雅思考官问答 01 | 中国学生应当如何提高雅思写作水平？
经常收到读者朋友留言询问有关雅思考试的问题，比如：
口语考试中考官是如何判断出考生是在背答案的？
对中国学生的写作整体印象如何？中国学生写作方面失分最多的是四项评分标准中的哪一项？
虽然我的雅思口语和写作都考了 8 分，不过对于很多问题，我其实也没有答案。
为了帮助大家高效科学地备考雅思，少走不必要的弯路，我们邀请了一位经验丰富的前雅思考官（今后直接称呼为“Dr. IELTS”）来为大家答疑解惑。从今天开始，我们会在“雅思考官问答”专栏中，让雅思考官亲自回答问题。无论是最难提分的口语写作，还是坊间的各种传说，Dr. IELTS 都会给出专业、靠谱的答案。
由于 Dr. IELTS 的母语是英语，所有的回答均由英文完成，我会做简单、必要的编辑。如果你已经在备考雅思了，千万不要错过这些问答。因为这除了解决你的疑惑外，还能通过阅读雅思考官的英文学一些地道表达，将来把它们用在口语和写作中。
希望大家可以从 Dr. IELTS 的回答中找到你关心的问题的答案。
中国学生应当如何提高雅思写作水平？是否建议背诵一些好词好句？背诵范文有没有用？
Dr. IELTS: The easiest way to get a higher score in writing is to cover the WHOLE prompt. For example, in task 2, if the prompt is: “For education, some people say that students should study abroad if they want to learn a language and culture. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?” some candidates only cover language or culture. A lot of candidates only state if they agree or disagree with this statement. They probably don’t know what extent means, which makes it difficult to fully answer the prompt. Simply put, if candidates don’t cover all parts of the task, their score will be lower.
For Task 1, there will be a picture and/or graph and the candidate is supposed to transfer the information they see into words. If candidates want to get a higher score, they should include EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. What kind of graph (i.e. bar, line, pie); what each line looks like… The key to the graph (i.e. A is the dotted line, B is the solid line, C is the light-colored line). And of course the main features/important points. The examiner needs to be able to reproduce the graph/picture almost perfectly from the words the candidate writes, without looking at the graph. If the examiner cannot, the candidate will probably get a score that is lower than a 6.
To get a 6 for Task 1, the candidate needs to present an overview. This is a general summary of the information given, highlighting the general trends of the graph along with its important points and features. A lot of candidates write all the details of the graph but don’t summarize it correctly. If you include the overall trends of the graph in your Task 1 along with all the other details, then you will probably get a 6.
I say this because examiners will debate endlessly what an overview is. Some examiners say the overview needs to have A, B, and C. Some say only A and B. If there was a standard overview for every task 1, then a computer would be able to generate a score, which would put us out of a job.
Regarding what vocabulary to know and use, read/skim all sorts of newspapers and books (The Economist, The Guardian and most other publications; for books, any book is always a good source) to get higher level words. Another important thing to know is once you know these words, find out what other situations you can use them. The more situations you can use these words, the higher level your writing will be. This is called collocation, using certain words that go together and not others. For example, we would never say tea is powerful, but we would say tea is strong.
Regarding if you should memorize sample essays to help you with your writing, NEVER do that. This constitutes cheating. If examiners find proof that what you wrote is plagiarized from another source, you will not receive a score and might be banned from taking the test. Candidates are highly encouraged to take certain concepts and basic structures from these samples and reproduce them in their own way.
如果你正在准备雅思，欢迎在评论区留言向 Dr. IELTS 提问，Dr. IELTS 会优先选择一些高质量、高赞的问题作答。
如果你有朋友正在烤鸭，别忘了把这篇分享给他。
Hope you have enjoyed this post!
孟庆伟 Justin
个人微信 ID：justinqmeng
现象级英语联合创始人
《经济学人》11 年研究者
雅思写作 8 分，口语 8 分
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