-
Chapter 6 Composing Essays
6.2 Types of Writing
There
are four types of writing: description,
narration, exposition and
argumentation.
1. Description
Generally,
description
is
concerned
with
people,
places
and
things.
It
is
the
art
of
translating
the
mental
image
(
意象
)of
some
object , person, place,
or scene into words. It is
a
way
of
painting
images
in
a
certain
logical
pattern.
The
writer
intends
to
tell
how
something looks like, sounds like,
smells like,
tastes like, or how one
feels.
2. Basic Elements of
Description
All
descriptions
involve
two
elements:
the
object
–
that
which
is
seen
or
heard,
and
the
observer
—
he who also sees
or hears it.
描写性文章有两大要素——
描写对象和观
察主体。
3. Basic Types of Description
Descriptions
can
be
divided
into
two
basic
types:
the
objective
and
the
subjective.
Objective
description
attempts
to
report
accurately
the
appearance
of
the
object
as
a
thing
in
itself,
independent
of
the
observer
’
s
perception of it or feeling about it.
(
描写文可以分为两种：客观描写和
主观描
写。
前者客观真实地记录描写的对象不夹杂
作者个人的态度和观点。
)
My Bedroom
My bedroom is on the second floor,
facing
the north. It is small, crowded,
but neat.
As
you
enter
the
room
you
are
stopped
short by four
bunks(
铺位
) which occupy much
space
of
the
room.
On
your
left,
against
the
wall, there are two bunks, one for two
students,
the
other
served
as
a
closet
for
suitcases
and
handbags.
Close
to
the
door,
pushed
into
a
corner, there is a large bookcase that
is packed
with papers and books. A map
of the world is
on this side of the
wall.
At the center stand two big
writing desks,
with
not
a
speck
of
dust
but
many
odds
and
ends
on
them.
They,
in
fact,
serve
as
dinner
tables
as well.
On
your
right,
there
are
two
bunks
for
four students; while near the door is a
stand for
basins.
The
old
wooden
floor
has
lost
its
luster(
光泽
) but it
is clean. Every corner, even
every
crack, has been carefully swept.
This
is
the
place
that
has
been
home
to
me
and
will
continue
to
be
all
through
my
college life.
Analysis:
This
is
a
piece
of
objective
description
of
a
layout of
―my
bedroom
‖
. It is well
organized,
e.g.
from
general
to
particular,
from
the
front
to the
back, from the left to the right, etc. the
reader is offered a clear picture in
his mind of
what is being described.
Tips for objective
description:
1). Mention the main
features of the objects or
places:
shape,
size,
color,
locations
of
parts
and
condition
2).
Arrange
these
features
in
a
logical
or
associated pattern:
General-
particular
More important
–
less important
Front- back
Top-
bottom
3). Use the following words for
arrangement:
above, below, over, at the
front, at the back, to
the left , to
the right, in the middle, close to, on
the top of,
…
Subjective description
(
主观描写
)
Subjective
description
does
not
seek
to
inform but to arouse
emotion. Communication
of feeling is
the primary purpose of subjective
description.
And
it
may
be
achieved
in
two
ways:
directly
and
indirectly.
The
direct
method
is
to
describe
the
feeling
itself,
while
the
indirect
method
is
to
project
(
投射
)
the
emotion
back
onto
the
object
and
to
infuse
it
with
feeling
in
such
a
way
that
it
will
arouse
the
reader
to
respond
in
the
way
the
writer
intends.
Of
the
two
methods,
the indirect
one
is
more
effective.
In
practice,
however,
subjective
description
uses
both
methods,
often
adopting
direct
statement
of
mood
plus
more
details
of
indirect
description.
(We
can
use
these
two
methods
to
describe
the
same
idea. When describing human life, for
instance,
we can say it is just like
climbing a mountain,
full of ups and
downs, while in the later case
we
say
life
is
just
like
a
cup
of
wine
tasting
sweet and bitter.)
(
主观描写不苛求对外在细节的“形
似”描
述，而是求得一种氛围，一种情绪，一种意
境的表达。<
/p>
描述时通常采用直接或间接两种
方法
<
/p>
直接表达情感或者借景抒情。间接表
达方式一般更为有效。
主观描写多同时采用
这两种方法。例如描写生活，我们既可以把
人生比作爬山，喻其路程崎岖；我们还可以
将人生比作品酒，有苦也有
甜。
)
A walk on the seashore
Not very far from my house lies the
seashore
in the south. We can go there
on foot in about
ten minutes. In summer
evenings when the sun
is setting, my
father likes to take me with my
sisters
to
have
a
walk
along
the
seashore.
Though
we
don
’
t
like
the
loneliness
of
the
place, yet we are glad to enjoy the
coolness of
the sea breeze and the
beautiful scenery of the
nature
…
..
A well-written descriptive
essay should have
the following
characteristics:
(1) Dominant
impression
The writer
should give his readers a main
and
clear
concept
about
the
person
or
object
described.
(2) Concrete
details
The main clear concept given by
the writer
should
be
supported
by
a
series
of
concrete
details
so
as
to
make
his
description
more
vivid
and
attractive.
Specific
details
which
serve
to
intensify
his
theme
or
mood
are
usually
more
advisable
than
ordinary
examples.
(3) Logical development
The writer should arrange his
descriptions in
logical
order.
When
describing
a
process,
he
may
use
such
sequence
markers
as
FIRST,
THEN,
NEXT,
FINALLY
,
etc,
to
link
the
sentences
according
to
a
logical
order.
When
describing
a
scene
or
a
picture,
he
may
mention the object from right to left;
or from
near
to
far;
or
from
top
to
bottom.
When
describing a person he
may first give details of
his
appearance.
Then
he
should
try
to
reveal
the
person
’
s
character,
thoughts,
and
feelings,
which may be shown in what the person
does
and says, in how he behaves to
others. And it
is important to grasp
his characteristic features
which
distinguish him from all other people.
2. Narration
A narrative is
an account of an event or a
series
of
events.
Typical
narratives
include
stories,
biographies,
histories,
and
news
reports.
This
type
of
writing
plays
two
major
functions. One is to
increase credibility(
增加