写作方法2014slate.com编辑精选
在平壤教 essay 写作
Teaching Essay Writing in Pyongyang
导读
这篇讲作者在平壤教研究生写文章的经历：学生写作往往变成对领袖成就的无休止重复，而缺少用证据支撑论点的概念。对写作者来说，它提醒我们证据、独立论证和写作环境的关系，也让人反思套话如何替代思考。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
每提出一个判断，都先问自己：证据是什么？例子、数据、引文或推理在哪里？
- 02
警惕把重复和权威引用当成论证；一个说法被反复宣称，不等于它已被证明。
- 03
刻意练习“主张—证据—解释”的结构，避免只堆结论、颂词和空泛表态。
- 04
写真实人物和敏感经历前，先评估可能给当事人带来的影响，写作伦理也是写作能力的一部分。
HN 评论精选
反复背诵和权威引用会把未经检验的说法变成“常识”；教写作必须教证据和独立论证。
这种思维并不朝鲜独有。每个社会或多或少都有，常表现为那些总吹捧“传统”的人语无伦次的咆哮。“主张必须有证据支撑”在人类社会里是较晚近且罕见的观念，需要被教，而且常常是一场艰难的战斗。在传统社会里，反复背诵和抄写是把可疑说法变成不容置疑真理的最有效方法；中世纪欧洲修道院和亚洲学府抄古书不只是低技术制书，更在灌输参与者。P 真因为《圣经》这么说，Q 真因为孔子说，R 真因为多斯拉克人说“这是已知的”。还需要什么证明？这他妈的已知。谁说不是就是妄想、文明威胁。于是雅典人处死了苏格拉底。
kijin查看英文原文
> Writing inevitably consisted of an endless repetition of his achievements, none of which was ever verified, since they lacked the concept of backing up a claim with evidence. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is not unique to North Korea. It is present in every society to various degrees, and usually manifests itself in the incoherent tirades of those who almost invariably tout the benefits of "tradition". The idea that claims need to be backed up with evidence is a relatively recent and rare occurrence in human societies. It needs to be taught, and it's often an uphill battle. In every "traditional" society, rote repetition is the most effective method of turning dubious claims into indisputable truth. The endless hand-copying of ancient texts in every medieval European monastery and Asian academy were not merely a low-tech way to make more books; much more importantly, such activities helped indoctrinate everyone who participated, both consciously and unconsciously. P is true because the Bible says so. Q is true because Confucius said so. R is true because, as the Dothraki say, "it is known." What more proof do you need? It is fucking known. Anyone who says otherwise is obviously delusional, a menace to civilization. And so the Athenians killed Socrates. And this is the fundamental reason why merely "giving truth its day in court" will not be enough to get rid of the insanity that plagues the politics of every country. People like Snowden, Assange, and Manning helped bring important evidence into the light of day, and even at this very moment, people are working to smuggle evidence into regimes like North Korea. But producing evidence is only half of the battle. In order for evidence to actually serve its purpose, people's brains need to be wired to process it in the right way. We can only hope that homo sapiens has a natural proclivity to think critically, at least some of the time... despite a large body of evidence to the contrary.
写作者处理真实人物和敏感经历时，必须权衡可能给当事人带来的风险。
我只想指出，Suki Kim 的书在伦理上是个泥潭：你完全可以论证，她让曾与她共事的人处境非常糟糕。
tdees40查看英文原文
I'd just point out that Suki Kim's book is really an ethical morass, as you can certainly make the argument that she put the people she used to work with in a terrible position. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/world/tales-told-out-of-school-in-pyongyang-cause-stir.html?_r=0
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