aew 2009 grade lecture 6 descriptionWord格式.docx

aew 2009 grade lecture 6 descriptionWord格式.docx

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itpresentsaclearpictureofanobject,aperson,orascene.Butgooddescriptiongoesastepfurther.Itappealstothereader’ssenseofsound,smell,touch,taste,andsight.Itisfilledwithdetailsthathelptocreateadominantimpression;

ithasafocus.

II. Thebasictypesofdescription

Descriptioncanbetwobasictypes:

objectiveandimpressionistic.Objectivedescriptioncanbealsocalled“physicaldescription”or“scientificdescription”.Objectivedescriptionattemptstoreportaccuratelytheappearanceoftheobjectasathinginitself,independentoftheobserver’sperceptionofitorfeelingsaboutit.Itisafactualaccount,thepurposeofwhichistoinformareaderwhohasnotbeenabletoseewithhisowneyes.Thewriterregardshimselfasakindofcamera,recordingandreproducing,thoughinwords,atruepicture.

Impressionisticdescriptioncanbealsocalled“subjectivedescription”or“imaginativedescription”.Itfocusesuponthemoodorfeelingtheobjectevokesintheobserver,ratherthantheobjectasitexistsinitself.Impressionisticdescriptiondoesnotseektoinformbuttoarouseemotion.Itattemptstomakeusfeelmorethanmakeussee.Thusthecommunicationoffeelingistheprimarypurposeofimpressionisticdescription.

Inanobjectivedescription,youdescribethesubjectinstraightforwardandliteralway,withoutrevealingyourattitudeorfeelings.Forinstance,anobjectivedescriptionoftheweatherwillbelikethis:

Alldaywehadtemperaturesof30degreesFandheavyrainsdrivenbywindsof35-45mph.Incontrast,whenwritinganimpressionisticdescription,youconveyahighlypersonalviewofyoursubjectandseektoelicitastrongemotionalresponsefromyourreaders.Animpressionisticdescriptionoftheweatheris:

Alldaytheweatherwasdismal.

III. Structureofadescriptiveessay

Inadescriptiveessay,theintroduction,body,andconclusionallworktogethertobringasubjecttolife.Theintroductioncapturesthereader’sattention.Thetopicstatementexpressesonmainimpressionofthesubject.Thebodyofsupportingparagraphsbringsthepicturetolifethroughspecificdetailsandwordsthatappealtothesenses.Theconclusionreinforcestheoverallimpressionbysummarizingthespecificdetailsorbymakingavividcomparison.

IV. Featuresofadescriptiveessay

1. Adescriptiveessayhasone,cleardominantimpression,amoodoratmospherethatreinforcesyourwritingpurpose.If,forexample,youaredescribingasnowfall,itisimportantforyoutodecideandtoletyourreadersknowifitisthreateningorlovely;

inordertohaveonedominantimpressionitcannotbeboth.Thedominantimpressionguidestheauthor’sselectionofdetailandistherebymadecleartothereaderinthetopicsentence.

2. Objectivedescription

1） Objectivedescriptionoftenbeginswithabriefgeneralpicturecomprehendingtheobjectinitsentirety,andthendevelopsanalytically,usingparagraphstodividetheobjectintoitsparts,handlingeachinturnwithasmuchdetailasthepurposerequires.Thesepartsareplacedinanorderthatreflectsthearrangementinspaceoftheobject.Thusawriterdepictingtheinteriorofahousewouldlikelyorganizehisdescriptionbyfloors,andindescribingtheroomsoneachfloorhewouldprobablymovefromlefttorightorfromfronttorear.

2） Usuallyobjectivedescriptioniswrittenimpersonally,andthewriterwandersfreelyabouttheobjectorscenewithoutbotheringtorecordhisownmovements.When,forexample,hehasfinishedthefirstfloor,heneednotreport,“Iamnowgoingupstairs”;

hemerelywrites,“Onthesecondfloor...”Thetonemustbekeptfactual,andthewritershouldavoidwordsthatconnoteapersonalreaction.“Alargeelm”,forexample,statesafact;

“amagnificentelm”suggestsafeeling.

3） Objectivedescriptionoftenappearsprosaic,evendull;

andtoooftentheappearanceisreal.Itisnot,however,inherentlydull—itisonlydifficulttodowell.Eventhoughhisimpressionsareexcluded,thewritercancreateinterestbythefidelityandtheskillwithwhichhetranslatesintowordsthethingshesees.

3. Impressionisticdescription

1） Towriteimpressionisticdescriptiontherearetwoways:

directlyandindirectly.Thedirectmethod,thesimpler,ismerelytodescribethefeelingitself.Theindirectistoprojecttheemotionbackintotheobjectand,bythecarefulselectionandtreatmentofitsdetails,sotoinfusetheobjectwithfeelingthatitwillarouseinthereaderaresponsesimilartothewriter’s.

