Reading Method Topic: Explanatory Essay II (Expository Essay Structure and Ideas)

The general structure of a statement is:

First give a general introduction to the object of explanation, and then introduce specific instructions.

1. The way of general introduction

1. At the beginning of the overview type, use concise language to introduce the general situation of things, giving people an overall image.

For example, "The Palace Museum" begins like this: In the center of Beijing, there is a city within a city, which is the Forbidden City. Now people call it the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the largest and most complete ancient palace complex in my country, with a history of more than 500 years. At the beginning, the geographical location, name, nature and age of the Palace Museum are introduced. Through the overview introduction, we can have a general understanding of the Palace Museum.

2. The descriptive beginning describes the characteristics or state of things, so that readers have an intuitive overall understanding. As described at the beginning of "Chinese Stone Arch Bridge", the bridge opening of the stone arch bridge is arc-shaped, just like a rainbow. According to ancient mythology, the rainbow after the rain is "the bridge between the earth and the sky", and one can go to the sky through the rainbow. Poets in our country compare arch bridges to rainbows, saying that arch bridges are "lying rainbows" and "flying rainbows", and describing arch bridges over water as "long rainbows lying on waves". At the beginning, it describes the status and characteristics of the important part of the stone arch bridge "bridge hole", and then supplements this feature with myths and legends and poets' descriptions of the stone arch bridge.

3. Ask questions at the beginning, which can stimulate readers' desire and interest in understanding knowledge, and eager to understand things or things.

For example, the first paragraph of "Why Are Flowers So Red". By describing the vividness and beauty of safflower, the question of "why the flower is so red" is naturally raised, allowing people to understand the reason and explore its knowledge with the author's specific explanation.

4. The definition formula begins to define things, prompting the connotation (essential characteristics) and extension (included range) of things, so that people can understand the essence of things.

For example, the opening chapter of "Overall Planning Method" defines things like this: "The overall planning method is a mathematical method for arranging the work process, and its practical scope is extremely wide."

2. The structural idea of ​​the specific explanation The structure of the text is determined by the nature of things. Generally speaking, the following two aspects can be considered to determine its structure:

1. Arrange the structure according to the self-organization of the object of explanation. Everything has its own order and law. Grasping this law and arranging the structure according to it can make the content of the explanation orderly and clear. Generally speaking, things that move, change, and develop are organized in different forms at different times in terms of timing, and the structure can be arranged in chronological order when explaining.

For example, "From Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Miniature Books" arranges the structure in chronological order, first writes about the generation of characters and the appearance of books, then writes formal books, and finally writes modern books, thus illustrating the process of book evolution and development. Things that are in a static state, such as buildings, places of interest, objects, etc., often reflect their orderly shape from the spatial position. When explaining such things, it is advisable to explain them according to the order of space, first from the outside to the inside, and from the outside to the inside.

For example, "The Palace Museum" shows an ancient architectural complex, which is located in a certain spatial orientation, arranged in an orderly manner, and the internal buildings have main and secondary buildings. According to the spatial location, the article first writes about the outer city gates, then the inner city buildings, and when writing about the inner city, first writes about the subject, and then writes about the times. The whole article is well organized.

2. Arrange the structure according to the laws of people's understanding of the object of explanation. The object of explanation that is unfamiliar to readers and difficult for readers to understand is often explained from concrete to abstract, from superficial phenomenon to internal truth. From individual to general. In the specific description, it is advisable to write the state first, then write the function or cause of formation, and finally reveal the nature and characteristics.

For example, "The Dead Sea Doesn't Die" is an explanatory text of facts, and the specific explanation part first discusses a phenomenon: it is said that about two thousand years ago, the Roman commander Dido threw the captive slaves into the Dead Sea, but the slaves were safe and sound. Then explain the reason, this is because the seawater of the Dead Sea is very salty. Then further explain the cause of the Dead Sea. When explaining, narrate first, and then say that it is the result of changes in nature. This description is easy for readers to understand. For things or facts that are not unfamiliar to readers, when explaining, you can first talk about the general, and then describe the individual phenomena. In this way of writing, it is advisable to write the nature and characteristics first, and then write the state. People can first get an overall understanding of things or affairs, and then understand them in detail.

For example, in "Suzhou Gardens", ordinary readers know about gardens, but Suzhou gardens are different from other gardens. Therefore, we will first describe its characteristics and characteristics that are different from other gardens, and then describe its shape in detail. This kind of structural arrangement is conducive to readers to understand things as soon as possible. The end of the expository text is generally a natural end. The explanation is clear and the article is over. Some explanatory texts summarize the characteristics again at the end, which is helpful for readers to distinguish things.

For example, "The Palace Museum" wrote at the end: "Looking at the Forbidden City from the heights of Jingshan Mountain, there are many palaces, pavilions, and palace walls, which are intricately connected and orderly. Such a magnificent building group, such a harmonious and unified layout , It is impossible not to be amazed." The ending directly points out the characteristics of the Forbidden City complex: grandeur, harmony, and unity.

In some expository texts, some supplementary explanations are given at the end, either to broaden the reader's horizons, or to enhance the accuracy and rigor of the explanation.

For example, it is written at the end of "Looking at the Clouds and Knowing the Weather": "In some cases, looking at the clouds and knowing the weather is often restricted, so we still have to rely on weather forecasts." Know the weather" function, enhance the scientific nature of the explanation.