Part One
Manuscript Form
As you are learning to write, you should have a clear idea of what is good manuscript form. You should do everything - writing the title , leaving margins , indenting, capitalizing, and dividing words - according to generally accepted rules. Whenever you write something, work carefully, write neatly and clearly, and try to make as few mistakes as possible. Before handing in your essay or exercise, proofread it once or twice, because you may need to make some final corrections and changes. Ⅰ. Arrangement排版
Leave a margin on each side of the paper - about two centimeters at the top and a centimeter and a half at the left, the right and the bottom. In an exercise book the top and bottom margins are already there, so you need only to draw a vertical line to mark the left margin.
You cannot make the right margin very straight, but you must not write to the edge of the paper. When there is not enough space left for a word, write it on the next line if it cannot be divided. In other words, there must be some blank space on the right side of the paper.
Write the title in the middle of the first line. Capitalize the first and last words of the title and all other words (including words following hyphens in compound words) except articles 冠词, coordinating conjunctions 并列连词(and, or, but, nor, for) , prepositions 介词, and the to in infinitives不定式。
No period is used at the end of a title. Use a question mark if the title is a direct question, but do not use one if it is an indirect question. Use quotation marks with quotes or titles of articles; and underline names of books.
Indent 缩写 the first line of every paragraph, leaving a space of about four or five letters.
Do not begin a line with a comma, a period, a semicolon, a colon, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Do not end a line with the first half of a pair of brackets, quotation marks, or parentheses. The hyphen that indicates a divided word is put at the end, not at the beginning, of a line.
Ⅱ. Word Division移行
When you write near the edge of the paper, take a look at the space left. If it is not enough for the word you are going to write, you have to decide whether to divide the word or to write it on the next line. Never squeeze a word into the margin.
The general principle is to divide a word according to its syllables. Pay attention
to the following:
One-syllable words like through, march, brain and pushed cannot be divided. Do not write one letter of a word at the end or at the beginning of a line, even if that one letter makes up a syllable, such as a. lone, trick. y.
Do not put a two-letter syllable at the beginning of a line, like hat. ed, cab. in. Avoid separating proper names of people or places, like Chi. na, Aus. ten. Divide hyphenated words only at the hyphen: father-in-law, empty-handed. Do not divide words in a way that may mislead the reader: pea. cock, re. ally. Do not divide the last word on a page. Instead, write the whole word on the next page.
Divide words with prefixes or suffixes between the prefix or suffix and the base part of the word: re. state. ment, un. relent. ing.
Divide two-syllable words with double consonants between the two consonants: strug. gle, shat. ter.
Dividing words is not always easy. When in doubt, consult a dictionary Ⅲ. Capitalization大写
Capitals are used mainly at three places: the first words of sentences, key words in titles, and proper names.
Not only a complete sentence, but a sentence fragment treated as a sentence, should begin with a capital letter.
The first word of quoted speech (words put between quotation marks) is capitalized. If a quoted sentence is broken into two parts and put in two pairs of quotation marks, the second part does not begin with a capital letter unless the first word is a proper noun or an adjective derived from a proper noun.
Common nouns that are parts of proper names are capitalized
Words derived from proper names are usually capitalized
But proper names or their derivatives may become common nouns, verbs or adjectives.
Ⅳ. Punctuation标点
How to use different punctuation marks will be discussed in detail in Part Ten. The following are a few basic rules which all students learning to write should remember: Use a period (full stop) at the end of a complete sentence, however short it is.
Do not use a comma to join two coordinate clauses; use a comma and a conjunction, or a semicolon.
Make your commas different from your periods. A comma has a little tail (,); a period is a dot (.), not a tiny circle (。), which is used in written Chinese.
Use a question mark at the end of a direct question; do not use one at the end of an indirect question:
Use the exclamation感叹词 mark only after an emphatic interjection or words that express very strong emotion. Do not overuse it.
Put direct speech between quotation marks引号. The subject and verb that introduce a quotation may be put before, after, or in the middle of the quotation.
V. Handwriting书法
Write carefully so that your handwriting can be read easily. Be sure to make your capitals a little bigger and higher than your small letters, make your a' s different from your o' s, and your n's different from your u' s, dot your i' s and j' s, and cross your t' s. Leave a little space (about one letter ) after a comma and a slightly bigger space (about two letters) after a period.
When you want to cross out a word, do not use brackets to enclose it, but draw a thick line across it. When you want to add a word, write it above, not below, the line of words you have written with a clear sign showing where it is to be inserted.
There are two common ways of writing the letters: one is to form loops and the other is to print (to write without joining the letters). Both are good, but you had better stick to one of the two styles.
