词汇竞赛等多种方法促进学生记单词。记忆单词是一个长期的反复的过程，要长期地坚持下去，才能不断积累大量的词汇，为英语写作打下坚实的基础。

(二)通过扩大阅读量，提高英语写作能力。古人云“熟读唐诗三百首，不会作诗也会吟”，这是汉语的一种学习方法，同样可借鉴于英语写作。多阅读是学生增加接触英语语言材料、接受信息、活跃思维、增长智力的一种途径，同时也是培养学生英语思维能力、提高理解力、增强语感、巩固和扩大词汇量的一种好方法，有利于促进英语写作能力的提高。在阅读训练中，教师要注意以下问题：一是指导阅读方法，分析文章结构、中心思想、段落中心句、写作方法等，帮助学生掌握各类文章的结构及写作方法。二要精读与泛读相结合，通过推敲优秀的文章来学会写作方法和选词用词;通过大量的泛读来吸取信息量，扩大词汇量。三要扩大阅读量。提供阅读的材料涉及面要广，才能不断扩大学生的知识面，使学生适应各种题材的写作。

(三)通过提高听说能力，提高英语写作能力。英语听说读写四种能力是相互影响、相互促进的，提高听说能力必定会促进写作能力的提高。要提高听说能力关键在于创设一个良好的英语环境。教师要尽可能地用英语授课，多开展专门的听说训练，同时开展丰富多彩的课外英语活动，让学生沉浸在英语海洋中去领略、去体会、去使用英语，久而久之，学生自然能使用正确的、地道的英语进行交谈与写作。

(四)通过重视写作过程，提高英语写作能力。长期以来，英语写作成果教学法(THE PRODUCT APPROACH)在我国居于主导地位，教师根据写作的终成品来判断写作的成败，重视写作的技术性细节(如格式、拼写、语法等)，忽视写作过程的指导。

俗语写作

根据下面中文提示写一篇150词左右的短文。

俗话说：早起的鸟儿有虫吃。请根据你生活中亲身经历的一件事，说明一切成功源于干凡事早做规划，不断追求，辛勤劳作。

The early bird will catch worms

【猜题理由】2010年高考写作题应该是学生较为熟悉的、身边的与他们生活、学习和当今的教育密切相关的话题。一些俗语具有教育意义。2010年有些省份可能对考生进行人生规范、立志等方面有关的俗语进行考查。

【构思点拨】本题属于题目、提纲式作文，给出的要点虽然不多，但要求考生根据生活中亲身经历的一件事，说明一切成功来源于凡事早做规划，不断追求，辛勤劳作这个道理。因此要注意结合自己的经历，谈出自己对此的感受即可。

【参考范文】

The early bird will catch worms

An old saying The early bird will catch worms reminds us that if people want to be successful and outstanding, they must plan ahead of time and make their efforts to overcome all the possible difficulties.

For example, the Chinese athletes excellent performance in 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver is definitely the result of their early planning and hard training. If they don t set the aim and word work, even though they have the best talents, they cant compete with others and get more medals.

Another case in point is my learning experience. I was good at English, but I couldnt pass the exam, for I wasnt prepared well before the examination. I had many things to solve at that time. As I met the complex things, I was at a loss. The reason was that I had no plan and involved in many things and didnt study more hard, so I failed.

In short, the saying shows us the important of planning, working hard and constantly trying.

一、积累固定搭配，避免中式英文

在高考中，很多考生写作文时都是要先想好中文内容再来翻译成英文。这看起来并没有什么不对的地方，因为一般考生的水平都达不到直接用英文来思考的程度。但差别在于英文很好的人在整体构思自己的作文时可能会用汉语，但是写作时完全的英语写作并不会存在什么障碍;只有英语水平一般的人才会将每句的意思大致用汉语想好，但写作时还是要用英文的习惯句型和固定搭配来表达，有时甚至没办法流畅的翻译出自己想的内容，再者也存在一个单词一个单词累积拼凑句子的情况 ，这就是我们常说的中式英语;之所以会这样，主要原因还是在于考生自身积累的英语习惯句型和固定搭配太少了，所以考生平时要注意积累考试常用的句型和语法基础知识，这些内容并不是太多，只要用心总结，需要很少一部分时间就能掌握的很好。

二、模糊叙述，避免不确定词汇

英语考试写作中经常遇到的一个问题就是不确定的词汇，想要描述一个事物，但是那个单词始终想不起来，这是每个考生都会遇到的问题，不论你的词汇量有多丰富，总会有你不认识的词汇出现。那么这时在考场上，我们该如何应对呢?首先我们应该想到的是找一个类似的词来代替它，也就是模糊化即用同义词表达。其次，我们可以用一句完整的话来描述出来它，对其加以解释说明。再次，如果我们实在描述不了也替代不了，那么我们还可以把一些解释不清的东西略去不写。只写那些自己会写的，避开那些自己不会写的。扬长避短，在写作中才能避开容易犯的错误而得到高分。

三、基础不过硬，少用复杂句

不少考生在考试中喜欢用很长很复杂的句式来填充自己的作文，对于英语语法熟练的考生来说这很随意，但是英语水平不过硬的考生最好不要过多地运用复杂句、长难句，因为考试作文是检验一个考生写作水平的工具，命题人虽然会以复杂句来判断考生的英语水平，但是复杂句也表示它容易出错的几率要高很多。因此，在考试中虽然我们要写复杂句但是注意不能写太多这样的句子，考试作文的句子要长短结合。基础不好的考生避免运用长难句，这样自己出错扣分的概率也小很多。

四、认真审题，思考作文分支观点

很多考生在拿到考试作文题时第一感觉是这个作文自己有话说，并且知道应该说什么，但是认真开始提笔时却往往不知道从何写起，之所以会这样是因为考生对作文的审题和观点把握并不清晰，此时考生应该先审题;其次思考简单的分支观点并且考虑可以采用的哪些简单而又成熟的句型。近几年的四级或六级题目大多都会给出提纲，一般提纲中都会包含考生需要的中心句，围绕这个中心句，考生可以考虑自己的文章结构。对于分支观点这方面，考生要尽量量力而行，不要思考太深的观点，要结合自己语言表达的能力而定。

五、重点研究近几年真题作文，掌握固定结构

准备作文的时候背诵真题作文是不可避免的，但是四六级作文真题范文数量太多，有些历时已经有些久远，参考的价值并不是很大，而要把这些都背下来似乎也不太可能，所以考生要把注意力放在近几年的作文范文上，在复习时间不太充裕的时候，并不需要整篇全部背诵，主要是学习范文的行文结构，熟悉适合自己的固定句型，这样大家背诵范文的目的就已经达到了。

下面的材料旨在丰富学生在是非问题写作方面的思想和语言，考生在复习时可以先分类阅读这些篇章，然后尝试写相关方面的作文题。

对于素材中用黑体字的部分，特别建议你熟读，背诵，因为它们在语言和观点上都值得吸收。学习语言的人应该明白，表达能力和思想深度都靠日积月累，潜移默化。从某种意义上说，提高英语写作能力无捷径可走，你必须大段背诵英语文章才能逐渐形成语感和用英语进行表达的能力。这一关，没有任何人能代替你过。

因此，建议你下点苦功夫，把背单词的精神拿出来背诵文章。何况，并不是要求你背了之后永远牢记在心：你可以这个星期背，下个星期忘。这没有关系，相信你的大脑具有神奇的能力。背了工具箱里的文章后，你会惊讶的发现：I can think in English now！

1.?????? Proverbs

1. A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success.

2. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s time.

3. Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

4. The classroom--not the trench--is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore.

5. Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

6. It is the purpose of education to help us become autonomous, creative, inquiring people who have the will and intelligence to create our own destiny.

