初中英语作文基础知识一览
初中英语作文基础知识一览
1.标题的正确写法
每篇作文都有一个标题,英语叫title。标题写在作文的第一行中间,和正文要间隔一行。
如果用打字机或打印机打出,那么每个字母都要大写,例如:A FRIEND OF MINE。如果是手写,那么一切重要的词(如名词、代词、动词、形容词等)的第一个字母必须大写。例如:A Friend of Mine。但其中的of第一个字母不大写,因为介词、连词和冠词通常被认为是不重要的词,不必大写。
不可将标题写成斜体,不可在标题下加横线,也不可用引号或括号。即使标题是一个完整的句子,也不可在末尾加上句号。例如,作为标题The Sun Has Risen不可写成The Sun Has Risen.。但如果标题是疑问句,则可以加问号。例如:How Do You Like the Film?如果标题是感叹句,可以用惊叹号,例如:What a Hero He Was!
2.课卷的规则
在英语中课卷的规则是很严格和讲究的。在抄写文章时,首先要注意在纸的左右两边留出约一英寸的空白,叫做“页边”(margin),不可写到纸的两边顶端。每段的第一个词都要比页边更缩进一英寸,叫做“缩进书写”(indent)。
所以,每段的第一个词离开纸张的左边通常留出二英寸左右。左边的页边要十分整齐,因为英语单词长短不一,因此右边的页边很难做到十分整齐,稍参差些也无妨。
手抄或打字都要留有双空白(double spacing),就是每两行中间留一行空白,这样便于教师改卷时写批语。如果不用练习本而用散张纸,那么只写一面,不可写两面。
3.移行
英语单词长短不一,因此当我们写到一行的尽头时往往出现这样的情况:想把一个词写完,但空间不够,如果留着,空间又似乎显得太多。碰到这种情况时,可把词的一部分写上,后面加上连字符“-”(hyphen),再把该词的另一部分写在下一行的开首。例如:welcome这个词可写成wel-和come两部分。但要注意,连字符是加在第一部分的后面,第二部分的前面不可再有连字符。
移行时,不能把单词随便分成两部分,必须以音节(syllable)来划分。凡是单音节的词不能移行。英语单词的音节的划分虽有一些规则,但并没有绝对的标准,有疑问的时候该去查词典。
4.作文的种类
人们一般把作文分为记叙文(narration)、描写文(description)、说明文(exposition)和议论文(argumentation)。
记叙文分记事和记人,它简单易学又很常用,所以最适合中学生学习英语作文。学写记叙文时,习作者可将自己一天的活动(或一次活动)依时间顺序或空间顺序记下来。当然,随着写作水平的提高,以后就应该打破这种顺序的限制。描写文则是描述一个场景或一个人物。说明文则是解释、说明一物、一技或一理。议论文是四种文体中最艰深的一种,初学者不易掌握。它的主要目的是为一种道理或看法辩护,通过摆事实讲道理,以理服人。写这种文体要注意做到论点明确,论据充分,条理清楚。
5.应用文
应用文包括书信、日记和通知等。是日常生活中经常接触到的一种文体。
1)书信
书信分友谊信和事务信两种。
(1)友谊信。友谊信一般分为五个部分,即:信头(heading)、称呼(salutation)、主体(body)、结语(complimentary close)和署名(signature)。
heading一般写在信纸的右上方。包括发信人的地址和写信的日期。先写地址,后写日期,两者顺序不能颠倒。
salutation写在heading下一行的左边。顶格写。后面可用逗号,也可用冒号,但别的标点都不能用。一般的写法是Dear加上Mr.xx,Mrs.xx,Miss xx,
但在相当密切的朋友之间,也可用dear直接加上人名。例如:Dear John, Dear Henry等。
body的写法和一般作文一样,用分段的形式说明所要表达的意思。
complimentary close写在body之后的右边。通常用Yours或Sincerely yours。注意yours不可写成your,sincerely不可写成sincere。在complimentary close后面要用逗号。
signature写在complimentary close的下一行。要用手写,不可用打字机打。
下面是一个例子:
12 Fuzhou Road, Shanghai
August 18, 1980
Dear Chen Xin,
I have been very busy since I last heard from you. First of all, I hope you are well. I often think of you.
