看图作文
看图作文简介
看图作文是借助于图画或图表进行写作的一种文体。它要求作者将画面直观的内容或图片包含的信息转换成传神表意的文字形式，属于说明文性质。其目的是考察考生的观察分析能力、想象力和语言表达能力。
看图作文要求：（1）主题明确，即能概括画面或图表所反映的中心议题；（2）图文一致，即要包括画面或图表中所反映的主要内容。
看图作文一般分为两种：（1）看图画或图片作文；（2）看图表、曲线图作文。前者通常采用叙述式（narration）写作方式，而后者采用议论式（argumentation）。
从大学英语四、六级考试和研究生入学英语考试来看，图表作文的命题模式基本如下：给出标题、图画或图表、写作提纲、半小时内写出一篇120-180字左右的评论性文章。一般要求写三方面的内容：第一段说明该图画或图表所反映的一个现象；第二段分析该现象出现的诸多原因；第三段对该现象进行评论或发表想法。有时候，命题要求尽可能少地引用图表中出现的数据，只要求概括图表所反映的总情况和总趋势。

下面结合四、六级及研究生入学英语考试中图表作文的模式，分别谈一下两类作文中有关图画和图表的写作要领。

看图画作文的写作要领
看图画作文实质上就是描述、分析并评论一幅（或一组）图所反映的社会现象。对图画进行描述时，一般以被观察者为对象，联系图片中所包含的背景、插入的文字等，揣摩作者的绘画意图，以观众的口吻进行解说。如果看的是一组图画，就得按照图示的顺序，对画面上的内容进行整体分析，去除细枝末节，分清主次，抓住图画后隐藏的中心意思进行解说。切莫象记流水帐一样把所看到的、想到的细节全部写出来，这只会使读者感到乏味无趣。想象你自己就是这位画家，在画这副画之前，你首先要构思画的内容；其次是构思作画的步骤，先画什么，后画什么；然后将你的构思用文字叙述出来，你对该图画的描述就完成了。
下面以1998年研究生入学考试的看图画作文为例进行详细解释。
例图与范文
Directions:
Study the following cartoon carefully and write an essay in no less than 150 words.
Your essay must be written clearly on the ANSWER SHEET II.
Your essay should meet the requirements below:
Write out the message conveyed by the cartoon.
Give your comments.
如此承诺
各行各业兴承诺
欢迎监督不推托
原本皆为份内事
何须高唱文明歌
Such a promise
Recently, more and more people have seen varieties of promises either from TV, newspaper or from other media. As is shown in the cartoon, even a hen has learned how to promise. We all know that a hen’s duty is to lay eggs which should undoubtedly consist of most elementary parts. But the hen promises what she should do.
With the development of the society and the improvement of people’s living standard, more and more attention is paid to the improvement of the quality of service. Therefore, many enterprises and departments promise to better their services so as to meet people’s need better. They are also pleased to invite people to supervise what they have done and will do. But much to our surprise, some of them just promise what they should do. These promises are only laughed at by people.
In my opinion, doing more is better than promising more. We should lay more emphasis on what we do and how we can virtually improve the level of service. Only in this way can we make people satisfied with what we do.

看图表作文的写作要领
我们常见的图表大致可以分为两类：一类是表（table）或表格（chart）；另一类是示意图（diagram）或曲线图（graph）。前一类是传达各种统计数字和数据的简明形式；后一类是信息的视觉表现。
图表作文与看图作文有较大区别。前者通常是用实实在在的科学数据反映和说明事物某方面的真实情况，重在说明事实，来不得半点想象和发挥，它往往要求作者通过运用图表中的数据来进行说明、解释、对比和对照，阐明某种事实，说明某种道理，反映某种变化等等，也就是要找出图表内规律性、概括性和趋向性的内容，从而解释图表的含义。
要写好图表作文，首先要看懂图表，弄清图表中各个数据间的关系，分清主次，明确主题，接着在文字叙述时，要做到：
（1）反映出图表所要表达的核心思想和重要内容，避免简单地将图表不分主次地从头到尾复述一遍；
（2）必要时，可将图表中列举的数据或项目进行分类；
（3）说明图表时，尽量不要遗漏其特点或规律，分析要基于事实、合乎逻辑，不可主观臆想，任意发挥。
另外，有一些细节问题不可忽视：
（1）注意图表的参照时间和图表所使用的单位
（2）注意时态的选择，即采用什么时态写作。一般来说，没有参照时间的表格和图表，通常用一般现在时；有参照时间的表格和图表，用一般过去时；但如果叙述的是现在的情况，就必须采用一般现在时。

