實用英語寫作技巧之十七 推展段落方法9

17.1因果法

　　因果法（cause and effect）段落通常廻答“why？”的問題。大多數人認爲在自己或別人生活中發生的事情必然事出有因，因此縂要知道爲什麽會發生這樣或那樣的事情。原因（cause）指的是導致結果的發生在過去的事情，結果（effect）指的是已發生的事情將會産生的後果。

　　17.2結果法

　　解釋一個原因（cause）的幾個結果（effects）的段落，可能以下麪兩種順序之一出現：或者以原因開頭，接著指出一個一個結果，如下麪示範段落17－1所示；或首先擺出結果，然後指出原因。

　　示範段落17－1

　　Many people are worried about what television has done to the generation of American children who have grown up watching it.For one thing，recent studies tend to show that TV stifles creative imagination.Some teachers feel that television has taken away the child's ability to form mental pictures in his own mind，resulting in children who cannot understand a simple story without visualillustrations.Secondly，too much TV too early tends to cause children to withdraw from real life experiences.Thus，they grow up to be passive spectators who can only respond to action，but not initiate it.The third area for concern is the serious complaint frequently made by elementary school teachers that children exhibit a low tolerance for the frustrations of learning.Because they have been conditioned to see all problems resolved in 30 or 60 minutes on TV，they are quickly discouraged by any activity that promises less than instant gratification.But perhaps the most serious result is the impact of television violence on children，who have come to regard it as an everyday thing.Not only does this increase their tolerance of violent behavior in others，but most authorities now concede that under certain conditions，some children will imitate anti－ social acts that they witness on television.

　　17.3示範段落分析

　　主題句：Many people are worried about what television has done to the generation of American children who have grown up watching it.

　　因果模式（cause and effect pattern）：

　　原因（cause）：television

　　結果（effects）：1.TV stifles creative imagination.

　　2.TV causes children to withdraw from real life experiences.

　　3.Children exhibit a low tolerance for the frustrations of learning.

　　4.Children have come to regard violence as an everyday thing.

　　17.4關於如何寫因果法段落的建議

　　1）段落一開始就表明目的

　　在段落一開始就陳述你所關心的原因或結果是什麽。例如，在示範段落17－1，主題句就把目的限定爲分析“the effects of television on American children”。

　　2）選擇主題要適中

　　選擇太大的主題會給你帶來麻煩。因此，記住要選擇你可以駕馭的主題。例如：“effects of television”作爲主題會太大，難以下筆。然而把它限制爲“effects on American children”就容易多了（第18單元繼續討論因果法）。

　　Exercise17－1

　　Directions：Write a paragraph，analyzing the effects of students cheating on exams.

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　　Exercise 17-2

　　Directions：Write a paragraph，analyzing the advantages of job interview.

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