顧名思義，動(dòng)作鏈就是指在寫作中，要把主人公做某事的一系列動(dòng)作“事無巨細(xì)”地表現(xiàn)出來。比如寫到小明吃飯，如果只寫“小明回到家中吃飯”，那這句話毫無亮點(diǎn)可言，因?yàn)樗鼰o法讓讀者產(chǎn)生畫面感，也就沒有“具體化和打動(dòng)人”之說了。但倘若這樣寫：小明回到家中，放下書包，洗好手，上桌吃飯。這時(shí)畫面感立刻顯現(xiàn)，變得生動(dòng)許多。同樣地，在英文寫作中也需要這樣“事無巨細(xì)”的動(dòng)作鏈。

比如，有位同學(xué)在寫How to Form a Good Habit (如何養(yǎng)成好習(xí)慣)一文時(shí)，他/她可能會(huì)這樣寫：We need to make a good plan in order to form a good habit. 這句話十分籠統(tǒng)，若換種寫法寫成：In order to form a good habit, we need to make a good plan and persist in carrying it out. Whenever we make a small progress, we can award ourselves with some gifts such as candies and cookies. 很明顯后者有了動(dòng)作鏈，首先加入“堅(jiān)持執(zhí)行”這一動(dòng)作，其次又進(jìn)一步提到了“如有進(jìn)步就用小禮物來獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)自己”這個(gè)動(dòng)作。如此一來，畫面感頓時(shí)躍然紙上，更有可能打動(dòng)閱卷老師。

所以，在寫作時(shí)，每當(dāng)寫出一個(gè)動(dòng)作，你就應(yīng)該停下來想一想該動(dòng)作前面的動(dòng)作是什么，后面的動(dòng)作又是什么。如果你能夠想出這些，并將其用英文完美地呈現(xiàn)出來，那你離具體化已經(jīng)不遠(yuǎn)了。

其實(shí)在上面的例子中，我們不只用到了加入動(dòng)作鏈的方法，還用到了舉例子的方法。細(xì)心的讀者會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，在“Whenever we make a small progress, we can award ourselves with little gifts such as candies and cookies.”這句話中出現(xiàn)了such as candies and cookies這個(gè)例子。假如我們把該例子去掉，句子簡化成：Whenever we make a small progress, we can award ourselves with some gifts. 那閱卷老師會(huì)想，是什么樣的gift呢？是書、本子，還是筆？這樣一來，不光句子的畫面感不夠，其說服力也有所減弱。而candies and cookies的出現(xiàn)則使整個(gè)句子一下子變得生動(dòng)起來?？梢姡e例子對實(shí)現(xiàn)作文具體化還是很有幫助的。

筆者再舉一例。大部分同學(xué)在寫How to Improve our English (如何提高英語)時(shí)可以寫出這樣的句子：We need to take part in English competitions and read English novels. 但是有一個(gè)同學(xué)別出心裁，他加上了具體的例子，使得這句話變得更富感染力：We need to take part in English competitions like drama acting and writing contests. Also, reading English novels, such as The Old Man and the Sea or Little Women, can greatly polish up our reading competence. 細(xì)細(xì)一看，其實(shí)他也沒有加太多的東西，只是把drama acting、writing contests 以及自己知道的兩部英文小說(The Old Man and the Sea和Little Women)加進(jìn)去了。這些例子會(huì)令閱卷老師油然而生一種畫面感?？梢粤舷朐摽忌姆?jǐn)?shù)肯定不會(huì)太低。

那么在寫作中要如何應(yīng)用“舉例子”這一招呢？如果大家在寫作時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己使用的名詞概念比較抽象或籠統(tǒng)，就可以考慮舉例子。比如，traditional values中的values、good books中的books、effective ways 中的ways，這些抽象名詞或籠統(tǒng)概念后面就可以用such as、like、for example、for instance等來引出例子，達(dá)到具體化的目的。例如，traditional values 可以具體化成traditional values such as diligence and honesty；good books可以具體化成good books like classical novels or cutting-edge magazines；effective ways可以具體化成 effective ways such as working out or sleeping regularly等。

筆者在本文開頭提到了備受大家青睞的結(jié)尾句：Only in this way can we create a harmonious society. 在此，筆者再次建議大家：作文尾段回歸主題吧。因?yàn)橹挥羞@樣，大家的作文才能避免“假大空”，不落俗套，拿到高分。比如寫主題為霧霾(smog)的作文，我們可以寫成：Only in this way can we create a world without smog and enjoy a clearer and bluer sky. 比如寫主題為自主招生(autonomous recruitment)的作文，我們可以寫成：Only in this way can universities recruit candidates suit their long-term goal and in turn, outstanding students can find a perfect platform for their future development. 比如寫主題為保護(hù)珍稀動(dòng)物(rare animals protection)的作文，我們可以寫成：Only in this way can rare animals find an ideal habitat on which to survive and thrive. 在寫作中，只要大家痛下決心告別萬能的結(jié)尾句，勇敢找到作文關(guān)鍵詞并在尾段回歸主題，就能在很大程度上實(shí)現(xiàn)作文的具體化。

所謂增加方式狀語，就是要表達(dá)出“依靠什么樣的方式”來實(shí)現(xiàn)某個(gè)目的。具體在英文寫作中，可以由by、via、through、by means of等詞或者短語來引導(dǎo)方式狀語。比如，有同學(xué)寫How to Form a Good Habit這篇作文時(shí)，寫出了以下句子：To form a good habit, we need to have a strong determination and a clear goal. 這里的strong determination and clear goal很抽象，要通過何種方式才會(huì)有strong determination呢？另外一些同學(xué)很好地解決了這個(gè)問題，他們寫的句子為：By setting a clear goal and keeping a detailed record of our daily progress, we can develop our persistence. Also, via awarding our little progress through gifts like candies and cookies, we can have our determination greatly strengthened. 這些同學(xué)通過添加方式狀語by setting a clear goal and keeping a detailed record of our daily progress和via awarding our little progress through gifts like candies and cookies這樣的方式狀語，將每天做記錄和獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)自己的畫面躍然紙上，自然更能夠打動(dòng)人。

在寫作中，如果提及的目標(biāo)比較模糊，就可以考慮用方式狀語寫出自己將采取哪些具體措施來實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)。比如，如果你發(fā)現(xiàn) set a realistic goal太抽象，那你就可以通過添加方式狀語through evaluating our own strengths and weaknesses，寫成：We need to set a realistic goal through evaluating our own strengths and weaknesses.