句子是由詞或短語按語法規(guī)則組成，表達一個完整意思的語言單位。好的英語句子應(yīng)該是結(jié)構(gòu)意思正確完整，連貫流暢，言簡意賅。但是如果一篇文章中所有的句子都是結(jié)構(gòu)單一(以主語開頭，采用"主-謂-賓"或"主-謂-表"的結(jié)構(gòu))、長短均等的話，句子寫得再好，文章也是單調(diào)呆板，缺乏生氣。要克服這種句式"單一"現(xiàn)象，可以通過變換句子開頭以及句式兩種手段。
一、句子開頭多樣化
寫作時最常見的是用名詞或代詞構(gòu)成的主語作為句子的開頭。除了主語外，句子中還有以下幾種成分可以作為句子的開頭。
1.以同位語作為句子的開頭。試比較下列兩個句子：
A. Xiao Wang, our monitor，will attend the meeting.
B. Our monitor, Xiao Wang, will attend the meeting.
句A以主語Xiao Wang開頭，句B以同位語Our monitor開頭。
2.以單個修飾語作為句子的開頭。
這個修飾語可以是形容詞、分詞或副詞。試比較下面幾組句子：
A. She is young and ambitious, she works hard to get the job.
B. Young and ambitious, she works hard to get the job.
句A以主語She開頭，句B以形容詞短語Young and ambitious開頭。
C. The girl entered the room gracefully.
D. Gracefully, the girl entered the room.
句C以主語The girl開頭，句D以副詞Gracefully開頭。
E. The students reached the top of the mountain exhausted.
F. Exhausted, the students reached the top of the mountain.
句E以主語The students開頭，句F以過去分詞Exhausted開頭。
3.以短語修飾語作為句子的開頭。
短語修飾語可以是介詞短語、不定式短語、分詞短語以及獨立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。試比較下列各組句子：
A. A beautiful girl stood in front of me.
B. In front of me stood a beautiful girl.
句A以主語A beautiful girl開頭，句B以介詞短語In front of開頭。
C. The students worked hard to pass the exam.
D. To pass the exam, the students worked hard.
句C以主語The students開頭，句D以不定式短語To pass the exam開頭。
E. He was confused about the problem and went to ask for his teacher.
F. Confused about the problem, he went to ask for his teacher.
句E以主語He開頭，句F以過去分詞短語Confused about開頭。
G. You may go home after you finish your homework.
H. Your homework finished, you may go home.
句G以主語You開頭，句H以獨立主格結(jié)構(gòu)Your homework finished開頭。
4.用從句作為句子的開始。試比較下列句子：
A. I will attend your lecture if I am free.
B. If I am free, I will attend your lecture.
C. We all know she is famous.
D. That she is famous is known to us all.
句A和句C以主語開始，句B和句D以從句開始。
值得注意的是句子的開頭與句子所需強調(diào)的意義密切相關(guān)。改變詞序有時會導(dǎo)致句子意義的細微變化。因此，在特定的上下文中決定是否改變某一句子的詞序時，不僅要考慮我們所要表達的意思(如為了強調(diào)句子中的某個成分，將正常語序中較晚出現(xiàn)的成分移到句首)，還要考慮是否有利于上下文的銜接過渡以及句子是否均衡等。
二、句式的多樣化
句式多樣化是對一篇好的文章的基本要求。要做到這一點，首先要對英語句子有充分的了解。英語句子種類很多，句法結(jié)構(gòu)豐富多彩。通常可以按照以下標準對英語句子進行分類：