My homework has been so heavy that I have often had to work till midnight.There have been many exercises in English and maths to do every day, so I have been too busy for the last few weeks to pay you a
visit. I am very glad to tell you the good news that my school will soon publish a little magazine.It will appear twice a month. It will contain both articles and pictures. I am writing a short article for it on the importance of learning foreign language. I shall send you a copy as soon as the first issue is out.
By the way, I have not heard from my elder brother for a long time, but he was quite well when he last wrote. He seemed too busy to think of coming back and wanted me to give you his kind regards.
When this reaches you, I hope you will have read through the novel I sent you several months ago. There is no hurry to return it.
Yours sincerely,
Li Min
(2)事务信。事务信通常比友谊信多一部分,这就是信内地址(inside address)。它包括收信人的名称和地址。它的位置在信笺的左上角,即称呼(salutation)之上。
事务信里的称呼,可视具体情况而定。如果是机关团体(如商店),用Gentlemen或Dear Sirs;如果是个人,就用Dear Sir(男)或Dear Madam(女)。
事务信里的结束语(complimentary close)与友谊信不太一样,一般用Yours faithfully或Yours truly。
在标点符号方面,事务信与友谊信完全相同。
事务信应该条理清楚,十分简洁。为醒目起见,每项都应另起一段。
下面是一个例子:
413 Taiwan Road
Xiamen
June 27, 2000
The Foreign Languages Bookstore
428 Ba Yi Qi Road,
Fuzhou
Dear Sir,
Please send me C.O.D. the following books:
Idiomatic Uses of Some Common English Words by W.S.Allen 3 copies. The Guide to the Uses of Prepositions by R.A.Close 4 copies. The Advanced Learner's English Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation by A.S.Hornby, E.V.Gatenby, H.Wakefield 5 copies. If any of these three books are not in stock, please let me know.
I should also like to have a copy of your catalogue of newly published books.
Yours faithfully,
Li Ming
信中C.O.D.是cash on delivery的缩写,意为“货到付款”。这是固定的商业省略用语。
2)通知
通知有两种:一种是以普通书信的形式,把事情通知有关的人;另一种是以布告的形式,把事情通知有关群众,如会员、读者、听众、观众等。书信形式的通知可参看友谊信的格式。这里着重介绍布告形式的通知。
布告形式的通知一般张贴在布告栏上或写在黑板上,也可以印刷或抄写后在有关人员中传阅。它在格式上与普通的书信不一样,没有对方的地址和名称,也没有称呼用语和结束语等项目。通知正文上方正中往往有notice一词作为标志。正文的下面是出通知的单位名称或代理人名。
有时出通知的单位名称用作通知正文的开头,这样就不需要另外再写。
出通知的日期一般写在通知的下方左角,单位负责人的署名写在下方右角。但这两项有时可以省略。出通知的单位和通知的对象一般都用第三人称。见下面的例子。
例1:
Readers are requested to note that as from July 1, 2005, the library will be open in the following hours during the summer vacation:
8:00 - 12:00 a.m.
2:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Zhongshan District Library
例2:
The Student Union takes pleasure in announcing the English Evening to be held in the Auditorium on December 25, 2000, at 7:30 p.m. The programmes include songs, folk dances, poem recitation and one short play. Admission tickets may be obtained on application to the Student Union Office, Room 104, Administration Building.
December 15,2000
例3:
Under the Auspices of the Student Union, a talk will be given on How to Study English Well by Professor Wang Tiemu from Beijing University in the Auditorium at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2000.
为了更加醒目,这类通知也可写成如下格式:
ANNOUNCEMENT
A celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of
the founding of
Shibei High School Affiliated to Shanghai University
(Original Shanghai Railroad High School)
will be held on
Saturday, the thirtieth of October at two o'clock in the afternoon
3)日记
日记是最简单的记事文,也是很好的记事文练习。因此,要练习写英语作文,可先从记英语日记开始。
日记中一般用第一人称,把每天自己认为有趣的,或是有必要记的事记下来,多写几句或少写几句都可以,随自己的兴趣而定。
英美人记日记,往往用不完全的句子,尤其把I省去,例如不写I spent the whole morning preparing my lessons.而写Spending the whole morning preparing my lessons或whole morning preparing my lessons。但初学者的目的既然是练习作文,那就应该写完整的句子。
英语日记的格式一般在左上角写年、月、日、星期,紧接着可以写天气;也可以在右上角写天气。
例1:
Wednesday, November 4. Fine
It was very hot today. After breakfast I went hunting. I saw many wild goats and killed one. I spent the morning skinning the goat and drying
the meat. After dinner I worked at my table until it was too dark to see. I am learning how to use a carpenter's tool.
