如何进一步提高英文文笔？

如何可以提高英文文笔以至于达到well-educated native speaker那可文雅可幽默可唯美可细腻的创作水平呢？

可能很多人都面临我这个问题。wo英文应该算是流畅，困了的时候语法会发蒙，不过仔细想想的话就能想明白。有的时候看美剧能发现字幕组的问题，之前被任命过校刊主编，也给学校写专栏。我SAT Writing没有怎么准备考了760我忘了， Essay11分(满分12分)。我深知我这个分数比不上800大神们，写在这里也丝毫没有炫耀的意思，（这也不是什么值得炫耀的东西），我只是想借此更清晰地描述我的处境。


________________________我是开启额外信息的分界线__________________________
P.S.我知道其实有一个理论是母语水平决定第二语言创作上限，但其实就我周围人给我的（虚高的）评价和考试的时候老师给我的中文文学评论这个项目的分数来说，我中文写东西应该算是还可以。但我依然感觉英文力道不够。当时写Common App文章主要也是通过认真地设计故事结构来吸引读者兴趣、增加感染力，突出主题。那时候就已经觉得文笔有些苍白了，然后通俗的小说也读过一些，比如时光旅行者的妻子。

P.P.S. 我决定放点我写的东西上来方便大家给建议，请尽情给建议。我读起来自己写的东西完全就是一个英文并不好的孩子努力地显得自己很厉害，但实际上非常尴尬的情况。

举个栗子，当时给学校办的电影节写主持词的时候，我想写得尽量美一些，所以结尾我是这么写的“As sounds vanish and lights shade, stories we created in the world of movie will never fade away. We have not only given wishes WallE and Eva and weeped for Jack and Rose, but also learnt, grown, and truly experienced an extended length of life, in an alternative world. This experience, will always be with us.”

（感觉好丢人......QAQ
不过既然我诚心诚意地问了，请大家尖酸刻薄地给建议吧。
谢谢大家 ^~^

自告奋勇来答一发~ （I volunteer to answer this question)

Firstly, let's look at this: ' As sounds vanish and lights shade, stories we created in the world of movie will never fade away. We have not only given wishes (I assume you just obviated a 'to') WallE and Eva and weeped for Jack and Rose, but also learnt, grown, and truly experienced an extended length of life, (this comma is redundant here) in an alternative world. This experience, (again, this is a full sentence that doesn't need a comma) will always be with us.' This to me doesn't look like that you are a pretentious child who doesn't excel at English. Overall, it's good in terms of expression and gist (though this paragraph might seem stagy 矫情 to some people).

I'm not an expert on poem, so I'm not going to comment on your poem (actually in my opinion, poem is not a good carrier of information or communication, trying to put up poems sometimes can entangle yourself in an 'affected' situation and disturb the fluency of your thinking as you always want to find the best fitting words).

Now going back to how to further enhance writing skill. The NO.1 priority is reading, no input=limited output, to achieve the level of being able to write without hindrance, you must read widely and voraciously. Widely means reading books and articles in fields

other than your own （I surmise it's literature), examples are sociology, anthropology, and even fundamental science and engineering. I myself periodically go to Nature and Science for good articles about human society though I'm in engineering; voraciously implies reading as much as possible and doing it regularly, a good rule of thumb is 10000 words per day. Reading enables you to systematically couple the words you learned with the right grammar linked to them.

To maximize the benefit of the reading, you should frequently present your thoughts in written form, it forces you to organize your thoughts and connect your ideas. I don't know how often you perform writing, my suggestion here would be go to quora and write answers to the questions that intrigue you, 1-2 answers per day should be enough, but be elaborate.

Another crucial factor involved in how mellifluous you can write is your vocabulary, a glossary of ~ 10,000 active words in your hand is a guarantee that your typing can catch your mind. There are notably copious synonyms associated with many words you will encounter, even veteran native writer get lost in this pool of synonym （选择困难）, I would suggest spending less time picking which word you want to use, seize one and stick to it.

My writing training is academically oriented, and the most important feature of academic writing is being straightforward. So here, I'd like to recommend the same rule to you. How to make thread simple and understandable? （1）use simple sentence structure such as first person style and short attributive clause ; （2）avoid rhetoric; (3) don't use too many complicated words, common words will suffice; (4) be logical, each paragraph should hold a core.

My Chinese writing ability came to a standstill after high school, while my English writing has been improving over the past few years, thus I‘m not a firm believer 母语水平会限制外语上限. Fabulous writing skill comes with years of practice and experience.