7. You see, real ongoing, lifelong education doesn’t answer questions; it provokes them.

8. People will pay more to be entertained than educated.

9.the most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

10. The essence of our efforts to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each as equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different-to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind, and spirit he or she possesses.

11. A great teacher never strives to explain his vision-he simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.

12. If you can read and don’, you are an illiterate by choice.

2. Damaging Research

A study by National Parent-Teacher Organization revealed that in the average American school, eighteen negatives are identified for every positive that is pointed out. The Wisconsin study revealed that when children enter the first grade, 80 percent of them feel pretty good themselves, but by the time they get to the sixth grade, only 10 percent of them have good self-images.

3. Education and Citizenship

An important aspect of education in the United States is the relationship between education and citizenship. Throughout its history this nation has emphasized public education as a means of transmitting democratic values, creating equality of opportunity, and preparing new generations of citizens to function in society. In addition, the schools have been expected to help shape society itself. During the 1950s, for example, efforts to combat racial segregation focused on the schools. Later, when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite, American schools and colleges came under intense pressure and were offered many incentives to improve their science and mathematics programs so that the nations would not fall behind the Soviet Union in scientific and technological capabilities.

Education is often viewed as a tool for solving social problems, especially social inequality. The schools, t is thought, can transform young people from vastly different backgrounds into competent, upwardly mobile adults. Yet these goals seem almost impossible to attain. In recent years, in fact, public education has been at the center of numerous controversies arising from the gap between the ideal and the reality. Part of the problem is that different groups in society have different have different expectations. Some feel that children should be taught basic job-related skills; still others believe education should not only prepare children to compete in society but also help them maintain their cultural identity (and, in the case of Hispanic children, their language). On the other hand, policymakers concerned with education emphasize the need to increase the level of student achievement and to improve parents in their children’s education.

Some reformers and critics have called attention to the need to link formal schooling with programs designed to address social problems. Sociologist Charles Moscos, for example, is a leader in the movement to expand programs like the Peace Corps, Vista, and Outward Bound into a system of voluntary national service. National service, as Moscos defines it, would entail “the full-time undertaking of public duties by young people whether as citizen soldiers or civilian servers-who are paid subsistence wages” and serve for at least one year. In return for this period of service, the volunteers would receive assistance in paying for college or other educational expenses.

Advocates of national service and school-to-work programs believe that education does not have to be confined to formal schooling. In devising strategies to provide opportunities for young people to serve their society, they emphasize the educational value of citizenship experiences gained outside the classroom. At this writing there is little indication that national service will become a new educational institution in the United States, although the concept is steadily gaining support among educators and social critics.

4. The Teacher’s Role

Given the undeniable importance of classroom experience, sociologists have done a considerable amount of research on what goes on in the classroom. Often they start from the premise that, along with the influence of peers, students’ experiences in the classroom are of central importance to their later development. One study examined the impact of a single first-grade teacher on her students’ subsequent adult status. The surprising results of this study have important implications. It is evident that good teachers can make a big difference in children’s lives, a fact that gives increased urgency to the need to improve the quality of primary-school teaching. The reforms carried out by educational leaders like James Comer suggest that when good teaching is combined with high levels of parental involvement the results can be even more dramatic.

Because the role of the teacher is to change the learner in some way, the teacher-student relationship is an important part of education. Sociologists have pointed out that this relationship is asymmetrical or unbalanced, with the teacher being in a position of authority and the student having little choice but to passively absorb the information provided by the teacher. In other words, in conventional classrooms there is little opportunity for the students to become actively involved in the learning process. On the other hand, students often develop strategies for undercutting the teacher’s authority: mentally withdrawing, interrupting, and the like. Hence, much current research assumes that students and teachers influence each other instead of assuming that the influence is always in a single direction.

5. Education Philosophy

For the past fifty years our schools have operated on the theories of John Dewey (1859-1953), an American educator and writer. Dewey believed hat the school’s job was to enhance the natural development of the growing child, rather than to pour information, for which the child had no context, into him or her. In the Dewey system, the child becomes the active agent in his own education, rather than a passive receptacle for facts.

Consequently, American schools are very enthusiastic about teaching “life skills” –logical thinking, analysis, creative problem--solving. The actual content of the lessons is secondary to the process, which is supposed to train the child to be able to handle whatever life may present, including all the unknowns of the future. Students and teachers both regard pure memorization as an uncreative and somewhat vulgar.

In addition to “life skills”, schools are assigned to solve the ever growing stoke of social problems. Racism, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, reckless driving, and are just a few of the modern problems that have appeared on the school curriculum.

This all contributes to a high degree of social awareness in American youngsters.

6. Student Life

To the students, the most notable difference between elementary school and the higher levels is that in junior high they start “changing classes”. This means that rather than spending the day in one classroom, they switch classrooms to meet their different teachers. This gives them three or four minutes between classes in the hallways, where a great deal of the important social action of high school traditionally takes place. Students have lockers in these hallways, around which thy congregate.

Society in general does not take the business of studying very seriously. Schoolchildren have a great deal of free time, which they are encouraged to fill with extracurricular activities—sports, clubs, cheerleading, scouts—supposed to inculcate such qualities as leadership, sportsmanship, ability to organize, etc. those who don’t become engaged in such activities or have afterschool jobs have plenty of opportunity to “hang out”, listen to teenager music, and watch television.

Compared to other nations, American students do not have much homework. Studies also show that American parents have lower expectations for their children’s success in school than other nationalities do. (Historically, there has not been much correlation between American school success and success in later life.) “He’s just not a scholar”, the American parents might say, content that their son is on the swim team and doesn’t take drugs. (Some of the young do choose to study hard, for reason of their own, such as determining that the road to riches lies through Harvard Business School.)

What American schools do effectively teach is the competitive method. In innumerable ways children are pitted against each other—whether in classroom discussion, spelling bees, reading groups, or tests. Every classroom is expected to produce a scattering of A’s and F’s (teachers often grade A=excellent; B=good; C=average; D=poor; and F=failed). A teacher who gives all A’s looks too soft—so students are aware that they are competing for the limited number of top marks.

Foreign students sometimes don’t understand that copying from other people’s papers or from books is considered wrong and taken seriously. Here, it is important to show that you have done your own work and are displaying your own knowledge. It is more important than helping your friends to pass, whom we think do not deserve to pass unless they can provide their own answers. Group effort goes against the competitive grain, and American students do not study together as many Asians do. Many Asians in this country consider their group study habits a large contributor to their school success.

7. Adult Education

After complaining about many aspects of American life, a 40-year-old woman from Hong Kong concluded, “But where else could someone my age go back to school and get a degree in social work? Here you can change your whole life, start a new business, do what you really want to do.”

So at least to this person, school requirements weren’t inhibiting. And to millions of others, adult education is the path to a new career, or if not to a new career, to a new outlook. Schools generally encourage the older person who wants to start anew, and besides regular classes, schedule evening classes in special programs. Today there are so many people of retirement age in college that it is no longer remarkable.

8. Moral Relativism in American

Improving American education requires not doing new things but doing (and remembering) some good old things. At the time of our nation’s founding, Thomas Jefferson listed the requirements for a sound education in the Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia. In this landmark statement on American education, Jefferson wrote of the importance of education and writing, and of reading history, and geography. But he also emphasized the need “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” Jefferson believed education should aim at the improvement of both one’s “morals” and “faculties”. That has been the dominant view of the aims of American education for over two centuries. But a number of changes, most of them unsound, have diverted schools from these great pursuits. And the story of the loss of the school’s original moral mission explains a great deal.

Starting in the early seventies, “values clarification” programs started turning up in schools all over America. According to this philosophy, the schools were not to take part in their time-honored task of transmitting sound moral values; rather, they were to allow the child to “clarify” his own values (which adults, including parents, had no “rights” to criticize). The “values clarification” movement didn’t clarify values; it clarified wants and desires. This form of moral relativism said, in effect, that no set of values was right or wrong; everybody had an equal right to his own values; and all values were subjective, relative, and personal. This destructive view took hold with a vengeance.

