(1) 段落的統一性

　　英語段落有一大特點，即一個段落只涉及一個主題(甚至只是一個主題的某個方面)。段落中的一個句子點出主題并說明作者對該主題的看法，而其它所有句子都是為展開該主題而給出的事實、例證、推理，它們與主題緊密相關。段落中不應有一個與主題無關的句子。英文段落的這種各個句子與主題的關聯性被稱作段落的統一性。請看以下兩例：

　　(1)

　　Birds build their nests in all kinds of places. Some are high in trees, on the sides of buildings or on the top of hills while others on the ground, in fields or by stream banks. Birds also use various nesting materials to build their nests, including sticks, mud, stones, grass and so on. Some birds are able to change to be suitable for different conditions. They’ll build their nests wherever they can find a spot and use whatever materials they can find. But other birds will build their nests only in certain places and use only certain materials.

　　語篇的連貫性

　　英語議論文的段落多采取直線展開式，即段落開始直接切入主題，并給出事實、例證、推理等。英語議論文段落這種展開方式是形成其語篇連貫的基礎。語篇的連貫是指段落中各句的意義通過某種有序的排列(如時間順序、因果順序、邏輯順序等)而相互關聯。在論述該段落主題的時候，每后一個句子都是建立在前面一個句子的基礎之上的。如果去掉段落中的一個句子，這種連貫便會受到影響，就會造成讀者在理解上的困難。

　　3. 議論文中心段落的主題句及其論據、議論文中常用的詞句與短語

　　(1) 議論文中心段落的主題句及其論據

　　一篇議論文能否獲得高分與其中心段落主題句的質量不無關聯，而主題句質量的高低則又取決于審題的好壞和論據的選擇(即所選的論據在邏輯性、說理性、準確性及與主題內容的關聯性等方面是否都經得起推敲)。需要明確的是，中心段落只應有兩個組成部分：段落的主題句和支持主題句的論據。

　　段落的主題句也應有兩個部分組成，即：主題句=主題+作者對主題的看法或態度，兩者缺一不可。假設應試者被要求寫一篇有關吸煙的議論文，那么 SMOKING 就是中心段落的主題。請看下面這個主題句：

　　Smoking is a habit of many men.

　　該主題句暴露出兩個問題：(1)作者審題不清;(2)作者沒有表明對主題的看法或態度。

　　一般說來，議論文要求應試者闡明自己對某問題的看法或態度。因此當我們拿到議論文的題目以后，要認真審題，權衡某事的利與弊，然后確定我們的立場。

　　如何構建段落的主題句呢?

　　拿到議論文的題目以后，經認真審題后，用英文列出你所能想起的與主題有關的例證。我們還用吸煙這個話題為例：

　　SMOKING

　　1. Smoking can cause such a disease as lung cancer.

　　2. Reports say that merely 3 grams of nicotine can kill a large animal.

　　3. Experts say that smoking one cigarette can reduce one’s life by about 15

　　minutes and that chain smoking is even more hazardous.

　　4. Smoking after a meal can also disturb one’s digestive system.

　　5. Heavy smoking can seriously affect an adult’s sexuality.

　　6. Smoking does harm to second-hand smokers as well.

　　7. Smoking makes one’s mouth smell.

　　8. The life expectancy of smokers is shorter than that of nonsmokers.

　　9. Smoking in bed may cause fire..

　　Smoking is a bad habit that does a lot of harm to human health. Cigarette smoking does great harm to human health. In many cases, cigarette has proved to be the direct cause of such a fatal disease as cancer-hence its nickname, "Cancer Stick". Experts say that smoking one cigarette can reduce one’s life by about 15 minutes and that chain smoking is far more hazardous. Recent findings of medical research show that even a tiny drop of nicotine (about 3 grams in weight) can kill a large animal like a horse. Some medical reports have also proved that heavy smoking would seriously affect an adult’s sexuality, and smoking after a meal also disturbs one’s digestive system. Cigarette smoking not only jeopardizes the physical health of a smoker, it also affects the health of a nonsmoker who passively inhales the polluted air into his or her lungs when he or she is exposed to a winding shroud of cigarette smoke. The impact on such passive smokers (also called second-hand smokers), according to the experts in the medical field, can be even more damaging, and that is why smoking is usually prohibited in most public places. (196 words)

　　(2)議論文中常用的詞句與短語

　　一.數據對比用語：

　　1. … are similar in their range of indicators

　　2. …cause / lead to a rapid / slow increase / decrease in the number / amount of…

　　3. …cause …to drop…

　　4. …climb dramatically from…to…

　　5. …constitutes about…percent …

　　6. …continue to rise / fall…

　　7. …continue to widen / shorten…

　　8. …declines to less than …percent.

