怎样写好开头段

poohUID: 146994

From:The Atheism Web
Logic & Fallacies

开头的结构：（这部分是我自己翻译过来的）

1 交待与主题有关的背景（一两句话）

2 将重点转到主题上，使读者明白文章的中心集中在什么问题上（一两句）

3 在开头的结束时，用以两句话声明在topic上的立场，也就是文章的主题。

  最后读者应该明确三个问题的答案：
   A 文章主要讨论了什么问题；

   B  作者主要对这一问题的哪一具体方面进行论述？哪一具体方面没有论述？

   C 作者的论点是什么？作者试图使我相信什么？

以下是写开头段的注意事项

1  Remember that statements indicating that you find a particular subject confusing or difficult to sort out are opinions and often make good thesis statements: e.g., "The abortion debate I find impossible to resolve in my mind; there are such cogent arguments on both sides, without any middle ground, that it is impossible to rule out either the pro-choice or the pro-life arguments"; "Hamlet is such a confusing personality that I find the play quite frustrating; the inconsistencies in his portrayal are a serious flaw in the play"; "The arguments and counter arguments about the environmental crisis leave me incapable of making up my mind on this issue." Such statements are opinions, which you will have to argue; as such, they are useful thesis statement.

2 . Similarly, a thesis statement can be a mixed opinion, in which you call attention to conflicting judgments of a particular subject: e.g., "The film has excellent acting and some superb cinematography. These make it really good. Unfortunately, the script in places is poor. Hence, the experience of viewing it is not as enthralling as it might be." Such mixed opinions are quite common as thesis statements in arguments about literary and philosophical subjects and in essays which review fine and performing arts events.

3  Do not rush the thesis. If necessary take two or three sentences (as in most of the above examples) to get the clearest possible statement of the precise opinion you are presenting and defending in the argument. Do not proceed with the argument until you have defined your thesis as precisely as possible.

4  Try not to be too timid in presenting the thesis. In particular, avoid limp words like interesting, positive, and so on. Often it's a good idea to overstate the opinion (i.e., really go out on a limb), so that you know you have a real job to do in making the case. At any event, make the thesis as bold and assertive as you dare. If it looks too aggressive once you have written the essay, then you can moderate it.

5  A particular subject area that causes trouble for those setting up the argument is one which is, at first glance, largely factual (e.g., a discussion of a nuclear reactor, or treatments for AIDS, or Galileo's astronomical observations). If you are going to discuss these, you must make sure that you cast the discussion in the form of an argument. You can do this by setting up the thesis as a statement about the significance of the focus: e.g., "Galileo's astronomical observations were a breakthrough in the history of science; they effectively challenged the traditional views of the universe and introduced a bold new method of understanding the heavens." In the course of the argument which follows, you will, of course, be discussing the details of Galileo's work, but the central point of the essay is an argument that this work was significant (which is an opinion about the focus).

6  If all else fails, then you can try applying the following formula. Write out a sentence of the following form: In this essay I am going to argue the single opinion that X (the particular focus of the essay) is very significant because (give your reasons for thinking the focus important). Then get rid of the words in italics.


以下是例子，可以通过简单的列开头的提纲明确步骤

The Start of an Outline for the Argument

All right, let's put all the above material together into the form of an outline. The initial preparations for the argument (which may take considerable time to develop) should result in something written down under the following headings:
General Subject:
Focus 1:
Focus 2:
(Focus 3, if necessary):

Thesis.
Here are some examples of the start of an essay outline:

General Subject A: Aboriginal Rights
Focus 1: Aboriginal Land Claims in BC
Focus 2: The Nishga'a Treaty
Thesis: (In this essay I am going to argue the single opinion that) Ratifying the Nishga'a treaty is essential for the political stability and political prosperity in British Columbia. While the proposed treaty may not satisfy everyone (or even a majority), we simply cannot afford not to proceed in good faith with what has been proposed.

General Subject B: The Ministry of Health and Welfare
Focus 1: The welfare system in BC
Focus 2: The distribution of welfare in BC
Focus 3: The distribution of welfare in BC: problems with the present system.
Thesis: (In this essay I am going to argue the single opinion that) Our system of distributing welfare in BC is gravely inadequate. It is creating a great many serious problems and failing properly to address those concerns it is meant to alleviate.

General Subject C: Warfare and Technology
Focus 1: The machine gun
Focus 2: The machine gun: its impact on forms of combat
Thesis: No modern weapon has had such a revolutionary impact on the conduct of warfare as the machine gun. It has transformed not only nature of combat but the way we think about battle.

General Subject D: The short story "The Chrysanthemums"
Focus 1: The main character, Elisa.
Focus 2: Elisa's dissatisfaction with life
Focus 3: Elisa's dissatisfaction with life: the causes
Thesis: The central point of this story is Elisa's inability to deal with what is frustrating her because of her lack of self-confidence and courage.

Such outlines look easy enough, but you may have to take time with them. And the time is worth spending, because if you do not clearly sort out for yourself and the reader just what you are arguing about (the subject, focus, and thesis), then it is not going to matter very much what you do in the argument itself. If the opening does not define the argument properly, then there is usually no recovery.

Every five minutes you devote to making this initial outline defining the essay will save you at least an hour when you come to write the introduction out in full.


以下是写好开头段的建议，以及常见的错误
Some Problems with Introductory Paragraphs

The introduction, which defines the main argument, should, as we have seen, move from a mention of the general subject, through a narrowing of the focus, to a clear and energetic thesis statement. This sounds simple enough, but there are a few common problems which you should take care to avoid.

1. Do not make the thesis too abrupt and awkward. Take the time to go through the steps outlined above. If you are doing that properly, then the introduction should be a fairly substantial paragraph of between 150 and 200 words (at least). Never offer as an introduction a one-sentence paragraph something like the following: "In this essay I am going to discuss how Odysseus is a fascinating character." That is much too abrupt and awkward. As a general rule, keep the expressions I or this essay out of your style.

2.Do not stuff the introduction with irrelevant detail (e.g., about the biography of the writer or the historical details of the book). Keep directing the reader to the particular focus and thesis you wish to concentrate upon. Stay directly on the contents of the discussion you want to present.

3. Make sure that the argument is clearly established by the end of the
introduction. By that point the reader must be able to answer the following two questions accurately: What is this argument focusing on? What specific opinion about that does the arguer wish me to believe by the end?

4. Do not make the thesis a promissory note which lacks an argumentative edge: for example, don't make the thesis statement something like the following: "This essay will discuss the women in Hamlet's life." Establish clearly the opinion about the women in Hamlet's life which you wish the reader to accept as persuasive. "This essay seeks to show how Hamlet's attitude to women, especially his verbal and physical aggression against them, lies at the heart of what is rotten in Denmark."

feier521UID: 109747

thanks ：）

myth&limboUID: 141744

好东东

poohUID: 146994

My plesure . :) 大家给我改作文，我感激还来不及呢，呵呵

maihamUID: 153412

3x

翡翠刀UID: 154116

好模式，学习。

runwowUID: 153630

挺不错！
之前你帮我改的一篇issue就曾提到我的开头生硬，建议我开头论点背景，现在看了这篇更受点发。
谢谢。