每日都在聊Essay，写作，学术。。。头大啊！比想象中的留学生活差上十万八千里~一眼望去，大家三五成群的，都扎堆在讨论今天导师留了什么作业，如何如何难搞；这个老师脾气暴，那个老师性子烈~
话题总是莫名的会寰转，到最后只剩下：“咦，那谁谁，Essay完成没有？”“你呢，你呢。。上次的材料准别得怎样啦”。。然后，相劲离去，各自奋战了！
大家都知晓Essay写作中，衔接是非常重要的，是教师评价的标准之一。
很多留学生在写作文的时候，明显觉得一切都还好，但还是被老师的评价意见搞糊涂了，这其实与衔接有关。
如果Essay写作中存在衔接问题，如何解决？这是个老生常谈的问题：
一不要在开始和结束时撒网。在中国学习时，老师总是强调问题的开头和结尾，最好能把段落的主要部分说清楚；
但是，根据汉语写作的习惯，很多人喜欢铺开开头，回头看结尾，这样就会有一种观点认为，主要段落并不是在开头和结尾展开的。
自省中最重要的标准之一是看出现在开头和结尾的人和事是否涉及到主要段落。
案例Inorder to complete a creative task,would you prefer to work alone or withothers?Use specific reasons or examples to support your answer.
如果我们以：
1.Team workprovides additional perspectives that individuals overlooked.
2.Working in team can improveefficiency by distributing the task among a group of people.
为主体段观点，下面两个引入：
A)Society functions on effective communication,as more and more companies stressthe importance of harmony between colleagues as a way to improve workingefficiency.B)Under intense competition,
personal career success depends more and more on ourability to deliver high-quality results efficiently.
分析：B)要明显好于A)，因为A)中提到的effective communication对于社会的意义、workplace harmony在后文中都没有得到呼应。
而B)中提到的内容，在后文中都得到了进一步说明：
1.为什么要讨论这个题目–因为涉及“个人职场成功与否”；
2.什么叫成功？–工作成果质量好且工作效率高；
3.怎样提高质量和效率？–团队合作拓宽思路、团队合作分工协作。
2、注意检查句间指代很多留学生在写作Essay时很容易出现指代不明的问题。
比如：Beingable to express one’s opinion and to accept to other people’s criticism areboth essential for improving communication between coworkers and the harmony ofoffice.
They allow them to understand each other professionally and personally.
首先，第二句用了两个“他们”，分别指什么，作者没说明白。
其次，如果仔细分析，前一句给了两组复数名词，一组是两个abilities（表达能力+接受批评的能力）、一组是两个结果（communication+harmony）；
这样一来第二句“them to understand each other”中的“them”和“each other”都是指谁呢？
实际上这是缺少指代对象的语法错误。在自我检查指代问题时，应该注意以下几个标准：
1）单复数是否一致，上文students下文有没有误写成he/she；
2）是否所有代词在上文都有具体指代的对象；
3）慎重使用value（价值观）、character（素质）这种比较空洞的字眼，因为这些词一般要求下文做出具体解释来缩小文意，很容易导致内容跳跃。
3、加入必要的说理解释Essay写作中，很多人喜欢用观点句+例子这种结构作为主体段的内容。
这种结构的好处是观点一目了然、明确具体；坏处是观点和例子间容易缺少必要的磨合、例子显得过于片面。
这时，就要通过适当解释使段落过渡自然、层次分明。我们用一个简单例子说明：
案例Raisingprofessors’salary is an effective way to motivate them to spend more time on education.It is well known that private universities in the U.S.pay their professors a higher salary than public universities.
At the same time,these universities are also ranked the highest in most academic rankings,because their professors conducted more academic researches,
contributed more papers to journals,and,on average,spend more time giving instructions and seminars to students.
这个例子观点比较明确、也有相应的例子；但是观点和例子间还是存在一些“落差”：
Whyare professors NOT motivated in the first place?How would a high salary help?
因为这些问题没有解决、后文例子只能被看作一个泛泛的correlation（相关）而不是严谨的causation（因果）。
那么，什么样的解释才能把观点和解释有机联系在一起呢？首先，解释应该把观点句中的遗留问题解释清。
Raisingprofessors’salary is an effective way to motivate them to spend more time on education.→Professorship requires years ofinvestments in higher education.
However,compared to other educatedprofessions,professors are relatively lower-paid,which means that some ofthem take part-time jobs with private firms in their spare time,
rather thanspend more time on researches.
这样解释，观点-解释-例子是不是被统一起来了呢？也不完全。因为例子实际上还是对段首第一句的解释说明、而读者的注意力已经被拖着过了几句话。
想让读者的注意力自然过渡，
例子应该回应说理中加入的观点。…,which means that some of them take part-time jobs with private firms in theirspare time,
rather than spend more time on researches.→It is well known that privateuniversities in the U.S.pay their professors a higher salary than publicuniversities.
In doing so,these universities ensure that professors are paidas much as their equally educated counterparts in large firms such asexecutives or business owners.
At the same time,these universities are alsoranked the highest in most academic rankings,because instead of takingpart-time jobs to subsidize their living,
or working overtime in offices,theirprofessors conducted more academic researches,contributed more papers to journals,and,on average,
spend more time giving instructions and seminars to students.
这时我们看到Viewpoint、explanation、example已经成了一个有机的整体。
以上是对Essay衔接的解释。我建议大家写完后，
仔细分析你自己的Essay是否检查了，有没有按照上述内容进行省铎，以及完善你未曾彻底解释的内容。一篇好的Essay定要千锤百炼，不可心急。
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