英文写作范文 model essay(全)

Description: Model Essay 1

Disaster Office

I knew that professor Cassidy was excellent professor from the first day I attended one of his chemistry classes. He was prompt, perfectly prepared for class and delivered a lecture that was organized, clear, and interesting. In fact, I tried to emulate his behavior in my own studies. The first time I visited his office, however, I realized that these qualities of his didn’t extend outside the classroom. To my surprise, his office environment seemed to reflect the very opposite of his classroom persona: it was a disorderly mess, and I felt as if I’d stumbled upon the aftermath of a natural disaster.

When I arrived, the secretary told me to go head and wait in the office, since Professor Cassidy had stepped out for a few moments. I was soaked because there had been a downpour of rain earlier in the day, and it was still drizzling when I had arrived on campus. As I walked along the corridor, I could see a trial of muddy footprints leading down the hall, eventually stopping at Professor Cassidy’s office door.

I peeked inside at the tiny room, so small it could barely accommodate a desk and extra chair. There was a metal coat rack just inside the door, its base surrounded by a fresh grey puddle flowing form a red umbrella propped against the rack. There was also a small collection of about six sneakers and rubber boots in disarray on a rubber mat. One orphan shoe, its brown leather scuffed and wrinkled, lay on its side in the puddle. The rack itself held a wet raincoat as well as a jean jacket and mass of assorted colorful sweaters, some barely hanging on by their sleeves. The musty smell emanating from the damp wool made me feel as if I’d stumbled into a basement closet by mistake.

Suddenly I was assailed by another odor—a pungent, sour, acrid smell that wafted across the room. As I surveyed the room I noticed a coffee maker sitting on a ledge by the window-it was the smell of stale coffee that had been left on the warming element too long. The glass carafe contained a hard, black, glossy substance that had dried onto the bottom of the pot. In addition, there were doffed stains like brown polka dots all over the shelf on which the coffee make stood. I found it hard to believe that Professor Cassidy could work in this king of environment–but this was only the beginning of my enlightenment.

The rain continued to tap on the open window, which allowed some stray raindrops to enter the room through the screen at its bottom, spraying the assortment of cups and plates on the window ledge. Beside the mugs was a small potted plant, its thin neglected leaves now yellowed and brown on the edges. It appeared as if it had barely made it through a drought

Unfortunately, the desk was no better. Was this where Professor Cassidy wrote his brilliant lectures, I wondered? Its once-glossy wooden surface—except for the computer—was completely covered with stacks of books, journals, and papers, some so old that their edges were yellowed and brittle. Some were held open by other books that lay haphazardly across their spines, some were heaped in jagged piles on the desk or chair, some were pile on the floor, and others acted as coasters for cups in which

there floated fuzzy green islands atop unidentifiable liquid leftovers. There was even a half-eaten slice of pizza on a greasy, yellowed paper plate, perched precariously on top of the computer screen. In between the books and papers was an accumulation of pens and pencils lying this way and that.

When I turned my attention to the walls of the small room, I noticed a collection of photos and prints on display. Once of the photos-a youthful Professor Cassidy smiling as he handed a diploma to a graduating student-had somehow survived a fall. And the glass was cracked into two triangles over the photo. Some of the posters on the walls illustrated famous scientific figures such as John Polanyi or Marie Curie. One of these was missing a tack on one corner so that the edge had curled downward like a stray lock of hair over Avogadro’s forehead.

Just when I thought I must be in the wrong place—this was surely one of the greatest scenes of chaos I’d ever seen in my life—I heard Professor Cassidy’s booming voice behind me:―Well hello, Mr. Carter! Welcome to my home away from home!‖ All I could think was, ―How much worse could it be at home?‖

Description: Model Essay 2

My world

As an old saying goes, ―East, west, home is the best.‖ In everyone’s heart, home is the most comfortable, inviting place in the world.

