英语作文段落结构分析

1．什么是主题句？
主题句（topic sentence）是表达段落主题的句子。

它用以概括段落大意，要求全段其他文字都围绕它展开。

请看下例：
My mother has passed along to me certain rules for getting along with others. Don't argue with parents; they will think you don't love them. Don't argue with children; they will think themselves victimized. Don't argue with spouses; they will think you are a tiresome mate. Don't argue with strangers; they will think you are not friendly. My mother's rules, in fact, can be summed up in two words: Don't argue.
Our life today depends very much on energy. In towns and in villages, on farms and in factories, machines have made life easier than it used to be. The machines use energy, and energy is needed for heating, lighting, communications, carrying goods -- everything. Factories and industrial plants use a great deal of energy to make the things that we use and buy and sell.
2 如何写好主题句？
（1）写好主题句中的关键词
关键词要尽量写得具体些。

对“具体”的要求包括两个方面：一是要具体到能控制和限制段落的发展；二是要具体到能说明段落发展的方
向。

原句1: He can fix a bicycle himself.
斜体部分应为主题句中的关键词。

但它只是限制了段落发展的部分内容，并没有告诉读者该用哪种方法展开，是用因果关系法还是用分类法？
修正：He can fix a bicycle himself in several simple steps.
修正：There are several reasons why he can fix a bicycle himself.
原句2: She tries to improve her looks.
斜体部分应为主题句中的关键词。

她试着改变她面容的理由是什么？或者她采取什么方法来改善呢？我们无法从关键词中清楚得知。

修正：She tries many ways to improve her looks.
修正：There are some reasons why she tries to improve her looks。

（2）写好主题句的中心思想
Exercise is beneficial to your heart. A 22-year study was conducted by doctors in California. They found that people who work at physical jobs experience fewer heart attacks than other people. These active people work all the time at moderate speeds, their daily routine gives them an adequate amount of exercise and helps them stay in shape.
"Exercise is beneficial"这是毫无疑义的。

但主题句中如不加上"to your heart"来加以control 和limit，那就流于空泛。

因此，紧
紧把握主题句中controlling idea的导向和制约作用，是短文写作成功关键之一。

（3）要注意主题的可写性
所定的主题不能太笼统，也不能太具体。

In Hemingway's story “Soldier’s Home”，Krebs tells his mother that he wants no part of God's Kingdom．
这个句子太具体以至于无东西可写，无法展开段落。

In Hemingway's story “Soldier’s Home”，Kreb is a lonely，cynical veteran．
这个句子可作为主题句，因为可以围绕“lonely，cynical”展开段落。

Let me tell you something about overpopulation．
这个句子太笼统，作为一个段落的主题太大，难于驾驭。

Why has the world population been increasing so rapidly in the last decades？
这个句子是个较好的主题句，作者用“the reasons for overpopulation in the last decades”，从“原因”（cause）和“时间”（time）两方面限制了主题，能在一个段落内论述。

2．推展句
2.1 主要推展句
主要推展句(major supporting statement)的主要特点是：围绕段落主题句展开的每一个推展句本身都不要求作进一步的说明或证明，句与句之间的关系是相互独立又是互相连接的。

例1：(主题句) There are several factors affecting climate. (推展句1)One factor is the mount of sunlight received. (推展句2)Altitude, or the height above sea level, also determines climate. (推展句3)The oceans have an effect on the climate of adjacent land. (推展句4)In addition, climate is influenced by the general circulation of the atmosphere.
主题句指出影响气候的几个因素。

然后用四个扩展句说明四种因素。

第一种是太阳光的接收量，第二种是海拔高度，第三句和第四句分别是海洋和大气环流因素。

2.2 次要推展句
次要推展句(minor supporting statement)是指对主要推展句作进一步的事实分析和举例说明。

它从属于某一个或某几个推展句。

例2：(主题句)I don't teach because teaching is not easy for me. (主要推展句1)Teaching is the most difficult of the various ways I have attempted to earn my living: mechanic, carpenter, writer. (主要推展句2)For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. (次要推展句1)Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach no matter how late I stay up preparing. (次要推展句2)Sweaty-palm, because I'm always nervous
before I enter the classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. (次要推展句3)Sinking-stomach, because I leave the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual.
从属于主要推展句2的三个次要推展句起着解释说明作用，分别解释red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach的含义，这就更加形象生动地证明了"teaching is not easy" 这个主题。

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Credit Cards on Campus. You should write at least 150 words, and base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below:
1)近年来越来越多的大学生开始使用信用卡
2)分析产生该现象的原因
3)针对大学生使用信用卡提出你的建议
Credit Cards on Campus
In recent years, credit cards have gained more popularity among college students. With banks’more focus on college market, an increasing number of college students have applied for credit cards and begun to consume by them.
The following three factors can account for the popularity of credit cards on campus. Firstly, a credit card provides overdrawing service, which is a big attraction for those students who have not much money for their domination. Secondly, a credit card can help release financial burdens on those poor students, and hence reduce the risk of their dropping school for lacking money. Besides, many banks make some preferential policies on credit cards, like sending a gift, lowering year cost. Drawn by these policies, many college students have applied for credit cards.
As far as I am concerned, it is not a bad thing for college students to own credit cards. However, there is misuse of credit cards among college students. Many students use credit cards to buy luxurious things they don’t need really, and even some of them owe a big credit card debt. Therefore, schools and banks have responsibility to let college students learn how to use credit cards properly. Only in this way can college students enjoy really the advantages of credit cards.
段落基本要素
好的文章有一些主要的构成要素，段落就是其中之一。

