第二章 雅思写作准备过程及写作步骤
I. 如何准备雅思写作
英文里有句谚语：Practice makes perfect.(熟能生巧)。要想写好作文，没有什么诀窍，主要靠多练习。练习作文的时候，可以遵循以下几条规则：“多写，多读，多改”。
多写
首先要练习雅思写作真题，对雅思写作的出题思路和题目构成有一个清晰全面的了解。在练习的时候要注意在规定时间内完成。考生只有在有时间限制的压力下写作，才能在考试时发挥自如。当然，如果考生离考试时间还有三个月以上的话，那么可以适当放松时间方面的要求，先力求写得精彩，等到考前三个月的时候再加快写作速度。事实上，如果没有一定量的积累，速度是不可能上去的。在练习写作的时候也不一定非要写完整的文章，可以进行段落论证的写作。比如，专门花时间练一练开头段或结尾段的写作；专门练习某种论证手法的写作；甚至对于常用的句型进行造句练习。在练习频率上，基本保持两天写一篇以上。
多读
如果考生只是一味埋头苦练的话，那只能提高写作速度，而在写作水平上不一定会有长足的进步。只有看过好的文章，考生才会知道应该往哪方面努力以及自己的文章到底有何不足。最需要看的是雅思考官写的例文，比如剑桥大学出版社出版的Cambridge IELTS 6、Cambridge IELTS 7及Cambridge IELTS 8等。看时不要只看懂就行，而要着眼于三个方面：考官范文是如何提出观点并进行论证的，运用了哪些论证手法；范文是如何安排段落的，段落之间以及句子之间是如何连接在一起的，运用了哪些衔接手段；范文里有哪些精彩的词、词组和句型值得模仿。除了考官范文以外，其他一些优秀范文也可以参考。各种精彩段落，包括雅思阅读文章里面的一些论证方法和表达也可以学习。此外，英文报纸杂志也是值得多看、多学习的。
多改
有时候考生越看范文会越觉得沮丧，因为发现自己的低水平文章和高分作文之间似乎存在着不可逾越的鸿沟。要想跨越这条鸿沟，弥补其中的差距，关键是要多修改。考生首先应在规定时间内完成作文，然后对照范文，找出自己作文中存在的问题：有没有审题错误?结构是否混乱?有没有表达不清的地方?然后仔细琢磨一下，范文是如何展开论证的?看过数遍范文后，考生可以试着根据刚才学习范文的体会和收获来修改自己先前写过的文章，把论证不够充分的地方重新论证一下，关联不当的地方修补一下，错误表达改正过来。这样，练一篇，看一篇，改一遍，写一次就会有一次的收获。
考生只要做到了多写，多看，多改，写出一篇精彩的雅思作文也不是一件极其困难的事情。
跑题文章及分析：
1. Many people think that the government should spend the large amount of money it is channelling into artistic and cultural projects on basic infrastructure projects instead. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample Answer:
Some people are critical of the government using taxpayers' money to set up statues in the streets or other public places, complaining that this money should be spent more wisely, say, for helping needy people. I beg to differ.
City sculptures are certainly not a money waster. They contribute substantially to the landscaping of cities. Many cities worldwide—for example, Greek cities—are famous for their ancient or modern sculptures. If we want modern cities and not slums, we should have sculptures to grace them. If we are talking about the quality of life, it seems to me that sculpture has an important place wherever we live.
The sculptures are erected not only to benefit us, but also to benefit generations to come. For a nation with imagination, city sculptures represent its people's creativity and love of life. That is something that makes you proud of your country and yourself. City statues or sculptures have been and will be a proud heritage of any nation.
Erecting statues in public places, as non-profitable undertakings, should be carried out by the government. We can't count on rich people alone to do this. City beautification is the job the government, and that is where part of our tax money should go. What is more, these projects are potentially profitable. A beautiful city will attract more tourists, thereby boosting its economy. And the money so earned can be further used for improving our standard of living, as well as for helping needy people. This is a wise course of action.
It is shortsighted not to build statues in our cities in the interest of saving money. Erecting statues is done for us and for coming generations. And, most importantly, it makes good business sense.
分析：
本文跑题。
1. 雕塑(sculptures)和雕像(statues)只是艺术和文化项目(artistic and cultural projects)的例子，而不是全体或代表。
2. 即便认为政府应该把大量钱花在艺术和文化项目上，也不能毫不提及基础建设(basic infrastructrue projects)的作用。
2. It is inevitable that as technology develops so traditional cultures must be lost. Technology and tradition are incompatible—you cannot have both together.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Answer:
It is a fact of life that the development of science and technology has been accompanied by a decline in traditional culture. In my opinion, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because some aspects of traditional culture hamper progress and should be abandoned. Moreover, it is natural that people should want to find new ways of doing things.