This summer vacation, I had my dream realized: to have my room resettled. If you come to my room now, you will be attracted by the ultra large window which brightens up the whole room. It takes in a beautiful view: the Theological college right across the street, the green fields in front of it and the high buildings in the distance. To the left of the window stands a bookcase. In it, my books line up like soldiers waiting to be reviewed by their commander. Next to the bookcase is a big desk. Having a big desk is at once a convenience and a nuisance. To say it is a convenience is because it can keep a lot of things; to say it is a nuisance is because it reinforces my bad habit of leaving things about. Day after day, books, dictionaries and newspapers pile up on the desk until there is hardly any room for a tea cup. Things in the drawers are in such a mess they sometimes do not shut well. To the right of the window is my bed. Its cover is always very neat and tidy. You may wonder how come a slovenly boy who never care to wash his handkerchief should keep his bed spotlessly clean. There can be only one explanation: that is, I seldom sleep on it for I spend most of my time in my dormitory. Beside the bed is the most expensive but least used piece of furniture in this room- a piano, a birthday present from my parents when I was ten. They hoped that by playing piano I would cultivate sort of interest in music. But I found, to my dismay, that I had no ear for music at all. That is why it has been sitting there idle for ten years, and is likely to be so for another ten years.

This is my room and this is my world- a comfortable place for me.

Description: Physical

In academic writing, physical description may occur in a number of disciplines or subjects. A description of people, family relationships, occupations and institutions might occur in social or physical anthropology or sociology. A description of apparatus and equipment might occur in the various sciences. For nearly all these descriptions present simple active verb forms (e.g. she wears/they wear) and present simple passive verb forms (e.g. it is described/ they are described) are commonly used. The following stages concentrate on describing countries.

The United Kingdom

Britain (or Great Britain) is an island that lies off the north-west coast of Europe. The nearest country is France, which is 20 miles away and from which Britain is separated by the English Channel. The island is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the North Sea to the east. It comprises the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland, that is, three countries. Scotland is in the north, while Wales is in the west. Ireland, which is also an island, lies off the west coast of Britain. It consists of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Britain together with Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom (UK). Thus, the United Kingdom is composed of four countries, the largest of which is England. The capital city is London, which is situated in south-east England.

The UK has a total area of about 244,100 square kilometers (94,248 square miles). About 70% of the land area is devoted to agriculture, about 7% is wasteland, moorland and mountains, about 13% is devoted to urban development, and 10% is forest and woodland. The northern and western regions of Britain, that is Scotland and Wales, are mainly mountainous and hilly. Parts of north-west and centre of England also consist of mountains and hills.

Britain has a generally mild and temperate climate. It is, however, subject to frequent changes. It has an average annual rainfall of about 120 centimeters (47 inches).

In 1998 the population of the United Kingdom was nearly 59 million. The density of population was approximately 240 people per square kilometer. However, in England, where 83% of the population live, the density was much higher, about 363 per square kilometer.

In the UK, English is the first language of the vast majority of people. However, in western Wales, Welsh is the first language for many of the people. In Scotland only a small number of people speak Gaelic.

In Britain about 66% of the population say that they are Christian, while fewer than 5% say that they belong to other religions.

Summary

Britain is an island that (1) the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It (2) the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland. Ireland (3) the west coast of Britain. It (4) Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The United Kingdom (5) Britain together with Northern Ireland. The capital city is London which (6) south-east England.

In 1998 the population of the UK (7) nearly 59 million. The density of population (8) 240 people per square kilometer. In the UK English (9) the first language of most people. In western Wales, Welsh (10) many of the people. But few people in Scotland (11) Caelic. Look carefully at the map of Australia and at the table of information. Then write a description of Australia organized in a similar way to the description of the UK. Check the structure and V ocabulary Aid if necessary. Write four short paragraphs on: location

size and physical background

climate

population, language, and religion.

Capital: Canberra, in the Australia Capital Territory.

Total area: 7,682,300 sq. km.

Land: consist largely of plains and plateaux

7% arable 14% forest

54% grassland 25% other land: desert, mountains, wasteland

Climate: ranges from alpine to tropical

Annual rainfall: two-thirds of the continent is arid or semi-arid

(having little or no rain) – over 80 cm. rain in the north

and eastern and southern highlands.

Population (1996): 18,423,000 Density: 2 per sq. km

States and territories: % of population:

New South Wales 34% South Australia 8%

Victoria 25% Tasmania 2.5% Queensland 18% Australia Capital Territory 1.5%

Western Australia 10% Northern Territory 1% Language: English (+some others)

Religion: mainly Christian

Assignments:

1.Now write a brief account of your country, divided into four paragraphs as above.

If you do not know the exact figures, guess or write in general terms.

