GRE考試Essay argument開頭怎麽寫？

在從(cong) 本科邁入研究生的道路上，必不可少的一項硬性指標就是GRE。GRE, 全稱Graduate Record Examination, 是世界各地大學研究生院校要求申請者提供的入學考試成績，分為(wei) Verbal/Math/Essay三個(ge) 大項。

而在Essay中，又分為(wei) argument和issue這兩(liang) 大寫(xie) 作任務。本係列將圍繞Argument展開。 作為(wei) GRE新手小白的你，可能會(hui) 對以下問題感興(xing) 趣：Argument的評分標準長啥樣？考試形式是什麽(me) ？俗話說，萬(wan) 事開頭難，那麽(me) Argument的第一段通常該如何下筆呢？

評分標準

 GRE寫(xie) 作滿分6分，Issue和Argument分開評分，再取平均值，以0.5分為(wei) 一個(ge) 檔次。一般偏理工科的學校，對學生的作文分數要求在3-3.5之間；對於(yu) 人文社科類則略高，在4-4.5左右。

相比於(yu) verbal和math而言，由於(yu) 寫(xie) 作技能和邏輯思維上的匱乏，作文一直是大部分中國學生的薄弱環節，曆年來的平均分數都在3分左右徘徊。想要打破所謂的3分魔咒，讓我們(men) 先從(cong) 了解argument essay的考試形式開始。

考試形式

 Argument Essay，俗稱駁論文，由

1.議論文段

2.題目指示構成

學生將首先閱讀屏幕上的一段議論文，根據題目指示要求，找出這段話中的邏輯錯誤，並進行駁斥，最終寫(xie) 成一篇文章，以證明原結論推理的不合理性。（你想得沒錯，就是讓你做杠精！）

01議論文段

議論文段變化多種多樣，這裏給大家看一個(ge) 來自官方的舉(ju) 例：In surveys Mason City residents rank water sports (swimming, boating and fishing) among their favorite recreational activities. The Mason River flowing through the city is rarely used for these pursuits, however, and the city park department devotes little of its budget to maintaining riverside recreational facilities. For years there have been complaints from residents about the quality of the river's water and the river's smell. In response, the state has recently announced plans to clean up Mason River. Use of the river for water sports is therefore sure to increase. The city government should for that reason devote more money in this year's budget to riverside recreational facilities.

02題目指示

這裏的題目指示，主要分為(wei) 四大類 （Evidence/Question/Assumption/Explanation), 具體(ti) 表現形式如下：

evidence 類: Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

question 類: Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

assumption 類: Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

explanation 類: Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.

這裏需要注意的一點是，一定要區分不同的題目指示類別。問evidence的題目，就一定要指出所需要的論據；而問assumption的題目，則要正麵討論各種有可能的假設，以此類推。千萬(wan) 不要答非所問噢！

開頭段的寫(xie) 法

小編在采訪各路大佬後，為(wei) 大家總結出argument開頭段的3個(ge) 關(guan) 鍵步驟

（1）梳理原議論文段的結論、論據

所謂議論文，一定有一個(ge) 明確的論點，而在論點前後，必然有具體(ti) 、詳盡的論據支持。在進行駁斥之前，我們(men) 必須要先讀懂題目中提供的議論文段。常規來說議論文段由一個(ge) 論點 + 3個(ge) 論據構成。話不多說，我們(men) 用前文官方的例子給大家做一個(ge) 示範：

論點：The city government should for that reason devote more money in this year's budget to riverside recreational facilities. 市政府應投入大量資金以改造河邊的娛樂(le) 設施

論據1：In surveys Mason City residents rank water sports (swimming, boating and fishing) among their favorite recreational activities. However, the Mason River flowing through the city is rarely used for these pursuits. Mason城的人很喜歡水上運動，但是流經城市的水流卻很少使用。

論據2：For years there have been complaints from residents about the quality of the river's water and the river's smell. 很多市民抱怨水流質量和氣味。

論據3：The state has recently announced plans to clean up Mason River. Use of the river for water sports is therefore sure to increase. 政府決(jue) 定清理河道，所以用作水上運動的河流使用會(hui) 增加。

（2）改寫(xie) 原議論文段，概括argument

讀懂議論文段，並且找出1個(ge) 論點+ 3個(ge) 論據後，我們(men) 接下來要做的就是改寫(xie) ，並概括這個(ge) argument。所謂改寫(xie) ，要遵循的原則是“結構改變，語意不變”，範例如下：According to the author, the city government should allocate increased funding to improve riverside recreational facilities due to a few reasons, including the city’s resident’s love of water sports, the harmful environmental condition, and the clean-up announcement. On account of the three reasons above, the author argues the Mason City government ought to devote more money to riverside recreational facilities.

(3)根據題目指示寫(xie) 主旨句

在前文介紹題目指示的時候，我們(men) 已然重點強調過4大題目指示類型。當我們(men) 完成梳理+改寫(xie) 過後，我們(men) 要正式提出自己的反駁主旨，用一個(ge) 主旨句來統領全文。針對四大題目類型，小編貼心為(wei) 你整理了四大主旨句的萬(wan) 能模版，一起來看看吧！

Evidence類：in order to fully evaluate this argument, we need to have a significant amount of additional evidence. The argument could end up being much weaker than it seems, or it might actually be quite valid. In order to make that determination, we need to know more then analyze what we learn. 舉(ju) 例：The following appeared in a memo from the director of student housing at Buckingham College. "To serve the housing needs of our students, Buckingham College should build a number of new dormitories. Buckingham's enrollment is growing and, based on current trends, will double over the next 50 years, thus making existing dormitory space inadequate. Moreover, the average rent for an apartment in our town has risen in recent years. Consequently, students will find it increasingly difficult to afford off-campus housing. Finally, attractive new dormitories would make prospective students more likely to enroll at Buckingham."