Ofthetwomethods,theindirectismoreeffective.Ifthewriter’spurposeistocommunicateamood,hesucceedsbetterbyre-creatingtheobjectasheseesit.Awriterwhotellsusheisafraiddoesnotnecessarilyfrightenus;

butifhecanthrowbeforeusthefearsomethinginallitshorror,heprobablywill.Inpractice,impressionisticdescriptionusesbothmethods,oftenemployingdirectstatementofmoodasacenteraboutwhichtoorganizethemoreprecisedetailsofindirectdescription.

2） Inhistreatmentofthesedetailsthewriterfrequentlyfollowsatechniquethatinartiscalledexpressionism.Broadly,expressionismisthedistortionofobjectiverealityinordertocommunicatetheinnerrealityofemotion.Atitssimplest,expressionismistheblurringofafilmimagetosuggestdizzinessorshock.Similarlythewritermayblurorintensifythedetailsheselects,and,bythecleveruseoffiguresofspeech,hemaycomparethemtothingscalculatedtoevoketheappropriateemotion.Impressionismhaslittletodowithtruthanditdrawsnoveryaccuratepicture.Impressionismtellsusnotwhattheclippershipis,butwhatitistothemanwhoseesit.

3） Thetoneofaimpressionisticdescriptionisdeterminedbyyourpurpose,yourattitudetowardsthesubject,andthereader’sresponseyouwishtoevoke.Forexample,inwritinganessayaboutadynamicwomanwhorunsacenterfordisturbedchildren,ifyourgoalistomakereaderstoadmirethatwoman,yourtonewillbeseriousandappreciative.Butifyouwanttocriticizethewoman’shigh-pressuretacticsandcreatedistasteforhermanagementstyle,yourtonewillbedisapprovingandsevere.

4. Thelanguageofadescriptiveessaydepends,togreatextend,onwhetheryourpurposeisprimarilyobjectiveorimpressionistic.Ifthedescriptionisobjective,thelanguageisstraightforward,precise,andfactual.Suchdenotativelanguageconsistsofneutraldictionarymeanings.Ifyouwanttodescribeasdispassionatelyaspossiblethefan’sviolentbehavioratafootballgame,youmightwriteaboutthe“largecrowd”andits“massmovementontothefield”.Butifyouareshockedbythefan’sbehaviorandwanttowriteaimpressionisticessaythatinspiressimilaroutrageinreaders,thenyoumightwriteaboutthe“swellingmob”andits“rowdystampedeontothefield”.Inthelattercase,thelanguageusedwouldbeconnotativeandemotionallychargedsothatreaderswouldshareyourfeeling.

V. Strategiesforwritingadescriptiveessay

1. Focusonadominantimpression

Trygivingallthedetailsfirst,thedominantimpressionthenisbuiltfromthesedetails.Checkyourdetailstobesurethattheyareconsistentwiththedominantimpression.Thedominantimpressionofyourdescriptionshouldbetheheartoftheperson,place,orsceneyouareattemptingtodescribe.Youmustcarefullyselectdetailstosupportthedominantimpression,omitdetailswhichareincongruentwiththedominantimpression.Forexample,ifyouaredescribinganelderlyauntwhoisdull,useherdullnessasyourdominantimpression.Allthedetailsyouselectneedtoberelevanttobuildingonthefeelingofherdullness.Alsoyoushouldestablishearlyinyourwritingthedominantimpressionyouintendtoconvey.Althoughdescriptiveessaysoftenimply,ratherthanexplicitlystate,thedominantimpression,thatimpressionshouldbeunmistakable.Unlessthedescriptionisobjective,youmustbesurethatthedominantimpressionconveysanattitude.

2. Organizethedescriptivedetails

Selecttheorganizationalpatternthatbestsupportsyourdominantimpression.Theparagraphsinadescriptiveessayareusuallysequencedspatially（fromtoptobottom,interiortoexterior,neartofar）orchronologically（asthesubjectisexperiencedintime）.Theparagraphscanalsobeorderedemphatically（endingwithyoursubject’smoststrikingelement）orbysensoryimpression（firstsmell,thentaste,thentouch,andsoon）.Regardlessoftheorganizationalpatternyouuse,youneedprovideenoughsignaldevices（aboveall,next,worstofall）sothatreaderscanfollowthedescriptioneasily.

Thoughdescriptiveessaysdonotalwayshaveconventionaltopicsentences,eachdescriptiveparagraphshouldhaveaclearfocus.Oftenthisfocusisindicatedbyasentenceearlyintheparagraphthatnamesthescene,object,orindividualtobedescribed.Suchasentencefunctionsasakindofinformaltopicsentence;

theparagraph’sdescriptivedetailsthendevelopthattopicsentence.

3. Usevividlanguageandvariedstructure

Oftenthegeneralstatementsatthebeginningandendofadescriptiveparagraphtellthereadersomethingaboutthesubject.Inthebodyoftheparagraph,however,thespecificdetailsshowratherthantell,lettingthereader’ssensesandimaginationcreateafreshexperience.Thewordsyouselectmustcreateinthereaders’mindsthesamepicturethatyouhaveinyours.Therefore:

1） Youshoulduseconcretesensorydetailsinimpressionisticdescription

Sensorylanguagecontainsdetailsthatconveystrongimagestoar