我们之前转述了这位turnitin的英文老师如何看待抄袭,代写和引用的观点(见文章《turnitin的英文大学老师如何看待引用?》。这里我们来看看这位老师如何教大家审题,即Command Words. 审题虽然跟turnitin查重的重复率关系不大,但审题错误,即使turnitin的重复率很低,在老师那边也是通不过的,文不对题嘛!
What are ‘command words’?
首先,CW到底有什么意思呢?(原来审题也有这么大的学问!)
Ah, good ol’ command words. When I was a student, it took me a long time to understand what they are and why getting top marks depends on your understanding of them. The best definition of a command word is, the main verbs that appear in an assessment question. Command words indicate what approach should be applied to answering the question.
听到Commands word这个词,估计很多同学就会心碎一地。在我还上学的时候,我也花了很长时间才弄清楚CW是究竟是什么,为什么它对论文成绩这么重要。在我看来,CW是问题里最主要的动词,这决定着论文应该采取哪种方法来回答问题。
For example:
“Compare the differences between…” Compare: discuss two or more things in terms of their similarities and differences.
“Please evaluate…” Evaluate: judge; criticise in terms of impact/significance, and investigate the implications.
“Assess the reasons why…” Assess: decide the value of; judge; measure the importance of something.
例句一: “把甲与乙比较起来”(比较,是指对比几种同类事物的异同、优劣),
例句二: “评价一下”(通常是指对一件事或人物进行判断、分析后的结论),
例句三: “评估原因”(对方案进行评估和论证,确认其重要性)。
Are they really important?
为什么CW如此重要?
In short, yes. Comprehending command words is a common issue for a range of students I work with. A misunderstanding of the command word will lead to you misunderstanding the question. If, for example, you are asked to ‘evaluate’ the use of a business model by a particular organisation, but you end up simply ‘describing’ it instead, there is a strong likelihood that the marker will consider your written response to be descriptive rather than evaluative; therefore not really providing an appropriate response to the actual task given. In the end marks will be taken off.
简而言之,试想一下,如果不知道规则,肯定就不能好好玩耍了,是不是?错误地理解CW必然导致误解问题本身方面——比如:论文问题要求评估一种商业模式,倒但你就只描述商业模式有什么细节。不言而喻,那你的老师就会认为你写的论文文不对题,那就只能和高分说拜拜咯。(委媛套用一句古话:干活不由东,累死也无功。不按照老师的意思写,肯定没戏……)
Okay, but what should I do?
明白了,但我该怎么办呢?
Make a list of command words and find each definition. When you have time, I suggest you look online for basic assignment questions and practise writing short answers. Every little bit helps! Remember, understanding command words is a most significant step towards understanding what the assessment requires. In turn, you will be able to research and write your response effectively.
千万别忘了:CW是写好一篇论文的第一步。我建议,有空的时候先列一张CW清单,包括所有的中英解释和翻译。然后上网找一些简单的问题,并结合清单写一些简单的答案(或者学长学姐写过的题目,如果能找到的话)。以此来培养对于CW的理解,点滴积累就会收到回报,这样慢慢的你就会摸到方法了。