In 1985 The York Times published an article quoting New York area educators, in slavish devotion to this new view, proclaiming, “They deliberately avoid trying to tell students what is ethically right and wrong.” The article told of one counseling session involving fifteen high school juniors and seniors. In the course of that session a student concluded that a fellow student had been foolish to return one thousand dollars she found in a purse at school. According to the article, when the youngsters asked the counselor’s opinion, “He told them he believed the girl had done the right thing, but that, of course, he would not try to force his values on them. ‘If I come from the position of what is wrong,’ he explained, ‘then I’m not their counselor.’”

Once upon a time, a counselor offered counselor, and he knew that an adult does not form character in the young by taking a stance of neutrality toward questions of right and wrong or by merely offering “choices” or “options”.

In response to the belief that adults and educators should teach children sound morals, one can expect from some quarters indignant objections (I’ve heard one version of it expressed countless times over the years): “Who are you to say what’s important?” or “Whose standards and judgments do we use?”

The correct response, it seems to me, is, is we ready to do away with standards and judgments? Is anyone going to argue seriously that a life of cheating and swindling is as worthy as a life of honest, hard work? Is anyone (with the exception of some literature professors at our elite universities) going to argue seriously the intellectual corollary, that a Marvel comic book is as good as Macbeth? Unless we are willing to embrace some pretty silly position, we’ve got to admit the need for moral and intellectual standards. The problem is that some people tend to regard anyone who would pronounce a definitive judgment as an unsophisticated Philistine or a closed-minded “elitist” trying to impose his view on everybody else.

The truth of the real world is that without standards and judgments, there can be no progress. Unless we are prepared to say irrational things—that nothing can be proven more valuable than anything else or that everything is equally worthless—we must ask the normative question. It may come, as a surprise to those who fell that to be “progressive” is to be value-neutral. But as Matthew Amold said, “the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things” and if the world can’t decide what the best things are, at least to some degree, then it follows that progress, and character, is in trouble. We shouldn’t be reluctant to declare that some things, some lives, books, ideas, and values are better than others. It is the responsibility of the schools to teach these better things.

At one time, we weren’t so reluctant to teach them. In the mid-nineteenth century, a diverse, widespread group of crusaders began to work for the public support of what was then called the “common school”, the forerunner of the public school. They were to be charged with the mission of school felt that the nation could fulfill its destiny only if every new generation was taught these values together in a common institution.

The leaders of the common school movement were mainly citizens who were prominent in their communities—businessmen, ministers, local civic and government officials. These people saw the schools as upholders of standards of individual morality and small incubators of civic and personal virtue; the founders of the public schools had faith that public education could teach good moral and civic character from a common ground of American values.

But in the past quarter century or so, some of the so-called experts became experts of value neutrality, and moral education was increasingly left in their hands. The commonsense view of parents and the publicthat schools should reinforce rather than undermine the values of home, family, and country, was increasingly rejected.

There are those today still that claim we are now too diverse a nation, that we consist of too many competing convictions and interests to instill common values. They are wrong. Of course we are a diverse people. We have always been a diverse people. And as Madison wrote in FederalistNo.10, the competing, balancing interests of a diverse people can help ensure the survival of liberty. But there are values that all American citizens share and that we should want all American students to know and to make their own: honesty, fairness, self-discipline, fidelity to task, friends, and family, personal responsibility, love of country, and belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and the freedom to practice one’s faith. The explicit teaching of these values is the legacy of the common schools, and it is a legacy to which we must return.

9. Schools Should Teach Values

People often said, “Yes, we should teach these values, but how do we teach them?” this question deserves a candid response, one that isn’t given often enough. It is by exposing our children to good character and inviting its imitation that we will transmit to them a moral foundation. This happens when teachers and principals, by their words and actions, embody sound convictions. As Oxford’s Mary Warnock has written, “You cannot teach morality without being committed to morality yourself; and you cannot be committed to morality yourself without holding that some things are right and others wrong.” The theologian Martin Buber wrote that the educator is distinguished from all other influences “by his will to take part in the stamping of character and by his consciousness that he represents in the eyes of the growing person a certain selection of what is, the selection of what is ‘right’, of what should be.” It is in this will, Buber says, in this clear standing for something, that the “vocation as an educator finds its fundamental expression.”

There is no escaping the fact that young people need as example principals and teachers who know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and who themselves exemplify high moral purpose.

As Education Secretary, I visited a class at Waterbury Elementary School in Waterbury, Vermont, and asked the students, “Is this a good school?” They answered, “Yes, this is a good school.” I asked them, “Why?” Among other things, one eight-year-old said, “The principal Mr. Riegel, makes good rules and everybody obeys them.” So I said, “Give me an example.” And another answered, “You can’t climb on the pipes in the bathroom. We don’t climb on the pipes and the principal doesn’t either.”

This example is probably too simple to please a lot of people who want to make the topic of moral education difficult, but there is something profound in the answer of those children, something education should pay more attention to. You can’t expect children to take messages about rules or morality seriously unless they see adults taking those rules seriously in their day-to-day affairs. Certain must be said, certain limits lay down, and certain examples set. There is no other way.

We should also do a better job at curriculum selection. The research shows that most “values education” exercises and separate courses in “moral reasoning” tend not to affect children’s behavior; if anything, they may leave children morally adrift. Where to turn? I believe our literature and our history are a rich quarry of moral literacy. We should mine that quarry. Children should have at their disposal a stock of examples illustrating what we believe to be right and wrong, good and bad—examples illustrating what are morally right and wrong can indeed be known and that there is a difference.

What kind of stories, historical events, and famous lives am I talking about? If we want our children to know about honesty, we should teach them about Abe Lincoln walking three miles to return six cents and conversely, about Aesop’s shepherd boy who cried wolf if we want them to know about courage, we should teach them about Joan of Arc, Horatius at the bridge, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. If we want them to know about persistence in the face of adversity, they should know about the voyages of Columbus and the character of Washington during the Civil War. And our youngest should be told about the Little Engine That Could. If we want them to know about respect for the law, they should understand why Socrates told Crito: “No, I must submit to the decree of Athens.” If we want our children to respect the rights of others, they should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ “Letter from Birmingham jail.” From the Bible they should know about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Jonathan’s friendship with David, the Good Samaritan’s kindness toward a stranger, and David’s cleverness and courage in facing Goliath.

These are only a few of the hundreds of examples we can call on. And we need not get into issues like nuclear war, abortion, creationism, or euthanasia. This may come as a disappointment to some people, but the fact is that the formation of character in young people is educationally a task different from, and prior to, the discussion of the great, difficult controversies of the day. First things come first. We should teach values the same way we teach other things: one step at a time. We should not use the fact that there are many difficult and controversial moral questions as an argument against basic instruction in the subject.

After all, we do not argue against teaching physics because laser physics is difficult, against teaching American history because there are heated disputes about the Founders’ intent. Every field has its complexities and its controversies. And every field has its basics, its fundamentals. So they are too with forming character and achieving moral literacy. As any parent knows, teaching character is a difficult task. But it is a crucial task, because we want our children to be healthy, happy, and successful but decent, strong, and good. None of this happens automatically; there is no genetic transmission of virtue. It takes the conscious, committed efforts of adults. It takes careful attention.

10. College Pressures

Mainly I try to remind that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don not want to hear such liberating news. They want a map—right now – that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, Social Security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.

What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future. I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as instructive as victory and is not the end of the world.

My wish, of course, is na?ve. One of the national gods venerated in our media—the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive—and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.

I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains—to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, and the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains: only victims.

