李建林：点评新GRE首场考试写作部分

　　随着8月6号首场新版GRE考试的结束，此次考试中写作部分的作文题目和临场体会也慢慢反馈过来。

　　大致来看，在写作、语文、数学这三个sections中，考生对语文考试的感觉波动。有的反映说考试感觉相当好，而有的则感觉很不理想。数学的临场反映基本上比较一致，绝大多数同学都反映驾驭得相当平稳，成绩也同模考相差不大，一般都能在750以上。

　　就作文而言，综合大量考生的反映，可简单概括为：同预期相符。

　　考生比较一致的反映有两点：

　　，Issue写作时间普遍较为紧张。

　　这一点是考前我就反复提醒过考生的首要问题。新版GRE的写作中，ISSUE的写作时间由过去的45分钟减少到了30分钟。如果扣掉审题、构思和写完后的查错改错花费的时间，掐头去尾，能用在实际写作上的时间也就25～27分钟多点儿的样子。然而，一篇观点鲜明独到(insightful)、论证透彻(fully developed)、充分探讨了问题的复杂性(complexities)的ISSUE作文要想把文章思想表达清楚充分，单单就字数而言，没有400～450个字是很勉强的;而且，这还是以考生的语言表达较为简洁精炼为前提。因此，大家普遍感到Issue写作时间紧迫丝毫不令人意外。

　　第二，目前为止，几乎所有的考生对自己抽到的作文题目都较为满意;普遍庆幸自己没有抽到新题、怪题。

　　这个感觉也完全符合预期以及ETS新G作文题库的特点。在新G所有的149道Issue题目和174道Argument题目中，真正的内容全新题占比基本不到20%，剩下的有超过10%的题目是过去的老题目，大约70%的题目其实都是过去的旧题目稍作变化后的再利用。所以，只要考生能在考前尽量熟悉新G题库，多研磨自己的提纲，完全可以有足够的信心将Argument轻松克服。

　　尽管此次新版GRE写作是全新的题目样式，仍然有不少考生发挥出了自己的真实水平，给出了相当不错的表现，紧扣题目本身和题后的写作指引(Instructions)的要求，写出了的作品。

　　总的感觉是：缩短的Issue写作时间不是问题，而锁定Argument的关键在于对题目中逻辑链条的清晰梳理和论证。

　　下面结合对北京新航道学校一位GRE考生两篇8月6号考试的回忆作文(Issue和Argument各一篇)的点评，再来看看我们该如何驾驭新G写作考试。

　　首先来看这位考生的Issue作文。

　　作文题目是：

　　"In order for any work of art- for example, a film, a novel, a poem or a song - to have merit, it must be understandable to most people."Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the tatement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

　　文章全文如下(考生原创回忆)：

　　Art usually sounds to be far away from the daily life of ordinary people. And it is tempting to believe the statement that people are supposed to fully understand the form of art before they are able to grasp the essence of the work of art. How could a masterpiece of art be appreciated and expose its merit if it is puzzling and complex to most people? However, the significance of art lies in its free spirit and unfettered inspiration of the creators instead of catering to the aesthetic taste of most people.

　　Art\'s importance cannot be exaggerated too much. People are capable of finding comfort and tranquility from a song or a poem when they are upset or tortured by the cruel reality of the world. Owing to the limit of money, time, energy and so on and so forth, it is unlikely for ordinary people to experience different kinds of life, nevertheless,we are able to devote ourselves to a totally different world and go through exotic or romantic , charming or wretched experiences by devouring novels. Only when people have a command of the essence of art can they admire the work of art with heart and soul and share the spirit perception with other people.

　　It is agreeable for the person who is in want of appreciating the beauty and wonder of the works of art finds these masterpieces easily accessible to ordinary people. Nonetheless, being understandable to most people is not the prerequisite of art to be meaningful to the world. For instance, one of a famous book of James Joyce, Ulysses, is well-known for its complexity and intricacy for the skill of stream-of-consciousness being employed throughout the whole novel.Even some intellectual admits that the novel is inaccessible to some extent, let alone most ordinary people. The novel is regarded as one of the masterpiece in the history of literature. The convoluted plots and the abundant symbolic meaning of the objects in the novel strengthen the unique place of the novel and stimulate myriads of literature scholars to explore the novel instead of impairing its merit. Another example to opposing the statement is Emily Dickinson,the secluded but famous American poet, who wrote her poem with cunningness and meaning images that are not easily understood by most people. It is said Walt Whitman was deeply influenced by Emily Dickinson and composed his own work - song of Myself. Beyond that,opera, considered to be a elegant form of art, can be truly appreciated only the recipients focus on listening it and perceiving it.

　　In the final analysis, it is unnecessary to make sure every work of art are accessible to most people, for the creators have right to create the art as they desire to do, so do the people have the right to choose what they prefer. Russell has pointed out that the essence of happiness lies in the diversity of the world.

　　一篇成功的Issue作文必须要做到文章结构、思想和逻辑以及语言的三过关。这篇Issue作品基本都做到了。

　　首先，考生的观点/立场是鲜明而独到的。在文章开头段的末尾，考生在稍作让步后，很快就明白地亮明了自己的全文立场："the significance of art lies in its free spirit and unfettered inspiration of the creators instead of catering to the aesthetic taste of most People ."。考生对艺术功能的定义(the significance of art lies in its free spirit and unfettered inspiration)显然很有新意。一看知道，这就不是纯粹"模板"，考生有自己的独立思考。

　　然后，考生在正文部分，利用两个意群段表述了自己的两个分论点，分别是第二段的"Art\'s importance cannot be exaggerated too much"和第三段的"being understandable to most people is not the prerequisite of art to be meaningful to the world"，接下来对这两个分论点的论证也可谓充实。第二个自然段(也就是个分论点)主要从常识(Common sense)的角度来论证;而第三个自然段(也就是第二个分论点)则主要采用例证的手法。考生的例证精彩，选用的例子典型、精当，例子和观点的相互佐证也分析得明晰，有极强的说服力。

