facts and data 和 visual这两类论据evidence的使用方法

上两次我们讨论了SAT常考的一些语法知识点，但让同学们感到头痛的不仅仅是这些语法题，更多的是所谓的阅读理解题。在SAT改革后，已经取消了写作部分，而是把对写作知识的要求归入了Reading and Writing，以选择题的形式出现了，所以同学们需要注意，有些题貌似阅读理解题，其实是写作题。那么SAT是如何通过选择题型来考察学生的写作能力呢？我们今天就来看看一些常见的写作测试题类型。

首先我们要搞清楚，SAT考察的写作能力，并不是创意写作和叙事写作的能力，而是academic writing学术写作的能力。这一点在以前有写作部分的时候就是如此，现在也仍然如此。所以，大家不要觉得自己平时经常写日记写故事，应对SAT写作就没太大问题了，因为这是两个完全不同的类型。

学术写作中最常见的一个类型，就是argument essay，或者说persuasive essay。在美国留学的同学们应该对此比较清楚了，国内同学如果没接触过，简单来说，这一类型跟语文课上教的议论文有些类似，讲究用各种论据来论证自己的观点。在我们的“学术写作“课上有详细讲述，常见的argument essay论据evidence有四种类型：facts and data，examples，visuals，and expert opinions。一篇好的argument essay这四种evidence往往都要有，所以它们也是SAT必考的写作题内容。

我们先来看看下面这道题，它考察的是对facts and data 论据的使用：

The novelist Toni Morrison was the first Black woman to work as an editor at the publishing company Random House, from 1967 to 1983. A scholar asserts that one of Morrison’s likely aims during her time as an editor was to strengthen the presence of Black writers on the list of Random House’s published authors.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the scholar’s claim?

A) The percentage of authors published by Random House who were Black rose in the early 1970s and stabilized throughout the decade.

B) Black authors who were interviewed in the 1980s and 1990s were highly likely to cite Toni Morrison’s novels as a principal influence on their work.

C) The novels written by Toni Morrison that were published after 1983 sold significantly more copies and received wider critical acclaim than the novels she wrote that were published before 1983.

D) Works that were edited by Toni Morrison during her time at Random House displayed stylistic characteristics that distinguished them from works that were not edited by Morrison.

对于这类题目，我们首先要找到论点是什么，再去衡量哪个论据能最好的支持这个论点。这里我们帮大家把论点句子标识出来了：如何证明Morrison在担任某出版社主编的时期（1967至1983），帮助了更多黑人作家出版作品？

这里，我们就要学会辨别什么样的数据和事实，从逻辑上跟论点有联系，并且能够有力地支持它。A选项提到在70年代（属于1967-1983之间），该出版社出版的黑人作家作品比例不断上升，稳步增长。

这个数据事实明显从逻辑上直接支持上述论点，为正确选项。B选项表明八九十年代的黑人作家喜欢强调Morrison作品对他们的影响——Morrison自己作品的影响力，和她作为出版社主编的工作（帮助更多黑人作家出版作品）有必然联系吗？并没有，所以B选项与论点无关。同样，C选项强调的也是Morrison自己的作品风格变化，D选项强调的是该出版社编辑风格的变化，这两个都与Morrison对黑人作家的支持无直接联系，可以排除。

虽然facts and data是最有力的一类论据evidence，另一类论据，图表visual，也是现实中经常用到的一类论据。而且因为table表格中的数据信息较多，如何分析解读来支持自己的观点，这一点不仅是我们平时写作时需要注意的，也是SAT经常考察的写作知识点。以下面这道题为例：

Number and Origin of Clamshell Tools Found at Different

Levels Below the Surface in Neanderthal Cave

Depth of tools found below surface in cave (meters)	Clamshells that Neanderthals collected from the beach	Clamshells that Neanderthals harvested from the seafloor
3–4	99	33
6-7	1	0
4-5	2	0
2-3	7	0
5-6	18	7

Studying tools unearthed at a cave site on the western coast of Italy, archaeologist Paola Villa and colleagues have determined that prehistoric Neanderthal groups fashioned them from shells of clams that they harvested from the seafloor while wading or diving or that washed up on the beach. Clamshells become thin and eroded as they wash up on the beach, while those on the seafloor are smooth and sturdy, so the research team suspects that Neanderthals prized the tools made with seafloor shells. However, the team also concluded that those tools were likely more challenging to obtain, noting that ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the research team’s conclusion?

A) at each depth below the surface in the cave, the difference in the numbers of tools of each type suggests that shells were easier to collect from the beach than to harvest from the seafloor.

B) the highest number of tools were at a depth of 3–4 meters below the surface, which suggests that the Neanderthal population at the site was highest during the related period of time.

C) at each depth below the surface in the cave, the difference in the numbers of tools of each type suggests that Neanderthals preferred to use clamshells from the beach because of their durability.

D) the higher number of tools at depths of 5–6 meters below the surface in the cave than at depths of 4–5 meters below the surface suggests that the size of clam populations changed over time.

乍一看上去该题很长，还有一个数据表格包含了挺多信息。但同样的，我们要抓住重点——需要证明的论点是什么？找到了论点，我们就可以把任何跟论点无关的信息都排除掉。这里我们同样帮大家把论点标识出来了：如何证明海底的贝壳要比沙滩的贝壳更难获得？也就是说，如何解读表格中的数据信息来证明这一点？

表格中有三列信息，第一列是挖掘到贝壳的土深，第二列是挖掘出的沙滩贝壳数量，第三列是挖掘出的海底贝壳数量。既然我们要证明的论点是比较海底贝壳和沙滩贝壳，那么土深这列数据，不管它是表明时代年份还是地质变化，都跟我们的论点没有直接关系，在这里就是不需要关注的表格信息，所以我们仅需要关注如何解读后两列信息。

A选项解读表格的方式是，在每一个土深（也就是不管是哪个土深，不管第一列的信息），挖到的贝壳数量都是沙滩的比海底的多，所以海底贝壳更难获得。这其实就完全符合我们上面的思路——不管第一列，只比较贝壳的数量差别。

B选项和D选项都是在讨论第一列信息，土深数据的背后含义，这都是跟我们的论点无关的，可以排除掉。

C选项咋一看也是在解读后两列的贝壳数量差别，似乎也是正确选项，但仔细读读，它提到沙滩贝壳更耐用，这个信息明显是与题干里的信息——沙滩贝壳被磨薄和腐蚀了——含义相反的，所以是对表格信息的错误解读。

今天我们先通过真题来看看facts and data 和 visual这两类论据evidence的使用方法，下次我们再来看看examples 和 expert opinions这两类论据是如何使用的，以及SAT是如何考察的。