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1、The characteristics of English Writing英文写作特征Abstract:Developing a strong abitity of English writing is essential and will benefit English learners for their future career both as an aspiring English scholor and as an active , cometent member of the global society .This paper mainly discusses the bas
2、ic concept and the characteristics of English writing.Key words:characteristics;English writing;critical reading and thingking;thoughtful revision;creatityWhat would be considered good English writing,then?Some educators in English-speaking countries promoted a set of basic characteristics of Englis
3、h writing,for example:unity;coherence;emphasis;development and clarity.While these good values are still relevant ,our discussion of English writing,focuses on a different set of concepts.1. English writing calls of critical reading and critical thinking Good writing,especially good,effective Englis
4、h writing,calls for critical reading and critical thinking.LiMing ,a college student, has to read some things about John Kennedy in order to write an effective term paper on her chosen topic.Michelle Williams needs more than her first-hand experiences and direct observations in Beijing to write an e
5、ffective booklet on China.Even though Julong Wangs essay on his hometown is more “personal”,he needs to get more informed on the arguments that have been made concerning how to help less developed regions to moderize and catch up with the coastal provinces.1.1Whats the critical reading and critical
6、thinking What is critical reading（or reading with a critical eye）?It is reading not only for comprehension,but also to analyze the values and assumptions embodied in the texts and examine their historical,cultural as well as literary contexts. What is critical thinking ?In thinking critically about
7、any essue of certain complexity ,you need to be willing to see it from different perspectives,to face objections to your own beliefs, and to adopt a skeptical attitude toward authority and toward views that seem obviously right to you. To thinking critically is to willingly give up your monopoly an
8、truth and respect your opponents by analyzing their views carefully.If you engage in multi-perspective,analytic,and evaluative thinking,you will ofter have second and third thoughts concerning the subject.You may find yourself,to your own surprise,adopting a position that you initially couldnt imagi
9、ne you would hold.Good writing is characterized by insight gained through an intellectually rigorous and open-minded inquiry .1.2The importance of critical reading and critical thinking Good English writing calls for critical reading and critical thinking.This concept is particularly important for y
10、ou became many non-native speakers of English tend to be overly concerned with being correct in grammar and speaking.While good English writing is expected to be free from grammatical and other error,it is worth repeating here that good writing is not good grammar.Actually ,excessive anxiety over gr
11、ammar can only hinder you from expressing yourself effectively in English writing or speaking.At this advanced level,you should be much more concerned with higher-level ,more important issues of English writing.2. English writing involves thoughtful revisionThe necessity of thoughtful revisionThis i
12、s true even with the most experienced writers.You will be convinced of this fact if you go and study the manuscrips have evolved. Many great writers subject their writings to numerous revision before feeling satisfied.LuXun,the great modern Chinese writer,for example,talks about pacing pensively in
13、the study for days searching for the right word.Even if you have developed the finest plan and your drafting has gone rather smoothly,you will need to revise what you have written.2.2The function of thoughtful revisionBy revision,of course, we do not mean simply editing and proof-reading to clean up
14、 grammatical and spelling errors.Effective revision involves making changes as both the macro and micro levels.During macro（meaning“large”in Greek origin）revision, you look at the whole essay in terms of such determining factors as your subject,audience,and purpose,and try to identify major problems
15、 and fix them so as to bring about better unity and development.During micro （meaning“small”in its Greek origin）revision,you work at the paragraph and sentence levels to bring clarity and coherence to your writing.3. English writing is dircted toward an audience 3.1The importance of it The term audi
16、ence usually refers to viewers of movies and TV shows and listeners of radio programs .It is now expanded to include readers of written materials in discussions of writing activities.This concept is so improtant because different audiences can have significant impact on the content,structure,and sty
17、le of your writing even if you are writing about exactly the same topic. Letsay you want to write a paper analyzing why terrorists chose to hijack passenger planes to hit the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington,D.C.on September 11,2001.Youd most likely approach the subject
18、differently if you are writing for readers in the U.S.than for readers in Afghanistan,Iraq,and other Islamic coutries.Lets take SARS（Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome）as another example.You can write about its symptoms,causes ,and prevention measures to 1）foreign tourists;2）elementary school student
19、s;3）average city residents;4）medical personnel involved in SARS-related research.The topic is more or less the same,but would you write exactly the same way to the four different groups of audience?3.2 Awareness of your audience A keen awareness of your audience throughout the writing process is ess
20、tential to effective English writing.Oftentimes,it is necessary to sit down and analyze your audience in terms of their knowledge,values,assumptions,etc.Good English writing will show a keen awareness of the intended readers and use the most effective strategies to achieve the purpose of writing.Thi
21、s is a very important concept because different audiences can impact and shape your writing significantly in terms of content,structure,and style,even when you are writing about the same topic or subject .For example,explaining the character of Lu Xuns Ah Q to college-educated Chinese readers would
22、be quite different from presenting the same topic to college students in the U.S.In the latter case,much more background information about Lu Xun and the social and historical environment in which he created the character would need to be provided before you could proceed to any meaningful discussio
23、n.For an academic paperor any writing for that matterto be effective,it is often necessary to sit down and analyze your audience before actually starting to write your paper.Audiences can be examined from several different persectives:1）Audience and Author social relations2）Audiences knowledge about
