TEXT II The Maker’s Eye: Reviewing Your Own Manuscripts

( 作者的眼光：修改自己的手稿）

I. Organization of the Text 1. The way writers should view their own wri

ting through the maker’s eye (Paragraphs 1 – 9)

2. How to revise one’s own writing (Paragraphs 10 – 26)

II. Key Points of the Text Paragraph 2 journeyman: an experienced person whose

work is fairly (but not very) good 熟练工 craftsman: a person skilled in a job 能工巧匠

prolific: productive; producing many works

Paragraph 3a progression of: a succession ofdecode: discover the meaning of

(something written in a code) 解码；译解 compare encode: turn (a message) into code

Paragraph 4detach … from: separate … from

Paragraph 5 supposedly: as is believed; as it appe

ars 想象上，据推测，大概 for a year to the day: for exactly a yea

r discipline: control euphoric: extremely happy euphoria: a feeling of happiness and

cheerful excitement 欣快症；异常欣快

Paragraph 6counsel: adviseE.g.: a counsel of perfection 要别人必须做到十全十美的要求； 达不到的理想

darken counsel 使更加难以理解 take counsel of one’s pillow 通夜思考

excise: remove by cutting out

a schizophrenic process: a maddening or disorderly process 混乱的过程；前后矛盾的过程

schizophrenia: a mental disorder marked by a separation of a person’s mind and feelings 精神分裂症

Paragraph 8 prune: cut off, remove or shorten som

e of the branches in order to improve the shape, growth, production of flowers or fruit; reduce or remove (anything useless

or unwanted) from (something) by making careful choices 修剪；删除

spontaneous: happening as a result of natural feelings or cause, without outside force or influence, or without being planned 自然产生的，自发的

spontaneity: naturalness Paragraph 9 positive: sure; having no doubt about

something

Paragraph 16 genre: a class of works of art, literatur

e, or music marked by a particular style, form, or subject 类型，流派，风格

Paragraph 23 mutter: speak (usually angry or compl

aining words) in a low voice, not easily heard 咕哝，嘀咕

in short runs: in short periods of time. Compare in long runs.

at a stretch: without stopping, continuously Paragraph 25 connotation: (any of) the feeling or ideas th

at are suggested by a word, rather than the actual meaning of the word 含义，言外之意

denotation: the thing that is actually named or described by a word, rather than the feelings or ideas that are suggested by the word 直接意义，特定意义

rub against: slide something with pressure against; compare with

E.g.: Don’t rub your coat against the wet paint.

Paragraph 26 peer into: look with effort into

somethingE.g.: She stood on the shore for some time, peering into the distance, long after the ship had gone.

III. SA to Questions for Discussion, P. 14, Student’s Book

1. The completion of the first draft is regarded as the end of the job by an amateur writer but as the beginning by a professional. Writers must learn to be fastidious and exacting, i.e., severely critical with their own writing.

2. They are information, meaning, audience, form, structure, development, dimension and voice. You can refer to Paragraphs 13 – 20 for the explanations of them.

III. SA to Questions for Discussion, P. 14, Student’s Book

3. Line-by-line editing. Study individually all the clauses, phrases, words, and even the punctuation marks.

4. Our ears are very good judges of language, being sensitive to the flow of words. He thinks that what is right should sound right, and what sounds right should be right.

5. This question is open to discussion.

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

1. Peter F. Drucker Instead of calling his first draft the first d

raft, Drucker calls it “the zero draft,” meaning that it is only the starting point of his writing, and that only after some revisions have been made can the draft be called the first, the second … draft.

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

2. Ray Bradbury He does not revise his writing

immediately after it is done. It is put away for a whole year on purpose. Then Bradbury rereads his manuscript as if he were a stranger. This way he can be more critical about his own writing.

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

3. Nancy Hale “What seems delightful in his own writing should

be read by the author with a critical eye. What is most admirable to him must be cut out as he is likely to protect it from others’ criticism.”

4. John Ciardi “The last thing to do with one’s own writing is to

become the reader of the writing. It is a confusing process. The writer begins reading enthusiastically but becomes fault-finding when he comes to the end. What is more important is

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

that he must be hot with enthusiasm and cold with criticism at the same time / simultaneously.”

5. Eleanor Estes She advises the writer to go over his own writing

with good judgment and calmness as if he were not the author. He must be ready to cut out the unnecessary parts skillfully and mercilessly. When he finishes revising his writing each time, the manuscripts must seem to be in a state of disorder --- with some parts torn out and some added to, and with words changed time and

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

again. In spite of all the changes, the book must keep its originality and naturalness at its first appearance.

6. Anthony Brugess He concedes that he might go over one s

ingle page many many times.

IV. SA to Ex. 1, P. 4, Workbook

7. Roald Dahl “When I am coming to the last part of a story, I

will have read and reread and corrected the first part no less than 150 times. Good writing is first and foremost rewriting. I have no doubt about this / I’m very certain about this.”

What the authors express in common is this: Of the first and foremost importance to a writer is the effort he makes at criticizing, revising, and correcting his own drafts time and again until it satisfies the maker’s eye.

V. SA to Ex. 1, P. 6, Workbook

1. Traditional dictionaries are said to be prescriptive because they prescribe correct patterns of usage only. They also attempt to preserve the linguistic features of the past.

2. More recent dictionaries are said to be descriptive because they have become less concerned with laying down rules, but more concerned with describing a language. There are also a wide range of descriptive labels such as “informal,” “slang,” or “technical.”

V. SA to Ex. 1, P. 6, Workbook

3. Dictionaries reflect the evolution of the language in that they keep pace with the changes that occur in language usage and the frequent introduction of words.

VI. SA to Ex. 3, P. 7, Workbook

1. In an ordinary dictionary, a lexicographer is defined simply as “a writer or compiler of a dictionary.” But Johnson defines him as a harmless drudge or a person doing dull work …

2. In an ordinary dictionary, oats is defined as a grain that provides food for people and animals. But Johnson seemed to be biased against the Scottish people, because they eat oats whereas in England, it is generally given to horses.