谷約

每年中國(guó)都會(huì)有大批學(xué)生出國(guó)留學(xué)，其中高中升本科，本科升碩、博的居多。在申請(qǐng)海外高校時(shí)，申請(qǐng)者往往會(huì)遇到向申請(qǐng)學(xué)校提交留學(xué)文書(shū)這一環(huán)節(jié)。留學(xué)文書(shū)是出國(guó)留學(xué)申請(qǐng)準(zhǔn)備材料中重要的組成部分，其主要作用是申請(qǐng)人向所申請(qǐng)的學(xué)校介紹或者說(shuō)“推銷(xiāo)”自己。在文書(shū)中，申請(qǐng)人既要展現(xiàn)自己的綜合實(shí)力（如學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)、社會(huì)實(shí)踐、公益活動(dòng)、榮譽(yù)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)、興趣愛(ài)好），還要表現(xiàn)出自己鮮明、獨(dú)特的個(gè)人形象；既要展現(xiàn)自己的思維邏輯（對(duì)某問(wèn)題的看法），又要直觀(guān)地反映出自己的英語(yǔ)功底。這就要求申請(qǐng)者對(duì)豐富龐雜的素材進(jìn)行取舍、串聯(lián)和加工，并用流暢、地道的英語(yǔ)將其組織成文。于是，如何寫(xiě)出一篇漂亮的留學(xué)文書(shū)就成了一門(mén)大有學(xué)問(wèn)的技術(shù)活。從本期開(kāi)始，筆者將陸續(xù)給讀者介紹一些留學(xué)文書(shū)的寫(xiě)作方法。本期先為大家介紹的是文書(shū)寫(xiě)作中欲揚(yáng)先抑的寫(xiě)作方法。

文書(shū)類(lèi)型簡(jiǎn)介

留學(xué)文書(shū)主要由個(gè)人陳述（Personal Statement/PS）、推薦信（Recommendation Letter）、個(gè)人簡(jiǎn)歷（Resume）和短文（Essay）組成。

個(gè)人陳述

申請(qǐng)去國(guó)外大學(xué)留學(xué)的學(xué)生要按照自己所申請(qǐng)學(xué)校的要求，寫(xiě)一篇有關(guān)個(gè)人背景、學(xué)術(shù)成就、未來(lái)研究和職業(yè)目標(biāo)的文章。一篇好的個(gè)人陳述不僅要主題鮮明、內(nèi)容真實(shí)、語(yǔ)言流暢、邏輯嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)、層次分明，還要充分顯示出申請(qǐng)人的才華，要讓招生人員一看便被吸引了。在英文中，個(gè)人陳述還被稱(chēng)為Statement of Purpose/SOP、Statement of Intent、Statement of Objectives、Academic Statement等，一般簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)PS或SOP。PS側(cè)重點(diǎn)在personal上，目的是讓招生人員充分了解申請(qǐng)人的個(gè)人經(jīng)歷、品行和素質(zhì)。申請(qǐng)人要力求在個(gè)人陳述中最大限度地展現(xiàn)自己，陳述內(nèi)容可以包括個(gè)人成長(zhǎng)環(huán)境、受教育情況、社會(huì)實(shí)踐經(jīng)歷、興趣愛(ài)好，也可以包括個(gè)人如何面對(duì)挑戰(zhàn)、克服困難或?qū)ι鐣?huì)現(xiàn)象的思考等。個(gè)人陳述沒(méi)有固定格式，但申請(qǐng)者千萬(wàn)不能將其視為個(gè)人的表?yè)P(yáng)狀或決心書(shū)。SOP側(cè)重點(diǎn)在purpose上，也就是申請(qǐng)人要表明自己留學(xué)的目的，內(nèi)容主要包括申請(qǐng)者在自己的專(zhuān)業(yè)領(lǐng)域內(nèi)的研究經(jīng)驗(yàn)和所提出的想法。

推薦信

在出國(guó)留學(xué)申請(qǐng)過(guò)程中，海外院校通常會(huì)要求申請(qǐng)者提供2～4封推薦信。推薦信是申請(qǐng)文書(shū)中非常重要的組成部分。推薦信是從第三者的角度對(duì)申請(qǐng)人的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)、能力、潛質(zhì)和性格特點(diǎn)等進(jìn)行評(píng)價(jià)，較為客觀(guān)，所以推薦信的分量直接關(guān)系到申請(qǐng)者能否被錄取、能否獲得獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金等。