段落是用来在散文、故事或其他文章中组织信息的。

在写段落时，我们通常包括以下内容：
1、主题句
每个段落都应有一个要点，该要点通常由主题句表达。

主题句应清楚地陈述本段落的信息。

整个段落都围绕主题句展开。

例如：
（书19页44行）Young adults give many different reasons for moving to cities.
不过也并不是所有的段落都有主题句的。

比如有时一个段落延续了前一个段落的主题，而前一个段落有主题句的情况下，这个段落就不一定有主题句了。

主题句通常是段落的第一句。

不过在散文、故事或其他一些文体的第一段中，主题句可以置于一段引子之后。

为了吸引读者的注意力，我们可以使用一段引子。

这个引子常常是一个有趣的事实、一个问题或一段引语。

例如：
（书18页4行）Older Americans are on the move.
2、支撑句
主题句后应跟有对其加以解释或证明的支撑句。

例如：
（书18页8行）For decades, Florida has been attracting older residents. In fact, according to the national population survey conducted in 2000, Florida was home to the largest population of people aged 65 and older.
段落中的支撑句的排列顺序是有逻辑的。

我们可以使用过渡的词语将每句句子与其前后的句子连接。

可使用的过渡词语包括for example, for instance, furthermore, first, second, third, on the other hand, however, but和also。

（书18页23行）Florida is a popular choice for these people because of the climate and the state’s relatively flat landscape. However, as the number of older Americans moving there increases, more changes are made to cater to them.For example, ambulance response time has been decreased, and many houses have bathrooms designed for elderly homeowners, with things like walk-in bathtubs that reduce the risk of slips and falls.
3、结论句
段落应以一句用新的方式重复主题句内容的句子结尾。

当然了，结论句不是主题句的简单重复，而是对它的扩展与总结。

有时也可以用结论句来表达关于这个主题的最后想法，或用它来帮助引入下一段的主题。

（书19页42行）Across the USA, people are noticing the same thing: young people want to live in cities.
4、注意
与中文不同，英文段落中的“主题句-支撑句-结论句”的结构一般情况下是很明确的。

而中文段落的主题句可能出现在段首、段中或段末。

这是中西文的不同之处。

相关练习
一、选出下列各段落的主题句
1.One of the reasons for visiting the lighthouses is that the lighthouses have a profound history
and provide a good view of nature.
2.Visiting lighthouses will help us to understand the lives of lighthouse keepers.
3.Another reason for considering a visit is that the lighthouses themselves can be very attractive
buildings.
4.The most important reason for such a visit is to realize how our ancestors battled nature with
the basic tools they had.
Everyone should visit a lighthouse at least once.
(1)__________ They had only basic ways of creating light, and yet they found a way of using
this simple technology in isolated (孤零零的) places to save ships from hitting rocks.
(2)__________ By their very nature, lighthouses were built on some rocks or cliffs. Thus the
lighthouse keepers often lived lonely lives. To walk around their small home, and imagine the angry storm outside beating against the walls, is to take a step towards understanding the lives they had.
The reason for a visit to a lighthouse is not all so backward-looking in time. It is true that lighthouses were built in out-of-way places. But on a pleasant sunny summer day, this very isolation has a natural beauty that many people will love to experience. Therefore, with the gentle waves touching all round the lighthouse, the visitor is likely to think it is a world preferable to the busy and noisy modern life.
(3)__________ Mankind could often not be content just to put up a basic structure, but felt the
need, even in such an isolated place, to build with an artistic touch. The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy. Finally, lighthouses have a romantic attraction, summed up by the image of the oil-skin-coated keeper climbing his winding stairs to take care of the light to warn ships and save lives.
二、将下列句子按逻辑顺序组合成段落
a.First, don’t let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when
differences are brought out in the open.
b.Second, apologize when you are wrong- even if you’ve been wronged. Over the course
of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes.
c.And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making
friends can sometimes seem easy.
d.My suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure
and nurture（培养）.
e.The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended.
f.Third, see things from your friend’s point of view.
g.Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When
you apologize, give you friend a chance to admit that he has been wrong.
h.The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that
have an effect on all relationships.
正确的段落顺序是：___—___—___—___—___—___—___—___
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as “honor” helps you create this life of
good feelings.
Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness. Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. (1) _________ we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. (2) __________, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
(3) __________, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
(4) __________, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, (5) ___________ we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. (6) ___________, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. (7) ___________ we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. (8) ____________ it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. (9) ____________ the positive cycle can be difficult to start, (10) ____________ it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
参考答案
一、选出下列各段落的主题句
（1）D （2）B （3）A （4）C
二、将下列句子按逻辑顺序组合成段落
e-a-b-g-f-c-h-d
三、选词填空
1、Later
2、On the other hand
3、Then
4、In the first case
5、since
6、On the contrary
7、Whenever
8、And
9、While 10、once。