例2:
Thursday, November 5. Raining most of the time.
It was cooler today. I saw no goats this morning, but I shot a wild cat. The meat is not good to eat, but the skin is soft and pretty. I worked all the afternoon at my table to finish it. It is not a very good one. When I am a better carpenter, I shall remake it.
6.语法与习惯用法
写作要求语法正确、句子通顺。这是起码的,也是最必要的条件。基础的语法规则在中学阶段会一一介绍。但懂得语法规则是一回事,能运用语法规则又是一回事。例如:Besides, swimming is a kind of good exercise that will make you grow strong.在动词make后的不定式记号to该省略,这是极浅显的语法现象。但往往有不少人会写出“…that will make you to grow strong”的句子,而且不知错在何处。又如:It is great fun to swim in the river.这一句中的fun是抽象名词,前面不可有冠词,但有人总写成It is a great fun…。学过语法的
人都知道动词第三人称单数现在时态在词尾要加上s或es,可是在学生的习题中却不时地出现He speak English very well.这类句子。要语法不错,不在于多读语法书或是死记语法规则,而是在于写作文时要顾及语法,把所学到的语法规则运用到实际中去。
学好英语,除了掌握语法规则外,还要注意习惯用法,语法决不能脱离习惯用法。有些句子往往在语法上可以分析,而实际上是不通的英语。例如fun是抽象名词,按照语法规则,在它的前面没有冠词;但pity这个词也是抽象名词,在它的前面得有个冠词a。在“It is a pity that you missed the bus.”一句里,如果没有a,就成了错误的句子。这似乎没有什么道理可说的,是习惯用法。又如,我们不应说You cost ten yuan to buy the dictionary,而应说It cost you ten yuan to buy the dictionary.在A few minutes' delay does not matter this time.中,若在this time前加上in或at,也不合习惯,因此也是错误的。
语法十分重要,但英语的运用因语言的习惯和特点而千变万化,语法的规则套不住语言变化的步伐。因此,初学英语的人最好不要写自己没有见过的句型,把单词依照语法规则拼凑起来的句子往往是靠不住的。要多多背诵现成的句型,并在写作中有意识地多加运用。
7.正确的搭配
任何语言在其长期发展过程中,在词的搭配方面,都会自然而然地形成一系列的惯用法,英语也不例外。所谓“地道的英语”与“不地道的英语”,在很大程度上取决于用词的搭配是否合乎英语的习惯。
英语中的搭配可分为几种:
(1)成语。如:a couple of days, day and night
(2)短语动词。如:belong to, keep up with, make friends with
(3)形容词+介词。如:popular with, busy with
(4)名词+介词。如:advice on
这些搭配,只能硬记,没有更多的规律可循。有些搭配可以通过查词典来解决,但更多的则需要我们在阅读的过程中多加注意。
8.句子的简易
初学作文,句子一定要简易,千万不可追求复杂或者华丽,故意将句子拉长。如有的同学在作文中写道:We always have many examinations which are very difficult. 这样的句子,完全可以改为We always have many difficult examinations.。我们还经常看到这样的长句子:I have several friends, among whom is my best friend Wang Lin who is eleven years old and whose hometown is in Shanghai. 我们不妨将它改为I have several friends. One of
them is my best friend Wang Lin. He is eleven years old. His hometown is in Shanghai.这样一改,文字显得既简单,又明了。追求长句子不是一个好习惯,句子一长,风险就多。
简易的句子读起来明了,令人愉快,而作文的真正目的就是把作者的观点明白无误地、简单恰当地表达出来。因此,初学作文的人,写作时切切记住:多用简单句,少用复杂句;多用自己熟悉的句型,少用生僻的句型,要做到这一点,就要多多背诵和记忆。
因篇幅问题不能全部显示,请点此查看更多更全内容