谢

@宫园薰

姑娘邀

对于一个好的文本，如果我想要借鉴它的语言风格，我会有自发地（有时候是无意识地）对它的语法特点进行剖析。

然后再对其特点进行归纳，进而将实实在在的语法结构与阅读过程中产生的“风格感”、“文学感”联系起来。

比如，全倒装会产生什么样的效果，而部分倒装有什么微妙的差别？

作者处理复杂句时偏好如何安排每个成分，对句意有无微妙影响？对读者感觉有什么影响？

长短句的节奏、长音节词的频率对阅读节奏的影响，会给阅读带来什么样的影响？

作者如何通过简单的语法结构表达深邃的内涵？为什么有些人写出来就成了片汤话？

另外，有了这些体会之后，还要在写作的时候有些“移情”的感觉：拽文的时候你就是个教授；扯淡的时候你就是个话痨；幽默的时候你就是个comedian......

谢 @宫园薰 邀请。

我曾看到一句话：“好文章不是写出来的，而是改出来的”。大量的阅读、可观的词汇量固然重要，但归根到底文章还是要靠自己一个字一个字写出来的。英语是外语，遣词造句相比中文而言又多了些复杂性：对英语语汇的理解和掌握、放在某一语境中是否合适，更需要仔细推敲。就以题主的那段话的开头为例：

As sounds vanish and lights shade, stories .....

Sound 是一个没有太多具体含义的词，任何声音都可以是 sound。如果这篇文章里的这个地方说的是某个电影节（哪怕是学校内部的电影节），那或许用 fanfare会更恰当？如果是对电影创作的探讨，上下文中指的是电影的音响，那或许 soundtrack 更合适？ vanish 一般指的是不明不白突然消失。用在这里是否合适？似乎值得商榷。 lights： 不知道指的是什么 lights? 是电影放映机的灯，摄影棚的灯光，还是影院里的灯？ 不同地点的灯，在该文中究竟应该是 are turned on / come on 还是 are dimmed / go out，显然是不一样的。 shade 作为一个动词，似乎不能用来指“将灯光调暗、关掉”。建议查一下词典。

这样一个段落的开头，看似仅仅几个单词，你要真想写好，还真不是那么简单的。写作确实需要 passion，但是单纯靠 passion，洋洋洒洒一挥而就，过后不仔细推敲，你写上5、6篇，收获也远不如仔仔细细推敲、认认真真写出一篇高质量的东西来得多。

如果真想迅速提高自己的书面表达能力，尤其是迅速减少各类语法、用词错误，那就每天听、读完英语的东西后都写上一个综述，坚持每天写一些（不求多长，但是每天写一些）。每天写完后，不要检查当天自己写的东西，而是检查昨天和前几天的作文：因为自己刚刚写下的东西，还清晰地留在脑子里，这样就不易发现自己的错误。而昨天写的东西，你已经淡忘了一些，这时候回来检查、推敲，会更容易发现自己的错误，更便于你斟酌词语、句子结构，提高表达能力和说服力。如果能与别人交换着看、或两个人一起分析各自的作文，效果会更好。没什么可“不好意思”的，大家都在学，水平半斤对八两，谁怕谁？而且，让自己出过洋相、丢过脸的东西，最“刻骨铭心”，以后犯同样的错误的可能性大为降低。

Hope this helps. Also a lot of bashing ahead, but I'm strictly criticizing the writing, not you as the writer.

Let's observe this passage first:

“As sounds vanish and lights shade, stories we created in the world of movie will never fade away. We have not only given wishes WallE and Eva and weeped for Jack and Rose, but also learnt, grown, and truly experienced an extended length of life, in an alternative world. This experience, will always be with us.”

As sounds vanish and lights shade

This is a classical opening many novice writers try to adopt when attempting to build an atmosphere of conclusion. The aim is to induce a feeling similar to that which forms in our minds when the last drops of rain fall from the sky, indicating the beginning of the end of a storm. However, this one invokes an image that sounds needlessly artificial. Sounds don't vanish, they reverberate and die away. Using the word "shade" as a verb to describe the action through which the lights gradually turn off is more accurate with "dim" instead.

We have not only given wishes WallE and Eva and weeped for Jack and Rose

Here is another stereotypical construction of a sentence using the "not only...but also..." structure that is lauded by many English teachers in China, which while borderlines platitude is still entirely valid given the context. Within this sentence, however, lies a spot which unless I'm terribly mistaken, is a grammatical error that tarnishes this otherwise wholesome entity: one gives wishes to others. If the previous point was simply aiming to improve on a satisfactory foundation, this is a fundamental mistake that can, and will, ruin the entire passage for the audience that was just beginning to be captivated by your imagery.

If more time and consideration had been given to revising the script, better results would undoubtedly be achieved. And this act is something that many people who write regard with either neglect or contempt, quite unfairly. The fact that most of the writing we do for standardized tests such as SAT or even essay writing in high schools in China have strict limits on time does not ease the issue.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither can a good piece of writing, whether it be a novel, an essay or a poem, be completed the moment the writer finishes his first draft. Writing is a creative process, but less so like painting where one has to paint another layer to alter its contents, but more so like sculpting, where Alexandros never stops at the silhouette of Venus, but places tremendous care on every minute detail of her body. The subtleties which one can polish over when revising is what distinguishes great writing from good writing, because the expression is sincere and natural while achieving the same purpose. However, the audience won't ever notice the details, because they won't have the time to scrutinze the marvellous use of an adjective or a phrase, but what they'll see is the accumulation of these subtleties that is your great work.

