什么是辩证英语写作Critical Writing
1. 辩证英语写作 Critical Writing
我们在学术写作中需要向读者表达我们对于某个问题的观点(Opinion)或者立场(Position),通常被称为我们的'voice’, 'claim’ or ' position’。你的立场或者观点可能是基于别人的研究,但是整个论证和最后的得出的结论是你自己的。在整个阅读和写作过程中,不能简简单单的去描述和罗列他人的研究,我们需要正确识别(recognize)和评估不一样的文献和研究的立场进而去找出可以支持自己观点或者立场的论据。
2.识别不一样的声音 Recognizing different voices
我们说了很多理论性的东西,那我们用一些具体的例子来看看我们如何识别不一样的声音。首先我让我们来看看来自 Marvin Harris的这段话:
It is important not to assume that merely because a practice is associated with low-income levels that it is necessarily inferior. Helen Icken Safa (1967) has shown, for example, that high-rise public housing destroys the sense of community and patterns of neighbourly cooperation that frequently exist in established slums and shantytowns. Betty and Charles Valentine (1970) stress the resourcefulness, sense of humour, and informality of black ghetto culture. Oscar Lewis's (1961, 1966) remarkable documentaries of ghetto life, as told in the tape-recorded words of the people themselves, show that many individuals who are trapped in poverty nonetheless achieve a great nobility of spirit.
(Marvin Harris, Culture, people, nature: An introduction to general anthropology, Harper & Row, 1975)
在看完这段话,思考一下这段话作者的立场是什么(Position)?
我们可以从这段话的主题句(topic sentence)看到, 作者的立场是:
' It is important not to assume that merely because a practice is associated with low-income levels that it is necessarily inferior.’ 与低收入水平相关的文化习俗并不一定是低劣的。
那来看看作者是如何引用不同学者文献去支持自己观点的:
Helen Icken Safa (1967), high-rise public housing destroys the sense of community
Helen Icken Safa(1967), cooperation among neighbours often exists in slums and shantytowns
Betty & Charles Valentine(1970),black ghetto culture is resourceful, informal and has a sense of humour
Oscar Lewis (1961, 1966)many individuals trapped in poverty achieve a great nobility of spirit
作者引用别人的研究去支持自己的观点,不仅仅引用正面观点来支持自己的论证, 比如Betty& Charles Valentine(1970),还可以通过举反面例子来论证自己的观点,比如Helen Icken Safa (1967)。
3. 总结 Conclusion
不管我们是在写学期论文,期刊论文还是毕业论文,都需要阅读大量的文献从中找出支持自己立场的观点。但是,我们除了要找到自己的立场的论据,我们还要学会如何评估(assessment)和对比 (comparing)。