【英文寫作地雷】比背佳句模板更重要的是...｜英語學習
Unclear Writing Is a Sign of Unclear Thinking
現在英語教學過度重視「個人經驗談」、太多歌頌著「英文作文就是要多寫、多背佳句」，這篇我想寫個逆風文。
英文寫作中的「語言能力」和「邏輯架構」缺一不可，但歌頌著多寫多背的一派往往只站在前者的角度，強調「高級單字、佳句、模板」，而忽略了寫作邏輯思維的重要性。
學生可能學過幾個寫作架構的術語：主題句、轉折詞、結論句，但也不理解這個抽象的架構如何真正用在母語人士的寫作中。
英文寫作的「邏輯思維、批判性思考」最難教、最隱性。如果英語教學的訓練中對於學生的 errors 沒有系統性理解、沒有深入討論如何給予有效的 corrective feedback、以及教學本身的限制，最終英文作文就停留在改文法、拼字這類的 micro errors。
這裡我想借賓州大學華頓商學院教授、同時也是心理學家、暢銷書作家 Adam Grant 的話，來解釋寫作邏輯思維的重要性：
Unclear writing is a sign of unclear thinking.
下面兩段學生的文章沒有文法錯誤，但寫作的邏輯思維出了問題：
#1 Drug use is a growing problem among the youth around the world.
Everyone knows that drugs are such a terrible thing that once the youth use it, they will definitely ruin their whole lives and future. However, drug use is a problem that becomes more and more serious in our society, so we need to solve the pressing problem as fast as we can to help our society.
真的 everyone knows 嗎？年輕人只要一碰毒品，人生就毀了？問題越來越嚴重，我們就該解決（這之間有強烈的因果關係嗎）？
更清楚的寫作邏輯可以是：
Chances are, the youth may suffer from addiction and the ensuing consequences, such as physical and mental illnesses, if they use drugs.
#2 A sad or frightening experience that really happened to you.
It goes without saying that sad experiences are very important; though they make us feel frustrated, we can still learn something from these experiences and make ourselves become better people. Among my own sad experiences, the most impressive one is the college entrance exam.
文章開頭沒來由的先寫 “It goes without saying that…”，這樣所謂的萬用句型，反而變成贅字。
什麼叫變成更好的人 “make ourselves become better people”？“the college entrance exam” 是「經驗」還是「考試」？
更清楚的寫作邏輯可以是：
Sad experiences are of value and importance, even though they may make us frustrated at first. In general, when we can recognize our emotions and allow ourselves to face these experiences with a healthy and positive attitude, sad experiences, instead of depressing us, help us grow and become more resilient.
模板固然可以幫助增加寫作可用的語塊、提高流暢度，但並非每個佳句和模板都適合學習，有賴老師系統性的整理以及輔以足夠的真實語料，才能活用寫作的語塊和句構。但對中等程度以上的學習者來說，比背佳句和模板更重要的是訓練寫作的邏輯思維。
最後，如果你 / 妳喜歡這篇文章，歡迎留下你 / 妳的掌聲：）
If you like this article, feel free to add claps for us. Thank you!Think in English.
