相对于issue来说，argument是比较容易提高的。但是，很多同学的表现还是不太理想。这里我将分几个帖子来讨论argument的写作。每个帖子都有一些练习，希望对大家有帮助。首先，我们来学习如何概括一个argument的结论、证据。

以 argument 8 为例  

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."

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.

这个argument的结论是 Buckingham College should build a number of new dormitories. 前面还带了一个目的状语To serve the housing needs of our students 解释目的。而主要的论据包括

- 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.  

那么在第一段我们首先要做的一件事就是概括这个argument。
这里同学们可以先自己写一下，然后再对比我的参考答案。有能力的同学可以尝试用几种不同的句型来进行概括，这实际上就是同义转换的训练。 

参考答案：
戳这里

这里用了两句话才概括完整个论证。值得注意的是，在这里提到了the director。很多同学喜欢用arguer/author来指代原作者。当题目提供了更具体信息时，还是应该用更具体、准确的称谓。 

如果同学们觉得开头写太长太花时间，也可以用一个简单的版本来概括。
参考答案：
戳这里

概括原题结论和论据是argument写作的第一步。写好这一步不仅关系到考官对你文章的第一印象，也关系到你能否准确把握题目的重点，因此应该多一点练习。建议版友自己在这里回帖练习这个动作。 

我的6分博客里有不少argument的范文，同学们可以选那些题目来练习然后和我的开头做对比。建议版友只占一层楼，然后通过编辑来更新自己的练习。对于坚持练习的同学，我会重点关注和指导。 

回帖练习格式

抄写完整原题 

列出结论 
列出论据 

写出开头段的第一部分，概括原题中的结论和主要论据。  

Argument写作入门系列文章：

Argument写作入门-开头段第二步：根据题目要求写主旨句

Argument写作入门-中间段核心步骤：探索其他可能性

原帖作者：tesolchina

原帖地址：http://bbs.gter.net/thread-1795774-1-1.html

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