2.Describe your hometown so that the reader, who does not know it, can get a clear

picture of it.

From Giggles to Sniffles

Girls are always sentimental and change emotions quickly. Yesterday morning, when the class started, I had just finished telling an interesting joke to Jane, a girl who sat right behind me. I was always known as a very good story teller, but Jane seemed to have no reaction to my story.

She just sat there and remained indifferent, as if she had not heard even a word of my story. I left rather frustrated and then turned round.

A little while after the teacher had begun the class, a sound like the leaking of a tire was heard in the classroom. At first, it was almost unnoticeable, but soon it became louder and louder.

As I looked around, I was so surprised to find that it was Jane who was giggling. She definitely got the humor of my story by then. She could hardly control herself and shaking with laughter. All eyes turned towards her, including the teacher’s furious ones, buy she did not notice them. Suddenly, the teacher roared, ―Jane, stop la ughing! Stop laughing!‖

Finally, Jane stopped laughing and was aware of the embarrassing situation she was in. She stood up timidly with her face turning red.

―Just get out of the classroom! Understand? Get out of here!‖ The teacher was too angry to calm down.

Tears tricked down the poor girl’s cheeks, then down her lovely bright-colored dress. She stepped out of the classroom, sobbing so sadly that you could not imagine she had laughed heartily only a few minutes earlier.

Fishing with My Father

On an exciting summer day in mid-July in the middle of Sabago Lake my father helped me reel in my very first catch. At first, everything was quiet around us. There were no human voices, cars, of planes to break the silence of the still pond. It was a perfect day for fishing. The sky was a brighter blue than usual, and puffs of white clouds raced overhead. We sat hushed, and afraid to talk, thinking that the fish could hear us and would stay away. As we sat there, my father, holding his pole in one hand, passed me some lunch. I put down my brown chipped rod to take a sandwich wrapped in tin foil from him. The foil reflected the bright sunlight onto the water. With my mouth filled with peanut butter. I whined, ―When do you the fish will bite? We’ve been in this boat forever.‖ It was terribly hot, for the sun hung directly over us, and the mosquitoes had told me hours ago that they favored my blood the best. Another body dropped to the bottom of the boat. ―These things are eating me alive,‖I

complained to my father. Suddenly my line tightened and my sinker moved. ―Dad, it moved; what do I do now?‖ My father, now as excited as I was, crawled over to my side of the boat. Everything rocked. Little circles with white bubbles formed on the water. Dad took the rod from me and, grasping it firmly like a champion fisherman, pulled and reeled the line in. ―First you pull a little to let it know who’s the boss.‖ He explained excitedly. ―Then you bring it in gradually.‖ In complete control of the pole he alternately reeled and jerked the line. Finally, a six-inch silvery blue perch sailed through the air, dangling on my line. The fish landed on the seat of the boat, flapping wildly and gasping for air. I picked the perch up, looked into its gaping mouth, and then plopped the struggling body into a pail of water. The fish regained consciousness and swam around unharmed of the moment. I think it knew that it would be part of our dinner that night.

Harvey S. Wiener. Creating Compositions Reflection questions:

1.What words in the topic sentence show the writer’s attitude toward her fishing

experience with her farther?

2.Why are the quotations particularly effective in this narration?

3.Which action words make this theme come alive?

4.Which words appeal to the reader’s sense of sound and color?

Holidays Celebrated in My Country

People in the United States, like citizens of most countries, look forward to a number of holidays each year. These days usually celebrate a patriotic, political, or religious event of the past. Among the patriotic holidays in the United States are Labor Day, veterans’ day Columbus Day, and thanksgiving. Political holidays include Washington’s Birthday, Lincoln’s birthday, and Independence Day. Many Americans think of two religious holidays---Easter and Christmas----as the most important celebrations of the year. One holiday in a category of its own is New Year’s Day.

A study of patriotic holidays in the United States suggests some American values. Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September, pays tribute to the agriculture and industrial workers who have contribute to America’s growth over the past 300 years. Veteran’s day, honors the man who has served in the United States armed forces. On the second Monday of October, Americans pause to recall the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who set out in the fifteenth century in research of the new world. The thanksgiving holiday recalls America’s earliest history. Thanksgiving dinners, catering around roast turkey, are served on the third Thursday of November in memory of the colonists who first come from England in the seventeenth century to settle in Massachusetts.

