什么是主題句?詳解寫好托福寫作主題句的方法
什么是主題句?所謂主題句(topic sentence, 也有人叫它中心句),就是獨(dú)立寫作主體段中統(tǒng)領(lǐng)全文的那個(gè)句子,也就是表述在獨(dú)立寫作頭腦風(fēng)暴和謀篇布局時(shí)候想到的“主要理由”或者“論點(diǎn)”的那個(gè)句子。通常一篇獨(dú)立寫作有三個(gè)主題句。下面小編就帶大家托福寫作主題句寫作要求,大家一起來學(xué)習(xí)一下吧。
例如在題目“Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is betterto work in large companies than in small ones.”,選擇agree,三個(gè)主題句可以是:
The first reason is that a large company can provide more opportunities to develop one’s ability
Another reason for choosing a big company involves welfare.
A third reason is that one who appreciates the unique culture of abig enterprise will become a more responsible person to the society.
在托福寫作中,三個(gè)主題句可以說是作文中最重要的一組句子,因?yàn)橹黝}句對(duì)段落起到“提綱挈領(lǐng)”的作用,同時(shí)對(duì)整篇文章的結(jié)構(gòu)清晰度和文章邏輯性也至關(guān)重要。
如何將這個(gè)理由“完整”“清晰”“出彩”的表達(dá)出來就是本文討論的話題。
首先,每段主題句通常都位于段首,緊跟于“first, second, third”這些“信號(hào)詞”之后。除此之外還需要注意以下幾點(diǎn)。
丨簡(jiǎn)明扼要
主題句需要讓讀者看到之后能夠快速、準(zhǔn)確地把握本段的主要內(nèi)容。這要求我們?cè)趯懼黝}句的時(shí)候,一方面內(nèi)容要簡(jiǎn)單,另一方面用語要凝練。
先來看一個(gè)反面例子:
“First and foremost, television, invented in the last century, withits wide availability and increasingly prosperous programs ,becomes one of the most powerful means of communication in history, and is more and more difficult to ignore”
這個(gè)主題句涵蓋的內(nèi)容太多,讀完這個(gè)句子,讀者根本不明白本段是要陳述電視節(jié)目蓬勃發(fā)展(increasingly prosperous program), 要強(qiáng)調(diào)電視是最強(qiáng)力的交流工具(the most powerful means of communication in history),還是要論證電視不可被忽視(difficult to ignore),這就是一個(gè)典型的內(nèi)容太復(fù)雜的主題句。
再看一個(gè)反例:
“First of all, following the new customs can show a sense of respect,which can allow a better and faster adaption inside the local population so that they make more friends.”
這個(gè)句子也有兩個(gè)論點(diǎn):表示尊重(show a sense of respect),擴(kuò)大社交(make more friends),同樣也使讀者不能抓住本段的主要內(nèi)容。
如何避免這種錯(cuò)誤,使主題句內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)單呢?很簡(jiǎn)單,首先做到每個(gè)主題句有且只有一個(gè)論點(diǎn)。論點(diǎn)就是指我們頭腦風(fēng)暴時(shí)候想到的那些“key words”,比如健康,安全,情感等等,每段寫一個(gè),不要把健康和安全放在同一個(gè)段落,也不要把情感和成功放在同一個(gè)段落。
例如上面第二個(gè)例子,我們只需要?jiǎng)h去一個(gè)論點(diǎn),就可以變得非常簡(jiǎn)潔:
“To start with, accepting cultures in the foreign country is an indispensable element that contributes to the expansion of social circle.”這是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)潔的主題句,只有擴(kuò)大社交(contributes to the expansion of social circle)這一個(gè)論點(diǎn)。
論點(diǎn)唯一還不一定能完全做到簡(jiǎn)潔,來看另一個(gè)反例:
“The first reason why letting children care for animals isnot the best way to teach them about responsibility is that it could negatively impact a child’s health.”
這句話雖然只有一個(gè)論點(diǎn),可是用語太繁雜,讓人頭暈。主題句的語法不建議太復(fù)雜,建議大家把花式操作留到其他部分去秀,在主題句,只要寫一些簡(jiǎn)單句,例如:“First, raising pets will exert a negative impact on a child’shealth.”就行了。
丨不是陳述事實(shí)
來看下面兩個(gè)句子:
A: “First, some children might be infected by feeding animals.”
B: “First, raising pets could negatively impact a child’s health.”
哪一個(gè)是好的主題句呢?
答案是B。
因?yàn)锳句的內(nèi)容是一個(gè)“純粹的事實(shí)”,而B句則是“抽象的概念”(exert negative impact),換言之,A句可以作為B句的例子,但B句不能作為A句的例子。
陳述事實(shí)的句子是不能作為主題句的,事實(shí)是不言自明的。不言自明,也就不需要后面的文字來“論證”了。主題句需要寫“a sentence that you could give examples for”,而不能寫一個(gè) “example”。
來練習(xí)判斷下面幾組句子中哪一個(gè)可以做主題句呢?
A: “Second, the academic performance of some children becomes poor after they are responsible for caring for a pet.”
B:“Second, caring for a pet could disrupt a child’s regular studies.”
A: “First, people could learn how to communicate with eachother through participating in community activities”
B: “First, participating in community activities is apractical and effective approach to enhance their social skills.”
A: “First, letting children take care of animal is a good suggestion for the reason that kids like animals.”
B: “To start with, raising pets fill friendship vacuums and?satisfy people’s need to nurture"
(答案:三組都是B句較好)
丨使用高級(jí)詞匯
很多同學(xué)要問,如果主題句中不建議使用復(fù)雜句型,又不能出現(xiàn)多層結(jié)構(gòu),那如何顯示自己的語言功力呢?要知道我們展示語言能力的地方并非只有復(fù)雜的句型,豐富和精準(zhǔn)的詞匯使用,同樣可以展示英語的專業(yè)程度。比如
“First, go to museums can teach people different kinds of knowledge”
→ “First, visiting museums provide people with an opportunity to comprehend a vast amount of knowledge”
想想看,如果原本句子中只會(huì)寫“good”之處,替換為“advantageous, beneficial, effective, efficacious, favorable,invaluable, rewarding, unparalleled, unprecedented”等等詞匯,效果是不是更好呢?如果多次出現(xiàn)“important”的地方,改寫為“central, critical ,crucial, decisive, essential, pivotal, primary,principal, vital,a key to, an indispensable part, play a pivotal role, attach great importance to”會(huì)不會(huì)增加可讀性呢?
在平時(shí)的閱讀中,注意積累一些“高級(jí)詞匯”,準(zhǔn)確掌握詞義,并且刻意練習(xí)使用這些詞匯,逐漸就會(huì)取得不錯(cuò)的寫作成績(jī)。
以上就是小編為大家?guī)淼耐懈懽髦黝}句的寫法,希望大家在對(duì)待主題句的時(shí)候可以有個(gè)參考。最后,小編預(yù)祝大家托??荚嚹苋〉美硐氲某煽?jī)。