個(gè)人簡(jiǎn)歷

申請(qǐng)者提供個(gè)人簡(jiǎn)歷的目的是讓所申請(qǐng)?jiān)盒Ｈ轿?、清晰地了解自己的情況。申請(qǐng)者應(yīng)力求在真實(shí)、全面、簡(jiǎn)明的基礎(chǔ)上準(zhǔn)確寫(xiě)明自己的受教育程度、實(shí)踐和從事專(zhuān)業(yè)工作的經(jīng)歷、曾發(fā)表過(guò)的文章或論文等。申請(qǐng)者沒(méi)有必要提供性別、婚姻狀況、相貌等信息，這些都會(huì)被視為干擾中立判斷的因素。

短文

很多美國(guó)高校都會(huì)要求申請(qǐng)者寫(xiě)一篇短文。短文要圍繞申請(qǐng)人自己的特點(diǎn)來(lái)寫(xiě)，內(nèi)容包括對(duì)過(guò)去的成就、經(jīng)歷、技能、思想等進(jìn)行總結(jié)，并對(duì)未來(lái)進(jìn)行規(guī)劃。在寫(xiě)作過(guò)程中，申請(qǐng)者千萬(wàn)不要照搬照抄別人的范文，要寫(xiě)出具有鮮明個(gè)人特色的文章。

接下來(lái)，我們就結(jié)合實(shí)例和文書(shū)范文具體談?wù)勎臅?shū)寫(xiě)作中欲揚(yáng)先抑的寫(xiě)作方法。

欲揚(yáng)先抑在文書(shū)寫(xiě)作中的應(yīng)用

如果最出色的跳遠(yuǎn)運(yùn)動(dòng)員兩腿直直地起跳，恐怕跳出的距離也不會(huì)超過(guò)一米。想要跳得遠(yuǎn)，必須先蹲下。蹲下這一動(dòng)作是為跳得更遠(yuǎn)積蓄力量，先蹲后跳正如寫(xiě)作中的欲揚(yáng)先抑。欲揚(yáng)先抑是一種常見(jiàn)的寫(xiě)作手法，指先從負(fù)面角度切入，盡量貶低文章所談的對(duì)象或話(huà)題，之后筆鋒一轉(zhuǎn)，從正面、積極的角度談起，與前文的“抑”形成鮮明對(duì)比，突出真正的主旨。這種寫(xiě)作手法可用于人物描寫(xiě)、景物描寫(xiě)、事件描寫(xiě)等。例如在楊朔的散文《荔枝蜜》中，其開(kāi)篇寫(xiě)“蜜蜂是畫(huà)家的愛(ài)物，我卻總不大喜歡”，還交代了小時(shí)候自己被蜜蜂蜇過(guò)，留下心理陰影，但之后作者的態(tài)度開(kāi)始慢慢轉(zhuǎn)變，到最后發(fā)出了“多可愛(ài)的小生靈啊”的感嘆，全文可謂是欲揚(yáng)先抑的典范。

在留學(xué)文書(shū)寫(xiě)作中，這一寫(xiě)作手法可用于人物描寫(xiě)。一般而言，就是先寫(xiě)主人公的缺點(diǎn)，繼而筆鋒一轉(zhuǎn)，開(kāi)始突出其優(yōu)點(diǎn)?；蛘?，先對(duì)某事表達(dá)厭惡之情，繼而轉(zhuǎn)為對(duì)其的由衷喜愛(ài)，這也是欲揚(yáng)先抑的一種表現(xiàn)手法。需要注意的是，“抑”是配角，“揚(yáng)”是主角，切不可主次顛倒。“抑”得過(guò)度，掩蓋了“揚(yáng)”的部分，就會(huì)適得其反。下面我們通過(guò)實(shí)例來(lái)看一篇個(gè)人陳述是如何運(yùn)用欲揚(yáng)先抑這一寫(xiě)作技巧的。