1.根據(jù)使用目的的不同，將句子分為陳述句，疑問句，祈使句和感嘆句。
(1)陳述句說明一個事實或是陳述說話人的看法。例如：
A. He must have finished his homework.
B. She is a diligent student.
(2)疑問句提出問題。例如：
A. Does she know English?
B. What did you do last night?
(3)祈使句用來表示請求，命令，叮囑，邀請，勸告等。例如：
A. Have a cup of tea.
B. Don't smoke.
(4)感嘆句表示說話時的驚訝，喜悅，氣憤等情緒。例如：
A. What an interesting film!
B. How beautiful it is!
2.根據(jù)語法結(jié)構(gòu)的不同，將句子分為簡單句，并列句，復(fù)合句以及并列復(fù)合句。
(1)如果一個句子只有一個主謂結(jié)構(gòu)，這個句子是簡單句。例如：
A. She has finished her homework.
B. Both my brother and sister are teachers.
(2)如果一個句子包含兩個或兩個以上的互不依從的主謂結(jié)構(gòu)，這個句子是并列句。并列句中的兩個或兩個以上的主謂結(jié)構(gòu)通常由逗號和并列連詞來連接。例如：
A. Honey is sweet, but the bee stings.
B. Type O is the most common blood type in the world, and type AB is the rarest.
(3)如果一個句子包含兩個或兩個以上的主謂結(jié)構(gòu)，其中一個或一個以上的主謂結(jié)構(gòu)充當另一個主謂結(jié)構(gòu)中的某一(些)成分，如主語，賓語，定語等，該句為復(fù)合句。例如：
A. Because the luxury liner was traveling so fast, it was impossible to avoid the ghostly looking iceberg.
C. Some people say that it may result in some social problems in the future.
(4)當一個并列句中的一個(或更多的)主謂結(jié)構(gòu)中包含有一個(或更多的)主謂結(jié)構(gòu)時，這種句子為并列復(fù)合句。例如：
A. He was watching me or something for an hour or two, drawing back the curtain so little lest I catch him, but I saw his face, and I think I can see the anxiety upon it, the worried impatience.
B. I have brought what you need, but you haven't brought what I need.
3.根據(jù)不同的修辭功能，句子可分為松散句，圓周句，對偶句，平行結(jié)構(gòu)句，長句和短句。
(1)松散句和圓周句。
在一個句子中，先介紹主要的信息，再介紹次要的信息，這樣的句子叫松散句。松散句的結(jié)構(gòu)比較松散，其各個部分往往能獨立表示某一意義。在一個句子中先介紹次要的信息，再介紹重要的信息，即要到句子的末尾，句子的意思才完全表達清楚，這樣的句子叫圓周句。圓周句的結(jié)構(gòu)緊湊，只有讀完整個句子，全句的整體意思才能顯現(xiàn)出來。例如：
A. The workers here are mostly diligent, though not all.
B. The workers here are mostly, though not all，diligent.
C. He will go abroad if he has enough money.
D. If he has enough money, he will go abroad.
句A和句C為松散句，句B和句D為圓周句。
一般來講，按正常語序排列的簡單句、并列句，主句在前從句在后的復(fù)合句都屬于松散句。松散句便于組織，便于理解，便于使用，是人們常用的句式。修飾語(尤其是狀語)位于句首的簡單句以及從句在前主句在后的復(fù)合句屬于圓周句。圓周句的重心在后，可以造成一種懸念，抓住讀者的注意力，因而可以收到一種特殊的效果。但圓周句不能使用太頻繁，因為沒有人愿意一直處于等待和懸念當中。
(2)對偶句是在句中用平對或?qū)ΨQ的結(jié)構(gòu)來表現(xiàn)兩種相反的意思。由于其結(jié)構(gòu)勻稱整齊，前后兩層意思相反，可達到強調(diào)的效果。例如：
A. What is written without effect is in general read without pleasure.
B. Deeds show what we are; words what we should be.
(3)平行結(jié)構(gòu)句就是把兩個或兩個以上的結(jié)構(gòu)相同，意義并重，語氣一致的詞、短語或句子排列成串形成一個整體，以加強語氣，達到強調(diào)的目的。例如：
A. We can gain knowledge by reading, by reflection, by observation or by practice.
B. I have a dream that my four children will someday live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
(4)長句和短句。
根據(jù)句子的長短，句子可分為長句和短句。例如：
A different form of reading might also be done, as it was in the past: reading aloud. Few pastimes bring a family closer together than gathering around and listening to mother or father to read a good story. The quite hour could become the story hour...