Another type of American holiday, the political celebration, commemorates significant figures or events in the United States history. Two highly esteemed presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, are honored by a single holiday. The birthday of Washington, the first president of the united states, and of Lincoln, America’s civil war president, are celebrated on President’s Day, the third Monday of

February. Perhaps the most colorful celebration each year take place on Independence Day, popularly called the Fourth of July. Many families plan picnics and attend pubic fireworks displays on this political holiday recalling the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1770.

Unlike America’s political holidays, two popular holidays are marked by intense preparations and lengthy celebration. Most schools and colleges are closed for a week’s vac ation in the spring at Easter, the holiday honoring the resurrection of Christ. Of all American holidays, Easter is the only one that is not held at a fixed time every year. Commemorating the second day following Chris’s crucifixion, an event which has not been exactly placed in time, Easter is now celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring upon or immediately after the vernal equinox. Thus the holiday takes place each year sometimes between March 22 and April 25. Church services are crowded. In many cities, families dressed in their new spring clothing walk down the main streets in an ―Easter parade.‖ For children, Easter brings the excitement of the mythical Easter rabbit, which hides colored eggs for them to find. Each year at Easter children gather for festivities on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C.

A religious holiday in which the leaving of gifts plays an even more important part in Christmas. Celebrating the birthday of Christ, Christmas occurs on December 25. Most schools close for the last two weeks of December. Because the three Magi were said to have brought gifts to Christ at his birth, American families leave gaily wrapped packages under a decorated evergreen tree on the night before Christmas to be opened on the next morning.

Like people everywhere, Americans welcome the idea of making a fresh start in life. For this reason, the first day of every New Year is celebrated as a holiday. Couples attend lively parties on the evening of December 31, breaking into much revelry at midnight. At the year’s end, many people also make their new year’s resolution. They promise themselves in the New Year to overcome one or more of their bad habits. But sometimes, of course, a new year’s resolution is not strong enough to last a full 365 days.

What I Have Lived For

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have brown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the verge of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy-ecstasy so great that I would have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes lf cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I to suffer. This has been my life.

I have found it, worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.

Grand and Lee: A Study in Contrast

When Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a modest house at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, to work out the terms for the surrender of Lee’s Army of Norther n Virginia, a great new chapter in American life came to a close, and a great new chapter began.

These men were bringing the Civil War to its virtual finish. To be sure, other armies had yet to surrender, and for a few days the fugitive Confederate government would struggle desperately and vainly, trying to find some way to go on living now that its chief support was gone. But in effect it was all over when Grant and Lee signed the papers. And the little room where they wrote out the terms was the scene of one of the poignant, dramatic contrasts in American history.

They were two strong men, these oddly different generals, and they represented the strengths of two conflicting currents that, through them, had come into final collision.

Back of Robert E. Lee was the notion that the old aristocratic concept might somehow survive and be dominant in American life.

Lee was tidewater Virginia, and in his background were family, culture, and tradition…the age of chivalry transplanted to a New World which was maki ng its own legends and its own myths. He embodied a new way of life that had come down through the age of knighthood and the English country squire. America was a land that was beginning all over again, dedicated to nothing much more complicated than the rather hazy belied that all men had equal rights, and should have an equal chance in the world. In such a land, Lee stood for the feeling that it was somehow of advantage to human society to have a pronounced inequality in the social structure, there should be leisure class, backed by ownership of land; in turn, society should be keyed to the land as the chief source of wealth and influence. It would bring forth (according to this ideal) a class of men with a strong sense of obligation to the community; men who lived not to gain advantage for themselves, but to meet the solemn obligations which had been laid on them by the very fact that they were

privileged. From them the country would get its leadership; to them it could look for the higher values—of thought, of conduct, of personal deportment—to give it strength and virtue.

Lee embodied the noblest elements of this aristocratic ideal. Through him, the landed nobility justified itself. For four years, the Southern states had fought a desperate war to uphold the ideals for which Lee stood. In the end, it almost seemed ad if the Confederacy fought for Lee; as if h himself was the Confederacy…the best thing that the way of life for which the Confederacy stood could ever have to offer. He had passed into legend before Appomattox. Thousands of tired, underfed, poorly clothed Confederate soldiers, long since past the simple enthusiasm of the early days of the struggle, somehow considered Lee the symbol of everything for which they had been willing to die. But they could not quite put this feeling into words. If the Lost Cause, sanctified by so much heroism and so many deaths, had a living justification, its justification was General Lee.

