2016考研：十招教你提升英文写作水平

 　　1. Lead with your main idea.   紧扣中心思想As a general rule, state the main idea of a paragraph in the first sentence--the topic sentence. Don't keep your readers guessing. 通常，文章的第一句话就要表达出自己的看法，这也就是所谓的“主题句”。不要让读者去猜想。

　　2. Vary the length of your sentences.

　　变换句子的长度。

　　In general, use short sentences to emphasize ideas. Use longer sentences to explain, define, or illustrate¹ ideas. 一般来说，使用短句来强调中心思想，使用长句来解释、定义、或者阐述自己的想法。

　　3. Put key words and ideas at the beginning or end of a sentence.

　　把关键词和中心放在段落的始句或者尾句。

　　Don't bury a main point in the middle of a long sentence. To emphasize key words, place them at the beginning or (better yet) at the end. 不要让中心埋没在段落中。想要强调关键词的话就把他们放在起始或者结尾。

　　4. Vary sentence types and structures.

　　变换句型和结构

　　Vary sentence types by including occasional questions and commands. Vary sentence structures by blending simple, compound, and complex sentences. 穿插一般疑问句和命令句来变换句型。也可以用简单、复合或者复杂句来增加句子结构的种类。

　　5. Use active verbs.

　　使用主动动词

　　Don't overwork the passive voice or forms of the verb "to be." Instead, use dynamic verbs in the active voice. 不要过度使用"to be"这些被动语态。在主动语态中使用主动动词吧。

　　6. Use specific nouns and verbs.

　　确切的使用名词和动词

　　To convey your message clearly and keep your readers engaged, use concrete and specific words that show what you mean. 要想清楚的表达你的想法，让读者明白你的意思，就需要使用具体、确切的词语来表达。

　　7. Cut the clutter².

　　去除冗杂

　　When revising your work, eliminate unnecessary words. 当你修改文章的时候，去除那些不需要的词语。

　　8. Read aloud when you revise.

　　朗读修改

　　When revising, you may hear problems (of tone, emphasis, word choice, and syntax) that you can't see. So listen up! 当你朗读修改时，你可能听出那些不易于看出来的问题。比如说：语气语调，强调部分，一些词语的选择，句法。所以，仔细听听自己的朗读！

　　9. Actively³ edit and proofread⁴.

　　积极的编辑、校对

　　It's easy to overlook errors when merely looking over your work. So be on the lookout⁵ for common trouble spots when studying your final draft. 重读一遍自己的文章就很容易检查出错误。当检查最后的草稿时，请注意那些容易出错的地方。

　　10. Use a dictionary.

　　使用字典

　　When proofreading⁶, don't trust your spellchecker: it can tell you only if a word is a word, not if it's the right word. 在校对的时候不要相信那些拼写检查。它只能告诉你某个单词的拼写是否正确，不能告诉你这个词是否用对了。

 

1 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

2 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 proofread   

vt.校正，校对

参考例句：

• I didn't even have the chance to proofread my own report.我甚至没有机会校对自己的报告。
• Before handing in his application to his teacher,he proofread it again.交给老师之前，他又将申请书补正了一遍。

5 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

6 proofreading   

校对，校勘( proofread的现在分词 )； 做校对工作； 校读

参考例句：

• Martha, when can you finish proofreading the script? 玛莎，你什么时候可以校对完剧本？ 来自轻松英语会话---联想3000词(上)
• Attention, an important factor in editing and proofreading, affects editing quality directly. 注意力是编校过程中重要的心理因素，直接影响编辑质量。