Writing course compulsory for Tsinghua students

重慶市巴山中學 黃忠雪

Step 1感知·閱讀導航

話題導入

5月17日，在首場 “清華名師教學講壇”上，校長邱勇鄭重宣布：將在2018級新生中開設“寫作與溝通”必修課程，到2020年，該課程將覆蓋所有本科生，并力爭面向研究生提供課程和指導。開設這門課程的意義是什么呢？為什么會把寫作與溝通這樣的基本技能融進大學課程里面呢？可以采取什么樣的措施使這門課程更有效地開展？

全文457詞，難度中等，建議用時12分鐘。

閱讀立意

閱讀時應達到以下三個基本目標：

1.能快速掌握文章的宏觀結構，理解文本大意；

2.能從文本中快速提取需要的信息，并進行重建；

3.能基于文本提取的信息，進行類似寫作表達。

Students whowere admittedto Tsinghua University this year will have to take a course in writing and communication toacquire their bachelor's degree.By 2020，all undergraduates at the college will be taking the course， whichfocuses onexpository（說明的）writing and non-fiction.

The newcompulsorycourseaims to improvethe way students express themselves anddevelop their critical thinking.“Wevaluestudents'writing abilities，and theircommunicativestrength，“ said Peng Gang，a history professor at Tsinghua.”A person's writing skills reflect the level of his or her thinking.So training in logic and ways of thinking will be our primary way of teaching.”

Many netizens have applauded the new course as“necessary”,with some calling on their own universities to start a similar course.One of them said， “Ienvystudents at Tsinghua.It's high time that we should improve our writing skills，especially for the science students.Sometimes，I can hardly understand those characters.” Another netizen said， “It's very necessary.Students of all majors shouldgraspthe techniques of writing and speaking.It not only enriches themselves， but also benefits their work.”

According to national surveys，employers want to hire college graduates who can write coherently（連貫地）， thinkcriticallyand creatively， and analyze quantitative（定量的）data.But writing and communication skills are often seriously lacking from many job seekers'skill sets.

In many Chinese universities，science andengineeringmajors seldom choose to take writing and communication courses.Even those who do say they pay little attention in class because the work is too easy.“Even the course on college-level Chinese， the only compulsory Chinese course in universities，has been marginalized （邊緣化），”said Lin Feng， a university teacher in Shanghai.

Compared to China，many universities abroad have made writing courses an essential part of their ed-ucation systems.According to a survey of 900 American colleges，96 percent of those who offer four-year degrees have compulsory writing coursesin the freshman year.Here are some examples.

Expository writing is a compulsory course for every student at Harvard University.Itcoversa wide range of subjects andcombineswritingwithacademic，moraland social issues，to help students gain critical and creative thinking skills.

Besides offering writing courses，Yale University also has a writing center for students.Undergraduates canschedule appointmentsto discuss their writing with experienced， professionaltutors， or they can bring copies of theirpapersto discuss them with graduate students or undergraduates writing partners.

The MIT writing course requires students to readextensivelyandcritically.By reviewing the work of others，theygraduallyaccumulateenough viewpoints，theories and methodologies（方法論）to further develop their own papers.The course alsoemphasizes the importance ofpracticing speaking to improve students'presentation and communication skills.

Step 2 實踐·文本解讀

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.熟詞生義

基本含義 引申含義文中詞條d e v e l o p（P a r a.2）生義例句S h e h a s d e v e l o p e d t h e h a b i t o f k e e p i n g a d i a r y i n E n g l i s h e v e r s i n c e s h e e n t e r e d h i g h s c h o o l.自從她上中學起，她就養成了記英語日記的習慣。c o v e r（P a r a.7）T h e s u r v e y c o v e r s a l l a s p e c t s o f t h e b u s i n e s s.調查包括這家企業的各個方面。p a p e r（P a r a.8）發展;開發 培養;養成覆蓋 包括;涉及紙;報紙;試卷 論文H e i s w r i t i n g a p a p e r o n t h e s u b j e c t.他在寫這個主題的論文。

Ⅱ.熱詞積累

Vocabulary

1.compulsory adj.必修的；必須做的

2.value v.重視；珍視

3.communicative adj.語言交際能力的

4.envy v.羨慕；忌妒

5.grasp v.理解；領會

6.essential adj.必不可少的；極其重要的

7.moral adj.道德的

8.tutor n.導師

9.extensively adv.廣泛地

10.critically adv.批判性地

11.accumulate v.積累

Phrases

1.be admitted to...被錄取到……

2.acquire one's bachelor's degree獲得某人的學士學位

3.focus on關注

4.aim to do sth為了做某事；旨在做某事

5.develop one's critical thinking培養某人的批判性思維

6.compare...to/with... 把……和……相比

7.in the freshman year在大學一年級時

8.combine...with...把……和……結合

9.schedule appointments安排見面

10.emphasize the importance of強調……的重要性

Ⅲ.句型積累

1.Many netizens have applauded the new course as “necessary”， with some calling on their own universities to start a similar course.許多網民稱贊這門新課程是“必要的”，其中有些人呼吁自己的大學開設類似的課程。

with引導的短語做伴隨狀語，some與calling on...是主動關系，用現在分詞。call on表示“號召”。

句式仿寫

城市道路已經被拓寬了，道路兩旁的樹木像忠誠的衛士。

2.It's high time that we should improve our writing skills，especially for the science students.現在是我們提高寫作技能的時候了，尤其是理科生。