個(gè)人陳述案例

Z同學(xué)本科就讀于中國(guó)某大學(xué)計(jì)算機(jī)系，同時(shí)修了金融專(zhuān)業(yè)的雙學(xué)位，要跨專(zhuān)業(yè)申請(qǐng)密歇根大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)碩士。他的父親是國(guó)內(nèi)一本經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)學(xué)術(shù)雜志的主編，也是國(guó)內(nèi)知名的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家。在父親的幫助下，Z同學(xué)參加了不少含金量較高的學(xué)術(shù)研究和實(shí)習(xí)活動(dòng)。家庭背景的影響和之前的實(shí)踐經(jīng)歷對(duì)Z同學(xué)申請(qǐng)美國(guó)大學(xué)非常有幫助，但是如果Z同學(xué)根據(jù)這些情況平鋪直敘地完成個(gè)人陳述，寫(xiě)出來(lái)的文章一是較呆板，可讀性差，二是會(huì)讓父親的名望喧賓奪主，反而不利于表現(xiàn)Z同學(xué)的個(gè)人才華。我們?cè)谂cZ同學(xué)溝通交流過(guò)程中，了解到在高考選擇專(zhuān)業(yè)時(shí)，他的父親曾讓他學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)濟(jì)專(zhuān)業(yè)，但是他選擇了自己比較喜歡的計(jì)算機(jī)專(zhuān)業(yè)，兩人各執(zhí)己見(jiàn)，誰(shuí)也不退讓?zhuān)踔劣卸螘r(shí)間兩人都不理對(duì)方。知道這一情況后，我們便建議Z同學(xué)的個(gè)人陳述以父子矛盾為主線(xiàn)。這樣一來(lái)，欲揚(yáng)先抑的手法就派上用場(chǎng)了。

個(gè)人陳述范文

With great trepidation， I pushed open the heavy mahogany （紅木） door to the office of the general manager of Chinatrust Commercial Bank， XX Branch. My mission was to raise 10，000 yuan （an equivalent to US$ 1700） as part of the fundraising campaign to support “Challenge Cup，” the national academic science and technology “Olympics.” I had met economists， bankers and corporate executives before—thanks to my father， who was and still is the president of the Economic Research Journal， a leading scholarly publication in China but I had never asked any of these people for money before. There I was， an 18-year old freshman， trying to talk the man into writing a six figure check. I seriously doubted I could do it， and I was prepared to take my leave （告別） empty-handed. I did not know whether it was because the general manager took a genuine interest in what I had to say or because he was himself a XX University alumnus （校友）； I did not know whether it was pure luck； I simply could not believe my ears when he agreed to pledge （許諾） the money on behalf of his branch. I was so excited， I almost jumped up and down. I said to myself， “I love these banks.”

I did not always love banks. Not that I hated them， but I did not think I was going to have anything to do with the banking industry or the financial world in general， more than having a father who was an expert in economics. In fact， I refused to take my fathers suggestion about majoring in economics at college and signed up for software engineering instead. I remember I stopped talking to my father for almost a year just because he thought I was going to waste my precious time in college playing all sorts of computer games， like I did as a child， and now all in the name of a computer science degree.

To prove my father wrong， I did quite well living an independent life away from home. I was one of the top students in academic performance， especially in math， C Language and C++classes. I was also a leader of the soccer team， having led my team to win the second place in a campus-wide tournament. As time went on， I started to feel a bit guilty for having ignored my father. I actually missed him. So I started calling him more often. I shared with him what was going on at school and he talked about his speech engagements on the use of reference and double blind1） reviewing system and his project creating one of the most sophisticated economic databases in China. I found， to my surprise， that I was rather drawn to my fathers take on the global economic situation， the subprime crisis （次貸危機(jī)）， the fall of Lehman Brothers and Chinas position on the currency debate. My father， while careful not to put too much pressure on me， indicated to me that there were projects and internship （實(shí)習(xí)崗位） opportunities available to me within his organization and elsewhere where I could put my programming， statistical and quantitative skills to use. I told him I was not only interested， I was very interested. I also told him that I was going to go for a double undergraduate program by adding finance—much to his delight.

The double major program meant that I had more study to do and longer hours in the library. What helped me tremendously was the fact that， in economics， many theoretical frameworks and research methods are based on mathematical models and quantitative analyses： something I was good at. To date， I have maintained an average 3.5 GPA in both software engineering and economics. I scored a high grade of 96 in econometrics， a class that enabled me to learn and apply forecasting and simulation tools such as Matlab2） and Eviews3）.

I should count myself fortunate because I have already had substantial firsthand appreciation of the world of work and have participated in and contributed to some rather high-profile projects outside my classroom education. One such project， in early 2009， involved helping Economic Research Journal to design a “working paper” database and to dramatically improve the journals online research experience by creating or inserting visual elements such as graphs， tables and charts. I followed the leading experts in software engineering every step of the way： we carefully studied American NBER4） and SSRN5） databases from design and retrieval （檢索） system perspectives； we compared notes on various proposals and solutions. And after 6 months hard work and repeated tests， the database went live and the website itself received many favorable comments on the visual improvements.

