VOA教育报道2024--Tips for Better Writing

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is the Education Report.

Today we continue our series of expert suggestions for academic writing. Our guest is Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, assistant professor of the Practice in Writing Studies at Duke University in North Carolina.

Ms. Ahern-Dodson starts a conversation with both students and professors planning to write a paper or essay. She asks about their earlier writing experiences. Were they negative or positive?

She advises that you are not alone if you have had problems with your writing. She says everyone struggles with writing.

"Writing is hard. All writers struggle at some point. And even if writing has come easily for you, at some point in your work as a student, that eventually you're going to hit a roadblock. And so part of what I like to get folks thinking about is -- besides writing's hard for everybody - is to really take a moment to think about their past writing experiences. And when the writing is going well, what was happening? When the writing wasn't going well, what was happening?"

She says most people's negative writing experiences happened because a very specific formula² is required for a paper including an exact length.

"And so they primarily³ focus on, and worry about, what the final product has to look like, like how many pages for a research essay? Or if it is in the second or third language, you know, punctuation⁴ and grammar, like whether it gets communicated in the right language.

"And so focusing on the end makes it really hard to get started."

Another problem can arise when the need to do well on a paper is extremely important.

"...like a timed essay exam, or a college application essay, or a research paper that is at the end of the semester⁵, and it's tied to the entire grade for the class. So worrying about what will happen if they don't do well - get bad grades, don't get into college -- creates, of course, significant⁶ anxiety. And that can make it harder to get the writing done."

Then she and the people she's helping⁷ move to more positive projects. She says usually when writing comes easily, the writers feel they have something important to say.

The teacher advises asking yourself questions. What personal understanding of the subject can you bring to your paper? Why is this subject important? For whom is it meaningful? Who will be reading it?

"...Think about who your audience is, and what it is that you really want to say to them. And what that can do is help you switch from the final product and what it can look like (to) really more on what you have to offer, your particular perspective⁸."

She says that is an important change for all writers.

And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. Coming soon: Jennifer Ahern-Dodson talks about doing research, sitting down to write and sharing your writing with others.

conversation - n. an informal talk involving two people or a group of people

experiences - n. the processes of doing and seeing things and having things happen to you

negative - adj. unpleasant, unproductive

positive - n. pleasant, productive⁹

hit a roadblock - idiom, encountering¹⁰ a situation that blocks one's progress

audience - n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something

perspective - n. the way you view something; point of view

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 formula   

n.公式；配方，外方；规则，一定的做法

参考例句：

• His father is acting on his formula.他的父亲总是按他的原则办事。
• Here are some applications of Taylor's formula.下面举例说明泰乐定理的应用。

3 primarily   

adv.首先，主要地，基本地

参考例句：

• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people.这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
• I am primarily interested in history.我主要对历史感兴趣。

4 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

5 semester   

n.一学期，半学年，六个月的时间

参考例句：

• A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
• I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。

6 significant   

adj.相当数量的；意义重大的；意味深长的

参考例句：

• Your success today may be significant for your whole future.你今天的成功对你的整个未来可能是重要的。
• She cast him a significant smile.她向他投去意味深长的一笑。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 perspective   

n.视角，观点，想法

参考例句：

• You can get a perspective of the whole city from here.从这里你可以看到城市的全景。
• We may get a clear perspective of the people's happy lives.我们知道人民对幸福生活的展望。

9 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

10 encountering   

遇到( encounter的现在分词 )； 遭遇； 偶然碰到； 与（人、部队）冲突

参考例句：

• Encountering a big box, he could not lift it. 碰到一只大箱子，他搬不起来。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The troops are encountering stiff resistance. 军队遭遇了顽强抵抗。