大学英语四级写作存在的问题及应对措施

大学英语四级写作存在的问题及应对措施英语写作是体现英语运用能力的一个重要方面,也是各类英语考试的必考题型之一。但是从历年考试的情况来看,写作作为主观题型一直是考生的薄弱环节。为了提高大学生英语写作水平,从1997年6月起,四、六级考试采用"作文最低分制"来计算成绩。按规定,考生写作成绩若为0分,无论其总分是否高于60分,均按不及格处理;若成绩高于0分,低于6分,计算成绩时,需从总分中减去6分,再加上实得作文分,也就是说,要从总分中减去实得作文分与6分之间的差额部分。举例来说:若前边85总分得分65分,但是作文得分为0分,那么最后成绩评为不合格;若前边85总分得分59分,作文得分为5分,那么最后成绩不是64分,而是59+5-6=58分。这一评分原则体现了国家对提高大学英语水平的高度重视,也反映了英语教学正在向重视培养语言应用能力的方向发展。因此写好一篇文章对参加四级考试的学生来说可谓至关重要,不容忽视。纵观历次四级考试作文阅卷的情况,普遍存在着以下几方面的问题,而这些问题正是考生作文拿不到高分的关键所在。第一,英语底子太薄。主要表现为对语法知识掌握不牢及对基本词汇记忆不清。它包括定冠词和不定冠词的滥用,主谓不一致,单复数搞不清楚(例如:apeople等),时态和语态混乱及词语的各种形式掌握不牢。许多考生的写作仍停留在句子水平上,还没有上升到语篇,因此写出的文章不流畅很生硬,虽篇幅很长,字迹也很工整,但是读完之后只觉得思路紊乱,支离破碎,没有一个完整的句子,只能得两三分。还有一些学生,中学所学的语言基础知识在大学里没能够得到巩固。第二,词汇量太小,且对已学词汇记忆不清。比如1999年1月的作文,题目是"Don'tHesitatetosayNo",大部分学生能够领会题意并能按给出的汉语提纲作文,但有的学生连Hesitate是什么意思都不知道,更不用说在此基础上再作发挥了。另外有的学生虽然对题目及要求非常清楚,但是因为自己所掌握的词汇所限,无法用一些合适的词来表达自己的思想,于是只有绕着题目翻来覆去乱说一气,再加上这次出的作文提纲就象一道绕口令:1.别人请求帮助时,在什么情况下我们会说"不";2.为什么有些人在该说"有"的时候不说"不";3.该说"不"时不说"不"的坏处。所以在看过一个又一个的"No"再加几个"Yes"之后,阅卷考师也给搞得云里雾里,头脑发胀,最后也只得酌情给个两三分罢了。还有的一写到纸上就是错别字满篇,有些词汇的用法也走了样。其中最典型的是将forexample写成examplefor,forinstance写成forainstance,illegal写成unlegal,而suchas,inspiteof等许多短语则是乱用一气。词汇的有限导致许多学生有口难言,欲说不能,对他们来说,用英语作文实在是一件很头疼的事情。第三,母语干扰的痕迹非常明显。例如,1998年1月的作文题目为"HarmfulnessofFakeCommodities"。有一位考生要表达"别人赚钱有人眼红"这样的意思,他不会使用"envy"或"envious"等词语,而是直接把眼红翻成了"redeyes",使人感到费解。另一位考生想要讲述自己买了一双假冒皮鞋不久鞋上开了一个洞这样的意思,就写出了"Therewasacaveintheshoe"这样的句子。这些虽然都是极端的例子,但也反映了母语干扰的一个方面。第四,缺乏思想,深度不够。很多学生虽然已是大二,甚至是大三大四,但是他们在作文当中所表现出的智力水平与阅历似乎只相当于一个初高中生。写出的文章着眼点低,视野狭窄。作文着眼于同学之间的关系,反映同学之间的帮助,这并不为过,但是这种帮忙不能仅仅限于在考试当中的帮忙,而且对这种帮忙都是一句话"Don'thesitatetosay'No'"。与在校考生比较起来,社会考生应多一些社会阅历,也多了一些见解,但是举出来的例子也是范围太窄,大多是讲老板或领导让干的事只能答"Yes"而不能回答"No"。其实可举的例子很多,关键是要抓住实质,有思想,有深度。第五,缺乏应试技巧。主要表现为有些学生在篇首或篇尾有喊口号倾向(如DearFriends,let'snothesitatetosay"No"),或画蛇添足,本来文章该结束了,却偏要罗罗嗦嗦再来两句多余的话;另外一些学生字数把握不准,不是写得太短就是写得太长,即使内容好,却得不到应得的分数;还有一些学生的笔迹(尤其是用纯蓝墨水纲笔和出水太浅的圆珠笔写的),让阅卷老师难以看清楚。以上是四级英语考试中常见的几个问题,更是我们平时英语作文当中应该注意的几个方面。要写好一篇英语文章,关键要在平时下功夫,打好牢固的基础,同时注意写作技巧。写作的技巧很大程度上不能从分析考试题目本身来得出,需要通过对大量英文文章的学习和总结得来,即功夫在题外。笔者在英语写作中有几点心得。一、要善于模仿对大多数学习英语的学生来说,英语的词汇量、句式的积累还极其有限,远不能达到用英文流畅表达、挥洒自如的境地。在这一阶段进行创作是不合时宜的,如果非要创造,只能写出"longtimenosee"这样的文字来。因此,模仿是这一阶段的必要手段。谈到模仿,一些学生的办法就是背一堆范文,然后再到考场上进行一个"剪切"、"粘贴"的工作,效果可想而知。这不是真正意义的模仿,充其量算是默写课文。如何模仿呢?首先,模仿的目标要明确。模仿的重点永远在一定的句式结构上,而非个别的词汇。道理很简单:一个词,随着文章内容的变换,可能就不能用了;而句式结构是放置四海而皆准的,适用的范围广,学来对写作的帮助也就明显。其次,模仿的材料要地道。像新概念英语这样的教材就提供了很多原汁原味的英语表达法。盲目选择文章学习,记一些不中不洋的句子,只能是以讹传讹,浪费时间。LiMing3、邀请信：Directions:Youwanttoinvitesomefriendstoaparty.Writeaninvitationlettertothemindividually：1、邀请参加晚会，2、说明举办晚会的原因，3、将安排哪些活动。DearWangcai,IamgreatlyhonoredtoformallyinviteyoutoparticipateinMr.OldFish’sweddingceremonywithMs.FujiworatobeheldatBeijingGrandHotelfrom8to10p.m.onApril1,2007.Asyouareaclosefriendofus,wewouldverymuchlikeyoutoattendthecelebrationandshareourjoy.Theoccasionwillstartatseveno’clockintheevening,withtheshowingoftheirweddingceremony.Thiswillbefollowedbyadinnerparty.Ataroundten,wewillholdasmallmusicalsoiree,atwhichabandwillperformsomeworksbyBachandStrauss.IfyoudonothaveanypriorappointmentonApril1,welookforwardtothepleasureofyourcompany.Yourssincerely,LiMing4、个人简历：1、致辞：Directions:Writeofresumeofyourselfofnolessthan120words.Init,youshould：1、说明姓名、地址、联系方式、求职目标，2、教育背景、工作经历、资历，3、所获奖励、特长，以及个人资料。