With the increasing use of mobile phones, less people tend to write letters. Some people believe that writing letters will disappear completely. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
从这个题目当中我们不难看出writing letters出现的频率较高,且都在主句中出现,说明它就是我们要找的主题,如果你过多描述mobile phones给我们带来的好处就跑题了。另外,题目的写作任务也很清楚:Do you agree that writing letters will disappear completely? 属于“支持或反对”类的题,必须明确表达你的立场,不能既同意又不同意,同时表达你同意或不同意的理由。
雅思写作取得高分的关键在于灵活地运用词汇,多使用非常用词汇,分数一般来说不会低于5.5分。因此,在日常学习中,如何区别低分词汇和高分词汇是关键所在。中国考生一般来说可以比较正确的表达出自己的观点,但是对于词汇和句式的使用就有些茫然了,经常会重复使用词汇,句式也只会用简单句。举一个例子,英语中的‘我认为’有无数种说法,大多数中国考生只会用‘I think' , 值得注意的是,学术写作中的 ’我认为‘不能使用这个词组,I contend, from my point of view, as far as I am concerned, I argue, I assert…这些词汇都是学术英语中表示个人观点的高分词汇。
4. 语法的多样性和准确性
句子的好坏主要取决于句子结构的准确性和丰富性,句子的长度和复杂性以及用语的逻辑性和正式性。
句子结构的准确性涉及主谓一致、句子平衡性等问题,比如:The main reason for this use of informal languages are various and complicated. 这个句子不细心的同学很难发现它有问题,因为主语太长有时会忽视真正的主语其实是the main reason,是个单数形式,所以are 应该改为is. 再比如:In my opinion, use mobile phones to send messages is more convenient than write letters. 这是个很典型的错误,很多同学在写作的过程当中会误把动词或动词短语当主语用而造成句子结构的错误,而只有动词的非谓语形式才能在句中充当主语或宾语,因此,此句正确的表达应该是:In my opinion, using mobile phones to send messages is more convenient than writing letters.
句子结构的丰富性也是考官给分的一个亮点,好的段落应该由不同的句式组成,而不应该是千篇一律的句子结构。例如:I have many hobbies. For example, I like movies, I like playing basketball and football, and I like singing and dancing. 很明显,该句完全由“I + do”结构组成且like使用的频率过高,我们不妨做如下修改:I have many hobbies. Movies, for example, are my favorite and I am also fond of playing basketball and football. Sometimes when staying with my friends, I'd prefer singing and dancing rather than any other way of amusement.
短句变长:即善用连接词and, but, or, yet, so等。例如:Living off campus is exciting. Living off campus is more independent. I prefer the convenience of living on campus. 不难看出,这是两种对立的观点,因此我们可以将其变为:Living off campus is exciting and more independent, but I prefer the convenience of living on campus.
还有比较重要的一点是不容忽视的,即用语的正式性和严谨性。实际上,在汉语中也有很多这样的例子,比如我们说:“这里人真多啊!”这就是一个典型的口语化的表达方式,而如果用“人山人海”、“车水马龙”、“摩肩接踵”等词来形容人多就是写作语言了。我们不妨看几个非正式用语的句子:Parents have to get kids food and other stuff. 此句中的kids和stuff就是两个非正式用语,如变成:Parents have to provide children with food and other necessities.就正式了。再如:People always say competitive sports are totally cool. 此句中的cool以及这个句式都是属于比较口语化的,应该变为:It is always said that competitive sports benefit us in several important ways.