trees整理的ScoreItNow给出的基础性写作建议

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trees JJ手敲出来的，很辛苦哦~

提及的都是比较浅显的tips，不过时不时温习一下还是有好处吧。

PART ONE

One of the most difficult tasks for a writer is to read an essay after it has been evaluated or graded. Yet, successful revision requires that you look carefully at each aspect of your writing and make judgments about its quality. In order to revise effectively you will need to evaluate as objectively as possible what you have written. The three most important questions to ask during the analyzing process are:
·Have I addressed the topic?
·Have I developed a convincing response?
·Have I used sentence structure and language effectively?

Have I addressed the topic?
When you write an essay response to an assigned topic, it is important to stay focused on the writing task and to analyze all aspects of the topic. Ask these questions:
·Do I understand what I’ve been asked to do?
·Does the topic ask me to do more than one thing? (For example, some topics ask you to identify and explain, or to take a position and support your point of view with evidence. Make sure that you address all parts of the topic.)

Have I developed a convincing response?
Once you have taken an approach to a topic and have narrowed you thesis statement, you can begin to focus on the development and organization of ideas that support your point of view. Ask these question:
·Do I have several points that support and develop my thesis?
·Have I defined or explored key words, concepts, and ideas to give the reader a clear understanding of the points I am developing?
·Have I provided an example or reason to support, illustrate, or clarify my main points?
  NOTE: Every main point that you present deserves more than one sentence to define, illustrate, or explain it. Sophisticated and complex ideas may require even more development.
·Does my essay have a clear and logical pattern of organization? Does it contain a beginning, middle, and end?
·Have I incorporated transitional words and phrases to help my sentences and paragraphs stick together? Have I used transitional words and phrases to bridge gaps and point out changes in direction or point of view?

Have I used sentence structure and language effectively?
We have all heard the expression, “It’s not just what you say: it’s how you say it.” As you analyze your essay, pay attention to the kinds of sentences you have written and the words you have selected to convey your ideas effectively. Ask these questions:
·Have I used all of the sentence types(simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex) in expressing my ideas? Do I have a combination of long and short sentences?
·Have I checked the grammar in my sentences? Do subjects and verbs agree? Is the correct pronoun used?
·Have I punctuated my sentences correctly?
  NOTE: Knowing how to use a short sentence for emphasis and a complex sentence to convey a sophisticated idea are two good skills to practice as you revise your essay.
·Have I selected the most appropriate words and phrases to communicate my ideas?
·Have I used words correctly? For example, are the words affect and effect used correctly in my essay?
·Have I included strong verbs and synonyms for words in the topic or assignment? Have I repeated words and phrases too many times?

Last but not least…
·Did I proofread my essay for correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization?

PART TWO
Analysis of Argument

The “Analysis of an Argument” topics test your ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate arguments and to convey your assessment cogently and effectively. Each argument consists of a brief passage in which the author makes a case for some course of action or interpretation of events by presenting claims and offering reasons and evidence in support of them. Your task is to discuss the logical soundness of the author’s case by critically examining its line of reasoning and use of evidence. The best approach to this task is probably to read the argument very carefully, perhaps more than once, making brief notes about points you want to develop more fully in your response. In reading the argument, you should pay special attention to:
·what is explicitly stated, claimed, or concluded
·what is not stated, but necessarily follows from what is stated
·what is assumed or supposed, perhaps without justification or proof
·what is offered as evidence, support, or proof
In addition, you should consider the

An important part of performing well on the “Analyze an Argument” task is remembering what you are NOT being asked to do. You are NOT being asked to determine whether the statements in the argument are true or accurate; instead, you are being asked whether conclusions and inferences are validly drawn from them. You are NOT being asked to agree or disagree with the position stated; instead, you are being asked to comment on the thinking that underlies the position. You are NOT being asked (as you are in “Present Your Perspective on an Issue”) to express your own views on a subject; instead, you are being asked to evaluate the logical soundness of someone else’s discussion of the subject

“Analyze an Argument” is really a critical thinking task presented in an essay format, not a conventional test of composition skills. Consequently, the analytic skills you exhibit will probably have the largest influence on your score. Writing quality will still be important, but the content of your critique will generally carry greater weight.

Because “Analyze an Argument” is meant to assess writing and informal reasoning skills that you have developed throughout your education, it has been designed so as not to require any specific course of study or to give unfair advantage to students with a particular type of training. Although you do not need to know special analytic techniques and terminology, you should be familiar with the directions for the task and with certain key words and phrases: e.g.,
·alternative explanation—a competing version of what may have caused the events in question; it undercuts or qualifies the original explanation because, although it appears to have been overlooked, it too can account for the observed facts
·analysis—the process of breaking something down—in this case, an argument—into its component parts in order to understand how these parts work together to make up the whole; also a presentation, usually in writing, of the results of this process
·argument—a claim or set of claims with reasons and evidence offered as support; a course of reasoning meant to demonstrate the truth or falsehood of something
·assumption—a belief, often unstated or unexamined, that someone must hold in order to maintain a particular position; something that is taken for granted but that must be true in order for a given conclusion to be true
·conclusion—the endpoint reached by a line of reasoning (the conclusion is valid if the reasoning is sound); also, the resulting assertion
·counterexample—an example, actual or hypothetical, that refutes or disproves a statement in the argument

In addition to such key terms, you should also be familiar with the “Analyze an Argument” scoring guide, which describes the qualities of analysis and writing that characterize papers at each score point. Reviewing the scoring guide will help you understand what you need to do in your response to earn a given score.

PART THREE
Writer’s Checklist

You can refer to this checklist as you read and revise your essays. It will help you focus on the essential features of writing.

My essay
·Responds to the topic ( or prompt) and covers all aspects of the topic
·Focuses on the topic and does not stray from the thesis or main idea
·presents a main idea and provides details to explain and support it
·Presents supporting ideas clearly and effectively, in an order that the reader can follow easily
·Uses correct grammar
·Uses a variety of sentence types and lengths
·Uses effective words and phrases
·Uses correct punctuation, spelling, and capitalization