　　9. …drop / fall to as many / much / little as…

　　10. …fall / rise / increase / decrease dramatically

　　11. …fluctuates between…

　　12. …grow only marginally from…to…

　　13. …increase / decrease slowly

　　14. …increase/ decrease lightly

　　15. …is doubled

　　16. …is inversely proportional to…

　　17. …is significantly lower / higher than…

　　18. …lead to an increased number / amount of…

　　19. …level off / remain constant at…

　　20. …lower the percentage of …

　　21. …maintain approximately the same number of…

　　22. …narrow down to…

　　三.連詞：

　　1. accordingly

　　2. additionally

　　3. also

　　4. besides

　　5. but

　　6. furthermore

　　7. however

　　8. in addition

　　9. moreover

　　10. nevertheless

　　11. on the contrary

　　12. so

　　13. therefore

　　14. thus

　　15. what’s more

　　16. yet

　　17. despite…

　　18. in spite of…

　　19. otherwise

　　20. instead of

　　21. alternatively

　　四.歸納用語:

　　1. above all

　　2. all in all

　　3. most importantly

　　4. worst of all

　　5. as a result

　　6. briefly

　　7. consequently

　　8. eventually

　　9. finally

　　10. generally

　　11. in conclusion

　　12. in general

　　13. in summary

　　14. to end with

　　15. to sum up

　　16. in brief

　　針對有關話題持正、反論點的議論文范文對照

　　Should Women be Regarded as Inferior to Men?

　　(1)

　　I never think that women should be treated as the second -class citizens. Observing objectively, you’ll find that women have succeeded in virtually any existing occupation you care to name: politicians, soldiers, doctors, university professors, lawyers, business executives, scientists and even presidents of countries. Today’s intense competition in jobs is not only between men, but also between men and the ’weaker sex’, who have often put men to shame in almost every field. Yet men refuse to acknowledge them and give women their due, and their attitude towards women becomes even more hostile. The only sound explanation for this is that men shun (回避，躲避) real competition- they are afraid of being beaten at the games that they consider to be their own.

　　If there is anything that men are better than women, it is their physical strength. No other things that men claim to excel in are borne out by statistics. Physical strength excluded, the fact is that men and women are basically equal in all kinds of abilities except when it comes to language art and negotiation skills, at which women are better. You can be sure that if negotiation tasks were left to women who are gentler, more graceful and levelheaded, they would succeed brilliantly, where men have failed for centuries, and therefore war has been a frequent scene on this planet. Believe it or not, it is women who could turn those filthy and bloody battlefields into lands of joy. So some things are too important to be left to men! (252 words)

　　(2)

　　It sounds pretty ridiculous to claim that men and women are equal and have the same abilities. Men have excelled in every field of work. Plato, Freud, Beethoven, Einstein, Pavarotti and Li Ning are the names of great men in different fields, to name just a few. Can you effortlessly think up a woman’s name that can match those brilliant names? You may argue that you can name a dozen of great women athletes. Well, yes. However, they look great simply because they have never run or played against men. See what happens if you group men and women together in the same race.

　　Women are justifiably called the weaker sex not only because they are physically weak, they are mentally fragile as well. They depend too little on cool reasoning and too much on intuition and instinct to arrive at decisions. Sometimes they are not even capable of thinking clearly. That is why they often gossip and chatter and scream whenever they talk, which men seldom do, and that is also why there are embarrassingly few women politicians in any country you can think of. Big decisions are always left for men to make, for they are more reliable, rational, and levelheaded.