Part Two
Diction 措词
Ⅰ. Levels of Words词的类型
The words that are often used may be divided, from a stylistic point of view, into three types: formal, common, and colloquial.
Formal words may also be called learned words, or literary words, or "big" words. They mainly appear in formal writing, such as scholarly or theoretical works, political and legal documents, and formal lectures and addresses. Many such words contain three or more than three syllables; most of them are seldom used in daily conversation, except for special purposes.
Most of the words in the paragraph, however, are those that people use every day, and appear in all kinds of writing. Because of this, they are called common words. There are words which are mainly used in informal or familiar conversation. They seldom appear in formal writing, and in literary works their main use is to record people's thoughts and dialogues. They are usually short words of one or two syllables and most of them are of Saxon origin (i. e., not borrowed from Greek, Latin, or French). We may call them colloquial words, such as guts (meaning courage), guy
(man), and hassle (bother).
Thus there are three levels of words, with the formal or learned at the top, the colloquial at the bottom, and the common in the middle. Common words are good for all kinds of writing; formal words are as a rule seldom used in informal writing, while colloquial words are seldom used in formal writing, unless for some special purpose or effect.
These are all words of standard English, which is used by all educated speakers of the language. There are words which are used only by special groups of people for special effect. Among these are slang words, dialectal words and certain words that are often used by uneducated speakers.
Slang words are highly informal; they may be vivid and interesting, but they may, when used inappropriately, make the writer or speaker sound offensive or funny Ⅱ. The Meaning of Words词义
The meaning of a word has two aspects: denotative and connotative. A word's denotation is what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary; its connotation is the feeling or idea suggested by it.
Ⅲ. General and Specific Words泛指词和特指词
Although both general and specific words are useful, a student learning to write should make an effort to master and use specific words wherever possible. Specific words help to make writing clear, exact, vivid, and striking, for they are more informative and expressive than general words.
Using specific words should go along with providing details, and then there will be effective and impressive writing.
Ⅳ. Idioms习语
An idiom is a fixed group of words with a special meaning which is different from the meanings of the words that form it.
Idioms are frequently used in speech and writing. They help to make one's language sound natural and idiomatic. But in using them foreign learners of English should remember the following two points:
(1) most idioms are informal or colloquial in style and can be used in conversation; but a few are slang and should be used with care, such as all balled up, meaning troubled or confused, and to cough up, meaning to produce something;
(2) many idioms have become clichés and are no longer fresh or interesting, such as armed to the teeth and as good as gold, and should be used sparingly.
Ⅴ. Figures of Speech修辞
Words used in their original meanings are used literally, while words used in extended meanings for the purpose of making comparisons or calling up pictures in the reader's or listener's mind are used figuratively.
There are various ways of using words figuratively. They are called figures of speech. Among the most common of them are:
1. Simile明喻 It is a comparison between two distinctly different things and the comparison is indicated by the word as or like.
2. Metaphor 暗喻 It is the use of a word which originally denotes one thing to refer to another with a similar quality. It is also a comparison, but the comparison is implied, not expressed with the word as or like.
Metaphors are used not only after verb to be, and not only nouns can be used metaphorically.
A metaphor or a simile has to be fresh to be effective. One that has been frequently used over a long period of time will become dull and stale, and cease to function as a metaphor or simile.
3. Personification拟人 It is to treat a thing or an idea as if it were human or had human qualities. In poetry personification is very common:
In prose personification is also used, though not so often as in poetry.
4. Metonymy 转喻 It is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated. Thus the crown can stand for a king, and the White House for the American government.
5. Synecdoche 提喻 When a part is substituted for the whole or the whole is substituted for a part, synecdoche is applied
Metonymy and synecdoche are similar as both involve substitution. Sometimes they can hardly be distinguished from metaphor, which in a way is also substitution.
6. Euphemism委婉语 It is the substitution of a mild or vague expression for a harsh or unpleasant one.
7. Irony反语 It is the use of words which are clearly opposite to what is meant, in order to achieve a special effect.
8. Overstatement and understatement 夸大和缩小 In overstatement the diction exaggerates the subject, and in understatement the words play down the magnitude or value of the subject. Overstatement is also called hyperbole.
Both aim at the same effect: to make the statement or description impressive or interesting.
9. Transferred Epithet 移位修饰 An epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase that serves to characterize somebody or something. A transferred epithet is one that is shifted from the noun it logically modifies to a word associated with that noun.
10. Oxymoron 矛盾修辞法 In oxymoron apparently contradictory terms are combined to produce a special effect.
11. Alliteration押头韵 It refers to the appearance of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words.
Alliteration is sometimes used in prose for the same effect - to join two or more related words.