I also had the opportunity to work for Dr. XXX， a young and capable scholar of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， as his research assistant. I joined him in the summer of 2009 in his multiple field trips to Chinas Zhejiang Province where we interviewed three small non-governmental， or some say， regional banks. Specifically， we studied the operational models of these banks， their dynamic relationship with the local government， their customers and creditors and the tremendous risk management challenges they faced. I not only took notes and collected data in the process but also sifted （細(xì)查） through and analyzed the numbers and wrote the summary. I was the proud co-author of Dr.XXXs published paper on the structures and governance of micro financial institutions and their contribution to the agricultural and township manufacturing sectors， which appeared in Chinese Review of Financial Studies， June 10， 20XX edition （ISSN1674—XXXX）.

When I told my father recently that I had made up my mind to pursue a masters degree in applied economics and management at the University of Michigan， he was thrilled. But honestly， I made the decision not so much out of the desire to please my father as out of the realization that computer skills are a good stepping stone to build my future career in economics， especially in agricultural economics， a field with critical importance to my country as it transforms from an agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse.

1. double blind：雙盲，研究對(duì)象和研究者都不了解試驗(yàn)分組情況，而是由研究設(shè)計(jì)者來(lái)安排和控制全部試驗(yàn)。

2. MatLab：一種用于數(shù)學(xué)計(jì)算的程序，在線(xiàn)性代數(shù)的計(jì)算中應(yīng)用尤為廣泛。

3. Eviews：Econometrics Views的縮寫(xiě)，通常稱(chēng)為計(jì)量經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)軟件包。

4. NBER：國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)研究局，全稱(chēng)是National Bureau of Economic Research，是美國(guó)較權(quán)威的經(jīng)濟(jì)研究機(jī)構(gòu)。

5. SSRN：社會(huì)科學(xué)研究網(wǎng)，全稱(chēng)是Social Science Research Network，致力于快速地在世界范圍內(nèi)傳播社會(huì)科學(xué)的研究成果。

例文點(diǎn)評(píng)

文章開(kāi)篇講述了Z同學(xué)獨(dú)自成功說(shuō)服銀行經(jīng)理為大學(xué)籌款的小故事。第二段自然承接，寫(xiě)出了自己對(duì)銀行（即金融領(lǐng)域）的看法——I did not always love banks，這便是典型的“抑”。第三段是從“抑”轉(zhuǎn)“揚(yáng)”的關(guān)鍵段，Z同學(xué)上大學(xué)后對(duì)父親的愧疚感日益加深，所以便主動(dòng)跟父親聯(lián)系。之后，金融危機(jī)爆發(fā)，Z同學(xué)開(kāi)始反思，并逐漸對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)產(chǎn)生了興趣。自此，文章從“抑”轉(zhuǎn)“揚(yáng)”，Z同學(xué)從一個(gè)對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)沒(méi)有興趣的門(mén)外漢慢慢轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榻?jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)方面的探索者，并且步步加深，直到熱愛(ài)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)并將其作為畢生的職業(yè)目標(biāo)來(lái)追求。

這篇個(gè)人陳述讀起來(lái)生動(dòng)有趣，轉(zhuǎn)折自然，可讀性強(qiáng)，信息量非常大。文章中除了運(yùn)用欲揚(yáng)先抑的寫(xiě)作手法外，在描寫(xiě)Z同學(xué)不愛(ài)好經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)的同時(shí)，還將他成績(jī)優(yōu)秀、參加課外活動(dòng)等信息“偷偷”傳遞給讀者。這種巧妙的描述方式不僅沒(méi)有使Z同學(xué)的優(yōu)秀程度有絲毫減少，反而更突出了他有主見(jiàn)、有追求等優(yōu)點(diǎn)。父親的影響和幫助雖然被淡化成背景信息，但是招生工作人員依然會(huì)因?yàn)閆同學(xué)獨(dú)特的家庭環(huán)境而對(duì)他的申請(qǐng)材料刮目相看。文章引導(dǎo)招生人員關(guān)注的是Z同學(xué)自己的亮點(diǎn)，這樣比大肆宣揚(yáng)父親對(duì)自己的影響造成喧賓奪主的效果要好得多。