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

在這裏，結論是 Buckingham College should build a number of new dormitories，

而論據包含 (1)“Buckingham's enrollment is growing…inadequate”;

(2)“the average rent for an apartment …to afford off-campus housing”

(3)“attractive new dormitories…to enroll at Buckingham.

而在題目指示上我們(men) 可以看出它屬於(yu) evidence類問法，在萬(wan) 能模版的基礎上，我們(men) 可以考慮這樣寫(xie) 主旨句：In order to evaluate the recommendation, we need more information about the enrollment trend of Buckingham College, the exact rents of the off-campus housing, students’ financial background and how prospective students make their choices. We could analyze what we learn and then make the final decision.

注意：這裏的 about 後有四個(ge) 賓語，其中三個(ge) 是名詞短語、最後一個(ge) 是賓語從(cong) 句。而後麵的中間段則會(hui) 按照這四個(ge) 點展開來寫(xie) 。

Question類：To evaluate the soundness of the recommendation, we need to ask a number of questions related to different aspects of the arguments. 舉(ju) 例: The following appeared in a memo from the mayor of Brindleburg to the city council. Two years ago, the town of Seaside Vista opened a new municipal golf course and resort hotel. Since then, the Seaside Vista Tourism Board has reported a 20% increase in visitors. In addition, local banks reported a steep rise in the number of new business loan applications they received this year. The amount of tax money collected by Seaside Vista has also increased, allowing the town to announce plans to improve Seaside Vista's roads and bridges. We recommend building a similar golf course and resort hotel in Brindleburg. We predict that this project will generate additional tax revenue that the city can use to fund much-needed public improvements.  Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

這裏的結論是“We recommend building a similar golf course and resort hotel in Brindleburg”，而論據則是 ：

（1）a 20% increase in visitors & a steep rise in the number of new business

（2）announcement to improve infrastructure;

（3）generation of tax revenue

主旨句：The mayor recommends the construction of a golf course and a resort hotel in town to generate more tax revenue for financing infrastructure improvements. By citing the example of the town Seaside Vista who made similar moves, he argues that the projects will attract more visitors, stimulate local business activities and help the local government collect more money. To evaluate the soundness of the recommendation, we need to ask a number of questions related to different aspects of the arguments, including the resources for tourism, the economic structure and the taxation policies of Brindleburg to evaluate the argument.

這裏的“resources for tourism” 、“economic structure” 、“taxation policy of Brindleburg”就很好的一一對應了原議論文段裏的論據。

Assumption 類：A number of assumptions have been made explicitly or implicitly throughout the argument and we need to examine such assumptions critically to decide if the argument is convincing. 舉(ju) 例: The following appeared in a letter from a homeowner to a friend."Of the two leading real estate firms in our town—Adams Realty and Fitch Realty—Adams Realty is clearly superior. Adams has 40 real estate agents; in contrast, Fitch has 25, many of whom work only part-time. Moreover, Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of Fitch and included home sales that averaged $168,000, compared to Fitch's $144,000. Homes listed with Adams sell faster as well: ten years ago I listed my home with Fitch, and it took more than four months to sell; last year, when I sold another home, I listed it with Adams, and it took only one month. Thus, if you want to sell your home quickly and at a good price, you should use Adams Realty. Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

在這裏的結論是“if you want to sell your home quickly and at a good price, you should use Adams Realty”

而論據則為(wei)

（1）“Adams has 40 real estate agents; in contrast, Fitch has 25, many of whom work only part-time”

（2）“Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of Fitch”

（3）“Homes listed with Adams sell faster as well”

主旨句示例：According to the friend of the homeowner, Adams is a better real estate firm and should be used in order to sell the home fast and get a good deal because it has more full-time agents, better home sales records. To assess this argument, we need to examine critically a number of assumptions about the workforce size and full-time or part-time mode, the average prices and the time required to sell a home.

這裏的workforce size，average price和time required to sell a home，分別對應了論據中列出的三點，也是後文中我們(men) 重點攻擊的對象。

Explanation類：There are a number of rival explanations that we need to explore before we can assess the strength of the argument. Recently, butter has been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants throughout the southwestern United States. This change, however, has had little impact on our customers. In fact, only about 2 percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of 98 people out of 100 are happy with the change. Furthermore, many servers have reported that a number of customers who ask for butter do not complain when they are given margarine instead. Clearly, either these customers do not distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine." Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.

這裏的結論是“replacing butter with margarine has had little impact on our customers”，

而論據則是

（1）only about 2 percent of customers have complained；

（2）servers report a number of customers who ask for butter do not complain when they are given margarine instead。

這裏和上麵的舉(ju) 例不同，我們(men) 隻能找到2個(ge) 論據，但是主旨句的格式卻是一樣的，我們(men) 一起來看一看：The business manager of HPH argues that replacing butter with margarine had little influence on their customers based on his interpretations and explanations of two observations: 1) only 2% of customers complained; 2) customers did not complain about the replacement according to the servers. There are a number of rival explanations that we need to explore before we can assess the strength of the argument.

當這步完成過後，我們(men) 根據對應的題目提示加在前麵改寫(xie) 好的議論文段後，GRE Argument Essay的開頭就完成啦！怎麽(me) 樣，一步步慢慢來，是不是沒有你想象中的那麽(me) 難？