“In the late 1960s.” one dean told me. “The typical question that I got from students was ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world’ or ‘how I can make a contribution?’ Today it’s ‘Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?’” many other deans confirmed this pattern. One said: “They are trying to find an edge—the intangible something that will look better on paper if two students are about equal.”

Note the emphasis on looking better. The transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security. How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person. A is for Admirable and B is for Borderline, even though, in Yale’s official system of grading, A means “excellent” and B means “very good.” Today, looking very good is no longer good enough, especially for students who hope to go on to law school or medical school. They know that entrance into the better schools will be an entrance into the better law firms and better medical practices where they will make a lot of money. They also know that the odds are harsh. Yale Law School, for instance, matriculates 170students from an applicant pool of 3,700; Harvard enrolls 550 from a pool of 7,000.

It’s all very well for those of us who write letters of recommendation for our students to stress the qualities of humanity that will make them good lawyers or doctors. And it’s nice to think that admission officers are ready reading our letters and looking for the extra dimension of commitment or concern. Still, it would be hard for a student not to visualize these officers shuffling so many transcripts studded with As that they regard a B as positively shameful.

The pressure is almost as heavy on students who just want to graduate and get a job. Long gone are the days of the “gentleman’s C.” when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses-music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion—that would send them out as liberally educated men and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades. I know countless students whose inquiring minds exhilarate me. I like to hear the play of their ideas. I do not know if they are getting As or Cs, and I do not care. I also like them as people. The country needs them, and they will find satisfying jobs. I tell them to relax. They cannot.

Nor can I blame them. They live in a brutal economy. Tuition, room, and board at most private colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what college receives in endowments, grants, and gifts. Now, the remainder keeps being swallowed by the cruel costs—higher every year—of just opening the doors. Heating oil is up. Insurance is up. Postage is up. Health-premium costs are up. Everything is up. Deficits are up. We are witnessing in American the creation of a brotherhood of paupers—colleges, parents, and students, joined by the common bond of debt.

Today it is not unusual for a student, even if he works part time at college and full time during the summer, to accrue $5,000 in loans after four years—loans that he must start to repay within one year after graduation. Exhorted at commencement to go forth into the world, he is already behind as he goes forth. How could he not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? I have used “he,” incidentally, only for brevity. Women at Yale are under no less pressure to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. In fact, they are probably under more pressure. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society has not yet caught up with this fact.

Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined.

I see many students taking pre-medical courses with joyless tenacity. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know tem in other corners of their life as cheerful people.

“Do you want to medical school?” I asked them.

“I guess so,” they say, without conviction, or “Not really.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Well, my parents want me to be a doctor. They are paying all this money and …”

Poor students, poor parents, they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. The parents mean will; they are trying to steer their sons and draughts toward a secure future. But the sons and daughter want to major in history or classics or philosophy—subjects with no “practical” value. Where’s the payoff on the humanities? It’s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. The intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics—an ability to synthesize and relate, to weigh cause and effect, to see events in perspective—are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field. Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”

But the pressure on students is severe. They are truly torn. One part of them feels obliged to fulfill their parents’ expectations; after all, their parents are older and presumably wiser. Another part tells them that the expectations that are right for their parents are not right for them.

I know a student who wants to be an artist. She is very obviously an artist and will be a good one—she has already had several modest local exhibits. Meanwhile she is growing as a well-round person and taking humanistic subjects that will enrich the inner resources out of which her art will grow. But her father is strongly opposed. He thinks that an artist is a “dumb” thing to be. The student vacillates and tries to please everybody. She keeps up with her art somewhat furtively and takes some of the “dumb” courses her father wants her to take—at least they are dumb courses for her. She is a free spirit on a campus of tense students—no small achievement in it—and she deserves to follow her muse.

Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin almost at the beginning of freshman year.

“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I could not tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda.”

The story is almost funny—except that it is not. It is symptomatic of all the pressure put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they would sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the clacking of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: “Will I get everything done?”

Probably they won’t. They will get blocked. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.

Part of the problem is that they are expected to do. A professor will assign five page papers. Several students will start writing ten page papers to impress him. Then more students will write ten page papers, and a few will raise the ante to fifteen. Pity the poor student who is still just doing the assignment.

“Once you have twenty or thirty percent of the student population deliberately overexerting,” one dean points out, “It’s bad for everybody. When a teacher gets more and more effort from his class, the student who is doing normal work can be perceived as not doing well. The tactic work, psychologically.”

Why cannot the professor just cut back and not accept longer papers? He can, and he probably will. But by then the term will be half over and the damage done. Grade fever is highly contagious and not easily reversed. Besides, the professor’s main concern is with his course. He knows his students only in relation to the course and does not know that they are also overexerting in their other courses. Nor is it really his business. He did not sign up for dealing with the student as a whole person and with all the emotional baggage the student brought along from home. That’s what deans, masters, chaplains, and psychiatrists are for.

To some extent this is nothing new: a certain number of professors have always been self-contained islands of scholarship and shyness, more comfortable with books than with people. But the new pauperism has widened the gap still further, for professors who actually like to spend time with students do not have as much time to spend. They are also overexerting. If they are young, they are busy trying to publish in order not to perish, hanging by their figure nails onto a shrinking profession.

If they are old and tenured, they are buried under the duties of administering departments—as departmental chairmen or members of committees—that have been thinned out by the budgetary axe.

Ultimately it will be the students’ own business to break the circles in which they are trapped. They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears. They must be jolted into believing into themselves as unique men and women who have the power to shape their own future.

“Violence is being done to the undergraduate experience,” says Carlos Hortas. “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choices narrow as they go along. It’s almost as if they think that the country has been codified in the type of jobs that exist-that they’ve got to fit into certain slots. Therefore, fit into the best paying slot.”

“They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to life of colorless mediocrity. They’ll be comfortable. But something in the spirit will be missing.”

I have painted too drab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. That is only half of their story; if they were so dreary I wouldn’t so thoroughly enjoy their company. The other half is that they are easy to like. They are quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They are not introverts. They are usually kind and are more considerate of one another than any student generation I have known.

Nor are they so obsessed with their studies that they avoid sports and extracurricular activities. On the contrary, they juggle their crowded hours to play on a variety of teams, perform with musical and dramatic groups, and write for campus publications. But this in turn is one more cause of anxiety. There are too many choices. Academically, they have 1,300 courses to select from; outside class they have to decide how much spare time they can spare and how to spend it.

This means that they engage in fewer extracurricular pursuits than their predecessors did. If they want to row on the crew and play in the symphony they will eliminate one; in the ‘60s they would have done both. They also tend to choose activities that are self-limiting. Drama, for instance, is flourishing in all twelve of Yale’s residential colleges, as it never has before. Students hurl themselves into these productions—as actors, directors, carpenters, and technicians—with a dedication to create the best possible play, knowing that the day will come when the run will end and they can get back to their studies.

They also cannot afford to be the willing slave of organizations like the Yale Daily News. Last spring at the one-hundredth anniversary banquet of that paper—who’s past chairmen include such once and future kings as Potter Stewart, Kingman Brewster, and William F. Buckley, Jr.—much was made of the fact that the editorial staff used to be small and totally committed and that “newsies” routinely worked fifty hours a week. In effect they belonged to a club; Newsies is how they defined themselves at Yale. Today’s students will one or two articles a week, when he can, and he defines himself as a student. I’ve never heard the word Newsie except at the banquet.

If I have described the modern undergraduate primarily as a driven creature who is largely ignoring the blithe spirit inside who keeps trying to come out and play, it’s because that’s where the crunch is, not only at Yale but throughout American education. It’s why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.

I tell students that there is no one “right” way to get ahead—that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell neither them that change is a tonic and that all the slots are not codified nor the frontiers closed. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. They are heads of companies or ad agencies, editors of magazines, politicians, public officials, television magnates, labor leaders, business executives, Broadway products, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians—a mixed bag of achievers.