It's high time that...句型結構后面句子通常用虛擬語氣，即用“should+動詞原形”或者用動詞的過去式。

句式仿寫

是我們加強鍛煉的時候了，尤其是那些在電腦面前工作很長時間的人。

3.Compared to China，many universities abroad have made writing courses an essential part of their education systems.與中國相比，國外許多大學都將寫作課程作為其教育體系中的重要組成部分。

Compared to China過去分詞做狀語，其邏輯主語是many universities abroad。句中的an essential part of their education systems做賓語補足語。

句式仿寫

與城市相比，鄉村擁有清新的空氣和寧靜的環境。

立意呈現

Ⅰ.Analyze the structure.

Ⅱ.Summarize the main idea based on the structure above with only one word for each blank.

Tsinghua University will open a 1.___________and 2.___________course for students this year.The reasonand3.___________arestatedandthe 4.___________of writing and communication course between Chinese universities and foreign universities are 5.___________.

【點石成金】學生在讀第一遍時，通過略讀，應能初步理解每段大意，并能用簡要的詞句概括大意。同時根據文段大意，梳理分析語篇結構。其次根據語篇結構和每段大意，學會用簡潔的語言概括全文大意。

Step 3 運用·讀寫整合

Ⅰ.再讀策略指導

通過閱讀第一遍，同學們了解了文本大意及結構。再讀時，應重點關注以下具體要點：

1.開設“寫作與溝通”課程原因和重要性；

2.國外目前采取的做法。

Ⅱ.信息提取并進行文本重構

1.Find sentences about the reason and importance of writing and communication and then paraphrase them.

R e a s o n s a n d i m p o r t a n c e●T h e n e w c o m p u l s o r y c o u r s e a i m s t o i m p r o v e t h e w a y s t u d e n t s e x p r e s s t h e m s e l v e s a n d d e v e l o p t h e i r c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g.P a r a p h r a s e T h i s c o u r s e w i l l h e l p （1）__________s t u d e n t s'a b i l i t y o f e x p r e s s i n g t h e m s e l v e s c l e a r l y a n d （2）___________t h e i r c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g.●A p e r s o n's w r i t i n g s k i l l s r e f l e c t t h e l e v e l o f h i s o r h e r t h i n k i n g.T h e l e v e l o f a p e r s o n's t h i n k i n g i s （3）___________i n h i s o r h e r w r i t i n g s k i l l s.●I t's h i g h t i m e t h a t w e i m p r o v e o u r w r i t i n g s k i l l s，e s p e c i a l l y f o r t h e s c i e n c e s t u d e n t s.S o m e t i m e s，I c a n h a r d l y u n d e r s t a n d t h o s e c h a r a c t e r s.T o i m p r o v e t h e w r i t i n g s k i l l s i s v e r y （4）___________，e s p e c i a l l y f o r t h e s c i e n c e s t u d e n t s w h o e v e n h a v e d i f f i c u l t y （5）___________t h e t e x t.●S t u d e n t s o f a l l m a j o r s s h o u l d g r a s p t h e t e c h n i q u e s o f w r i t i n g a n d s p e a k i n g.I t n o t o n l y e n r i c h e s o u r s e l v e s，b u t a l s o b e n e f i t s o u r w o r k.●E m p l o y e r s w a n t t o h i r e c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e s w h o c a n w r i t e c o h e r e n t l y，t h i n k c r i t i c a l l y a n d c r e a t i v e l y，a n d a n a l y z e q u a n t i t a t i v e d a-t a.B u t w r i t i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s a r e o f t e n s e r i o u s l y l a c k i n g f r o m m a n y j o b s e e k-e r s's k i l l s e t s.I t's n e c e s s a r y f o r s t u d e n t s o f a l l m a j o r s t o （6）________t h e s k i l l s o f w r i t i n g a n d s p e a k i n g，w h i c h n o t o n l y e n r i c h e s t h e m s e l v e s b u t a l s o i s （7）___________t o t h e i r w o r k.M a n y j o b s e e k e r s o f t e n （8）___________w r i t i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s.T h u s， t h e y o f t e n （9）__________t o w r i t e c o h e r e n t l y，t h i n k c r i t i c a l l y a n d c r e a t i v e l y，a n d a n a l y z e q u a n t i t a t i v e d a t a.H o w e v e r， t h e s e （1 0）______a r e t h o u g h t h i g h l y o f b y e m p l o y e r s.

2.Read the measures taken abroad and try to summarize them.