Grant, the son of a tanner on the Western frontier, was everything Lee was not. He had come up the hard way, and embodied nothing in particular except the eternal toughness and sinewy fiber of the men who grew up beyond the mountains. He was one of a body of men who owed reverence and obeisance to no one, who were self-reliant to a fault, who cared hardly anything for the past but who had a sharp eye for the future.

These frontier men were the precise opposites of the tidewater aristocrats. Back of them, in the great surge that had taken people over the Alleghenies and into the opening Western country, there was a deep, implicit dissatisfaction with a past that had settled into grooves. They stood for democracy, not from any reasoned conclusion about the proper ordering of human society, but simply because they had grown up in the middle of democracy and knew how it worked. Their society might have privileges, but they would be privileges each man had won for himself. Forms and patterns meant nothing. No man was born to anything, except perhaps to a chance to show how far he could rise. Life was competition.

Yet along with this feeling had come a deep sense of belonging to a national community. The Westerner who developed a farm, opened a shop, or set up in business as a trader could hope to prosper only as his own community prospered—and his community ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada down to Mexico. If the land was settled, with towns and highways and accessible markets, he could better himself. He saw his fate in terms of the nation’s own destiny. As its horizons expanded, so did his. He had, in other words, an acute dollar —and—cents stake in the continued growth and development of his country.

And that, perhaps, is where the contrast between Grant and Lee becomes most striking. The Virginia aristocrat, inevitably, saw himself in relation to his own region. He lived in a static society which could endure almost anything except change. Instinctively, his first loyalty would go to the locality in which that society existed. He would fight to the limit of endurance to defend it, because in defending it he was defending everything that gave his own life its deepest meaning.

The westerner, on the other hand, would fight with an equal tenacity for the broader

concept of society. He fought so because everything he lived by was tied to growth, expansion, and a constantly widening horizon. What he lived by would survive or fall with the nation itself. He could not possibly stand by unmoved in the face of an attempt to destroy the Union. He would combat with everything he had, because he could only see it as an effort to cut the ground out from under his feet.

So Grant and Lee were in complete contrast, representing two diametrically opposed elements in American life. Grant was the modern man emerging; beyond him, ready to come on the stage, was the age of steel and machinery, of crowded cities and a restless, burgeoning vitality. Lee might have ridden down from the old age of chivalry, lance in hand, silken banner fluttering over his head. Each man was the perfect champion of his cause, drawing both his strengths and his weaknesses from the people he led.

Yet it was not all contrast, after all. Different as they were---in background, in personality, in underlying aspiration----these two great soldiers had much in common. Under everything else, they were marvelous fighters. Furthermore, their fighting qualities were really very much alike.

Each man had, to begin with, the great virtue of utter tenacity and fidelity. Grand fought his way down the Mississippi Valley in spite of acute personal discouragement and profound military handicaps. Lee hung o I the trenches at Petersburg after itself had died. In each man there was an indomitable quality… the born fighter’s refusal to give up as long as he can still remain on his feet and lift his two fists.

Daring and resourcefulness they had, too; the ability to think faster and move faster than the enemy. These were the qualities which gave Lee the dazzling campaigns of Second Manassas and Chancellorsville and won Vicksburg for Grant.

Lastly, and perhaps greatest of all, there was the ability, at the end, to turn quickly from war to peace once the fighting was over. Out of the way these two men behaved at Appomattox came the possibility not wholly realized, in the years to come, but w hich did, in the end, help the two sections to become one nation again… after a war whose bitterness might have seemed to make a such a reunion wholly impossible. No part of either man’s life became him more than the part he played in their brief meeting in the McLean house at Appomattox. Their behavior there put all succeeding generations of Americans in their debt. Two great Americans, Grant and Lee--- very different, yet under everything were very much alike. Their encounter at Appomattox was one of the great moments of American history.

The Whole Composition—Cause and Effect

1 Types of cause—effect writing

A cause paper

A cause paper beings with an introduction which briefly describes the effect, and then the entire body of the paper analyses the causes.