I asked them to say a few words about how they got started. The students assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. Luckily for me, most of them got into their field by a circuitous route, to their surprise, after many detours. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not pre-planned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.

11. To Err Is Wrong

In the summer of 1979, Boston Red Sox first baseman Carl Yastrzemski became the fifteenth player in baseball history to reach the three thousand hit plateaus. This event drew a lot of media attention, and for about a week prior to the attainment of this goal, hundreds of reports covered Yaz’s every more. Finally, one reporter asked, “Hey Yaz, aren’t you afraid all of this attention will go to your head?” Yastrzemski replied, “I look at this way: in my career I’ve been up to bat over ten thousand times. That means I’ve been unsuccessful at the plate over seven thousand times. That fact alone keeps me from getting a swollen head.”?

Most people consider success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. As Yaz suggest, an activity that produces a hit may also produce a miss. It is the same with creative thinking; the same energy that generates good creative ideas also produces errors.

Many people, however, are not comfortable with errors. Our educational system, based on “the right answer” belief, cultivates our thinking in another, more conservative way. From an early age, we are taught that right answers are good and incorrect answers are bad. This value is deeply embedded in the incentive system used in most schools:

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

Right over 70% of the time = “C~” Right over 60% of the time = “D~” Less than 60% correct, you fail.

From this we learn to be right as often as possible and to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We learn, in other words, that “to err is wrong.

Playing It Safe

With this kind of attitude, you aren’t going to be taking too many chances. If you learn that failing even a litter penalizes you (e.g., being wrong only 15% of the time garners you only a “B” performance), you learn not to make mistakes. And more important, you learn not to put yourself to situation where you might fall. This leads to conservative thought pattern designed to avoid the stigma our society puts on “failure”.

I have a friend who recently graduated from college with a Master’s degree in Journalism. For the last six month, she has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. I talked with her about situation, and realized that her problem is that she doesn’t know how to fail. She went through eighteen years of schooling to try any approaches where she might fail. She has been conditioned to believe that failure is bad in and of itself, rather than a potential stepping-stone to new ideas.

Look around. How many middle managers, housewives, administrators, teachers, and other people do you see who are to try anything new because of this failure? Most of us have learned not to make mistakes in public. As a result, we remove ourselves from many learning experience except for those occurring in the most private of circumstances.

Different Logic

From a practical point of view, “to err is wrong” makes sense. Our survival in the everyday world requires us to perform thousand of small tasks without failure. Think about it: you wouldn’t last very long if you were to step out in front of traffic or stick your hand a pot of boiling water. In addition, engineers whose bridges collapse, stock brokers who lose money for their clients, and copywriters whose ad campaigns decrease sales won’t keep their jobs very long.

Nevertheless, too great an adherence to the belief “to err is wrong” can greatly undermine your attempts to generate new ideas. If you are more concerned with producing right answers than generating original ideas, you’ll probably make uncritical use of the rules, formulae, and procedures used to obtain these right answers. By doing this, you’ll by-pass the germinal phase of the creative process, and thus spend litter time testing assumptions, challenging the rules, asking what-if questions, or just playing around with the problem. All of these techniques will produce some incorrect answers, but in the germinal phase errors are viewed as a necessary by-product of creative thinking. As Yaz would put it, “if you want the hits, be prepared for the misses.” That’s the way the game of life goes.

Errors as Stepping Stones

Whenever an error pops up, the usual response is “Jeez, another screw up, what went wrong this time?” the creative thinker, on the other hand, will realize the potential value of errors, and perhaps say something like, “Would you look at that! Where can it lead our thinking?” and then he or she will go on to use the error as a stepping stone to a new idea. As a matter of fact, the whole history of discovery is filed with people who used erroneous assumptions and failed ideas as stepping-stones to new ideas. Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. Johannes Kepler stumbled on to the idea of interplanetary gravity because of assumptions that were right for the wrong reasons. And, Thomas Edison knew 1800 ways not to build a light bulb.

The following story about the automotive genius Charles Kettering exemplifies the spirit of working through erroneous assumptions to good ideas. In 1912, when the automobile industry was just beginning to grow, Kettering was interested in improving gasoline engine efficiency. The problem he faced was“knockthe phenomenon in which gasoline takes too long to burn in the cylinder-thereby reducing efficiency.

Kettering began searching for ways to eliminate the “knock.” He thought to him, “How can I get the gasoline to combust in the cylinder at an earlier time?” the key concept here is “early”. Searching for analogous situations, he looked around for models of “things that happen early.” He thought of historical models, physical models, and biological models. Finally, he remembered a particular plant, the trailing arbutus, which “happens early,” i.e., it blooms in the snow (“earlier” than other plants). One of this plant’s chief characteristics is its’ red leaves, which help the plant retain light at certain wavelengths. Kettering figured that it must be the red color, which made the trailing arbutus bloom earlier.

Now came the critical step in Kettering’s chain of thought. He asked himself, “How can I make the gasoline red?” perhaps I’ll put red dye in the gasoline—maybe that’ll make it combust earlier.” He looked around his workshop, and found that he didn’t have any red dye. But he did happen to have some iodine—perhaps that would do. He added the iodine to the gasoline and, lo and behold, the engine didn’t “knock”.

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

一、基础写作训练的方法

1.利用课文的词、句复习，训练学生的组句能力。从词和句入手，将每个单元课文的词和句与基础写作结合起来，是培养和提高学生的英语能力的有效途径。这不仅能帮助提高学生记忆和灵活应用词汇的能力，而且还有助于训练学生语句表达的正确性。

(1)归纳词汇和句型，帮助学生建立对词、句使用的感性认识。写作是一种语言的输出形式，只有大量的语言输入，语言输出才有可能;只有积累了一定的感受和大量的语言素材，写作才有可能进行。为了帮助学生记忆课文中的单词和短语，达到积累语言素材，掌握基本语法知识与语句结构的目的，教师可以从训练学生归纳每个单元课文中出现的重要词汇、短语和常用句型入手，使学生对句型结构的认识更加清楚，并对词、句的使用语境形成感性的认识。

(2)操练词汇和句型，训练学生的记忆和使用词、句的能力。为了使学生掌握和应用课文中所学词汇和句型，教师应为学生创设多层次的练习活动，拓宽写作的训练途径。教师可采用将学生从课文中归纳的词汇、句型进行词类转换、习惯用法、句型转换、完型填空、写短文等形式的训练，帮助提高学生的记忆和使用词、句的能力。

二、借鉴课文词、句进行仿写。

通过提供情景让学生模仿造句，不仅可以降低写作难度，而且可以增加学生写作的兴趣、自信和成就感，使学生的遣词造句的能力在实践中得到提升。

三、借鉴课文句型，训练写作多种表达与技巧，拓展学生思维。

教师在教学实践中会发现，学生在基础写作中往往出现句式雷同、语句呆板、行文单一等现象，缺乏用5个句子有效表达和传输信息的能力。因此，教师就有必要继续进一步加强句子多样化表达、句子转换替代、句子合并等训练，教会学生使用不同的短语、句型结构表达同一的意义;同时，还让学生明白写作的逻辑原则:一个句子表达的信息量越多，而且使用的句子越精练、清楚，那么句意表达和传输信息就越有效。

四、利用课文体裁，训练学生谋篇布局的能力。

教师会发现高三学生在写作中存在的另一个问题是层次不清、结构散乱以及逻辑性不强，这是因为学生缺乏谋篇布局的能力。针对这方面问题，教师可以在教学中利用课文的体裁进行文章结构方面的训练以及进行句子、段落间的连接训练。

下面是语文迷网小编为大家整理的中考英语作文万能句型，欢迎大家阅读参考。

一、开头句型选择

1. 关于……人们有不同的观点。一些人认为……

There are different opinions among people as to ____ 。Some people suggest that____。

2. 俗话说(常言道)……，它是我们前辈的经历，但是，即使在今天，它在许多场合仍然适用。

There is an old saying______。 Its the experience of our forefathers，however，it is correct in many cases even today.

