Argumentative-essay-英文议论文写作基础

TheArgumentativeEssayⅠ.Maincommunicativepurposesoftheargumentativeessay:Toconvinceorpersuadetoagreewithanopinion;todefendanopinion;toattackanopinionyoubelievetobemisguiding,untrue,orevilⅡ.BasicfeaturesTheargumentativeessaymusttakeacontroversialissueforanopendebate,i.e.,theissuemustbearguable;Theargumentcannotbegeneralbelief;personalpreference;orfactTwosidesaregenerallyinvolved:proponents(thoseinfavoroftheissue)andopponents(thoseagainsttheissue);Thethesismusttakeasideofanissue,andfrequentlyproposesacourseofaction;Theargumentativeessayarehighlypersuasiveandlogical(oftenexpressedwiththemodal“should”);Goodlogicistheheartoftheargumentativeessay.Ⅲ.StrategiesforlogicalpersuasionBefullyawareofyouraudienceorreader;Asthepurposeofanargumentativeessayistoconvincethereaderofyourposition,youshouldaddressyourreaderbywritingobjectively,logically,andrespectfully.Trytoidentifyandunderstandyouropponent’spointofviewYoucannotjustpresentyourownopinioninargumentation.Thiscanneverconvincethereader.Youhavetoconsiderthepointofviewofyouropponent’s.3.Usetwoformsoflogicalreasoning:inductionanddeduction.Induction（归纳）:theprocessofreasoningfromtheparticulardetailstothegeneralconclusion.Itinvolvesexaminingparticulardetailssuchasspecificcases,facts,orexamples.Theconclusionismadebasedontheevidencecomingfromthespecificdetails.Deduction（演绎）:theprocessofreasoningfromthegeneraltothespecific.Itbeginswithageneralizationandisappliedinaspecificcase.Theconclusionisdrawnbasedonageneralization.Deductioninvolvesathree-stepformofreasoningcalledSyllogism（三段论）:MajorPremise(theinitialgeneralization),MinorPremise(thespecificcase),andConclusion(theresultingstatement).Thisthree-stepformcanbeillustratedasfollows:MajorPremise:Dogsbark.MinorPremise:LittleBrownisadog.Conclusion:Therefore,LittleBrownbarks.Tobemorespecific,themajorpremiseisageneralizationthatyouandyourreadercanbothagreeon,whetheritisagenerallyacceptedstatementorwhetheryouhavealreadyproveditearlierintheargument.Theminorpremiseisthepartthatyouneedtoproveinyourargument.e.g.Iftheissueisaboutnuclearpowerplantconstruction,youmaytakethethree-stepformofreasoninglikethis:Majorpremise:Onlysafesourcesofenergyshouldbedeveloped.Minorpremise:Nuclearpowerplantsaresafesourcesofenergy.Conclusion:Therefore,nuclearpowerplantsshouldbeconstructed.（Notice:Somecomplexissuesrequiremorethanonepremisetobeproved.)Toavoidbeingillogicalinthisreasoningprocess,youneedtokeepthefollowingpointsinmind:Themajorpremiseandtheminorpremisemustbetrueiftheconclusionistobevalid;e.g.,Allpeopleliketosuffer.(MaP)Jonnyisaperson.(MiP)Jonnylikestosuffer.(C)Theabovereasoningprocessappearsillogicalsincethemajorpremiseisnotbasedonthetruth.Themajorpremiseandtheminorpremisemustbesetuptofollowthecorrectlogicalorder;Thecorrectlogicalorderisasfollows:A=BAllautomobileshavewheels.C=AHondaisanautomobile.∴C=BTherefore,Hondahaswheels.Anincorrectlogicalorderisasfollows:AllA=BAllautomobileshavewheels.C=BHondahaswheels.∴C=ATherefore,Hondaisautomobile.(Suchanillogicalordermakestheconclusioninvalid,forHondamightbeamotorcycleorawagon.)Thetermsinonepremisemustbeusedthesamewayintheotherpremise.Lookatthefollowingexamples:Somevegetarianseateggs.Johnisavegetarian.∴Johneatseggs.AllAmericansspeakEnglish.MaryisaSouthAmerican.∴MaryspeaksEnglish.Ⅳ.PlanninganargumentativeessayWhenyouplananargumentativeessay,keepinmindthefollowingpoints:Theargumentativeessayshouldintroduceandexplaintheissueorcase;Theessayshouldofferadequatereasonsandsupportthereasonswithgoodevidence;Theessayshouldrefuteopposingarguments.Thisisaveryparticularcharacteristicwhichdistinguishesargumentativeessaysfromexpositoryessays.Youmustnotonlypresentyourownpointofviewandproveit,butalsorefuteyouropponent’sviewandprovethatyoursismorevalidorsuperior.Ⅴ.Organizinganargumentativeessay(1)IntroductionTomakeagoodbeginningofsuchanessay,youshouldfirstintroducetheproblemandthethesistoclarifythecontroversialissuetoyourreader.Thenyoushouldprovidebackgroundinformation.(2)ThedevelopmentalpartConfirmation(2-3paragraphs)andrefutation(1-3paragraphs)arerequiredindevelopingthemainpartoftheessay.Toconfirmyourpersonalpointofview,youneedtogivereasonstosupportyourthesis;thereasonsmustbeconvincingevidencewhichisnormallyfromexamplesfactsauthoritativeorexpertopinionsstatisticalfindingspersonalexperienceorobservationsTorefuteopposingviews,youshouldconsideryouropponent’spointofviewatthesametime;acknowledgethegoodpointsofopponent’sviewsfirst,explainwhyyouropponent’sviewsarenotgoodenough.Indevelopingthemainpartoftheargumentativeessay,youmaychooseanypatternorcombinethepatternstofurtherdevelopthethesisaswedealwithcause-and-effectgenrewriting(description,narration,definition,classification,exemplification,causalanalysis,comparison&contrast,etc.)(3)TheConcludingpartTobetterconcludetheessay,youshouldrestateyourthesissummarizeyourmainpointsurgeyourreadertotakeactionpredictthefutureⅥ.SometransitionalwordsandphrasesChronologicalorderfirstofall/first,afterthat/second,then/next,last/finallyExemplificationtoillustr