Divorce in China

In recent years China has experienced a dramatic increase in the divorce rate. During the last decade, the divorce rate in some big cities has increased as much as it had in the entire previous thirty years. In 1960 there were only one divorced person for every 100 married people, and thirty years later the rate was 2.9 percent. But by 2000 the rate jumped to 5.8 percent.

The upward trend in divorce reflects three important changes in our society. The most significant one is the change in social attitude towards the divorced people. In the past the act of divorce was considered a social stigma. Even if a couple had already lived separately they dare not seek divorce. Now that divorce has become socially accept, you won’t be looked down upon just because you are divorced.

Second, the change in economic activities has also facilitated divorce. Millions of farmers flooded into cities to seek jobs, and thousands of city dwellers go abroad for study or work. The unprecedented social mobility has placed severe strains on married couples, not only in terms of geographic separation but also psychological change.

Finally, legal changes have greatly simplified divorce procedures. In the past suing for divorce was the most difficult thing ever ima gine. You wouldn’t succeed without years of efforts. Now the revise divorce law makes legal separation easy for most people to obtain. Thus the last barrier to divorce is removed.

Whatever changes responsible for the rise in divorce rate, one thing is certain: there is a significant change in people’s traditional view of marriage and divorce.

In-class discussion (pair-work): Why do I need a wife/husband? Give me possible reason you can come up with.

An effect paper

An effect paper being with a brief introduction describing the cause, and the rest of paper discusses the effects.

Telecommuting

Telecommuting refers to office workers spending much of their time working at home and commuting with their companies through their computers. With the development of computer technologies, it is growing fast and expected to be common for most office workers in the coming decades. The use of telecommuting, however, may trigger major changes to corporate structure, workers’ life styles and even urban planning.

The most obvious changes may be apparent within the companies and other

organizations. If half of the working week is spent telecommuting from home, there would be no need to have many desk and rooms, while offices grow smaller and expenses are reduced, morale of an organization might be affected. Meanwhile as the company becomes merely a headquarters with soldier out most of the time, the way to run the company would change.

For the individual office workers, telecommuting would mean spending more time at home. This is the great benefit for them, for it would eliminate the need to travel to work every day, thus saving much time and money. As they could work the hours they wish, they would have more free time —time spent with their wives and children, for example.

Telecommuting may also have the potential effect on the structure of urban life. For one thing, traffic would be improved as there is marked decline in the number of cars during the rush hours. For another, as more people work and live in the same area, shops and cultural events would likely relocate themselves out of the city center. Obviously, telecommuting will serve not only to transform the way people work but also the way people live. With this spread, the impact on society would be even more far-reaching.

In-class discussion (pair-work): Effect of girls outnumbering boys in our university A cause-effect paper

Sometime a paper may need to explore both the causes and effects of something in detail.

Fake commodities

Nowadays there are countless fake commodities on the market. There are many reasons for this social phenomenon, but in general, they come down to three major ones.

For one thing, producers can profit a lot by making fake commodities because the cost of producing fake commodities is much lower. For another, businessmen can also profit a lot by selling fake commodities. Perhaps the primary reason is that our legal system is not sound and the punishment of illegal producers and businessmen is not severe.

Fake commodities do great harm to society. In general, the harms can be listed as follows. Fake commodities damage the consumers’ interest they deserve. If something goes wrong with the fake commodities after consumers buy them, the consumers will not have any access to various free service provided by the producer. Besides, they also harm the credit of business because consumers will distrust the shops which sell genuine commodities. Worst of all, they will bring about potential dangers because using fake commodities of inferior quality will cause accidents and endanger consumers’ lives.

Anyway, it is high time that fake commodities were banned.

Layout of Cause-effect Paper

Useful devices for cause—effect writing

● Cause-effect words phrases

thanks to(informal)

owing to

due to

because of

be attributed/attributable to

be ascribed/ascribable to

result from

result in

lead to

cause

give rise to

contribute to

be responsible for

account for

As a result

As a consequence,

Consequently

Therefore

Thus

Hence,

For this reason,

with the result that

● Making a general statement of causes or effects

1. We may cite a variety of reason for (this situation)

2. There are numerous reasons why…, and I would explore only a few of the most

important ones here.