3.现在，……，它们给我们的日常生活带来了许多危害。首先，……;其次，……。更为糟糕的是……。

Today， ____， which have brought a lot of harms in our daily life. First， ____ Second，____。 What makes things worse is that______。

4.现在，……很普遍，许多人喜欢……，因为……，另外(而且)……。

Nowadays，it is common to ______。 Many people like ______because ______。 Besides，______。

5.任何事物都是有两面性，……也不例外。它既有有利的一面，也有不利的一面。

Everything has two sides and ______is not an exception，it has both advantages and disadvantages.

6.关于……人们的观点各不相同，一些人认为(说)……，在他们看来，……

People’s opinions about ______ vary from person to person.Some people say that ______。To them，_____。

7.人类正面临着一个严重的问题……，这个问题变得越来越严重。

Man is now facing a big problem ______which is becoming more and more serious.

8.……已成为人的关注的热门话题，特别是在年青人当中，将引发激烈的辩论。

______ has become a hot topic among people，especially among the young and heated debates are right on their way.

9.……在我们的日常生活中起着越来越重要的作用，它给我们带来了许多好处，但同时也引发一些严重的问题。

______ has been playing an increasingly important role in our day-to-day life.it has brought us a lot of benefits but has created some serious problems as well.

10.根据图表/数字/统计数字/表格中的百分比/图表/条形图/成形图可以看出……。很显然……，但是为什么呢?

According to thefigure/number/statistics/percentages in the /chart/bar graph/line/graph，it can be seen that______while. Obviously，______，but why?

11、Recently， the problem of … has aroused people’s concern.

最近，…问题已引起人们的关注。

12、Internet has been playing an increasingly important role in our day-to-day life. It has brought a lot of benefits but has created some serious problems as well.

互联网已在我们的生活中扮演着越来越重要的角色。它给我们带来了许多好处，但也产生了一些严重的问题。

13、Nowadays，(overpopulation) has become a problem we have to face.

如今，(人口过剩)已成为我们不得不面对的问题了。

14、With the development of science and technology， more and more people believe that…

随着科技的发展，越来越多的人认为…

二、结尾句型

1、Taking all these factors into consideration， we naturally come to the conclusion that…

把所有这些因素加以考虑，我们自然会得出结论…

2、Taking into account all these factors， we may reasonably come to the conclusion that…

考虑所有这些因素，我们可能会得出合理的结论…

3、Hence/Therefore， we’d better come to the conclusion that…

因此，我们最好得出这样的结论…

4、There is no doubt that (job-hopping) has its drawbacks as well as merits.

毫无疑问，跳槽有优点也有缺点。

5、All in all， we cannot live without… But at the same time we must try to find out new ways to cope with the problems that would arise.

总之，我们没有…是无法生活的。但同时，我们必须寻求新的解决办法来对付可能出现的新问题。

6、It is high time that we put an end to the (trend)。

该是我们停止这一趋势的时候了。

7、It is time to take the advice of … and to put special emphasis on the improvement of …

该是采纳…的建议，并对…的进展给予特殊重视的时候了。

8、不用说…… It goes without saying that = It is obvious that …

例：不用说早睡早起是值得的。It goes without saying that it pays to keep early hours.

9、……是必要的 It is necessary (for sb.) to do / that … ……

是重要的 It is important(for sb.) to do / that … ……

是适当的 It is proper (for sb.) to do / that … ……

是紧急的 It is urgent (for sb.) to do / that …

例：It is proper for us to keep the public places clean.

It is proper that we (should)keep the public places clean. 我们应当保持公共场所清洁。

作文是六级考试的一个重要得分部分，可说起写作技巧，很多同学都会皱眉头，抱怨无话可写，内容平淡。下面是小编整理的六级写作的七大要点，欢迎阅读。

一、 长短句原则。

工作还得一张一弛呢，老让读者读长句，累死人!写一个短小精辟的句子，相反，却可以起到画龙点睛的作用。而且如果我们把短句放在段首或者段末，也可以揭示主题：As a creature, I eat; as a man, I read. Although one action is to meet the primary need of my body and the other is to satisfy the intellectual need of mind, they are in a way quite similar. 如此可见，长短句结合，抑扬顿挫，岂不爽哉?牢记!

强烈建议：在文章第一段(开头)用一长一短，且先长后短;在文章主体部分，要先用一个短句解释主要意思，然后在阐述几个要点的时候采用先短后长的句群形式，定会让主体部分妙笔生辉!文章结尾一般用一长一短就可以了。

二、 主题句原则。

国有其君，家有其主，文章也要有其主。否则会给人造成“群龙无首”之感!相信各位读过一些破烂文学，故意把主体隐藏在文章之内，结果造成我们稀里糊涂!不知所云!所以奉劝各位一定要写一个主题句，放在文章的开头(保险型)或者结尾，让读者一目了然，必会平安无事!

特别提示：隐藏主体句可是要冒险的!To begin with, you must work hard at your lessons and be fully prepared before the exam(主题句). Without sufficient preparation, you can hardly expect to answer all the questions correctly.

三、 一 二 三原则。

领导讲话总是第一部分、第一点、第二点、第三点、第二部分、第一点… 如此罗嗦。可毕竟还是条理清楚。考官们看文章也必然要通过这些关键性的“标签”来判定你的文章是否结构清楚，条理自然。破解方法很简单，只要把下面任何一组的词汇加入到你的几个要点前就清楚了。

1)first, second, third, last(不推荐，原因：俗)

2)firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally(不推荐，原因：俗)

3)the first, the second, the third, the last(不推荐，原因：俗)

4)in the first place, in the second place, in the third place, lastly(不推荐，原因：俗)

5)to begin with, then, furthermore, finally(强烈推荐)

6)to start with, next, in addition, finally(强烈推荐)

7)first and foremost, besides, last but not least(强烈推荐)

8)most important of all, moreover, finally

9)on the one hand, on the other hand(适用于两点的情况)

10)for one thing, for another thing(适用于两点的情况)

建议：不仅仅在写作中注意，平时说话的时候也应该条理清楚!

四、短语优先原则。

写作时，尤其是在考试时，如果使用短语，有两个好处：其一、用短语会使文章增加亮点，如果老师们看到你的文章太简单，看不到一个自己不认识的短语，必然会看你低一等。相反，如果发现亮点—精彩的短语，那么你的文章定会得高分了。

其二、关键时刻思维短路，只有凑字数，怎么办?用短语是一个办法!比如：I cannot bear it. 可以用短语表达：I cannot put up with it. I want it. 可以用短语表达：I am looking forward to it. 这样字数明显增加，表达也更准确。

五、多实少虚原则

原因很简单，写文章还是应该写一些实际的东西，不要空话连篇。这就要求一定要多用实词，少用虚词。我这里所说的虚词就是指那些比较大的词。

比如我们说一个很好的时候，不应该之说nice这样空洞的词，应该使用一些诸如generous, humorous, interesting, smart, gentle, warm-hearted, hospitable 之类的形象词。

再比如： 走出房间，general的词是：walk out of the room 但是小偷走出房间应该说：slip out of the room 小姐走出房间应该说：sail out of the room 小孩走出房间应该说：dance out of the room 老人走出房间应该说：stagger out of the room 所以多用实词，少用虚词，文章将会大放异彩!