　　该考生文章的结尾也符合我一贯推崇的特点，即，文章的结尾务求"短、有趣、留有余味"。考生对罗素观点的引用"the essence of happiness lies in the diversity of the world"颇有意味。

　　看得出来，该考生考试一开始也有点儿慌张，以至于考生的首段前两句话(Art usually sounds to be far away from the daily life of ordinary people. And it is tempting to believe the statement that people are supposed to fully understand the form of art before they are able to grasp the essence of the work of art.)显得用词拖沓且表意似有模糊。但在整理出自己的中心思想后，考生显然找到了状态，表述越来越流畅，思路展开和论证也更得心应手了。

　　最后说明的是，这篇文章的字数达到了489个字!这是个很难能可贵的数量。它充分说明了一点：缩短的Issue写作时间不是问题!只要我们对题目做到思路清晰、论证饱满，充分发挥出自己既有的语言实力，写出佳作完全可能。

　　先面再来看考生的Argument。

　　Argument的题目是：

　　The following recommendation was made by the president and administrative staff of Grove College, a private institute, to the college\'s governing committee."We recommend that Grove College preserve its century-old tradition of all-female education rather than admit men into its programs. It is true that a majority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would encourage more students to apply to Grove. But 80 percent of the students responding to a survey conducted by the students government wanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumni who answered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. Keeping the college all-female, therefore, will improve morale among students and convince alumni to keep supporting the college financially."

　　Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

　　该考生Argument的全文如下(考生原创回忆)：

　　The recommendation made by the president and administrative staff of a private institution to the college\'s governing committee claimed that the century-old tradition of all-female education are supposed to maintain instead of admitting men into its program. The claim seems to be well-reasoned and trustworthy at the first glance, however,considering the weak evidence provided by the institution, the conclusion is unconvincing and unreliable.

　　The institution has failed to take opinions from other groups into consideration. It is mentioned in the recommendation that a majority of faculty members indeed voted for coeducation, believing that the change is about to stimulate more students to apply to Grove. The call for coeducation in this college is neglected by the institution for it focuses on the results of a survey conducted by the student government. The scope, number and range of the students responded to the interview are never known to us, what\'s more, whether the sample questions appeared on the survey are representative is very questionable. It is very likely that the survey is conducted among a small group of student who strongly advocate preserving the long tradition of all-female education. Correspondingly, the number of 80 percent is meaningless if we are kept in dark of the exact numbers of these interviewees.

　　Supposing it is the fact that many people want to keep the tradition unchanged, there is no direct connection between keeping the tradition and improving morale among students. The reason why the respondents are unwilling to admit men into its program might come from the fear that women are overcome by men or from the avoidance of rearrangement of the curriculum. It is true that over half of the alumni interviewed also opposed coeducation. At this time, a separate survey was conducted. Naturally, some questions are aroused in our heads. What are the differences between the survey conducted by the student government and the separate survey carried out among alumni? How many alumni have participated in the research? It is more likely that the contents of two surveys are different, as a consequence, the results of two researches couldn\'t be added up together simply. What\'s more, whether the alumni supporting the college financially have been investigated in the survey is irresolute. What if the less half of the alumni maintain to provide financial support to the college are in favor of coeducation? Therefore, keeping the long history tradition is likely to impair the financial support rather than strengthen it.

　　Overall, the conclusion drawn by the private institution is unreliable for the foundation of the outcome is unstable and unconvincing. Before any final decision is made about the change of the long traditions of all-male education, the college\'s governing committee are required to take all possible alternatives into consideration.

　　由这篇Argument来看，该考生的运气是不错的，因为这个Argument题目的推理/论证谬误相对较为明显，基本上就两个：，调查统计类谬误;第二，因为前提到结论的过大跨越而导致的"逻辑推不出"的谬误。

　　同该考生的Issue作文比，考生对自己的这篇Argument的写作显然信心十足。这从考生对前述两个逻辑谬误的描述和论证可以清楚地看出来。

　　我在这里想强调的是：Argument的写作不仅仅是简单地找寻题目中的逻辑漏洞;更重要的是要对那些逻辑谬误之所以为谬误的论证。做到这一点，至少有三件事要做：，指出逻辑谬误;第二，举例说明逻辑谬误的存在;第三，提供别样解释(alternative explanations)来展示逻辑谬误。在这三方面，这个考生做的都不错，对题目中论者的逻辑链做了清晰的梳理和充分的论证。

　　最可贵的是，显然因为信心和从容的缘故，考生的语言表达流畅多了，尽管仍有些不必要的小问题。这为考生Argument的分析自然更增亮色。

　　综合总体水平，上述两篇作文得5分应该不算意外。

　　由这两篇文章以及其他同学的反馈来看，得出的总体结论是：

　　尽管其临场考试时间和题型样式的变化，新版GRE写作不足为惧。掌握正确的逻辑分析思路，外加充分的准备和练习，我们完全可以决胜新G写作。

　　李建林：北京新航道学校GRE写作、托福写作、托福词汇主讲。中国人民大学国际关系学院硕士，记者;在境内外主要英文媒体从事北京新闻报道逾15年，曾供职过的报纸和通讯社包括China Daily (中国日报)，Global Times (环球时报)，AFX-Asia (亚太金融新闻社)，South China Morning Post (南华早报);英文写作功力深厚扎实，对GRE、托福、雅思、SAT、ACT等留学考试类写作有精深研究和独到体悟，有专著《GRE写作5.5》，独创GRE作文“1+5”写作模型。