Building Your Own Line of Reasoning · 搭建你自己的推理线索
Decide the order before you write any of it
- Most essays that lose the reasoning marks were planned as a list of things to say.
- A plan is not a list of topics — it is an order with a reason for the order.
- Draft your claims first, as a list, and check that the list moves.
A list of points is a shopping list; an argument still needs a recipe.
在写下任何一段之前先定顺序
- 多数丢掉推理分的文章,当初就是按"要说的几件事"来规划的。
- 计划不是一份话题清单——它是一个顺序,以及采用这一顺序的理由。
- 先把各项主张列成清单,再检查这份清单是否在推进。
观点清单只是购物单；论证还需要菜谱。
Put the planning steps in order. · 把规划步骤排序。
The order is decided before the writing, and tested after it. · 顺序在写之前决定,在写之后检验。
The question that tests an order
- For each paragraph ask: why does this come after the one before it?
- If the only answer is "it is another thing I know about the topic", you have a list.
- A good answer sounds like: because the previous paragraph raised an objection this one answers.
检验顺序的那个问题
- 对每一段都问:这一段为什么排在上一段之后?
- 如果唯一的答案是"这是我知道的关于这个题目的另一件事",那你写的是清单。
- 好的答案听起来是:因为上一段提出了一个反对意见,而这一段回答它。
An essay with strong paragraphs necessarily has a strong line of reasoning. · 段落有力的文章必然有有力的推理线索。
Reasoning is a property of the sequence; strong paragraphs in no order still lose the marks. · 推理是序列的属性;段落再有力,若无顺序仍会失分。
For each paragraph, ask why it comes ____ the one before it. · 对每一段都要问,它为何排在上一段 ____。
If the only answer is "it is another thing I know", the essay is a list. · 如果唯一的答案是"这是我知道的另一件事",那这篇文章就是清单。
Commentary carries the path
- Each paragraph's commentary must connect its evidence to its own claim.
- The last sentence should also point at the next claim, so the reader is carried forward.
- That forward pointer is the difference between paragraphs in a row and paragraphs in a path.
评述承载这条路径
- 每一段的评述都必须把它的证据与它自己的主张连接起来。
- 最后一句还应当指向下一项主张,使读者被带着往前走。
- 这个向前的指引,正是"依次排列的段落"与"路径上的段落"之间的区别。
Climb the four rungs of commentary · 攀上评注的四级阶梯
'Explain your evidence' is unusable; four questions, each answerable in a sentence, make it a procedure. · "解释你的证据"无从下手;四个各能用一句话回答的问题,把它变成可执行的步骤。
An essay can have a defensible thesis, apt evidence and real commentary in every paragraph and still lose the reasoning marks — because the paragraphs are in no particular order. Reasoning is a property of the sequence, not of any single paragraph.
一篇文章可以有可辩护的论点、恰当的证据,每段也都有真正的评述,却仍然丢掉推理分——因为段落之间没有特定顺序。推理是序列的属性,而不是任何单个段落的属性。
Select all · 所有 the deliberate orders this lesson suggests. · 选出本课建议的所有有意识的顺序安排。
Paragraph length is never a reason for an order. · 段落长度从来不是安排顺序的理由。
Choosing your order
- Weakest-to-strongest ends on your best point, which is where a reader stops.
- Objection-first earns credibility before you press your case.
- Chronological or causal order works when the argument is a sequence.
选择你的顺序
- 由弱到强,结尾落在你最有力的一点上,而那正是读者停下来的地方。
- 先讲反对意见,能在你力陈己见之前先赢得可信度。
- 当论证本身就是一个序列时,时间顺序或因果顺序有效。
A good test of whether an essay has a line of reasoning is to read only... · 检验一篇文章是否有推理线索,一个好办法是只读……
If the topic sentences alone make an argument, the reasoning is in the essay. · 如果单是各主题句就构成一段论证,那推理就在这篇文章里。
Testing a draft
- Read only your topic sentences, in order, and nothing else.
- Do they make an argument on their own? They should.
- If they read as a list of subheadings, the reasoning is not in the essay yet.
检验一份草稿
- 只按顺序读你的各个主题句,别的都不读。
- 它们本身是否构成一段论证?应当构成。
- 如果读起来像一串小标题,那推理还没有进入这篇文章。
Topic sentences read alone: "The policy's stated aim is reasonable." → "Its measure of success does not track that aim." → "So the reported success is real and irrelevant." Three sentences, and the argument is already complete — that is what a line of reasoning looks like.
单独读各个主题句:*"这项政策所声明的目标是合理的。" → "它衡量成功的标准并不追踪这一目标。" → "因此所报告的成功既真实又无关紧要。"*三句话,论证已经完整——推理线索就是这个样子。
Draft your claims as a list and check the order moves. For each paragraph, answer why it follows the one before. Let commentary point forward as well as back, choose an order deliberately, and test the draft by reading only the topic sentences.
先把各项主张列成清单,并检查顺序是否在推进。对每一段都回答它为何跟在上一段之后。让评述既回指也前指,有意识地选择顺序,并通过只读各主题句来检验草稿。