　　Many women complain that they look inferior because they have never been offered equal opportunities in jobs. This may have been true in the long past, but not now. The fact is that jobs are open to both sexes, but it is almost impossible for women to be wives, mothers and successful career women all at once. Actually most women are glad to let men support their families. They know that bearing and rearing children are more important. And that is why men outnumber women in practically every kind of job. They are not excluded; they exclude themselves. (299 words)

　　Should World Governments Conduct Serious Campaigns Against Smoking?

　　(1)

　　Cigarette smoking has been jeopardizing human health for centuries ever since an English nobleman brought tobacco from the New World back to England and people everywhere in the world have been puffing their way to smoky and cancerous death.

　　Medical findings have long proved that there is a close link between smoking and bronchial troubles, heart disease and lung cancer because of the many harmful ingredients in the tobacco. Yet the governments of most countries pretend to be blind to the lethal effect of tobacco: the answer lies with money. Cigarette smokers are big tax payers. Levying a tax on your cigarettes is just like levying a tax on your daily bread.

　　This is absolutely the most shortsighted policy you could ever imagine. While a surprisingly large amount of tax money is accumulated on the one hand, it is paid out in increasingly larger amount on the other. Each year, millions of dollars of special funds are allocated to those medical research establishments on cancer research and on pharmaceutical products to cure people suffering from the disease. Everybody would have less chance of being struck down by heart disease and cancer if smoking were banned altogether by governments at all levels.

　　For a start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette advertising (Cigarette advertising is as insidious as it is dishonest. The advertisements always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. In such advertisements, smoking is always associated with the great open-air life, handsome cowboys, and with beautiful girls. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning) and should then launch fierce anti-smoking campaigns. An effective warning-say, a picture of an ugly skull-can be printed on every packet of cigarettes that is to be sold, to scare smokers out of sucking those cancer sticks.

　　tatistics reveal that the number of adolescent smokers in many countries is on the increase. It is therefore necessary that greater effort should be made to inform young people of the horrible consequences of taking up the habit.

　　When people suggest that governments should do something to ban cigarette smoking altogether, I do not think they are being serious. It is absurd to suggest we ban it after several hundred years, especially when you think of the possible consequences brought about by such banning. Banning cigarette smoking would endanger the survival of many related businesses and industries: tobacco growers, cigarette-making factories, retail businesses. Tax apart, tobacco industry is an important source of income even to developed countries.

　　After all, smoking is not so bad as it seems when you look at the benefits it brings.

　　First, it is manly to smoke. The unique charm a cigarette smoker holds could not be achieved otherwise. Second, smoking makes social contact easier, particularly when one meets a stranger. Third, a cigarette works like a dream when you take one after long hours of reading or writing, or after a tiring job-the soothing effect it creates is simply beyond description. Those who are against smoking often ignore the fact that smoking can relieve stresses of a long working day.

　　I do not mean that smoking does no harm to people’s health. However, in a society that advocates freedom, individuality and democracy each individual should be entitled to decide whether he quits smoking or not; banning goes against democracy.

　　As the most curious being in the world, man is always keen on exploration. With the earth having been fully explored, the next logical target for man is definitely the space.

　　Several countries now are engaged in the space exploration, which is fun, and which fires our imagination. Of course, they are not doing it just for fun, but also for seeking answers to the following provocative questions: How was a planet formed? What is the essence of life? Are there any extraterrestrial beings as intelligent as or even more intelligent than humankind elsewhere in the universe? If this is the case, can we set up communication with them? Can man find a better planet to live on? If so, is mass-emigration from the overpopulated earth to such a planet possible? For only scores of years as space projects have been proceeding, we have already achieved quite a few encouraging results, and have benefited a lot from such programs-crystals, drugs or chemicals produced under zero gravity, satellite communications, manned space vehicles and stations, to name just a few.

　　Yet, some less curious and less ambitious people perceive such endeavour in a less positive way. They call space exploration as ’space race’, deeming it to be an extension of the race for power on earth and a pure waste of money. I don’t want to comment on such a short-sighted argument, but at least no one should impose restrictions on man’s desire for knowledge. If space research helps us gain better understanding of the working mechanism of the universe, of our earth and of our origins, there is no sound reason why anyone should go against it.