六、 多变句式原则。

1)加法(串联)都希望写下很长的句子，像个老外似的，可就是怕写错，怎么办，最保险的写长句的方法就是这些，可以在任何句子之间加and, 但最好是前后的句子又先后关系或者并列关系。比如说：I enjoy music and he is fond of playing guitar. 如果是二者并列的，我们可以用一个超级句式：Not only the fur coat is soft, but it is also warm. 其它的短语可以用：besides, furthermore, likewise, moreover

2)转折(拐弯抹角)批评某人缺点的时候，我们总习惯先拐弯抹角说说他的优点，然后转入正题，再说缺点，这种方式虽然阴险了点，可毕竟还比较容易让人接受。所以呢，我们说话的时候，只要在要点之前先来点废话，注意二者之间用个专这次就够了。The car was quite old, yet it was in excellent condition. The coat was thin, but it was warm. 更多的短语：despite that, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, notwithstanding

3)因果(so, so, so)昨天在街上我看到了一个女孩，然后我主动搭讪，然后我们去咖啡厅，然后我们认识了，然后我们成为了朋友…可见，讲故事的时候我们总要追求先后顺序，先什么，后什么，所以然后这个词就变得很常见了。其实这个词表示的是先后或因果关系!The snow began to fall, so we went home. 更多短语：then, therefore, consequently, accordingly, hence, as a result, for this reason, so that

4)失衡句(头重脚轻，或者头轻脚重)有些人脑袋大，身体小，或者有些人脑袋小，身体大，虽然我们不希望长成这个样子，可如果真的是这样了，也就必然会吸引别人的注意力。文章中如果出现这样的句子，就更会让考官看到你的句子与众不同。其实就是主语从句，表语从句，宾语从句的变形。举例：This is what I can do. Whether he can go with us or not is not sure. 同样主语、宾语、表语可以改成如下的复杂成分：When to go, Why he goes away…

5)附加(多此一举)如果有了老婆，总会遇到这样的情况，当你再讲某个人的时候，她会插一句说，我昨天见过他;或者说，就是某某某，如果把老婆的话插入到我们的话里面，那就是定语从句和同位语从句或者是插入语。The man whom you met yesterday is a friend of mine. I don’t enjoy that book you are reading. Mr liu, our oral English teacher, is easy-going. 其实很简单，同位语--要解释的东西删除后不影响整个句子的构成;定语从句—借用之前的关键词并且用其重新组成一个句子插入其中，但是whom or that 关键词必须要紧跟在先行词之前。

6)排比(排山倒海句)文学作品中最吸引人的地方莫过于此，如果非要让你的文章更加精彩的话，那么我希望你引用一个个的排比句，一个个得对偶句，一个个的不定式，一个个地词，一个个的短语，如此表达将会使文章有排山倒海之势!Whether your tastes are modern or traditional, sophisticated or simple, there is plenty in London for you. Nowadays, energy can be obtained through various sources such as oil, coal, natural gas, solar heat, the wind and ocean tides. We have got to study hard, to enlarge our scope of knowledge, to realize our potentials and to pay for our life. (气势恢宏) 要想写出如此气势恢宏的句子非用排比不可!

七、挑战极限原则。

既然十挑战极限，必然是比较难的，但是并非不可攀!原理：在学生的文章中，很少发现诸如独立主格的句子，其实也很简单，只要花上5分钟的时间看看就可以领会，它就是分词的一种特殊形式，分词要求主语一致，而独立主格则不然。比如：The weather being fine, a large number of people went to climb the Western Hills. Africa is the second largest continent, its size being about three times that of China. 如果你可以写出这样的句子，不得高分才怪!

导语：英语写作能力作为体现语言交际能力至关重要的一个方面,写作测试是对学生书面交际水平及能力进行检验最有效的途径。以下是yjbs作文网小编为您收集整理的写作技巧，希望对您有所帮助。

要想获得高分就应在“正确”表达的基础上写出自己的特色，写出自己的“亮”点。

一、词汇选择——标新立异

在写作中“较高级词汇”的使用主要是指使用《大纲》上没有的词语、使用通过构词法变化来的新词、使用同(近)义词或反义词等来代替常见词语。

1)这栋房子在芳草街的一栋楼上。

A: The flat is in a building on Fangcao Street.

B: The flat situates in a building on Fangcao Street.

分析:is in是常见词语，而situates in则是《大纲》上没有的，属于高级词汇。

2)在周末我们做很多作业。

A: At weekends, we have a lot of homework to do.

B: At weekends, we have endless homework to do.

分析:B句在表达时没有使用过于直接的a lot of，而是使用了endless。endless就是由《大纲》词汇end加后缀-less变化来的。

3)洗澡间和厨房都很好。

A: The bathroom and the kitchen are good.

B. The bathroom and the kitchen are well-furnished.

在表达要点时，B句使用了well furnished,这比good语气强，也显得生动。

在造句时,“较高级词汇”如能运用贴切自然，哪怕整篇文章只用上一个，也会使你的作文显示出与众不同。

二、结构造句——与众不同

在造句时,既要使句子生动，又要使其简明扼要。

1、使用与人不同的表达方式，特别是提倡打破汉语句子结构的束缚而重组的句子更受欢迎。

1)唐山曾在二十世纪八十年代发生过一次大地震。

A: There was a strong earthquake in Tangshan in the 1980s.

B: A terrible earthquake hit/struck Tangshan in the 1980s.

大多数同学使用了there be结构，这是对的，但是B句却摒弃了常见句式。另辟蹊径而使用了“主语+谓语+宾语”结构，且使用了terrible,hit/strike这样的词汇，更是难能可贵的。

2)你八月十五日的来信我今天早晨收到了。

A:I received your letter which was written on August 15th this morning.(多数人使用的方式)

B: Your letter of August 15th reached/ got to me this morning.(与多数人使用的方式不同,简洁)

2.使用一些强势句式，如强调句、感叹句、倒装句等，增强语句的表现力。如：

3)阿福救了我妹妹。

A: Ah Fu saved my sister.(一般句式)

B: It was Ah Fu that saved my sister.(强调句式)

4)我们看到庄稼和蔬菜长势喜人很是高兴。

A: We were glad to see crops and vegetables growing well.(一般陈述句)

B: How glad we were to see crops and vegetables growing well.(感叹句)

3、句式多样,复杂得体。在写作中应避免使用相同长度的相同句型，而应注意句式的变化，如长短句结合，简单句、并列句与复合句共用，还可使用简化句等;一些较复杂的结构如独立主格，分词结构等也可使用。下面的表达中A句简单句多，而且多处使用there be结构，显得单调、乏味，而B句就有自己的特色(请同学们自己分析)。

5)这是一套25平方米的住房，住房里面有卧室、有洗澡间、有厨房;卧室里有床、沙发、桌子和椅子等。

A: Its a flat of 25 square metres. There is a bedroom in the flat. There is a bathroom and a kitchen in it, too. In the bedroom, there is a bed; there is a sofa, a desk and a chair as well.

B: Its a flat of 25 square metres, with a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. In the bedroom there is a bed, a sofa, a desk and a chair.

三、布局谋篇——独具匠心

在写作中，我们可按时间、空间或其它逻辑顺序来安排各要点，同时为使主题突出,结构严谨，我们应注意学习和使用交代句以及段落的主题句等。在布局谋篇上，NMET2002范文堪称典范。请看：

Opinions are divided on the question.

60% of the students are against the idea of entrance fees. They believe a public park should be free of charge. People need a place where they can rest and enjoy themselves. Charging entrance fees will no doubt keep some people away. What is more, it will become necessary to build gates and walls, which will do harm to the appearance of a city.

On the other hand, 40% think that fees should be charged because you need money to pay gardens and other workers, and to buy plants and young trees. They suggested, however, fees should be charged low.

