GRE-issue满分作文分析

第一篇文章
"Both the development of technological tools and the uses to which humanity has put them have created modern civilizations in which loneliness is ever increasing."

Technology, broadly defined as the use of tools, has a long history. Ever since Erg the caveman first conked an animal with a rock, people have been using technology. For thousands of years, the use of tools allowed people to move ever closer together. Because fields could be cultivated and the technology to store food existed, people would live in cities rather than in small nomadic tribes. Only very lately have Erg's descendants come to question the benefits of technology. The Industrial Revolution introduced and spread technologies that mechanized many tasks. As a result of the drive toward more efficient production and distribution (so the ever larger cities would be supported), people began to act as cogs in the technological machine. Clothing was no longer produced by groups of women sewing and gossiping together, but by down-trodden automation's operating machinery in grim factories.

The benefits of the new technology of today, computers and the internet, are particularly ambiguous. They have made work ever more efficient and knit the world together in a web of information and phone lines. Some visionaries speak of a world in which Erg need not check in to his office; he can just dial in from home. He won't need to go to a bar to pick up women because there are all those chat rooms. Hungry? Erg orders his groceries from an online delivery service. Bored? Download a new game. And yet...

Many people, myself included, are a little queasy about that vision. Erg may be doing work, but is it real work? Are his online friends real friends? Does anything count in a spiritual way if it's just digital? Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been haunted by the prospect that we are turning into our machines: efficient, productive, soulless. The newest technologies, we fear, are making us flat as our screens, turning us into streams of bits of interchangeable data. We may know a lot of people, but we have few real friends. We have a lot of things to do, but no reason to do them.In short, the new technology emphasizes a spiritual crisis that has been building for quite some time.

As I try to unravel which I believe about the relative merits of technology, I think it is instructive to remember technology's original result. A better plow meant easier farming, more food, longer lives, and more free time to pursue other things such as art. Our newest technology does not give us more free time; it consumes our free time. We are terminally distracted from confronting ourselves or each other. We stay safe, and lonely, in our homes and offices rather than taking the risk of meeting real people or trying new things.

While I am certainly not a Luddite, I do believe we need to look for a bit more balance between technology and life. We have to tear ourselves away from the fatal distractions and go out into the world. Technology has given us long lives and endless supplies of information. Now we need to apply that information, use the time we're not spending conking our dinner with a club, and find our reasons for living.

COMMENTARY
This outstanding response displays cogent reasoning, insightful, persuasive analysis, and superior control of language.

The essay immediately identifies the complexities of the issue and then playfully explores both the benefits and the drawbacks of technological developments over the course of human history.
The writer maintains that a "balance between technology and life" is necessary if humans are going to abate the loneliness that is part of modern existence.

第二篇文章

"The medias (books, film, music, television, for example) tend to create rather than reflect the values of a society."

For our grandparents it occurred through films and books. For the baby boomers it was a result of television and revolutionary music. No matter how the impact took place, it is clear that since its very advent, the media have played a crucial role in not simply being representative of the values of our society but creating them as well.

During the roaring twenties Americans found themselves in a struggle between the old ways of their ancestors and the new ways of the future. The once steadfast beliefs that men and women should not touch while dancing, and that ladies should not drink or smoke were suddenly being challenged. From where was all this rebellion stemming? Partly it was due to the returning doughboys from the shores of Europe bringing home revolutionary ideas they had encountered while at war. Nonetheless, returning soldiers could not be held responsible for the social upheaval that America experienced. There had to be another cause, and there was, the media. Although the films of the era were silent they spoke volumes to the society for which they were created. Women in these movies wore their hemlines a few inches shorter than the decade before them and they wore cosmetics to accentuate their new bobbed haircuts. The movies, as well as the books of that era, demonstrated a new materialistic attitude that America had never before experienced. Films portrayed every character as having the money to buy a new car, drink, smoke and partake in the leisure’s of life, a philosophy that was soon adopted by the youth of the decade. The use of the media in the twenties was to serve as a catalyst for the revolutionary ideas that were circulating. The films and books of that era sped America along its path of change that eventually led to the greatest social unrest that the United States had ever known.

