【SAT写作】武则天写作例子评析

2015年03月31日10:19 来源：小站整理

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Wu Zetian was a very famous woman in ancient China. She was originally nobody and was only one normal concubine belonging to the emperor Taizong. After Taizong died, Wu was sent to monastery. After visited by Gaozong, Wu was once again brought back to the palace and became his favorite girl(girl的话~). Along her way to the top, she eliminated her female rivals like Xiao Cai-ren and Wei Gui-fei(自己音译下吧，醉了~) one after another and finally became the very first woman to dominate the country.

最近，武则天挺火的，于是不乏有学生想运用武则天作为SAT写作素材。F**king bold! 但是，如果你对武则天准备的是上面这样一个段子，你肯定会有下面这些second guess：

准备了万用示例(cure-all examples)，但考试时往往会发现没法使用，于是改用自己的示例，或者临场编示例；对于自己的万用示例不够自信，不确定自己准备的示例能否运用到所有的作文assignment中去；每次写作都觉得自己的示例“套”进assignment中去了，但却总是拿不了高分。

这些“套不好”的同学，其实都是在准备示例的时候，忽略了话题的重要性。SAT写作有话题，每个同学也都能扯上几个常见的，如挑战权威什么的。但是要说完整，恐怕很难。话题之所以重要，是因为它相当于是“示例”与“试题”之间的桥梁、纽带，方便学生把示例运用于不同的作文中去。但学生在准备示例时，往往会忽略“话题”这一关键词。就像上面这位同学，准备的这个段子充其量也只是个人生平，根本无法用于作文中去。如果小水真正重视“话题”，那小水就会形成下面的这个段子：

Wu Ze-tian was originally one of wives of Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of Tang Dynasty. After Taizong's death, Wu was sent to the monastery as tradition names that concubines should be sent there in memory of the dead. But Wu never gave up hope. She persevered in working hard for five years because she believed that a gifted one would always be blessed.① Her efforts paid off when she was once again brought back to the palace by Emperor Gaozong. She was also remembered by because she was the only empress in the history of China.② Women were originally looked down upon in ancient China as they were expected to do housework and relied less on knowledge to make the living in ancient times. Empress Wu, however, were among the few people who dared to fight against the social norms and rejected the expected roles of women.③

当然上面这段话中可能有杜撰的成分，但是这里标注的①、②、③契合的是SAT写作的三大话题——原创、坚持以及挑战权威。相比于第一个段子，第二个段子的优势在于你有信心武则天这个实例一定能用于原创、坚持、挑战权威三大话题，并且已经成段，细节已经添加，因此可以直接用。相比单纯的人物生平，这样把话题融入你自己的示例段中，是否更利于你的SAT写作呢？小水说：答案是肯定的!下面再结合SAT写作的几个题目来看一下示例的具体运用。

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. (2005.3)

We must seriously question the idea of majority rule. The majority grinned and jeered when Columbus said the world was round. The majority threw him into a dungeon for his discoveries. Where is the logic in the notion that the opinion held by a majority of people should have the power to influence our decisions?

Adapted from James A. Reed, "Majority Rule"

Assignment: Is the opinion of the majority—in government or in any other circumstances—a poor guide? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

解析：

通过审题了解本题是问绝大多数人的意见是一个好的导向吗。然后要做的一件事就是判断话题，即把不熟悉的assignment过渡到学生熟悉的话题中。如果小水对SAT写作的话题足够熟悉的话，就能发现本题属于挑战权威类。如果那些人的意见好，那么人们就会遵从;如果不好则会有人站出来反对。之后就会想武则天的例子能不能用。由于本题归在挑战权威类，而武则天这一事例也贴上了“挑战权威”的标签，因此武则天一定能使用。最后要做的就是要点的契合。题目中的opinion of the majority对应到武则天的示例中，即大众认为女性的地位低下，“女子无才便是德”，不能委以重任。而武则天反对了这一想法，成为了历史上第一个女皇帝。如若武则天听从了大众的意见，可能就没有历史上的武则天了，因此大众的意见是poor guide。想到这里，如果你准备用2个示例，是不是50%的作文已经完成了？要的就是这种感觉!有感觉的话，跟着小水再来看一篇：

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. (2005.5)

There is no progress unless someone comes up with a new way of looking at things, of trying things that have never been done or thought of before. We cannot move forward by looking backward to old customs and past experience. There can be no advancement or improvement unless there are people who look forward in pursuit of the new and untried.

Assignment: Does progress depend on people with new ideas rather than on people whose ideas are based on the current way of doing things? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

解析：

按照同样的方法，学生也能把武则天的示例用到这篇有关原创的话题中，写下这么一个示例段：

The same rule also applies to Wu Ze-tian, remembered by as she was the only empress in the history of China. Women were originally looked down upon in ancient China as they were expected to do housework and relied less on knowledge to make the living in ancient times. Empress Wu, however, were among the few people who dared to fight against the social norms and rejected the expected roles of women. She firmly believed that after years of cultivation, women could do the job perfectly just as the men. Her successful experience taught me a lesson that progress depend on people with new ideas rather than on people whose ideas are based on the current way of doing things.

评析：

这个示例段看似不错，排开用词问题，其实本文还有一大缺陷——没有踩点，这也就是为什么许多学生觉得自己的作文切题，但得不了高分的原因之一。回过头来再审一下题，你就会发现本文说了current way of doing things（反对女性涉及官场），也说了new ideas（女性可以跟男性一样出色），但恰恰没有点到最重要的progress一词。整段话只是在结尾是扣了一下题，武则天的段落中丝毫没有说武则天的新想法带来了什么progress。因此强调审题中圈划要点的过程!要点的缺失会直接导致学生的分数下滑，因此一定要引起足够的重视！

总结：

在示例中引入“话题”的概念，用“话题”在示例与试题中架起桥梁；

结合“话题”提前为示例段准备好相关背景，使示例段在考试时可以直接使用，无需临场思考；

要点的圈划。

好了，不知道上面的内容你吸收地怎样。小水再留1题作为家庭作业，有兴趣的你可以与老师交流想法。

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and assignment below. (2007.1)

Most human beings spend their lives doing work they hate and work that the world does not need. It is of prime importance that you learn early what you want to do and whether or not the world needs this service. The return from your work must be the satisfaction that work brings you and the world's need of that work. Income is not money, it is satisfaction; it is creation; it is beauty.

Adapted from W.E.B. Du Bois, The Autobiography of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century

Assignment: Is it more important to do work that one finds fulfilling or work that pays well? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observation.