Ⅵ. Dictionaries略
Part One
Manuscript Form
As you are learning to write, you should have a clear idea of what is good manuscript form. You should do everything - writing the title , leaving margins , indenting, capitalizing, and dividing words - according to generally accepted rules. Whenever you write something, work carefully, write neatly and clearly, and try to make as few mistakes as possible. Before handing in your essay or exercise, proofread it once or twice, because you may need to make some final corrections and changes. Ⅰ. Arrangement排版
Leave a margin on each side of the paper - about two centimeters at the top and a centimeter and a half at the left, the right and the bottom. In an exercise book the top and bottom margins are already there, so you need only to draw a vertical line to mark the left margin.
You cannot make the right margin very straight, but you must not write to the edge of the paper. When there is not enough space left for a word, write it on the next line if it cannot be divided. In other words, there must be some blank space on the right side of the paper.
Write the title in the middle of the first line. Capitalize the first and last words of the title and all other words (including words following hyphens in compound words) except articles 冠词, coordinating conjunctions 并列连词(and, or, but, nor, for) , prepositions 介词, and the to in infinitives不定式。
No period is used at the end of a title. Use a question mark if the title is a direct question, but do not use one if it is an indirect question. Use quotation marks with quotes or titles of articles; and underline names of books.
Indent 缩写 the first line of every paragraph, leaving a space of about four or five letters.
Do not begin a line with a comma, a period, a semicolon, a colon, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Do not end a line with the first half of a pair of brackets, quotation marks, or parentheses. The hyphen that indicates a divided word is put at the end, not at the beginning, of a line.
Ⅱ. Word Division移行
When you write near the edge of the paper, take a look at the space left. If it is not enough for the word you are going to write, you have to decide whether to divide the word or to write it on the next line. Never squeeze a word into the margin.
The general principle is to divide a word according to its syllables. Pay attention
to the following:
One-syllable words like through, march, brain and pushed cannot be divided. Do not write one letter of a word at the end or at the beginning of a line, even if that one letter makes up a syllable, such as a. lone, trick. y.
Do not put a two-letter syllable at the beginning of a line, like hat. ed, cab. in. Avoid separating proper names of people or places, like Chi. na, Aus. ten. Divide hyphenated words only at the hyphen: father-in-law, empty-handed. Do not divide words in a way that may mislead the reader: pea. cock, re. ally. Do not divide the last word on a page. Instead, write the whole word on the next page.
Divide words with prefixes or suffixes between the prefix or suffix and the base part of the word: re. state. ment, un. relent. ing.
Divide two-syllable words with double consonants between the two consonants: strug. gle, shat. ter.
Dividing words is not always easy. When in doubt, consult a dictionary Ⅲ. Capitalization大写
Capitals are used mainly at three places: the first words of sentences, key words in titles, and proper names.
Not only a complete sentence, but a sentence fragment treated as a sentence, should begin with a capital letter.
The first word of quoted speech (words put between quotation marks) is capitalized. If a quoted sentence is broken into two parts and put in two pairs of quotation marks, the second part does not begin with a capital letter unless the first word is a proper noun or an adjective derived from a proper noun.
Common nouns that are parts of proper names are capitalized
Words derived from proper names are usually capitalized
But proper names or their derivatives may become common nouns, verbs or adjectives.
Ⅳ. Punctuation标点
How to use different punctuation marks will be discussed in detail in Part Ten. The following are a few basic rules which all students learning to write should remember: Use a period (full stop) at the end of a complete sentence, however short it is.
Do not use a comma to join two coordinate clauses; use a comma and a conjunction, or a semicolon.
Make your commas different from your periods. A comma has a little tail (,); a period is a dot (.), not a tiny circle (。), which is used in written Chinese.
Use a question mark at the end of a direct question; do not use one at the end of an indirect question:
Use the exclamation感叹词 mark only after an emphatic interjection or words that express very strong emotion. Do not overuse it.
Put direct speech between quotation marks引号. The subject and verb that introduce a quotation may be put before, after, or in the middle of the quotation.
V. Handwriting书法
Write carefully so that your handwriting can be read easily. Be sure to make your capitals a little bigger and higher than your small letters, make your a' s different from your o' s, and your n's different from your u' s, dot your i' s and j' s, and cross your t' s. Leave a little space (about one letter ) after a comma and a slightly bigger space (about two letters) after a period.
When you want to cross out a word, do not use brackets to enclose it, but draw a thick line across it. When you want to add a word, write it above, not below, the line of words you have written with a clear sign showing where it is to be inserted.
There are two common ways of writing the letters: one is to form loops and the other is to print (to write without joining the letters). Both are good, but you had better stick to one of the two styles.