RESUMELiMingP.O.Box237,BeijingUniversity5,YiheyuanRoad,HaidianDistrict,Beijing100871Tel:62768888Email:liming@163.comCareerObjective:ApositionwithmanagementpotentialinthebankingbusinessspecializingininternationalcorporatefinancingEducationalBackground:Sept2003toBeijingUniversityJuly2007MajorinInternationalBusinessManagementMaincoursesincludeEnglish,computer,BusinessManagement,Accounting,InternationalCommercialLawWorkExperience:July2006toBankofChinaJune2007Internship,SecretarytoDeputyManagerofMarketingDraftbusinesscorrespondenceScheduledeputymanager’sappointmentsQualifications:Universitygraduationcertificateandbachelordegreetobeconferredupongraduation(2007)CollegeEnglishTestBand4June2005Honors&Awards:TwiceawardedscholarshipbyBeijingUniversity2005&2006SpecialSkills:FamiliaritywithMicrosoftWord,ExcelAbilitytoworkindependentlyOutstandingOrganizationalskillsExperience:PresidentofStudentUnion2003-presentPersonalData:DateofBirth:Sep.17,1984Gender:FemaleMaritalStatus:Unmarried5、告示：Directions:TheStudents’UnionofyourdepartmentisplanningaChineseSpeakingContest.Writeanannouncementwhichcoversthefollowinginformation：1、比赛目的、时间、地点，2、参赛者的要求，3、裁判和奖励的细节。Youshouldwriteabout120words.Donotsignyourownnameattheendoftheletter.UseDepartmentofChineseLanguageandLiteratureattheendoftheannouncement.ChineseSpeakingContestDecember22,2007Toimprovestudents’abilitytospeakChineseandenrichafter-classactivities,theStudents’UnionofDepartmentofChineseLanguageandLiteratureisorganizingaschool-wideChinesespeakingcontesttobeheldonSaturdaynextweek(29December)attheStudents’Auditorium.ThosewhoareinterestedintakingpartinitmaysignupwiththemonitoroftheirclassesbeforeTuesdaynextweek.Fiveprofessorswillbeinvitedtobejudges.Thefirstsixwinnerswillbegivenawards.Everybodyiswelcometobepresentatthecontest.TheStudents’UnionDepartmentofChineseLanguageandLiterature6.就业：Directions:Forthispartyouareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicJobsforGraduates.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsandbaseyourcompositionontheoutlinebelow：1、大学生难找工作，2、原因很多，3、解决的办法。Jobhuntinghasalwaysbeenaheadacheforcollegestudents.Thoughmanygraduatesareemployedrightaftergraduation,somearenot.Mostseriousofall,somestillhavenoideawheretogoworkingevenalongtimeaftergraduation.Thereasonsforthisphenomenonarevarious.Ontheonehand,afewyearsagocollegesanduniversitiesenrolledsomanystudentsinpopularmajors,suchaseconomy,financeandsoonthatthenumberofgraduateswasgreaterthantheneedinthemarket.Ontheotherhand,mostgraduateswouldratherstayinlargecitieswithoutsuitablejobtodothangotothecountry.Ireckonthisproblemcanbesolvedifbothcollegesandstudentstakemeasures.First,theyshouldresearchthemarketanddevelopspecialskillstosuititsneed.Second,students’attitudetowardsemploymentshouldbechanged.Theyshouldgotosmallcitiesandcountry.Theretheycanalsogivefullplaytotheirprofessionalknowledge.Inaword,ifwepaymuchattention,thesituationcanbeimproved.7、考试：Directions:Forthispartyouareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicMyViewsonExaminations.