The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing.pdf
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1、 Thomas S. Kane If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed“ to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payments for this “stripped book.“ Acknowledgments This book is bas
2、ed on The Oxford Guide to Writing: A Rhet- oric and Handbook for College Students, and thanks are due once more to those who contributed to that book: my friend and colleague Leonard J. Peters; Professors Miriam Baker of Dowling College, David Hamilton of the University of Iowa, Robert Lyons and San
3、dra Schor of Queens College of the City University of New York, and Joseph Trimmer of Ball State University, all of whom read the manuscript and con- tributed perceptive comments; Ms. Cheryl Kupper, who copyedited that text with great thoroughness and care; and John W. Wright, my editor at the Oxfor
4、d University Press. For the present edition I am again grateful to Professor Leonard J. Peters and to John W. Wright. In addition I wish to thank William P. Sisler and Joan Bossert, my editors at Oxford University Press, who encouraged, criticized, and im- proved, as good editors do. Kittery Point,
5、Maine T.S.K. December 1987 Contents Introduction 3 1. Subject, Reader, and Kinds of Writing 5 2. Strategy and Style 9 3. Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics13 PART 1 The Writing Process 4. Looking for Subjects 19 5. Exploring for Topics 23 6. Making a Plan 29 7. Drafts and Revisions 34 17 PART II. 8. 9. 1
6、0. 11. The Essay 43 Beginning 45 Closing 60 Organizing the Middle Point of View, Persona, 67 and Tone74 PART 3 The Expository Paragraph 87 12. Basic Structure 89 13. Paragraph Unity 95 14. Paragraph Development: (1) Illustration and Restatement 106 8CONTENTS 15. Paragraph Development: (2) Comparison
7、, Contrast, and Analogy 114 16. Paragraph Development: (3) Cause and Effect 125 17. Paragraph Development: (4) Definition, Analysis, and Qualification 132 PART 4. The Sentence 149 18. The Sentence: A Definition 151 19. Sentence Styles 161 20. The Well-Written Sentence: (1) Concision 191 21. The Well
8、-Written Sentence: (2) Emphasis 200 22. The Well-Written Sentence: (3) Rhythm 223 23. The Well-Written Sentence: (4) Variety 234 PART v. Diction 241 24. Meaning 243 25. Clarity and Simplicity 262 26. Concision 281 27. Figurative Language 295 28. Unusual Words and Collocations 325 29. Improving Your
9、Vocabulary: Dictionaries 336 PART vi. Description and Narration 349 30. Description 351 31. Narration 366 PART VII. Punctuation 377 Introduction 379 32. Stops 383 33. The Other Marks 417 Name Index 439 Subject Index 445 The New Oxford Guide to Writing Introduction Two broad assumptions underlie this
10、 book: (1) that writing is a rational activity, and (2) that it is a valuable activity. To say that writing is rational means nothing more than that it is an exercise of mind requiring the mastery of tech- niques anyone can learn. Obviously, there are limits: one can- not learn to write like Shakesp
11、eare or Charles Dickens. You cant become a genius by reading a book. But you dont have to be a genius to write clear, effective English. You just have to understand what writing involves and to know how to handle words and sentences and para- graphs. That you can learn. If you do, you can communicat
12、e what you want to communicate in words other people can understand. This book will help by showing you what good writers do. The second assumption is that writing is worth learning. It is of immediate practical benefit in almost any job or career. Certainly there are many jobs in which you can get
13、along without being able to write clearly. If you know how to write, however, you will get along faster and farther. There is another, more profound value to writing. We cre- ate ourselves by words. Before we are businesspeople or law- yers or engineers or teachers, we are human beings. Our INTRODUC
14、TION growth as human beings depends on our capacity to under- stand and to use language. Writing is a way of growing. No one would argue that being able to write will make you mor- ally better. But it will make you more complex and more interestingin a word, more human. CHAPTER 1 Subject, Reader, an
15、d Kinds of Writing Choosing a Subject Often, of course, you are not free to choose at all. You must compose a report for a business meeting or write on an as- signed topic for an English class. The problem then becomes not what to write about but how to attack it, a question well discuss in Chapters
16、 5 and 6. When you can select a subject for yourself, it ought to in- terest you, and interest others as well, at least potentially. It should be within the range of your experience and skill, though it is best if it stretches you. It ought to be neither so vast that no one person can encompass it n
17、or so narrow and trivial that no one cares. Dont be afraid to express your own opinions and feelings. You are a vital part of the subject. No matter what the topic, you are really writing about how you understand it, how you feel about it. Good writing has personality. Readers enjoy sensing a mind a
18、t work, hearing a clear voice, responding to an unusual sensibility. If you have chosen a topic that is of general concern, and if genuine feeling and intelligence come through, you will be interesting. Interest lies not so much in a topic as in what a writer has made of it. 6 INTRODUCTION About Rea
19、ders You dont want to repel readers. This doesnt mean you have to flatter them or avoid saying something they may disagree with. It does mean you must respect them. Dont take their interest for granted or suppose that it is the readers job to follow you. Its your job to guide them, to make their tas
20、k as easy as the subject allows. Ask yourself questions about your readers: What can I ex- pect them to know and not know? What do they believe and value? How do I want to affect them by what I say? What attitudes and claims will meet with their approval? What will offend them? What objections may t
21、hey have to my ideas, and how can I anticipate and counter those objections? Readers may be annoyed if you overestimate their knowl- edge. Tossing off unusual words may seem a put-down, a way of saying, “I know more than you.“ On the other hand, la- boring the obvious also implies a low opinion of r
22、eaders: dont tell them what a wheel is; they know. It isnt easy to gauge your readers level of knowledge or to sense their be- liefs and values. Sensitivity to readers comes only with ex- perience, and then imperfectly. Tact and respect, however, go a long way. Readers have egos too. Kinds of Writin
23、g The various effects a writer may wish to have on his or her readersto inform, to persuade, to entertainresult in dif- ferent kinds of prose. The most common is prose that in- forms, which, depending on what it is about, is called exposition, description, or narration. Exposition explains. How thin
24、gs workan internal com- bustion engine. Ideasa theory of economics. Facts of every- day lifehow many people get divorced. Historywhy Custer attacked at the Little Big Horn. Controversial issues laden with feelingsabortion, politics, religion. But whatever SUBJECT, READER, AND KINDS OF WRITING 7 its
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