該段中前兩句為長句，第三句為短句。一般來講，短句短小精悍，可達到強調(diào)的目的，長句修飾成分多，可以清楚準確地表達復(fù)雜的思想。短句多運用于日常談話，演講，少兒作品或人物對話中；長句常用于政論文，科技文章以及文學(xué)作品的敘述描寫等。
在寫作時，應(yīng)根據(jù)實際情況，交替使用各種句式。然而，值得注意的是，在變換句子開頭和句式時，不能為變化而變化。在很大程度上，使用什么句式還跟文章的文體、內(nèi)容等因素有關(guān)(例如在科技文體中多用長句和圓周句)，即內(nèi)容決定形式。
英語短文寫作（五）
三、短文寫作的主要文體
研究生英語入學(xué)考試短文寫作的方式有：命題作文、看圖作文、情景作文、給出提綱（或段首句）等。主要文體有：論說文（argumentation）、說明文（exposition）、描寫文（description）、記敘文（narration）、應(yīng)用文（practical writing）、圖表作文、情景作文。
1. 論說文
1）概述：議論是講道理，論是非。議論文的作用就是論證某一觀點、看法或主張。作者通過事實和邏輯推理來闡明自己的觀點，表明贊成什么或反對什么，以達到影響讀者的思想和行動。一段完整的議論是由論點、論據(jù)和論證組成的。論點是作者的觀點或主張，一般情況下一篇文章只有一個論點（即所謂的中心論點）；論據(jù)是作者用來證明論點的理由和事實（具體的事例、統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)、名人的理論或科學(xué)公理等）；論證是作者用一系列的論據(jù)來證明自己的觀點或反駁別人的論點的推理過程。寫議論文時考生必須注意其論點要明確，論據(jù)要充分、恰當，推理要邏輯性強，文章層次要分明。
2）寫作方法：論說文的寫作方法主要有歸納法、演繹法、類比法等。
A) 歸納法（induction）是指從若干個別事例和現(xiàn)象中綜合它們的共同本質(zhì)，總結(jié)出普遍的道理、觀點或看法。如：Americans feel proud of themselves for working hard, but they feel equally proud of themselves when they sit and do nothing over weekends. As a matter of fact, some Americans measure success in terms of the length and frequency of their vacations. The man who gets a month’s vacation each year considers himself more successful than the man who gets two weeks. Many people become teachers because teachers get a three-month vacation every year. Some college teachers who teach three classes consider themselves less successful than one who teaches only one or two or none at all. In brief, the less work Americans do, the more successful they consider themselves.
這一篇短文列舉了美國人如何看待工作和成就的種種自相矛盾的態(tài)度，最后得出一個看法：某些美國人認為，工作干得越少，就越成功。
B) 演繹法（deduction）是指從一般論斷（公認的、眾所周知的原理或道理）來推斷出一個觀點。如：The “Band Wagon” is a device to make us follow the crowd, to accept the propagandist’s program en masse（全體、整個地）. Here his theme is: “Everybody’s doing it.” His techniques range from those of the medicine show to dramatic spectacle. He hires a hall, fills a great stadium, marches a million men in parade. He employs symbols, colors, music, movement, all the dramatic arts. He appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to “follow the crowd”. Because he wants us to “follow the crowd” in masses, he directs his appeal to groups held together by common ties of nationality, religion, race, environment, sex, vocation. Thus propagandists campaigning for or against a program will appeal to us as Catholic race or as Negroes; as farmers or as school teachers; as housewives or as miners. All the artifices of flattery are used to harness the fears and hatreds, prejudices and biases, convictions and ideals common to the group; thus emotion is made to push and pull the group on to the Band Wagon. In newspaper article and in the spoken word this device is also found. “Don’t throw your vote away. Vote for our candidate. He’s sure to win.” Nearly every candidate wins in every election before the votes are in.
C) 類比法（
