Composition - For use in the second semester of 8th grade

Author: Liu Xiqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Writing is important. In the context of quality education and the new concept of cultivating students' "creativity," writing is particularly crucial. It is essential to genuinely prioritize the development of "writing skills" on the agenda. The purpose of writing instruction is to liberate people—their intellect, talents, and spirit—allowing their abilities, creativity, and ingenuity to be fully unleashed! From this perspective, all forms of constraint and rigid conventions are unacceptable.
The essence of writing is to learn written expression: that is, using words as a medium to convey thoughts and emotions appropriately. However, "writing" (using written language, or "wen") is not entirely equivalent to "speaking" (using spoken language, or "yan"). Therefore, it is necessary to break through the artificial divisions between primary, junior, and senior high school levels, considering the transition from "yan" to "wen" as a unified whole.
Overall:
- Primary school stage: Use speaking to guide writing, and speaking to promote writing.
- Junior high school stage: Give equal importance to speaking and writing, paying attention to the transition.
- Senior high school stage: Prioritize writing, ensuring it remains grounded in speaking.
Narration followed by argumentation, or a combination of both, is very important. "Narration" (jiushi) is indeed the foundation of writing. Without a solid foundation in narration, everything else is meaningless. Once the basics of narration are mastered, developing "argumentation" (lùnli) is also necessary. In this way, a balanced approach to narration and argumentation fosters the full development of both imaginative and logical thinking.
Generally speaking, argumentation training does not need to begin too early. Junior high is an appropriate time to introduce it, with further practice in senior high. "Be practical first, then refine" (huo shi xian xu) is also very important. "Practical" refers to the "people, events, objects, and scenes" of objective reality. Accurately recording these is a crucial form of "reproductive ability." Specifically, narration, description, and exposition are the three modes of expression that reflect this practical skill.
"Abstract" (xu) refers to the subjective emotions and intentions of the writer. Expressing these appropriately is a more important form of "expressive ability." That is, (shengqing), (lùnli), and (xiǎngxiàng) are the three modes of expression that reflect this skill.
For a long time, we have had a tendency to overemphasize the "practical" and neglect the "abstract," greatly limiting the expression of imagination and creativity. This should be corrected. A writer who can be both practical and abstract, achieving a balance between the two, truly possesses comprehensive expressive ability and can write superior works.
"Expand first, then refine," starting broad and narrowing down, must also be followed. "Expand" (fàng) means to open the mind, let the pen flow freely, and write boldly. "Refine" (shōu) means to carefully consider the words, polish the presentation, and bring the writing to a "conclusion," perfecting it. Expansion and refinement are a pair of contradictions between freedom and restraint. Traditional writing instruction advocates for "expanding first, then refining," starting with bold writing and gradually refining—this is quite reasonable. However, we now place too much emphasis on "trimming," as if we are always refining, leaving students unable to expand freely. This needs to change.
In reality, expansion and refinement each have their own meaning—they are both contradictory and unified. Therefore, the training of "basic writing skills" should not be relaxed.