3. There are many good reasons for / against

4. There are many possible reasons for this phenomenon.

5. There are a variety of reasons for this phenomenon.

6. The reasons for… are complicated/profound.

7. A number of / A multitude of factors could account for/ contribute to /lead to/

result in…

8. You may criticize/blame…for …, but the causes for the phenomenon go far

deeper.

9. Generally speaking/ In general/ Generally,…(e.g. the harms/the benefits)can be

listed as follows.

10. …has proven to be benefi cial / harmful in numerous ways.

11. The popu larity of… can be boiled down to/ results from its great utility.

12. Why is/do/did… I think there are presumably four reasons for …

13. Why is/do/did… The answer involves many factors.

14. It may create/ cause/ cause/ lead to/ result in/ give rise to a host of problems/ a

series of negative effects/ a string of adverse effects.

15. This will entail a number of dreadful/ pernicious/ undesirable consequences.

16. It will have a beneficial / favorable impact on…

17. It has exerted a profound influence on…

● Listing causes and effects

1. First…Second,…Third…

2. Firstly,…Secondly,…Thirdly…

3. In the first place, …In the second place,…In the third place…

4. For one thing, … For another, …

5. First of all/ To begin with/ First and foremost/

↓

Besides/ In addition/ Furthermore/ Moreover/ Aside from (that)

↓

Finally/ Lastly/ Last of all/ Last but not least/ In the last place/ Above all (! Used to emphasize that something is more important than the other things you have already mentioned)

6. The most contributing/ contributory factor is…

One of the primary causes perhaps is that…

The most obvious reason is …

The leading reason for … is …

… is mainly responsible for …

The major factor lies in …

↓

Another contributing/ cont ributory factor of … is …

Also playing a part is …

Also contributing to this is …

… also plays a pushing role.

… is also partly responsible for …

7. Worst of all, …

8. Most importantly, …

9. More importantly, … (used to show that the next st atement or question is more important than what you said before it)

10. Equally importantly, … (used to show that the next statement or question is equally important as what you said before it)

Further illustrating the points

1. A good case in point is

2.Take .. .for example, …

3.As an illustration, we may take the case of …

4.Perhaps the most important/ telling/ dramatic/ striking example of … is …

5.I can think of no better illustration of this idea than the example of…

6.History/ Our nation/ Our society is filled wi th examples of …

7.As we can see, …

8.As we know, …

9.Suppose that …(! Especially spoken)

10.Just imagine what … would be like if/ without/ when …

11.No one can deny/ ignore/ overlook/doubt the fact that …

12.The latest surveys/ studies/ researches/ polls indicate/ revea l/ show/ prove that …

13.There is considerable evidence that …

Concluding or summarizing the essay

1.In conclusion/ In summary/ In sum, …

2.To sum up/ To summarize/ To conclude, …

3.In short/ In a word/ In brief, …

4.All in all, …

5.On the whole, it is indispensable t hat …

6.Therefore, we can safely conclude that …

7.Taking into account of all these actors, we may safely come to/ arrive at/ draw/

reach the conclusion that …

8.From what have been discussed above, we may come to a reasonable conclusion

that …

9.All the evidence justifies an unshakable view that …

10.All the evidence supports an unmistakable conclusion that …

11.As the old saying goes, …

12.As the proverb says …

13.Undoubtedly, …

14.Anyway, it is high time that …

15.After all, it is far from omnipotent.

16.… is a pressing and long-term task. To tackle the problem, we need to/ the

government needs to …

Exercises

Exercise 1. Read the following topics and then produce a thesis statement and a concluding sentence by choosing an appropriate expression from Part III.

1.Tourism wave(旅游热)

2.Problem of piracy

3.Electronic dictionaries

Exercise 2. Fill in each of the following blanks by choosing an appropriate word, phrase or sentence from Part III.

Cultures--National and international

There are so many nations in the world and each has its own distinctive culture. However, recent years has witnessed an ever-increasing exchange of cultures between different countries, which covers almost all aspects of culture. Obviously, cultural exchange is gaining worldwide popularity.

_______________①_________________ . _________②_____, people are attracted by different cultures. They want to know different nations of the world, their beliefs, their daily life, their traditions and customs, their arts and even their food or clothing. ________③____, cultural exchange is absolutely beneficial to the nations involved. Countries can learn from other countries achievements, thereby contributing to their own social progress and cultural prosperity. ______④_______, modern communications like train, airplane, telephone or recently internet have played an essential role in this global exchange. Indeed such a large scale of cultural exchange among people of the whole world would be unimaginable without modern communications.

