GRE作文：一篇Argument的写作

作者：王鹤群博士

简单说明：GRE考试中，有一个单独列分的部分是作文。其中包括两篇，一篇Issue，一篇Argument。今天如下陈列的是一篇Argument的写作，可以供GRE备考考生参考。

题目是：

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were notuniquely Palean.

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.

对于题目的简要说明：Argument题目通常给出一个段落的背景材料。让我们看到一种言论。然后，斜体字处提出问题，需要考生根据问题作出相应的回答。

写作如下：

Because of the finding of so-called “Palean” basket in Lithos, a region different from Palea, the author of the paragraph draws the conclusion that the Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean. However, in order to sufficiently support this conclusion, several pieces of evidence are greatly needed, and the validity of them will determine the validity of the author’s conclusion.

Although currently the Brim River is deep and broad and no people without modern steamboats or other highly technical transportation modes can go through it, we still don’t know whether its condition was the same in the ancient time. Here, we need evidence about thegeological and geographical changes in this region throughout historical time. For example, if the Brim River by the time when Palean people lived didn’t exist, then it was highly possible for Palean residents to hold their baskets to walk to Lithos. Even if at that time the Brim River was a seasonal river or stream, it was also possible for Palean people to walk though it when it was dry or to wade or swim across it since it was not deep. All such examples,if demonstrated to be true, can weaken the author’s argument. Therefore, if the author wants to support his conclusion that Lithos residents could also make such baskets, he should provide strong evidence to show that the current deep and broad Brim River was equally deep and broad during the Palean time.

In addition, the author further emphasizes that ancient Paleans couldn’t go across the Brim River because no Palean boats have been found. However, finding no boats doesn’t equal to having no such boats in history. As for this aspect, the author should consider the following possibilities. If Palean boats were single-log boats and then later were buried in the earth and became coal, maybe later people would burn them as fossil fuel and thus destroyed them. If such a possibility is demonstrated to be true, this evidence can strongly weaken the author’s claim. On the contrary, if the author can provide evidence todemonstrate that Palean people didn’t have the technology, skills, or knowledgeto build boats, then his conclusion can be supported to some degree. 

Finally, the author neglects one possibility by focusing only on Palea rather than on Lithos. Even if Paleans couldn’t not go across the river by boating, wading, or swimming, Lithos residents perhaps had such skills. Maybe Lithos people could build small boats sailing to Palea to trade and then to bring back the Palean baskets. For this point, it is better for the author to find evidence about Lithos people’s technology and knowledge development. If archaeologists can find evidence of boats made by Lithos people, then the author’s conclusion about nonunique Palean baskets cannot be supported but is weakened by such evidence.

In conclusion, the author’s statement that Palean baskets were not unique needs evidence from several aspects to support it. The lack of such evidence makes it hard for readers to totally accept his idea. 

总结：对于在美国、英国等English speaking countries读本科的同学而言，写GRE作文的难度要比在国内的学生的难度要小一些。但是，思路清晰，用词精简，全文结构紧凑衔接，仍然是要点所在。希望大家多多练习吧。

咨询客服

关注榴莲说——国际教育一站式服务平台

榴莲说出国留学资源共享1群：532502151，

榴莲说出国留学资源共享群2群：839870960

榴莲说加拿大留学交流群：306513431

榴莲说澳大利亚留学交流群：571627567

榴莲说美国留学交流群：532502151

榴莲说国际学校升学交流群：541334134

【国际教育界一站式服务平台——榴莲说】

国际教育界一站式服务平台——榴莲说。涵盖留学中介、海外考试培训、小语种培训、作品集培训、国际部&国际学校、中外合作办学、背景提升、留学后服务、DIY服务、海外房产、海外移民等国际教育相关的服务体系，我们调研了国内外上万家机构和学校，300多家同行平台，励志做国际教育界全产业链的大众点评网，预计将来有上万家国内外的机构和国际学校免费入驻进来，届时应该是全行业入驻最多的平台，覆盖PC端和移动端，全网营销，以用户体验为中心，一站式匹配留学群体的所有需求-