嗯。要回答如何提高文笔达到接近native speakers的地步真的是写篇论文都可以了。就简单的谈一下吧。

首先，要写出道地的英文，必须能够使用自然得体的搭配 collocations；能够正确使用phrasal verbs 动词短语；以及idoms 惯用语。这三个使用熟练得当能够让英文不再那么chinglish～当然语法也要合乎规范，至于语法就得另外开一篇帖子了。还有对当代英美文化的了解，比如说一个英美作者写一句话的时候提到了一个英美所有人都看过的东西，这个时候你就蒙了。就好比中国人都知道西游记，白娘子，还珠格格这种，你讲尔康的joke的时候外国人也是完全get不到，所以多看英美的电视，影集，知名小说，历史事件等等。

1）词汇：在写作中，词汇除了denotation 还有connotation 也就是这个词会evoke 一种怎么样的feeling，恰当选词必须考虑语境和说话者的态度，这方面可以参考同义词的thesaurus；更重要的是，中国人经常喜欢使用一些大词来凸显自己的水平，这个在英文写作中绝对是错误的观念，能够熟练使用‘小词’，和一些informal的用法绝对是接近native speaker写作的重要法门。林语堂就曾经在开明英文法中写到，厉害的人会能够使用小词加大词相结合。大词当然generally指那些拉丁希腊字根gre经常用的那些词，小词偏指盎格鲁萨克逊语，不过究竟使用什么等级的词汇还要看具体的语境和写作体裁，切不可钻牛角尖。另外还要注意熟词偏义，其实很多平时你觉得很简单你会的词还有好多用法都是你不会和没见过的，一定要用英英字典去积累！！比如merit 我们最先开始都知道是优点的意思，但是merit attention，嗯自己去查吧。

2）句子：这里我推荐一本书 Building Great Sentences by Brooks Landon 里面介绍了两种句型一种是 Cumulative sentence 还有一种是 Periodic sentence 能够融会贯通加上高中语法基本上句型结构不再是写作的拦路虎了。另外，在句子的层面还要能够在几种结构里面相互转换，比如不定式转换到从句，到名词短语 noun phrase，体会不同结构的应用。还有转折词，例如however，therefore之类的，我想大家都了解英文是形合语言，偏重形式，注重分析说理是一种理性的语言，那么这次词就是让你的文章保持coherent，逻辑不会混乱。不过，建议大家去读读罗素之类的文章，转折词不多，但是行文之中逻辑非常清晰，所以过度使用转折词，尤其开头每句话都有会使得文章非常非常不自然。最后，中国人很不擅长的插入语和标点符号。插入语分很多种，可以插入从句，也可以插入一个副词，或者短语，可以插前面也可以中间或最后，当然还要平时要多阅读去感受插入语对读者的flow of thought有啥影响，标点符号请学会使用破折号，冒号和分号！！！！！

3）其他：其实好的文章还很注重rhythm，读起来有一种韵律感，音乐美。当然这个也是靠很多修辞手法比如说压头韵alliteration，排比之类的，还有词的音节，轻重音，短语的重音弱读等等也会形成rhythm。其实说了这么多，我真心觉得写作除了勤加练习之外，阅读才是重中之重。不仅要看fiction 对于中国人来说更要看non-fiction 体会作者每个词 每个结构 每个句子的表现力，去想想如果是自己的话会怎么表达？多带着问题，多去积累，自然功力日渐增长。能够写出好的文章势必得先学会欣赏什么才是好的英文写作。

接下来推荐一些写作的书希望对各位有帮助。

1) Building Great Sentences by Brooks Landon 对英文句型帮助极大

2) Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph Bizup 比 elements of style好！！

3) Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser/Jill Stephen 这个不用说了，一致好评。

4) The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by Tom Heehler 例举了各种优美的表达方式，绝对好！

5) Successful Writing Proficiency 考雅思必看咯～

6) Critical Thinking Skills by Stella Cottrell 这个真的要看对写essay 帮助很大。

7) Artful Sentences, Syntax as Style by Virginia Tuft 分析的全部都是欧美当代小说的例句，对修辞很有帮助！

阅读的话 实在不知道看啥 推荐 The Norton Reader 一本合集 选的都是最具代表性的文章，堪称经典！我个人也蛮喜欢耶鲁历史系教授史景迁 Jonanthan D. Spence的所有作品！基本都是讲中国历史的比较有兴趣。好啦，打了好多难免疏漏敬请见谅，好了我要去学英文了。。