现将这两类图表的写作要领分别举例说明如下：
（一）表格
对表格的叙述可以自上而下，从左到右进行。下面以1991年6月全国大学英语四级看表格作文为例，分析其写作思路。
Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition of no less than 100 words on Changes in People's Diet？Study the following table carefully and your composition must be based on the information given in the table．Write three paragraphs to
（1）state the changes in people's diet in the past five years；
（2）give possible reasons for the changes；
（3）draw your own conclusions．
You should quote as few figures as possible．

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

Grain
49%
47%
46.5%
45%
45%

Milk
10%
11%
11%
12%
13%

Meat
17%
20%
22.5%
23%
21%

Fruit and Vegetables
24%
22%
20%
20%
21%

Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%


看过表格后，具体写作步骤如下：
1．细读作文要求，如什么标题，要求多少段落，多少字数。从表格外提供给我们的要求来看，我们知道：该作文标题为Changes in People’s Diet，要求作者分三段描绘并限制字数不少于一百。
2．接下来，看表格内提供的文字信息，着重寻找“变化”。从左往右看，表格的第一列列举了人们日常生活所消耗的各类食品名称；从上往下看，表格的第一行是从1986至1990五个连续的年份；从每一竖栏看，所列百分数是各类食品在每年中占全部食品消耗量的百分比，且谷类食品在五年内所占全部食品的比例均为最大，为人们的主要食物，而牛奶所占比例最小；从每一横栏看，每一类食品所占比例均有变化，其中粮食的消费量逐年减少，牛奶、肉类的消费量逐年增多，而水果和蔬菜有升有降，在表格中表示的意义不明显，可以忽略不记。通过以上步骤，我们可以得出结论：近年来，人们的食品结构发生了显著变化，这个变化就是我们要重点说明或阐释的事实和依据，它构成文章的第一段。
3．组织材料，构思每一段的主题句，注意文章各段落间的衔接和过渡。第一段的主题句必须交代四个要素：表格研究的时间段（1986－1990年）、研究的对象（人们的饮食结构）、研究所采用的数据形式（百分比而非具体的数字）和研究的结论（存在巨大变化）。第二段写“可能的理由（possible reasons）”。由于主要变化是谷物消耗降低，牛奶、肉类消费与年上升。而前者下降源于后者上升。那么，作者要思考的问题就简化为：为什么牛奶和肉类的消费增加？作者可以根据自己的认识、体验来阐释，只要言之有理，思路清晰，即可得分。第三段基于第二段的分析得出相应的结论。根据上述构思，参考范文如下：
Changes in People's Diet
As can be seen from the table，great changes have taken place in people's diet over the period from 1986 to 1990. The consumption of grain, the main food of people is decreasing year by year，while that of some high-energy food, such as milk and meat, is increasing steadily.
There are two main reasons for these changes in people's diet．First，with the economic development, common people earn more money, so they can afford milk and meat. Second, more and more people come to realize the importance of a balanced diet to their health and they need to consume a certain amount of milk and meat.
From the above-mentioned，we are very glad to see that the living standards of our people are being improved．But on the other hand，if people eat too much high-nutrition food, some problems will arise. In my opinion, we should always keep balance in our diet．
曲线图
对于曲线图，可以从图中某一曲线的起点着手，沿线向前推进，加以说明。下面以1991年6月大学英语六级看曲线图作文为例，分析其写作思路。
Directions: You are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition based on the graph below. Your composition must be written according to the following outline:
Rise and fall of the rate of car accidents as indicated by the graph.
Possible reason(s) for the decline of car accidents in the city.
Your prediction of what will happen this year.
Your composition should be no less than 120 words and you should quote as few figures as possible.



