在某种意义上来说,在词数相同的作文中,语言水平越高,语言技巧越熟练,句子的数目也就越少。这就意味着句子长了,句子结构复杂了。当然,我们反对过多地使用简单句并不是鼓励学生去刻意追求长句、复杂句。我们追求的是句子结构的多变。一篇文章能根据表达的内容使用不同的句子结构,会产生较好的艺术效果。
譬如:在这篇文章“The Career I Pursue”的主体段中:
A variety of reasons have led me to choose this occupation over other more lucrative ones. First, teaching is learning. To make my lectures more interesting, I have to read more books, explore new knowledge and gain a better understanding of the world-the very thing I like to do in my life. Second, teaching means freedom.
As a teacher, I can freely express my opinions and explain them in my own way since nobody will interfere with me. Finally, I like teaching because it offers a certain peace of mind. No more rushing to catching a morning bus, no more anxiety to please a boss, and no more worries about being laid off because you are getting old.
文中有4个词的短句:First, teaching is learning. 也有27个词的长句:To make my lectures more interesting, I have to read more books, explore new knowledge and gain a better understanding of the world-the very thing I like to do in my life. 有简单句,也有复杂句:As a teacher, I can freely express my opinions and explain them in my own way since nobody will interfere with me; 还有同位语句,断裂句,排比句,比较句等,因而文章读起来节奏感强。所谓句子变化,主要是指句子的开头要有变化,句子的结构要有变化,句子的长度要有变化。不要连续使用几个简单句,要学会使用复杂句。