______⑤_________, this worldwide cultural exchange is brought about by a combination of factors and people have already benefited a great deal from it. ____________⑥_________ Scale of international cultural exchange will become larger and larger and thus contribute to the global prosperity.

Advantages of TV

No one can deny that TV has become part of our life. However, some people

complain that it is a curse rather than a blessing because it often exposes people, especially the young generation to violence and sex. ____________①______________________.

___________②_____________________. _____③_____, like newspapers, TV keeps us informed of what is not only reports the events, but also visualize them to us as if everything were alive. _____④_____, TV has served as an important channel of education. We can attend lectures, study English, learn computer science, and so on. ____⑤__________, TV provides us with all forms of entertainment. We can watch sport games, art performance; enjoy TV series, and the like.

_______⑥________, TV does a lot of good to us. Nevertheless, we cannot indulge ourselves in watching TV all the time. After all, it is part of us, but not the whole.

Internet in China

With science and technology highly developed and people’s living standard greatly improved, Internet as a new media has come into our life. Nowadays, getting on the line and using Internet has become popular in China, especially in some big cities. Why is Internet getting so popular in such a short time?

_______________①__________________________. _____②___, it is convenient and fast for people to get a variety of information and what they need is just to press the key buttons. __③_____, it can transmit your letter quickly, safely and accurately with the use of E-mail. ___④______, Internet is of great help of our study and work. Students may acquire knowledge from a national long-distance educational system via Internet. Doctors may use it to diagnose and treat their patients by discussing or exchanging experience with doctors in other parts of the world. Businessmen can conduct E-commerce or E-business on the Net.

_____________________ ⑤_______________________________ with its high speed and efficiency, more and more people in China will be wires to Internet---the information expressway in the near future.

The ups and downs of population growth

The above graphs make it easy to draw a conclusion that a developing USA sees a growing population during nearly 200 years ___①_____ the progress in technology and economy, however, at the cost of some wildlife. As human population increases, the species of wildlife decrease, and some even on the brink of extinction.

_____________②______________________. __________③________ is human beings’ weak sense of wildlife protection which ____④___ the decrease of wildlife ___⑤_____, cases of illegal hunting and killing of wildlife for profits. The destruction of ecological environment _____⑥________. Less and less forest and pasture coverage area and more and more pollution and sod erosion make it even more difficult for the wildlife to survive. __________⑦_________, unfortunately but naturally a soaring number of human population comes in tandem with a descending variety of wildlife.

_______________⑧____________________________________________________ ______, the US Government needs to enhance its people’s wildlife protection awareness and even the backup of some relevant laws and decrees. What’s more, it should pour more investment into the wildlife protection sector in a s bid to create a better environment for the living wildlife to coexist harmoniously with the human beings,

Exercise 3. Complete the following essays by further illustrating the leading sentence in each paragraph. Try to make use of the devices offered in Part Ⅲ if necessary.

College examinations

In most schools and colleges examinations are commonly used as a chief means of deciding whether a student succeeds or fails in mastering a particular subject. Although it does the job efficiently, its side effects are also enormous.

The most undesirable effect is that examinations encourage bad study habits._______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________

Worse still, examinations produce constant anxiety and pressure. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________

Examinations lower the standards of teaching as well. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Few of us admit that examinations can contribute anything really important to the students’ academic development. As we know, even some students whose performance at school is rather poor turn out to be great scientists or successful entrepreneurs later on. If that is the ca se, why can’t we make a change and devise something more efficient and reliable than examinations?

Keeping pets

Nowadays more and more people are beginning to keep dogs as pets. According to a survey, in the past ten years, the number of the family keeping pets has increased four times. Why does keeping pets become more prevalent now?

First and foremost, there is a definite link between the rise in the number of people keeping pets and the rise in people’s living standard. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Secondly, loneliness creates a need to keep pets. _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________

The rise in the aging population and the one child family is also responsible.___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________

For these reasons, the number of people keeping pets is steadily growing, even it costs much time and money. As an old saying goes, ―love me, love my dog.‖