按照原因发展

 
对这一类型的段落，从结果开始，然后再倒着分析原因（这里有五个），用以下的图示表示：  
 
 C + C + C + C + C =====> E.            (“C” is 原因, and “E” is 结果.) 
 
不要和按影响发展混淆，这将是下一个部分要谈的。
 
在选择主题时，需要考虑两件事情。首先，你分析的思路是对的吗？这里，需要非常小心。从结果开始，找到五个原因。其次，你是否选择了一个主题，它有丰富的“原因”？由于你正在学习写这一类型的段落，那么请只选择那些有很多原因的主题。即使你不喜欢那样的主题。以后你可以根据自己的“纯粹兴趣”选择。
 
                                                                          
Development by:    Cause. 
Written by:    SVW. 
Topic:    The causes leading to the paralysis of transportation and other services in the city of Boston. 
Title:    “Why Boston’s transportation and other services have been paralyzed.” 
Brainstorming:    Snow–cars–blockages–alleys–snow plows–people–traffic jams–traffic at standstill–snow storm–parked cars–abandoned–salt and sand–melted–frozen–government. 
 
当你写这一类型的段落，你必须首先清楚地写下结果（单一的）是什么，因为所有的原因都将直接导致这一结果。在原因和结果之间必然有清楚的逻辑关系。然后，你必须选择五个原因，这五个原因也必须清晰强烈，而不是模糊不清，摸棱两可。为了获得这样直接明晰的原因，你应该尽可能地多列举原因（也许是八个或九个），然后去掉那些比较弱的原因。之后，你可以按照原因的强弱进行排序。每一个原因(C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5)都要和结果(E)之间有很强的逻辑联系。因为对于结论句(CS)来说，它如果不是总结前文，那就是要指明接下来要说明的内容。你决定写什么样的结论句（不过我还是觉得结论句指明下文的方向更好）。你可以如以下的例子这样构思：
 
Plan outline:   
     [E]      City – standstill. 
     [C1]    Snow fell. 
     [C2]    Not move cars. 
     [C3]    Did not plow.                                        .          
     [C4]    No salt, sand. 
     [C5]    Ice re-froze. 
     [CS]    Must wait – warm weather.                                
 
你可以如以下例子将构思发展为句子： 
 
Paragraph Text:  
     [E]      The entire city of Boston has come to a complete standstill, as a result of the recent snow-storm, and the city government wants to know why. 
     [C1]    About forty centimeters of soft and wet snow fell on the city; it fell constantly throughout the night. 
     [C2]    Many people throughout the city, especially those with cars in the back streets, did not move their cars into other places; they left their cars wherever they could, went to bed as usual, and woke up to find their car completely covered in snow. 
     [C3]    The city’s snow plows were not able to plow the streets, as there were so many “snow-bound” cars in the way. 
     [C4]    Since there was so much snow on the roads, it was not possible to spread salt and sand, to make driving safer. 
     [C5]    The snow on the roads began to melt during the day, and it became very soft and wet; everything froze again at night, and the uneven snow became dangerously hard and icy.
     [CS]    These are the problems now facing the city of Boston, and there is nothing the government can do; everyone will have to wait a few days for the next cycle of warm weather, when it will be possible to remove all the snow from the streets. 
 
     关于“按原因发展”这一类段落最后的注解： 知道你从哪里来，要到哪里去，二者之间的逻辑联系；拟订一个良好的构思；提供一个另人满意的结论；确保每个原因之间也有某种联系。再次强调，在选择主题的时候，选择信息量大，有话可说的主题。