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsandbaseyourcompositionontheoutlinebelow：1、大学都用考试来衡量学生的成绩，2、考生可能带来的副作用，3、我对考试的看法。Inmostcollegesanduniversitiestheexaminationisusedasachiefmeansofdecidingwhetherastudentsucceedsorfailsinmasteringaparticularsubject.Althoughitdoesthejobquiteefficiently,itssideeffectsarealsoenormous.Tobeginwith,examinationslowerthestandardsofteaching.Sinceteachersareoftenjudgedbyexaminationresults,theyarereducedtotrainingtheirstudentsinexamtechniques.Nosubjectscanbetaughtsuccessfullymerelythroughbeingapproachedwithintenttotakeexaminations.Inaddition,themostundesirableeffectisthatexaminationsencouragebadstudyhabits.Astheexaminationscoreistheonlycriterionforhisacademicperformance,astudentisdriventomemorizemechanicallyratherthantothinkcreatively.Infact,fewofusadmitthatexaminationscancontributeanythingreallyimportanttothestudents’academicdevelopment.Ifthatisthecase,whycannotwemakeachangeanddevisesomethingmoreefficientandreliablethanexaminations?8、读后感：Directions:Forthispartyouareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicMyFavoriteNovel.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsandbaseyourcompositionontheoutlinebelow：1、我最喜爱的小说，2、该小说的内容，3、我为什么喜爱。MyfavoritenovelisAroundtheWorldinEightyDayswhichiswrittenbyJulesVerne.TheauthorwasborninFranceanddevotedhimselftoliteratureandwroteseveralscientificromances,whichgainedhimthename——FatherofModernScienceFiction.ThisisabookofsciencefictionwhichtellsusanexcitingstoryaboutanEnglishgentleman,Mr.PhileasFogg,whomakesabetwithhisclubmatesandmanagestotravelaroundtheworldineightydays.Itgivesusavividdescriptionofthemanydifficultiesandincidentswhichhappenonhisjourney.Fromthisstory,wecanseetheauthor’sdeeploveforthesea,travelandadventure,whichplayedavitalroleinhislife.Wearealsoastonishedandconvincedbyhisfertileimaginationandscientificandgeographicalknowledge.9、难忘的人：Directions:Forthispartyouareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicThemostunforgettablePersonIeverKnow.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsandbaseyourcompositionontheoutlinebelow：1、我生活中最难忘的人是，2、为什么他(或她)令我难以忘怀，3、结论。InmylifeIhavemetagreatmanypeoplewhoarereallyworthrecalling.ButperhapsthemostunforgettablepersonIeverknowismyEnglishteacher.Whatfrequentlybringsbackmemoriesofmyschoolteacherishisspecialqualities.Firstandforemost,hegaveusthegreatestgiftateachercanoffer—anawakeningofapassionforlearning.HenotonlyledustoanappreciationofthebeautyandperfectionofEnglishlanguageandliterature,butalsoarousedourgreatinterestinexploringsomethingdeeperinthisfield.Furthermore,Iwasattractedbyhis