今天,我们看指令: 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. 指令的要求是“需要什么具体的证据”。那么,其实暗示文本中在多处缺失了信息。这些信息的缺失对argument的逻辑影响很大。那么,我们就是找到这些地方,然后看看也许缺少的信息会削弱argument的逻辑合理性,或者我们补上什么信息就可以增强argument的合理性。 我们来看文本: 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.” 然后,我们开始梳理文本中各处证据/信息缺失的地方,比如,我们可能找到: Buckingham’s current growing enrollment is not sufficient evidence in predicting the its future enrollment during the next 50 years, not only because the current growth may be temporary but also because 50 years is too a long time for anyone to be sure of anything. Since there is no specification about the decisive factors behind the current growth, there is no way to know whether those factors will exist in the future, and as a result, the current growth may be discontinued any time. 大家看到的黄色高亮标出的部分,就是应对着 what specific evidence is needed 这个指令要求来写作。 我们再来看一个点的分析演示: The inadequacy of evidence is also found where the author points out the increased average rent across the town. The increase in the average may not be the result of an overall growth covering every apartment with no exceptions. Instead, there may be evidence that certain apartments have not become more expensive to rent or have even become less expensive. Further evidence may be that those apartments whose renting fees have increased have created margins that are adequate to overcompensate for the decrease in other apartments. 通过这两个点的分析性写作的示范(当然,这个示范不是写作的形式),大家是不是发现应对着 what specific evidence is needed 这个指令要求来写作并不是一件难事?简单说来,我们可以用“套话”的方式引出我们的具体分析的内容。当然,应对这个指令还有更多“玄机”和要注意的点,日后娓娓道来。