English Proficiency Test (CET) Writing 15-Day Crash Course

Author: Chief Editor: Wang Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-09-01
Features: This book is compiled based on the writing requirements outlined in the New College English Teaching Syllabus (Revised Edition) and the College English Test Band 4 and 6 Syllabus for 1999. It closely aligns with the exam's question direction and addresses the practical challenges faced by candidates. With its innovative layout, concise explanations, and targeted exercises, it helps students quickly master common patterns and techniques in English writing within 15 days before the exam. Through explanations and training, it guides students to break through writing quickly and achieve high scores. Additionally, it includes contemporary examples and model essays for candidates to refer to and imitate. This book is a highly practical writing guide for the final exam preparation phase. It also holds significant reference value for those preparing for the TOEFL, GRE, and graduate entrance exams.
Excerpt: The article. Right from the beginning, the phrase "had little luck" reveals the author's attitude. Later, the author strengthens their viewpoint by citing expert opinions and research data. As the saying goes, "Do in Rome as the Romans do." As English learners, although our writing may still bear traces of Chinese, clearly recognizing this difference greatly benefits us in producing more authentic English. Now, let's revisit the basic elements of an English paragraph. Consider the following examples:
(1) A driver was heading down Clifton Avenue this morning. During the early part of January of this year, the rate of UFO reports was steady at around three or four a week. With regard to the area of distribution, a fairly clear distinction can be made between national papers and local papers.
(2) A large computer, for example, can add or subtract nine thousand times a second, multiply a thousand times a second. A computer is a machine designed to perform mathematical work and to store and select information that has been fed into it. It has been estimated that human beings making calculations average about one mistake per two hundred digits. It is run by either mechanical or electronic means. Its percentage of error is about one in a billion digits. These machines can do a great deal of complicated work in a very short time.
The first paragraph contains three sentences but lacks a unified theme, with sentences that have little connection to each other. Readers cannot discern the author's writing intention from it. The second paragraph, while having a unified theme, also fails to explain the issue well due to illogical sentence arrangement. Therefore, neither can be considered a paragraph. So, what exactly is a paragraph? What makes a good paragraph? A paragraph consists of a series of related sentences that elaborate on the same theme. A standard paragraph is composed of a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. A good paragraph has three key features:
① It has one and only one central idea;
② It should contain sufficient material to support the central theme;
③ It should be structured in the pattern of a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
If the second paragraph mentioned earlier were rewritten in the following format, it would become a well-structured paragraph:
A computer is a machine designed to perform mathematical work and to store and select information that has been fed into it. It is run by either mechanical or electronic means. These machines can do a great deal of complicated work in a very short time. A large computer, for example, can add or subtract nine thousand times a second, multiply a thousand times a second. Its percentage of error is about one in a billion digits. It has been estimated that human beings making calculations average about one mistake per two hundred digits.