The Features and Categories of English Text Pattern

1、the features and categories of english text patternabstract: english text pattern has its own features and categories. certain english text patterns do tend to appear frequently in particular settings. so, in teaching reading, if the teacher helps the students to grasp the english text patterns and

2、classify the reading materials into different categories consciously, a more satisfied effect must be achieved.key words：english text pattern；features；categories 1 introduction:english texts have their own underlying ways of organization. that means that the way of organizing the words, expressions,

3、 sentences, and paragraphs is very different from chinese text pattern. every countrys first language text patterns are very closely connected with their peoples thought patterns and background culture. meanwhile, its known that language itself is a part of culture and play a very important role in

4、it. actually, language is deeply affected by peoples thought pattern, meanwhile it reflects peoples thought pattern so well. in this thesis, the author intents to explain the english text pattern features and categories.2 the features of english text pattern due to cultural and thought differences,

5、chinese and english texts are different in many aspects. first of all, english, as a member of the indo-european family, is inflectional language; whereas chinese, which belongs to the sino-tibetan family, is monosyllabic and non-inflectional. to the chinese, thought is more important than form. wha

6、t the chinese put importance at is the transfer of meaning, in other words, form is minor to thought. english speakers care more about the form, which is concerned as the product of scientific reasoning and analysis. to sum up, a chinese paragraph tends to follow a circular line of development, whic

7、h is based on chinese inductive thought patterns. suspense is usually used from the beginning to the end of a paragraph. however, an english paragraph follows a more direct route of development. the first sentence of every paragraph is its central idea, sometimes we call it topic sentence, which is

8、followed by a series of supporting details of the main idea. these supporting details develop the idea of the topic sentence and prepare for the additional information of the following paragraphs. in other words, the main idea of a paragraph is usually posed at the very beginning and is developed st

9、ep by step, based on a deductive thought pattern. of course, there are also some other signal words to guide the reader.3 the categories of english text patternthe features of english text pattern have been discussed above, now the thesis will focus on the categories of english text pattern. general

10、ly, the major english text patterns include the following:3.1the generalparticular patternthe generalparticular pattern is also called the generalspecific pattern, generalexample pattern and previewdetailed pattern. this pattern is the most frequently used, and it is the most typical pattern in engl

11、ish. it is not only employed in essays of natural sciences and social sciences, it is also employed in expository essays and many literary masterpieces. the generalparticular pattern goes like this way: a generation is followed by more specific and detailed statements to exemplify the generalization

12、. according to hoey (1983), this text pattern is divided into a pattern and b pattern: a pattern is the general-example pattern, that is generalization is followed by one example or many examples. this text pattern could be illustrated as generalizationexample 1example 2example 3example 4generalizat

13、ion. b pattern is the preview-detail pattern in which the detail element provides information about what is referred to in the preview element. b pattern could be illustrated as: generalizationdetailed statement 1more detailed statement 2more detailed statement 3more detailed statement 4generalizati

14、on. obviously, this text is belong b pattern. sentence (1)is generalization; sentence (2) shows the differences will be illustrate from male and female point views separately; sentence (3) points out female readers opinion, and sentence (4) and (5)are more detailed statements to support the previews

15、 in sentences (2) and (3). sentence (6) is another preview, and sentences (7) and (8) are more detailed statements.3.2 the problemsolution patternthe problemsolution pattern could be expanded into situationproblem responsesolution evaluationresult.3.3 the claimcounterclaim patternthe claimcountercla

16、im pattern is also called hypothetical-real pattern. in this pattern, the writer firstly presents a statement or acclaim that is wildly accepted by other people, then the writer organizes some facts that show he or she does not agree to its truth. in this process, the statements may be affirmed or d

17、enied. in the more complicated form, the real element could own two basic patterns depending on whether the hypothetical element is affirmed or denied.3.4 the narrative patternalmost all the texts use the narrative pattern less or more. according to labov (1972), the narrative pattern includes six p

18、arts: abstraction, orientation, complicating event, resolution, evaluation, and coda. this pattern is most used in spoken discourses. 4 suggestionas we all know certain text patterns do tend to appear frequently in particular settings. so, as english teachers, especially in teaching reading, if we c

19、ould help them to master the features of english pattern and guide the students classify the reading materials into different categories consciously before starting reading, a more satisfied effect must be achieved. by this way, students could constantly vary and modify reading strategy and method according to different text patterns that are used in their reading materials. therefore, in class english teachers could conduct more efficient en