讲课用的textbook: College Writing Skills with Readings, Ninth Edition (美国大学英语写作第九版) by John Langan (available on jd for less than RMB70)。

这是一本不需要老师就可以自学的教科书。才两杯星巴克咖啡的价格。

没有教科书，你只是路过看热闹。

[You can get a free copy for the 7th edition:
https://blaw05.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/english-skills-with-readings-7th-edition.pdf

But, it is a very old version.]

Part I: Essay Writing （如何写短文）

Preview:

1.    An Introduction to Writing （引言）

2.    The Writing Process （写作本身是个过程）

3.    The First and Second Steps in Essay Writing

4.    The Third Step in Essay Writing

5.    The Fourth Step in Essay Writing

6.    Four bases for Revising Essays

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Writing （引言）

This Chapter will explain and illustrate

·      the importance of supporting a point in writing

·      the structure of the traditional essay

·      the benefits of writing the traditional essay

This Chapter also

·      presents writing as both a skill and a process of discovery

·      suggests keeping a journal

突然，想起一位期刊editor曾经找我麻烦，说Section 2 describes xxx 不对。为此，我不得不改正我经手的每一篇文章，如果作者用了Section 2 ＋verb。既然John能用This chapter＋verb，我们以后可以用这本书去跟那种editor说理？

When John was a first-year college student, he received a C_ for an essay. Why? His essay lacked logical! His instructor said to him: “If you don’t think clearly, you won’t write clearly.”

评论：小白们，加油！这本书现在已经出了第10版！纸质版USD98，电子版USD120。如果你现在好好学习，说不定以后也会发教科书之财。

记住了：只有思路清晰，才能写得清清楚楚。（但是，思路清晰，不等于一定能写清楚。你还必须会“写作”。而写作本身是一个过程，一个能学会的过程。）

So, clear, disciplined thinking is the key to effective writing. This textbook develops this idea by breaking down the writing process into a series of four logical, easily followed steps. These steps, combined with practical advice about prewriting and revision, will help you write strong papers.

Here are the four steps in a nutshell:

1.   Discover a clearly stated point, or thesis. (提出明确的论点)

2.   Provide logical, detailed support for your thesis. 

3.   Organize and connect your supporting material.

4.   Revise and edit so that your sentences are effective and error-free.

Point and Support (论点和论据)

In writing, any idea that you advance must be supported with specific reasons or details.

论点需要用论据“撑“起来。

Point and Support in a Paragraph

A paragraph is a short paper of around 150-200 words. It usually consists of an opening point, call a topic sentence, followed by a series of sentences that support that point.

英语写作， 每一段开头的那句话，称为“topic sentence”。接下来每一句都是为“主题句”服务的。

On pages 4 and 5, there is an example of a paragraph, and some activity (think of it as homework).

光是纸上谈兵，你不可能学会写作。第4-5页上，有例子和作业。看不懂，请留言。

今天就讲这些。有问题，请留言。

如果你想提高科技英语写作能力，请跟我来...

http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-1146577.html