Unlike the twenties, the sixties and seventies utilized the media in a way that appealed to those searching for truth in a lost and confused world. Martin Luther King Jr. realized the impact of the media on society during his campaign for civil rights. King urged his followers to withstand any abuse that they might encounter because the media will take their peacefulness into the homes of their society. By doing so, King successfully began to change the traditional view of race. Americans began to sympathize with the protesters because of the undeserved turmoil they faced at the hands of the government. As a result, America relinquished the Jim Crow laws and saw many other groups press for their individual rights as well.Television cameras rolled as Cesar Chavez organized the migrant workers in California and as Bella Abzug and Gloria Steinham linked arms to protest the lack of women's rights.

While the media helped to shape some attitudes about racism and gender it also helped to uncover the truth behind government lies.

第三篇文章

"Our declining environment may bring the people of the world together as no politician, philosopher, or war ever could. Environmental problems are global in scope and respect no nation's boundaries. Therefore, people are faced with the choice of unity and cooperation on the one hand or disunity and a common tragedy on the other."

The solution to the world's growing environmental problems may have to wait awhile. It has been said that "environmental problems are global and respect no nation's boundaries." Unfortunately, pollution and its consequences still fall to large measure on those least likely to do anything about it: poor countries willing to sacrifice anything in order to sit at the table with the world's wealthy.

As far as the industrialized nations of the world are concerned, the world is a big place. Environmental destruction taking place outside their borders may sometimes be fodder for government pronouncements of concern, but few concrete actions. Deforestation of the Amazon, for instance, is of vital concern to all those who wish to continue breathing. Butthe only effective deterrent to this activity, the restriction of international aid money to those countries showing net deforestation, has been stalled in the United Nations by those unwilling to "interfere" in the internal politics of other nations.

Because of the differential impact of polluting activities around the world, and even in different regions of a single country, many governments will undoubtedly continue to promulgate only modest environmental regulations. Costs to polluting companies will continue to carry as much weight as the benefit of a pollution-free environment. Particularly in the current political climate of the United States, the well-documented expense of today's pollution-control measures will be stacked against the unknown long-term effects of polluting actitivities. "Why should I spend millions of dollars a year, which causes me to have to raise the cost of my goods or eliminate jobs, if no one really knows if air pollution is all that harmful? Show me the proof, " an air polluting company may demand.

Realistically, it won't be until critical mass is achieved that the hoped for "choice of unity and cooperation" will be a viable one. Only when the earth as a whole is so polluted that life itself becomes increasingly difficult for a majority of the world's people will there likely be the political will to force global environmental laws on governments worldwide. But the optimists (read: environmental activists) among us continue to believe that the world can be shown the error of its ways. They continue to point out that the sky is probably falling--or at least developing a big hole. The world, as a whole, ignores them. One would hope, however, that governments, perhaps through a strengthened U.N., could somehow be forced to realize that when the Earth reaches the critical mass of pollution, it may be too late to do anything about it. That would be a "common tragedy" indeed.

COMMENTARY
This excellent response displays an in-depth analysis of the issue and superior facility with language.

While acknowledging that environmental problems are serious and of global dimensions, the essay explores the complexity of international cooperation. Such cooperation, the essay argues, runs into a variety of problems, and the writer offers persuasive examples to support that point:

-- the unwillingness of nations to "interfere" with other nations through political measures such as restriction of foreign aid

-- inadequate environmental regulations, which are caused both by "the differential impact of polluting activities" between countries and regions and by the difficulty of comparing the "long-term effects of polluting activities" with the more easily documented, short-term costs of reducing pollution.

The essay distinguishes itself in part by its excellent organization. The first paragraph analyzes the claim and announces the writer's position; the second and third paragraphs provide clear examples supporting that position. The skillful use of a quotation from a business person vividly illustrates the economic impact of pollution controls. The last two paragraphs bring a sense of closure to the essay by continuing the theme announced in the first paragraph -- that cooperation must wait until more dire circumstances produce the political will necessary to reduce pollution.

The essay exhibits superior control of grammar and syntax, with only minor errors.

Transitional phrases -- "because," "however," "for instance" -- help guide the reader through the argument.

Also, effective sentence variety and the use of precise word choice help confirm the score of 6.