●H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y m a k e s e x p o s i t o r y w r i t i n g （1） f o r e v e r y s t u d e n t.T h e c o u r s e c o v e r s a w i d e r a n g e o f s u b j e c t s a n d （2） w r i t i n g w i t h a c a d e m i c， m o r a l a n d s o c i a l i s s u e s.● Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y s e t s u p a w r i t i n g c e n t e r f o r s t u d e n t s， （3） t h e y c a n s c h e d u l e a p p o i n t m e n t s t o h a v e a （4） w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l t u t o r s， g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s o r u n d e r g r a d u a t e s w r i t i n g p a r t n e r s.●T h e M I T w r i t i n g c o u r s e r e q u i r e s s t u d e n t s t o r e a d e x t e n s i v e l y a n d c r i t i c a l l y a n d （5）___________t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f p r a c t i c i n g s p e a k i n g t o i m p r o v e s t u d e n t s'p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s.國外措施

3.Writing task

假定你是高中生李華，你看到清華大學即將開設“寫作與溝通”課程，你給本校校長寫信建議高中專門開設“英語寫作與溝通”課程。要點如下:

①開設課程的理由；

②開展課程措施。

【審題指導】

Para.1：指出此次寫信目的，受到清華大學即將開設“寫作與溝通”課程的啟發，你迫切希望在高中開設類似課程。

Para.2：陳述開設這門課程的理由，從學生當前現狀和這門課程的意義等不同角度加以分析。

Para.3：提出有效開展課程的措施并進行措施分析。

Para.4：簡單總結，期待回復。

【寫作指導】

第一段中注意表達“迫切”心情的詞積累：can't wait to/feel an urge to/be eager to/be desperate to/be longing to/...

第二、三段中注意從以上對文本中原因及措施的分析中，選取適用于在高中開展“寫作與溝通”課程的理由和措施，并結合自己的觀點加以整合。語段結構通常為：主旨句加觀點支撐句。注意每段首句通常為主旨句，應清晰明了。各觀點之間應運用合理的連接詞，展示清晰的邏輯。

【規范寫作】

Step 4 提升·素養建構

清華大學游泳課引熱議

清華大學不愧是一流大學，敢為天下先。下面讓我們一起來回顧去年清華大學開設的另一門別出心裁的必修課吧！

Starting in September， 2017， new students at Tsinghua University will be required to know how to swim or learn how to pass a test before they can receive their bachelor's degrees.The test calls for them to show whether they can swim at least 50 meters using any stroke(游泳姿勢).If freshmen fail a swimming test upon entering，they will be made to go for a swimming course.

University president Qiu Yong said swimming was a key survival skill，adding that the move will help improve students'physical fitness.The announcement has stirred（激起）a lively debate on social media.

While some praised the University for promoting“a necessary skill that can save lives”， others questioned if it was fair to expect those who come from inland cities to be able to swim.

Another commentator added:“Even though it is a‘famousuniversity’，itshouldn'tmakearbitrary （隨意的）rules， as such rules could snuff out（扼殺） talents.”

Tsinghua University first made swimming compulsory in 1919，but the rule was later dropped as the University grew in popularity.There was also a lack of swimming pools in Beijing.

According to Xinhua Agency， many alumni（校友）of the University had to meet the swimming challenge.The well-known writer Liang Shih-chiu，who was admitted to the University in 1915，failed the test before his graduation and had to take a second one.

清華大學的游泳課引起了人們的爭議。作為中學生的你怎樣看待游泳課作為必修課的呢？請找到文中的觀點，和同學討論后寫下你們的看法。注意觀點明確，寫作時要使用主旨句和觀點支撐句。

A r g u-m e n t(論點)P r o s（贊成方）S h o u l d s t u d e n t s a t T s i n g h u a U n i v e r s i t y b e r e q u i r e d t o k n o w h o w t o s w i m o r l e a r n h o w t o p a s s a t e s t b e f o r e t h e y c a n r e c e i v e t h e i r b a c h e l o r's d e g r e e s?1.S w i m m i n g w a s a k e y s u r v i v a l s k i l l a n d w i l l h e l p i m p r o v e s t u d e n t s'p h y s i c a l f i t n e s s.2.I t's a n e c e s s a r y s k i l l t h a t c a n s a v e l i v e s.C o n s（反對方）Y o u r s …1.I t w a s u n f a i r t o e x p e c t t h o s e w h o c o m e f r o m i n l a n d c i t i e s t o b e a b l e t o s w i m.2.E v e n t h o u g h i t i s a ‘f a m o u s u n i v e r s i t y’，i t s h o u l d n't m a k e a r b i t r a r y r u l e s，a s s u c h r u l e s c o u l d s n u f f o u t t a l e n t s.

【歸納總結】習近平總書記在清華大學建校105周年賀信講到：“清華大學秉承自強不息、厚德載物的校訓，開創了中西融匯、古今貫通、文理滲透的辦學風格”。從本文中，同學們也可領略清華風采一二。共同努力拼搏，讓夢想揚起風帆，砥礪前行吧！