和雅思考官学英文，突破英文写作和口语
经常收到读者朋友留言询问有关雅思考试的问题。
为了帮助大家高效科学地备考雅思，少走不必要的弯路，我们邀请了一位前雅思考官（Dr. IELTS）亲自为大家答疑解惑。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，我会稍作总结说明。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。
如何提升词汇？
Eric 总结：把阅读英文书刊当成生活的一部分。报刊推荐《经济学人》《卫报》，书籍不需要特别读某一本书，找一本自己感兴趣的读就可以。最重要的是学习词汇时要注意学习这个词是如何真正被使用的，比如它的常见搭配是什么、有哪些语法特点。
Dr. IELTS: 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.
是否推荐背范文？
Eric 总结：一定不要一字不差地背范文，后果很严重。这些考官阅卷无数，不要试图以身试法。我们在准备作文时可以参考范文中的观点、结构，用自己的话表述出来。
Dr. IELTS: 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.
雅思写作 Task 2 评分标准第二项是 coherence 和 cohesion。很多考生一看到这项就犯难。该怎样理解这两个概念呢？二者有什么区别？学生最容易犯的错误有哪些？
Dr. IELTS: Coherence means you can follow the essay as a whole very easily and cohesion means it is well put together within each paragraph and sentence.
Eric 总结：Coherence 可以理解为“谋篇布局”。雅思大作文中一般第一段介绍话题，中间两段说理论证，最后一段总结，这种结构就是 coherence，大部分考生做得都还不错。大家的主要问题是 cohesion，即如何高效、自然地把段落中的句子联结起来。下面是具体的说明和实例：
Dr. IELTS: Cohesion refers to how each sentence is constructed within each paragraph. Writers should use a variety of cohesive devices (i.e. with, either…or, regarding) to link different ideas together in each paragraph and have each paragraph link with each other, giving the reader a very easy essay to read.
Many candidates have decent coherence but the cohesion in each paragraph is not very good. For example, let’s say the topic is:
Technology has brought people together better than anything in history. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Most candidates have an intro paragraph, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. This constitutes, in a very general sense, good coherence. However, within each body paragraph, candidates often jump from one thought to another without developing their initial thought and extending it further. The reasons might be totally different, so each thought needs to be discussed more. It would be really something if the candidate could link all three reasons together somehow (i.e. the 1st reason is small, which leads to the 2nd, which might be more serious and then the 3rd reason, which is the most serious).
口语考官到底喜欢什么样的答案？口语最看重什么部分？
Eric 总结：口语中最重要的是自然、直接。这两点听起来容易，做起来难。比如有些考生在准备考试时，会采用用“一个话题回答多种话题”的套路，这样的话答案就不够自然、直接，无法得到高分。另外在考试中考生容易紧张，这就需要在考前多在真实说英语的环境中练习，让自己习惯说英语的状态。
Dr. IELTS: A natural answer is the best answer. Talk to the examiner like they are people and have a natural conversation with the person sitting across from you. In general, the more you talk, the higher your score could be. Conversely, if you don’t say very much, you WILL get a lower score.
Do not speak like a robot as that will indicate memorization. It is ok to stop and pause to formulate your answer as English is your second language and the examiner must allow that. However, keep in mind this is a timed test, so make the answers count.
Another thing examiners are looking for is a direct answer to the question. It sounds obvious, but many candidates try to "talk around the question" by going off from a keyword they listen to. For example, a part 1 question like, "Have you lived in your area for a long time?" Many candidates will start introducing their hometown because they might not know what "area" means. If they had listened to the introduction of part 1, "Let’s talk about the area where you live at the moment," then the candidate should know the question is about the place they live in now, not their hometown (unless they still live in their hometown of course).
Another example is, "What do you like about your studies?" A lot of candidates will start off by saying what they don’t like about their studies. THAT WASN’T THE QUESTION. Answer with what you do like FIRST. If you really don’t like your studies, talk about a teacher you like or a part of the school you like as these are still relevant to every student’s studies. If candidates don’t directly answer the question throughout the test, then the best they will get for vocabulary is a 5.
Part2 答题的时候，如果没有完全按照题目给出的四个小问题的方向来回答，会扣分吗？
Dr. IELTS: If whatever you say is off-topic to the part 2 topic, then, of course, it won’t be good for you. Stick to the four points and the topic given. The purpose of part 2 is to see if candidates can produce enough language for a certain amount of time, in this case, two minutes. If you can’t speak for the whole two minutes, that is a good indication the candidate is unable to produce enough language and it will weigh the score down, making part 3 that much more daunting.
口语没说够时间，发现语法错误立刻改正，让考官重复问题是否会影响口语评分？如果有影响的话，影响有多大呢？
Dr. IELTS: It shouldn’t affect the score too much if the candidate can say it error-free the second time. Try not to make too many mistakes and more importantly, don’t make the same mistake twice. Remember, we know English is your second language, so we know you will make mistakes. If you can keep them to a minimum, then your score will be higher. For grammar, even a candidate that scores an 8 will make some basic errors (taken from the scoring rubric).
如果你对雅思考试也有自己的疑问，请在下面留言区留言，我会不定期地整理让 Dr. IELTS 回答。
上图是部分 Dr. IELTS 实际批改截图，除了批改和评注作文还会依照雅思评分标准给出详细说明和修改建议。
想批改作文？
Dr. IELTS 也提供雅思作文批改服务，为你打分、指出你的具体问题和学习建议。如果你需要这位前雅思考官帮你批改作文，请加 Sherry 老师的微信咨询，她的微信是：read2write
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