Gossip

“Did you hear what happened to Adam Last Friday?” Lindsey whispers to Tori.

With her eyes shining, Tori brags, “You bet I did, Sean told me two days ago.”

Lindsey and Tori aren’t very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip and I have noticed the effects of gossip.

An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic—breakups, trouble at home—that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing the secret is, the juicier the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, but cruel lies can cause pain.

If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? The answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don’t. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the “in group”. In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority.

Gossip also can have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. For instance, if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do’s and don’ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook.

The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, think about why you want to gossip and what effects your “juicy story” might have.

参考范文：

Gossip is very common and it has three effects. Gossipers hurt people by exposing shameful secrets or lies about the victim. Gossip also gives gossipers satisfaction for gossip makes them feel superior and part of the group. Social pressures resulted from gossip make people watch their behavior and conform to the group. People should consider the effects before gossiping.

这是一篇说明文。介绍了说闲话的消极影响。

(详解)

第一步：阅读

1. 认真阅读给定的原文材料，如果一遍不能理解，就多读两遍；阅读次数越多，你对原文的理解就越深刻。

2. 划出那些能概括文章主题思想的单词、短语或短句子；决定原文中哪些部分重要，哪些部分次重要了；对重要部分的主要观点进行概括。

3. 简要地记下主要观点——主题、标题、细节等你认为对概括概要写作重要的东西。

第二步：写作步骤

1. 浏览课文，找出主题：介绍了说闲话的消极影响。

2. 分析文章的结构，把它分成几个部分，找出每个部分的主要思想，用你自己的文字简短地写出来。本文主要分为一部分：Gossip is very common and it has three effects

3. 写下每个主要思想的支持点，不涉及细节。支持点：

①Gossipers hurt people by exposing shameful secrets or lies about the victim.

②Gossip also gives gossipers satisfaction for gossip makes them feel superior and part of the group.

③Social pressures resulted from gossip make people watch their behavior and conform to the group.

4. 按照逻辑顺序组织主要和相关的支持点， 使用最短的连接词进行连接。如：and，or，before

第三步：修改成文

草稿拟好以后，对它进行修改。

首先，与原文比较看是否把所有重要的观点都概括了，概要写作中的观点是否与原文中的完全一致。

其次，如果出现了不必要的词汇、短语或长句子，删除它们，保持语言简单明了。

最后，检查拼写、语法和标点符号的错误。