从11月申请季如火如荼开始以来，主页菌每天就被一波又一波的文章冲刷着，这还没到申请季，主页菌度过的文章，没有百篇但少说也有数十篇了。基本上大家的问题也都大同小异，比如说喜欢用一些长难句加大词。几乎主页菌看过的每一篇文章一定至少有一句夹套着数个从句和几个GRE，LSAT级别的词汇，不仅绕口难读，而且经常反复读还不明白到底写些什么。每每读到，总会让主页菌想到之前读过某哲学家数百个词一句话的文章，不觉虎躯一震不想再读。其实很多AO估计也跟主页菌一样，再读到这种又长又难的句子的时候总会产生些许情绪。而且他们对于每一个申请者的文书阅读时间最多也就5分钟，这还是像在LAC这种注重文书申请者不是那么多的情况下，如果搁到了大U，估计这时间能有一半就阿弥陀佛了。适逢主页菌这两天刚好读到宇宙最强孵化器Y Combinator的创始人Paul Graham的一篇“Write Like You Talk”的文章，自觉甚好，在给2020群的小朋友们分享完了之后，还是决定拿出部分觉得好的节选来和大家再分享分享。Something comes over most people when they start writing. They write in a different language than they'd use if they were talking to a friend. The sentence structure and even the words are different. No one uses "pen" as a verb in spoken English. You'd feel like an idiot using "pen" instead of "write" in a conversation with a friend.So written and spoken language are different. Does that make written language worse?If you want people to read and understand what you write, yes. Written language is more complex, which makes it more work to read. It's also more formal and distant, which gives the reader's attention permission to drift. But perhaps worst of all, the complex sentences and fancy words give you, the writer, the false impression that you're saying more than you actually are.You don't need complex sentences to express complex ideas. When specialists in some abstruse topic talk to one another about ideas in their field, they don't use sentences any more complex than they do when talking about what to have for lunch. They use different words, certainly. But even those they use no more than necessary. And in my experience, the harder the subject, the more informally experts speak. Partly, I think, because they have less to prove, and partly because the harder the ideas you're talking about, the less you can afford to let language get in the way.Informal language is the athletic clothing of ideas.I'm not saying spoken language always works best. Poetry is as much music as text, so you can say things you wouldn't say in conversation. And there are a handful of writers who can get away with using fancy language in prose. It seems to be hard for most people to write in spoken language. So perhaps the best solution is to write your first draft the way you usually would, then afterward look at each sentence and ask "Is this the way I'd say this if I were talking to a friend?" If it isn't, imagine what you would say, and use that instead. Before I publish a new essay, I read it out loud and fix everything that doesn't sound like conversation. I even fix bits that are phonetically awkward; I don't know if that's necessary, but it doesn't cost much.大多数人开始写东西的时候脑中总会说些什么，但却用一种不同于他们朋友间叙事的方式来讲，从句式到用词都不一样。比如说没有人会在口语中把“笔”用作动词。当然如果你跟人说话的时候，用“笔”来代替“写”，那么大家一定会觉得你脑子养鱼了。所以，口语和正式的书面语是不一样的，难道这么说意味着说书面语更糟糕一些嘛？如果你想让人们读懂你写的东西的话，是的。通常来说，书面语更复杂当然也就更难懂一些了。而且，由于它过于的正式，时常容易与读者拉开距离，会让读者觉得仅仅在读而不是身临其境。当然，最糟糕的莫过于主页菌之前所说的，使用复杂的句式和华丽的辞藻以至于让读者理解错想表达的意思，从而错失文章原本的用意。其实，话说回来，我们完全没有必要用复杂的句式来表达复杂的意思。比如当专家想要介绍某一专业领域时，他们用的词绝不会比我们在茶余饭后唠家常的词儿难。据我所知，对于越难的问题，专家解释的越通俗易懂，其原因一部分是他们无需高深的词汇来证明什么，更大一部分原因在于，越难的概念，语言从中作梗的因素就更多，所以当然是越简单易懂越好。诚然我并不是说口语化书写总是好的，诸如诗歌你就不能夹在和朋友谈天论地的交谈中，但仍有许多厉害作家没有华丽的辞藻也能写总能写出脍炙人口的文章。当然，对于大多数人来说，这似乎过于难了。要想写出口语化的漂亮文章，最好的办法，莫过于写完之后读个数遍，心中暗暗思忖自己平下交谈朋友是否如此，如是便好，不是就改成自己说话讲故事的方式就好啦。每当我将要发一篇文章的时候，我总是自读数遍修改其中不符合自己平素说话的地方，尽管我不知这样是不是必要，但是却也花费不了太多，总归是好的。不得不说，PG的很多观点和主页菌不谋而合，让主页菌总时不时回想起伟大的海明威老爷爷那简单却富有节奏的文章。同样的，当我们写Essay的时候，我们需要的是去用故事用事实来给AO展现自己，说服AO自己是个有雄心有壮志，有潜力有经历的好娃娃，这时候用这种口语化的写作方式就很恰到好处。文章显得不是那么正式拘谨，用给朋友讲故事的方式来show自己，让AO读文章的时候，朗朗上口身临其境感同身受，从心底被深深的打动，产生强烈的认同感，这可不是几个难词几句长难句可以带来的。这样一来，或许仅单凭一篇好的文书，就获得大学的橄榄枝也说不定呢。总而言之，主页菌只是分享一下主页菌觉得还不错的写作方式来给大家作为参考，但是写作方式因人而异，选择自己觉得最好的便好。尽管如此，主页菌还是要说，不管你怎么写文章，写完之后一定要自己大声朗读，一定要自己大声朗读，一定要自己大声朗读，重要的话说三遍，独家秘笈，谁用谁知道！最后的最后，主页菌就跟大家分享一篇早年流传于CUUS的拿到Harvard录取的神文，让大家感受一下一个口语化的“anyway”放在文中带来的感动：Gay ActivityIncreasingly, I find that I'd much rather talk about queerness than write about it. I've yet feel comfortable enough with my words to trust how they frame, limit, and structure my experience. I don't yet notice the experiences for which I have words and those for which I don't. I also wonder how adeptly I can to tease out my sexuality anyway, how well I can place it at center, since my particular queerness has had everything to do with my Asianness and uppermiddleclassness and youth. Again, I've yet to learn how to discuss these weaves in tandem yet, but I will.“当当当当！！！你们可爱的主页菌又回来啦！申请季正在火热进行中，不知道各位小伙伴想知道关于申请和美国学习生活的一些什么呢，快点悄悄的小纸条告诉主页菌吧，主页菌一定满足大家的愿望。如果不告诉主页菌，主页菌就只能乱写一气噜，大家可别打死主页菌啊~
另外，2020 Final's Club最近可甚是热闹呢！还没有加入大家庭的申请者要赶快了，手慢了会错过各种有用的申请信息和干货呢！听说时不时还有各种申请福利发放呢！快来投奔组织吧！（据说近期就会有一个大福利发放哦！）