The number of car accidents in this city fluctuated during the year of 1990. It increased in the first three months and decreased in the following three months. After that, the number of car accidents went up again. In August, the number reached the top. Since then, car accidents had been reduced remarkably. There were only 16 car accidents in December.
There were several reasons for the decline of car accidents in the city. First, some new roads were built and some narrow streets were widened, which reduced the flow of traffic. Second, a new traffic law was made and came into force. The new traffic regulations laid down in the law are more strict than the old ones. Third, the city administration strengthened the education of keeping traffic rules. People, especially drivers realized the importance of keeping the rules.
From the rise and fall rate of car accidents in the graph, we can predict that the rate of car accidents will go on falling because the new measures afford some guarantee.
（三）条状图
条状图由长方形的图形组成。这些长方形表示某一整体的各个组成部分，也表示各种数据资料或材料物体的比较与对比的关系。条状图往往使这种关系形象化、视觉化。下面以2002年6月大学英语四、六级看条状图作文为例，分析其写作思路。
Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic: Student Use of Computers. You should write at least 120 words, and base your composition on the chart and the outline given below:
上图所示为1990年、1995年、2000年某校大学生使用计算机的情况，请描述其变化；
请说明发生这些变化的原因（可从计算机的用途、价格或社会发展等方面加以说明）；
你认为目前大学生在使用计算机中有什么困难或问题。
Student Use of Computers
This bar chart reveals the tremendous growth in student use of computers. While in 1990, the average number of hours a student spent on the computer was about one hour per week, it grew to nearly four hours by 1995, and another five years later to approximately 20 hours.
There are several reasons for this. First, computers do facilitate people in such aspects as word processing, book keeping and multimedia presentations. Second, since 1990, the prices of computer hardware and software as well as the Internet usage charges have dropped significantly, which enables more students to afford them. Finally, students can get entertained and relaxed by playing computer games, listening to music or watching movies on the Internet
While computers are of great assistance to students, they also pose some challenges. For one thing, computers’ poor quality or out-of-date designs bother us a lot. For another, too many students indulge in playing computer games and neglect their study.

（四）饼状图
整个饼状图当然等于百分之一百，图中的各个部分代表一定的百分比。在分析饼状图时，首先要明确饼状图的主题，即图形表达的是什么。其次，应该看一下整个图形分成几个小部分，各代表什么项目以及其所占整个饼状图的百分比是多少。然后再对其各个部分进行比较、分析、解释和描写。
切记饼状图的表达方式：
整个饼状图划分为各个小部分。
每部分以百分比表示相互间的关系。
各部分可以用线条隔开或用不同色彩来表示。
请参考例图和范文： A Diagram of Expenditure



As can be seen from the pie diagram, the main expenditure of an average British family is spent on food, which accounts for 25% of its total expenditure. The next two significant expending items are transport and housing, which are 15% and 12% respectively. If we take clothing and footwear into account, which makes up 10%, the above-mentioned four essentials of life amount to 62% of the total expenditure.
From these figures one can easily see that the cost of living in England is very high.
By the way, both tobacco and alcoholic drink expenditures are 5% respectively, so it is not surprising to say that the British must be great tobacco and alcoholic consumers.

树状图
分类法是写作的一种逻辑组织形式，按一定的标准把一些具有相同特性的有关数据资料（物体、项目、概念、观点等）加以归类，会使读者对某一类事物了解得更清楚，印象鲜明。树状图比之文字更直观、准确、形象、
例图和范文： A Classification of Drinks
DRINKS

Alcoholic non-alcoholic

e.g. spirits wine beer hot cold

e.g. tea coffee cocoa aerated non-aerated
e.g. lemonade tonic water soda water Coca-Cola others
e.g. milk

squashes or cordials fruit juices
(e.g. diluted with water) (e.g. normally undiluted)


From this diagram it can be seen clearly that drinks may be classified into two main groups: alcoholic and nonalcoholic. The former may be divided into spirits, wine and beer, while the latter falls into hot and cold drinks. Examples of hot drinks are tea, coffee, cocoa. Cold drinks may be again grouped according t