第三部分:总结

1、开头模式

综上,开头段比较好的模式为:

(1)首先引出背景,这里要善于利用各种修饰语如分词等形式,对于我们的后文论证线索进行暗示。目的是使读者看了开头大概就知道我们要在正文中写什么了,所以会充满期待的往下看。

(2)然后要缩小范围,主要就是通过讨论他因、反驳意见等尽量的把与我们中心思想无关的内容在首段就隔离出去。方便后面的讨论。

(3)再然后我们要适当的分析题目中的原文,并提出对原文的看法。这里很重要的一点就是,我们最终的态度最好不要直接支持,或者直接反对,这都会显得我们的态度过于简单!那么怎么办呢,从官方满分文章来看,应该另辟蹊径:就是说补充上一些信息后,提出自己的复杂的态度看法,同时如果能在提出自己的态度的同时在语言上能统领后面的所有正文段落就最好了。

2、行文思路

我们看到,正文的论证层次都是很清楚的!

综上,比较好的行文思路为:

(1)首先进行分类讨论,应用到不同的领域不同的角度来看问题,在这8篇文章中有这么以下4种分类:

a. 优点和缺点,正反对比

b.不同的时期,时间对比

c.不同的学科,领域对比

(2)如果不去分类讨论,还有另一种办法可以代替分类讨论,那就是放缩。就像第三篇文章,作者通过不断的分析的缩小讨论的范围,目的就是找出问题的最核心的地方,然后再进行对此核心问题的论证,就像一个放大镜一样,通过段落之间的讨论逐步的找到最最关键的症结。

这就使文章的精度!

注:我们看到,(1)(2)这两种方案在一篇文章中要选择其一,如果时间多精力够的话可以都写那样最好。

(3)在分类讨论或者放大完了之后,在文章的最后最好有一段:引入事物的本质的讨论以及作者观点的宣扬,这时可以抛开刚才的论证的束缚,而思考一些凌驾于层次之上的,深层次的东西。

比如,比较常见的就是引伸到人性上,人性的光辉,或者,事物的本质。这最后一个论证段落是决定我们文章的档次的关键段落。因为在这一段作者的思想会显露无遗,作者淋漓尽致的提出了自己的看法让阅卷人看。这里就可以看出作者对于事物认识的深度。

这就是文章的深度!

3、结尾模式

我们看到结尾段落都是要总结全文的观点的,

实际上,在我眼中,比较好的结尾段模式是:

首先,概括前面几段正文的论证的螺旋式上升的结果(这里要注意与开头段提出的论证方向对应上)

然后,在结尾段还可以进一步上升,上升到些如人性方面上等,这就是最后的升华,这也在满分文章中很常见。

4、正文段落例证来源

注:本表格式解释:(第一项是例子的来源;第二项是概括例子内容;第三项是作者引用例子时还有什么手法)

汇总后如下表:

(1)在例子的选择方面:我把所有的例子分成了三大类,生活中-时事-文化,每一类中,常识代表的是这一类中所有人都知道的不用背的东西,事例和名人就是需要我们背下来才能写出来的东西。

(2)在语言方面,这里面用的比较亮点的修辞方法为:排比,可以增加文章的气势,尤其是当我们举的是一连串关联的延伸大例子时候;反问,让文章的语言很能抓住人,引人深思,更重要的是,常常我们通过反问来讲我们的思想融入问句中,这样就以一种强烈的方式表达了自己的思想;设问,先来个悬念再进行解答,使语言充满多样性,更重要的是使得文章有一种交流性气氛;比喻,让文章更为形象。

以上几种方法可以有机的结合起来,比如排比的反问等,这样都会让文章增色不少。

(3)在论证思路方面,有以下四种思路:

a.例子本身是为了让步,所以在例子之后紧接着就引出作者真正的观点。

b.举完例子之后进行深层次的探究,使得达到事物的本质。

c.举完例子之后进行推广,可以推广到更大的范围,来达到普遍性的效果;如果例子本身是反面的,就通过推广引出不良后果,从而加重了例子的反面性。

d.如果例子本身是反面的,我们就假设他是正面的情况会怎么样,这肯定是会带来好的结果的,从而引出作者的正面的观点。

5、文章中心思想

对于issue的中心思想,没有什么定式,但是有一点可以看出来,所有的中心思想都不是简单的同意或反对原题,而是在原题的基础之上,加入一些作者自己的思想,加入了一些原题所没有考虑到的东西,最终定出来的。所有说,这才叫所谓的复杂的态度。

从立意方面,大的规律是:为了让我们生活的更美好,存在更有价值。

6、字数

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