新SAT写作中的Evidence

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新的写作评分标准主要包括reading, analysis, 和writing，其中的analysis对大家来讲应该是比较新颖的部分。在满分的评分标准中，明确要求一篇好的文章应该能够“offers a thorough,well-considered evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and /or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or features(s) of the student’s own choosing”. 换句话说，考生需要去分析作者怎样应用证据，说理或其他有说服力的风格要素来证明自己的观点。

Evidence in reading passage

　　在仔细分析官方指南和CB公布的样题后( “Seasons of Life and Land”, “Beyond Vietnam”, “The Digital Parent Trap”, “Let There Be Dark”, “Why Literature Matters”, “Foreign News at a Crisis Point”, “Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment”)，我们发现其中除了两篇演讲 “Seasons of Life and Land”, “Beyond Vietnam”，其他5篇都包含了大量的evidence，也就是说，evidence构成了作者行文的主要内容。

In what forms?

　　首先我们来看一下，什么样的内容叫做evidence。在官方指南的第178页是这样描述的，“Evidence is information and ideas that the author uses to support a claim. Evidence takes many forms, … Evidence can come in the form of facts, statistics, quotations from(other) experts, the results of experiments or other research, examples, and the like…” 从这里我们不难发现evidence可能出现的形式是事实，数据，引用别人的话，实验或研究的结果，具体的例子等。例如：

　　考生在阅读文章中，看到这些相关的内容时，如数字，for example，引用一些专家的话等，就需要在写作时仔细地分析作者是怎样用这些数据去构建文章的争论的。

　　Evidence在写作时改如何处理呢，首先要identify 它出现的位置，然后能够去解释说明在这里出现怎样才能证明文章的主干内容，这个是analysis得分非常关键的一点。从官方指南中给出的几篇范文，我们发现对于analysis部分的评分规律基本如下：

　　1分：没有指出evidence(或reason/stylistic)出现的位置;

　　2分：指出evidence(或reason/stylistic)出现的位置，但是没有分析作用;

　　3分：指出evidence(或reason/stylistic)出现的位置，分析对于文章主干的作用;

　　4分：指出evidence(或reason/stylistic)出现的位置，深度分析其作用。

　　更多的考生可能会关注，怎样算做深度分析。考生可以参考官方指南212页的3/3/4分范文的第二段和214页的4/4/4分范文的第二段。

　　“The author’s statistics cited throughout the article reinforce his argument and provide a solid base. In the fourth paragraph he mentions the most common plastic grocery bags, which “make up just 0.3 percent of solid municipal waste materials. The author also cites the “77 percent increase in the sale of plastic trash can liner bags” as a result of a similar ban in Ireland. These statistics appeal to the readers logic and ensure that they can follow a logical path to support the author and oppose the ban. The statistics provide solid evidence that are enhanced by the numbers and cannot be easily argued against.” 3/3/4

　　“Plastic bags ... make up only about 1.6 percent of all municipal solid waste materials,” Summers ventures, his first utilization of a cold, hard fact. The truth in the numbers is undeniable, and he cites his sources promptly, making the statement that much more authentic. Knowledge is often viewed as power, and with information as direct as a statistic, Summers is handing that power to the reader - the power to agree with him. Not only does Summers spread the facts with numbers, he also does so with trends. He talks about the price increase in Ireland, and the documented health hazards of reusable bags. He uses the truth, backed by reliable sources, to infiltrate the readers’ independent mind. His thoroughness in this regard carully builds his argument against this piece of legislation, and this is just one of the many ways he spreads his opposition” 4/4/4

　　不难发现，这两个段落主要的内容基本一致，但明显第二篇范文在evidence的引用和解析方面要更加深刻些，本篇作文的考生用了“Summer is handling that power to the reader- the power to agree with him…”, “he uses the truth, backed by reliable sources, to infiltrate the readers’ independent mind.”。 相比之下第一篇文章对于evidence的论述明显浅显很多，考生只是引用，没有深入分析对于作者构建argument的作用。

　　总而言之，在新SAT写作部分，考生在分析文章内容时，需要能够迅速辨认出明确的论证方法，其中evidence最为明显。在文章中一定要identify 文章中evidence等论证出现的位置，然后深刻分析这些evidence是怎样佐证作者的观点的。