24、 your subject3）Audiences attitudes to or viewpoints on the subject and your position in the writing4.English writing achieves a clear purpose 4.1 The purpose of English writingWhenever you write,you write for a purpose,regardless you are aware of it or not.If you want to write an essay about financi
25、al aid for college students under the current system.what purpose would you like to achieve?It could be:1） To inform readers of the merits and problems of this new system2） To make people aware of the financial difficulties of students from low-income families and rural and less develped areas 3） To
26、 suggest certain changes to fine-tune the system so that these students will not be priced out of higher educationA different purpose will difinitely have a different impact on your writing .The concept of role refers to the type of person you want your audience to think you are. Generally speaking,
27、you would want your audience to think that you are knowledgeable,intelligent,and well-informed .Why would they bother to read what you are writing if they think you are ignorant,stupid and not knowing what you are talking about?But you may assume different roles for different pieces of writing depen
28、ding on such determining factors as the subject,audience,and purpose.You assume certain persona proper for a particular writing event,much as if you were an actor being assigned a role in a play.About tuition of higher education,for example,you can write as a college student who has first-hand exper
29、ience（an insiders view）;as a parent with a low or average income who sees a much larger picture and makes some relevant policy recommendations.The role or persona you have adopted for the piece of writingmay have a direct effect on the tone of your writing.How do you want it to sound?Serious,scholar
30、ly,and trustworthy?Practical?Philosophical?humours?You choose the one that best fits your subject,audience,and purpose and that you feel most comfortable with.In a word, What is the purpose in writing?It could be 1） To inform2） To explain3） To impact the readers behavior4） To change their mind about
31、 something controversial4.2 A clear purpose is necessary and important If you want to propose that China adopt a legal drinking age ,you should make it clear to the Peoples Congress why such a law is necessary ,what it should be,how to implement such a law ,and so on. If you want to convince readers
32、 in America and European countries that China needs to find a form of democracy which would fit Chinas history,culture,and the needs of its people the most ,that sentence of purpose will shape the content,the structure,and the style of your writing and influence your choice of the strategies to be u
33、sed. Writing without a clear sense of purpose would be like jumping into the car and driving off at full speed without knowing first where you were are going.Chances are that the faster you drive,the further away you are from the right destination.5.English writing needs creatingsAs is said earlier,
34、good effective English writing doesnt have to be flat,dry and dull.In fact ,it can be dynamic,vibrant,and delightful to read, pulsing with a distinctive voice ,a quick wit ,and a good , healthy sense of humor.5.1How to use creativity in English writingCreativity in English writing can be in its orig
35、inal use of material:making significant connections between ideas and phenomena that are not so apparent;giving new ,insightful interpretation of existing information;and challenging popular myths,and conventional wisdoms in delightfulway .English writing can be organized creatively.It doesnt always
36、 have to begin with a formal statement of thesis and end with a formal summary of the main points .In fact ,it can always use a variety of descriptive and narrative techniques,dialogues .for example ,dialogues,scene description,to engage the readers in the full emotional and intellectual experience
37、of your writing.Finally,the amazing development of computer technology makes it possible for you to enliven your writing with use of colorful charts,graphs,tables,and other appropriate illustrations.5.2Creativity benefits your writing Its well known to us that the good English writing needs creativi
38、ty,the creativity is not only useful but also important and necessary .Only by this way ,our writing will attract more peoples attention,at the same time,we will learn some basical skills to enlarge or writing scope.And the most important is that the creativity would teach us how to express our own
39、ideas with a different way .More over, it is necessary in any field which we will research,it is also the requirement of the information era.6.English writing should express ideas clearly 6.1It is important to express ideas clearly .An important task at the revision stage of the writing process is t
40、o trim all the deadwood,pruning all the redundancies（unnecessary repetitions）,wordiness （using more words than necessary ）,and confusing and misleading ambiguities.An additional task for non-native speakers of English is to make your writing more idiomatic.By reducing the level of negative interfere
41、nce of your native language,you can bring your writing closer to native-speaker flunency.So it is important to express ideas clearly.6.2How to express ideas clearly?The rhetorical context of English writing determines that its diction should be both precise and appropriate,in order to express ideas
42、clearly.To the complex English writing,its true that sentence structures for it tend to be complex because complex ideas demand complex sentences to express them clearly and accurately.It often takes longer and more complex sentences to show relationshios between ideas.However ,there is always the d
43、anger of overdoing it ,creating unnecessarily complex verbal entanglements for the readers.The key word for the complexity of sentences structures is moderate.Strings of short and simple sentences will give readers an umfavorable impressionof lack of intellectual maturity.On the other hand ,wordy ,t
44、angled and excessively leaden sentences are also unwelcome because they hinder understanding and obscure meaning.Conclusion:From what has been mentioned above, we can come to the conclusion that remembering these characteristics of English writing is important,but use them appropriately and accurate
45、ly is more important .Therefore,we must try our best to learn them by heart .Only do in this way,we will be good writers.Furthermore,its benefitial to us for our future career.Bibliography 1. Effective Academic Writing in English:An Essential Guide 上海外语教育出版社 20052谭卫国 英语背诵范文精华 华东理工大学出版社20043陆国强 现代英语词汇学 上海外语教育出版社19834王蔷 英语教学法教程 高等教育出版社 20005萧朝良 英语阅读技巧 中国科学技术大学出版社19876杨阳 英语教学法 北京高等教育出版社 2005