1)该文使用Opinions are divided...作交代句，开门见山，随后两个段落均使用了主题句(见黑体字部分)，使全文结构紧凑，表达严谨。

2)在表述要点时范文还对要点出场顺序作了调整，如“40%的同学认为应收门票，但不宜过高。”前部分作为主题句放在句首，而后部分另起一句放在句末：They suggested, however, fees should be charged low.这样就分清了轻重缓急，主题突出，条理清楚。

3)范文使用了and, what is more, however等连词，在段落之间使用了on the other hand(说明前后两个观点是相悖的)，这些连接手段的运用加强了句子之间、段落之间的联系，使文章表达连贯，浑然一体。

4)范文在第二段为说明不收门票的“原因”时增加了Charging entrance fees will no doubt keep some people away.等细节，这也是解决句与句之间缺少连贯性的常见方法。

写作技巧：

一、要善于模仿

对大多数学习英语的同学来说，英语的词汇量、句式的积累还极其有限，远不能达到用英文流畅表达，挥洒自如的境地。在这一阶段进行创作是不合时宜的，如果非要创造，只能写出“long time no see”这样的文字来。因此，模仿是这一阶段的必经途径。

谈到模仿，一些同学的办法就是背一堆范文，然后再到考场上进行一个“剪切”、“粘贴”的工作，效果可想而知。这不是真正意义上的模仿，充其量算是默写课文。如何模仿呢?

首先，模仿的目标要明确。模仿的重点永远要放在一定的句式结构上，而非个别的词汇。道理很简单：一个词，随着文章内容的变换，可能就不能用了;而句式结构是放置四海而皆准的东西，适用的范围广，学来对写作的帮助也就明显。

其次，模仿的材料要地道。像新概念英语这样的教材就提供了很多原汁原味的英语表达法。盲目选择文章学习，记一些不中不洋的句子，以讹传讹，浪费时间。

最后，模仿要体现在实际动笔上。比如说，新概念第三册有一个句式说：“…for the simple reason that…”表示某种现象的原因是什么，用在大学英语考试中，我们就可以拿来解释为什么自行车在中国如此的流行，表达为：“the bicycle is very popular in china for the simple reason that…”。然而，很多同学经常背了这些句式不用，一谈到原因仍然是“…because…”，等等。

二、要灵活变通

在批改英语作文的过程中，经常能发现一些将中文生硬地翻译成英文的表达法。由于中英文之间的差异和词汇量、表达法积累的不足，出现难于表达的情况是十分正常的。关键问题在于如何处理。有一句话叫做“立志如山，行道如水”，套用在这个问题上就很合适。写英文作文，一定要有决心把它写好，有信心把意思表达清楚，这是“立志如山”;但关键是遇到问题时要有个灵活的态度，能像流水一样变通解决问题。

有个翻译界的故事说：在某大型国际会议的招待会上，一道菜是用鸡蛋做的。与会的客人问翻译：“what is it made of?”本来是非常简单的一个问题，结果翻译太紧张，忘了“egg”这个词，但是他急中生智，回答：“it is made of miss hen’s son.”这里，就是一个灵活变通的范例。绕道表达，是写作中应该常常运用的一种方法。

三、要细心观察

要写好英语作文，还要带着敏锐的目光细心地观察，注意英语中一些表达上的习惯。

比如说，在正式文体的写作中，很少用 “it isn"t”这样的略缩形式，而往往是一板一眼地写作 “it is not”。同理，在正式文体中的日期一般不缩写，阿拉伯数字一般会用英文表达(特别长的数字除外)。

再比如说，翻翻新概念第三册所有的课文，会发现凡是一段文章的段首句出现转折时，转折词however都放在句子结构中的第二部分，以插入语的形式出现。分析原因，是因为段落一开始就用转折词，会时转折显得较生硬、突兀。

最后，许多同学在写作文时，习惯于把 “since” “because” “for”这样的词放在句首引导原因状语从句。事实上，在我们见到的英语报刊杂志文章中，这样的从句一般都是放在主句之后的。另外, “and”也常常被误放在一句话的开头，表示两个句子之间的并列或递进关系。其实，经常留心地道的英语文章能发现，如果是并列关系，完全可以不用连词;如果是递进关系，用 “furthermore” “what is more”更为普遍。

Pride goes before a fall 骄者必败

Fish in troubled waters 浑水摸鱼

Business is business 公事公办

The style is the man 文如其人

More haste，less speed 欲速则不达

Great minds think alike 英雄所见略同

Misfortunes never come alone 祸不单行

Hedges have eyes，walls have ears 隔篱有眼，隔墙有耳

Man proposes，God disposes. 谋事在人，成事在天

Beauty is in the eye of beholder 情人眼里出西施

Time and tide wait for no man 时不待我/岁月无情

A young idler，an old beggar 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲

A man should not bite the hand that feeds him 不要恩将仇报

Health is better than wealth 家有万贯财，不如一身健

Out of office，out of danger 无官一身轻

In time of peace prepare for war 居安当思危

The tongue cuts the throat 祸从口出/言多必失

Out of sight，out of mind /far from eye，far from heart 眼不见为净

All shall be well，Jack shall have Jill 有情人终成眷属

[高考英语语法:形同意合的谚语口译

导语：要学好写英语短文，就必须经常练习写作。记日记是提高书面表达能力的有效方法之一。下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的优秀英语作文指导，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

一、日记的格式

英文日记通常由书端和正文两个部分组成。日记常以第一人称记下当天生活中的所见、所闻、所做或所想的事情。中、英文的日记三格式大致一样。英语日记的书端是专门写日记的日期、星期和天气的。左上角是日期(年、月、日)、星期。右上角写上当天的天气情况，如：Sunny，Fine，Rainy，Windy，Snowy，Cloudy等。

1、日期表达有多种形式。年、月、日都写时，通常以月、日、年为顺序，月份可以缩写，日和年用逗号隔开。例如：

A)September 1，2004或September 1st，2004也可省略写成Sept. 1，2004或Sept. 1st，2004;the 1st of September in 2004(月份不可以缩写)

B)只有月、日：September 1或September 1st(月份可以缩写)

C)只有年、月：September 2004或the September of 2004(月份不可以缩写)

以上的1或1st都应读作the first.

2、星期也可以省略不写，可将其放在日期前或后，星期和日期之间不用标点，但要空一格，星期也可缩写。如：

Saturday，October 22nd，2004;October 22nd，2004 Saturday

3.天气情况必不可少。天气一般用一个形容词如：Sunny，Fine，Rainy，Snowy 等表示。写在日期之后，用逗号隔开，位于日记的右上角。如：

Saturday，March 4，2004，Windy;1st January，2004，Fine

二、日记的要求

日记的正文是日记的主要部分，写在星期和日期的正下方，可以顶格写，也可以内缩3至5个字母的空间。由于记载的内容通常已经发生，谓语动词多用一般过去时。但也可根据具体情况，用其它时态。如：记叙天气、描写景色，为了描写生动，可以使用现在时，以表现当时的情景。再如文后发表感想或评论可用现在时态或将来时态。记日记力求简单明了，有连贯性。若有文字提示，则应重视提示，把握要点。在句式上尽量使用简单句，以防繁杂，造成语法、句型错误。

三、日记的类型和训练

日记分为记事型、议论型、描写型和抒情型。建议大家在学习写日记的过程中，可按以下步骤进行：

①将一天所经历的主要事情和过程依次简要地记下来，不附加任何感情色彩，这是最简单的记日记的方法;

②阅读别人的日记，并利用所学过的句型来表达个人在一天中观察到的或感受到的事情。

「范文与点评」

March 12th，2003，Tuesday Sunny (Fine)

Today is Tree Planting Day. At 7∶30 in the morning，all the students in our class met at the school gate. We walked to the park. Miss Gao and other teachers went and worked with us. All the students worked very hard，and we planted about 200 trees. Though we were dirty and tired，we still felt very happy.

这是一篇记叙型的日记。结构严谨，中心突出，有选择地记录当天的见闻(人或事)，并加以分析和评论。