Part Two
Diction 措词
Ⅰ. Levels of Words词的类型
The words that are often used may be divided, from a stylistic point of view, into three types: formal, common, and colloquial.
Formal words may also be called learned words, or literary words, or "big" words. They mainly appear in formal writing, such as scholarly or theoretical works, political and legal documents, and formal lectures and addresses. Many such words contain three or more than three syllables; most of them are seldom used in daily conversation, except for special purposes.
Most of the words in the paragraph, however, are those that people use every day, and appear in all kinds of writing. Because of this, they are called common words. There are words which are mainly used in informal or familiar conversation. They seldom appear in formal writing, and in literary works their main use is to record people's thoughts and dialogues. They are usually short words of one or two syllables and most of them are of Saxon origin (i. e., not borrowed from Greek, Latin, or French). We may call them colloquial words, such as guts (meaning courage), guy
(man), and hassle (bother).
Thus there are three levels of words, with the formal or learned at the top, the colloquial at the bottom, and the common in the middle. Common words are good for all kinds of writing; formal words are as a rule seldom used in informal writing, while colloquial words are seldom used in formal writing, unless for some special purpose or effect.
These are all words of standard English, which is used by all educated speakers of the language. There are words which are used only by special groups of people for special effect. Among these are slang words, dialectal words and certain words that are often used by uneducated speakers.
Slang words are highly informal; they may be vivid and interesting, but they may, when used inappropriately, make the writer or speaker sound offensive or funny Ⅱ. The Meaning of Words词义
The meaning of a word has two aspects: denotative and connotative. A word's denotation is what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary; its connotation is the feeling or idea suggested by it.
Ⅲ. General and Specific Words泛指词和特指词
Although both general and specific words are useful, a student learning to write should make an effort to master and use specific words wherever possible. Specific words help to make writing clear, exact, vivid, and striking, for they are more informative and expressive than general words.
Using specific words should go along with providing details, and then there will be effective and impressive writing.
Ⅳ. Idioms习语
An idiom is a fixed group of words with a special meaning which is different from the meanings of the words that form it.
Idioms are frequently used in speech and writing. They help to make one's language sound natural and idiomatic. But in using them foreign learners of English should remember the following two points:
(1) most idioms are informal or colloquial in style and can be used in conversation; but a few are slang and should be used with care, such as all balled up, meaning troubled or confused, and to cough up, meaning to produce something;
(2) many idioms have become clichés and are no longer fresh or interesting, such as armed to the teeth and as good as gold, and should be used sparingly.
Ⅴ. Figures of Speech修辞
Words used in their original meanings are used literally, while words used in extended meanings for the purpose of making comparisons or calling up pictures in the reader's or listener's mind are used figuratively.
There are various ways of using words figuratively. They are called figures of speech. Among the most common of them are:
1. Simile明喻 It is a comparison between two distinctly different things and the comparison is indicated by the word as or like.
2. Metaphor 暗喻 It is the use of a word which originally denotes one thing to refer to another with a similar quality. It is also a comparison, but the comparison is implied, not expressed with the word as or like.
Metaphors are used not only after verb to be, and not only nouns can be used metaphorically.
A metaphor or a simile has to be fresh to be effective. One that has been frequently used over a long period of time will become dull and stale, and cease to function as a metaphor or simile.
3. Personification拟人 It is to treat a thing or an idea as if it were human or had human qualities. In poetry personification is very common:
In prose personification is also used, though not so often as in poetry.
4. Metonymy 转喻 It is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated. Thus the crown can stand for a king, and the White House for the American government.
5. Synecdoche 提喻 When a part is substituted for the whole or the whole is substituted for a part, synecdoche is applied
Metonymy and synecdoche are similar as both involve substitution. Sometimes they can hardly be distinguished from metaphor, which in a way is also substitution.
6. Euphemism委婉语 It is the substitution of a mild or vague expression for a harsh or unpleasant one.
7. Irony反语 It is the use of words which are clearly opposite to what is meant, in order to achieve a special effect.
8. Overstatement and understatement 夸大和缩小 In overstatement the diction exaggerates the subject, and in understatement the words play down the magnitude or value of the subject. Overstatement is also called hyperbole.
Both aim at the same effect: to make the statement or description impressive or interesting.
9. Transferred Epithet 移位修饰 An epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase that serves to characterize somebody or something. A transferred epithet is one that is shifted from the noun it logically modifies to a word associated with that noun.
10. Oxymoron 矛盾修辞法 In oxymoron apparently contradictory terms are combined to produce a special effect.
11. Alliteration押头韵 It refers to the appearance of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words.
Alliteration is sometimes used in prose for the same effect - to join two or more related words.
Ⅵ. Dictionaries略