In the first place, science and technology have cleared up many matters that were mysterious to us in the past. For instance, we now know that thunder and lightning are not caused by gods being angry, but are normal natural phenomena. As a result, a large number of harmful superstitions have disappeared, and nobody regrets their passing.
In the second place, our everyday lives have been made more convenient by scientific and technological inventions. Nowadays electric lights have replaced the traditional oil lamps, and computers enable us to make quicker and more accurate calculations. Even more important is the fact that television brings the family together in the evening.
In the third place, science and technology actually help to preserve the useful and pleasant parts of traditional culture. Take the celebration of the Chinese Lantern Festival for example. Lanterns are now designed with modern technology and materials to make them more attractive, and they are powered by electricity, which is safer than candles.
Therefore, I welcome the development of science and technology. Advances in science and technology have brought us many benefits. At the same time, they have eliminated the bad parts of traditional culture while preserving the good parts.
分析：
本文跑题。
1. 第三段论证的是日常生活和科技的关系，与题目要求的传统文化和科技发展的关系不符。
2. 第四段写的是科技和传统可以相容，与中心思想冲突。
3. Stress is the reason why many people stay off working and go back to school. Write an essay to state what causes the stress and suggest measures to reduce it.
Sample Answer:
It is a curious phenomenon that nowadays more and more people are quitting their jobs and returning to school. Many of them claim that unbearable stress is the primary reason why they leave the workplace. My present concern is where that stress originates and how to reduce it.
Three origins of stress can be identified clearly. First, it comes from superiors. In any workplace, superiors always impose great pressure on their subordinates in the form of issuing orders, setting deadlines or giving reprimands. People working under such conditions are tortured both mentally and physically. Therefore, they tend to want to stay away from work. Second, stress stems from fierce competition among colleagues. Every person aspires to success. This very desire pushes people to scramble for limited positions and resources at all costs, creating intense pressure on everyone. Third, people are confronted with job insecurity. Fear of losing one's job, which is one's only means of livelihood, compels one to work harder all the time. The three kinds of stress mentioned above jointly contribute to the great pressure people feel in the workplace. To relieve it, I wish to suggest three appropriate measures. For a start, people should look at pressure from a proper perspective. It is better to regard pressure as a positive driving force instead of as a dark, uncomfortable psychological experience. Second, people must try to eliminate mistakes in their work as far as possible. In other words, they must try to deny other people any chance to find fault with them. Third, it is wise for people to engage in one or two secondary jobs, besides their primary ones. Consequently, by not clinging to only one job, people do not face disaster if they are discharged by their major employer.
In conclusion, although every employee has to put up with a certain amount of stress in his or her work, this is no excuse for us to shy away from our posts. We are able to cope with this stress in a variety of ways, and finally make it a force which serves us.
分析：
本文跑题。
题目要求分析的是为什么压力导致许多人辞职并回到学校学习。而本文只是在泛泛谈论工作压力。
精彩文章及分析：
Many people believe that women make better parents than men and that this is why they have the greater role in raising children in most societies. Others claim that men are just as good as women at parenting.
Write an essay expressing your point of view.
Sample Answer:
The view that women are better parents than men has shown itself to be true throughout history. This is not to say that men are not of importance in child-rearing; indeed, they are most necessary if children are to appreciate fully the roles of both sexes. But women have proven themselves superior parents as a result of their conditioning, their less aggressive nature and their generally better communication skills.
From the time they are little girls, females learn about nurturing. First with dolls and later perhaps with younger brothers and sisters, girls are given the role of career. Girls see their mothers in the same roles and so it is natural that they identify this as a female activity. Boys, in contrast, learn competitive role far removed from what it means to nurture. While boys may dream of adventures, girls' conditioning means they tend to see the future in terms of raising families.
Girls also appear to be less aggressive than boys. In adulthood, it is men, not women, who prove to be the aggressors in crime and in war. Obviously, in raising children, a more patient, gentle manner is preferable to a more aggressive one. Although there certainly exist gentle men and aggressive women, by and large, females are less likely to resort to violence in attempting to solve problems.
Finally, women tend to be better communicators than men. This is shown in intelligence tests, where females, on average, do better in verbal communication than males. Of course, communication is of utmost importance in rearing children, as children tend to learn from and adopt the communication styles of their parents.
Thus, while it is all very well to suggest a greater role for men in raising children, let us not forget that women are generally better suited to the parenting role.
分析：
1. 内容：论点鲜明、论证充分、论据合理
2. 结构：段落清晰、关联性强
3. 语言：用词丰富、句型多样