Assignment开头(主题句)–作者对主题的看法 Assignment写作技巧

了解Assignment的结构，接下来示范如何写Assignment段的开头、内容、及结尾。

A.开头(主题句)–作者对主题的看法

每段都要有一个「主题句」，将你的「论点」和「主题」的关系建立起来。主题句陈述作者对主题的立场或看法。

譬如，我想写关于「抽烟」，重点摆在「抽烟与费用」的关系，看下面的主题句如何建立这两者的关系：

Smoking can be an expensive habit.

这句中，主题是Smoking，「昂贵」(expensive)是我的看法(论点)，有了主题句，读者(尤其是西方读者)就马上可以意会到我这段的目的。(请注意，主题句的位置不是一定要在每段的第一句，但摆在第一句是一种不容易离题的写法。)

B.内容–解释看法

如前面Assignment写作内容所提，作者必须提出适当的证据或作说明来支持自己的看法，因为，读者想知道「作者为什么这样认为」。延续「抽烟」这个题目，我必须在这段里「说清楚，讲明白」为什么抽烟是昂贵的嗜好。最常用的两个方法：

a.申论

方法一(逻辑推论)：

Smoking is addicting,and as people become addicted,their spending on this habit is likely to increase.

或

Smoking can be an expensive habit because it is addicting.Addicted people tend to smoke more and,as a result,spend more on this habit.

(采用A=B,B=C,则A=C(主题句)的逻辑。其中，A–smoking,B–addiction,C–more spending=expensive)

方法二(具体的解释)：

Assuming the average price of a pack of cigarettes is 50 dollars,if people smoke a pack a day it will cost them 50 dollars a day,or 18,250 dollars a year.However,if they smoke two packs a day because of addiction,their annual smoking expenditures double,going up to a staggering amount of 36,500 dollars.

Assignment写作同样用「烟瘾」当理由，但运用数字的变化，突显「昂贵」这个论点。

b.举例

Take my cousin Tony for example.He smokes a pack of cigarettes a day,which costs fifty dollars,so he spends some fifteen hundred dollars on the habit every month.But to his surprise,there is another unexpected expense to cover other than the price of cigarettes.Because smoking often gives out smoke offensive to nonsmokers,Tony has to clean his clothes,his furniture,and his car more often to get rid of the odor than if he does not smoke.So at the end of every month,he finds himself spending an additional couple of thousand dollars on cleaning alone.

「举例」是另一个使你的论点具说服力的方法，运用实例，带出费用，增加信服力。

C.结尾–摘要本段重点

Assignment写作在充份解释完我的论点，我作个总结：

For many smokers,50 dollars a day for cigarettes may be a small token,but the compounding effect of addiction would easily double that amount and cost them hugely in a year’s time,making smoking a costly habit.

(以「烟瘾」当理由的结尾)

或

As one can see,the price of cigarettes is not the only cost to smokers;the additional cleaning fee associated with smoking makes it an expensive habit to take on.

(以「不同费用」当理由的结尾)

Assignment写作这两种结尾只说明一件事–抽烟是昂贵的，并未影射或强调「抽烟好或不好」，也没有建议「瘾君子要如何做」，因为这些都跟我的论点无关。

将以上各句串联在一起，形成完整的一段如下：

范例1—以「烟瘾」当理由的写法：

Smoking can be an expensive habit because of addiction.Addicted people tend to smoke more and,as a result,spend more on this habit.Assuming a pack of cigarettes costs 50 dollars,if people smoke a pack a day it will cost them 50 dollars a day,or 18,250 dollars a year.But if they smoke two packs a day—because of addiction,their yearly smoking expenses double easily,going up to a staggering amount of 36,500 dollars.For many smokers,50 dollars a day for cigarettes may be a small token,but the compounding effect of addiction could easily double that amount and cost them hugely in a year’s time,making smoking a costly habit.

范例2—以「不同费用」当理由的写法：

Smoking can be an expensive habit.Take my cousin Tony for example.He smokes a pack of cigarettes a day,which costs fifty dollars,so he spends some fifteen hundred dollars on the habit every month.But to his surprise,there is another unexpected expense to cover as a result of this habit.Because smoking cigarettes often gives out smoke offensive to nonsmokers,Tony has to clean his clothes,his furniture,and his car more often to get rid of the odor than if he does not smoke.So at the end of every month,he finds himself spending an additional couple of thousand dollars at least on cleaning.As one can see,the price of cigarettes is not the only cost to smokers;the additional cleaning expense associated with smoking makes it an expensive habit to take on.

从以上Assignment写作范例，很明显Assignment写法有别于中文，这就是为什么不建议先写中文，再翻成英文，两者写作结构的差异，不是文法、句型、或用字可以取代。