雅思老師、甚至考官們對於雅思寫作都有不同見解。值得各位考生注意的是,在台灣的考官們已經不再具備批改寫作的資格,他們之前的寫作批改品質也存疑(複查更動機率很高),因此考官的建議不一定100%正確,大家真的不需要照單全收,一切都應該回歸Cambridge Assessment(劍橋考試委員會,出雅思的機構)的要求。這些要求可以在ielts.org或 The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS 裡面找到。(BC和idp都不是出考卷的機構,他們只負責管理考場和考官,他們出的書也都並非劍橋官方認可的。

為了解決一些雅思的疑惑,上個月Anderson曾經寫信問Cambridge Assessment關於雅思口說寫作的評分標準,得到的回覆如下:

詞彙句型的使用

Regarding specific queries, we can confirm that there is no IELTS word list or grammar and candidates should also be aware of the guidance in relation to the style expected in IELTS Writing. Generally, writing what is appropriate depends on a number of variables (e.g. who is the reader and what is the writer’s relationship with the reader? What is the context and purpose for writing? Where will a piece of writing appear).

從這段我們可以破除某些坊間謠傳,也就是「雅思沒有比較偏好哪些文法結構」,不會因為你使用「分詞構句」或「關係代名詞」就特別高分。事實上,Anderson去年八月在寫作考試中刻意的避開了這兩個句型,幾乎都使用because, since, and這種基礎的連接詞來連接句子,依然拿到了7.0(不可能有8,因為8分要求句型要夠豐富)

更不用說是否存在「雅思單字」了。坊間一堆號稱「雅思必考單字」的字彙書,但實際上雅思的單字就是一般的單字,並沒有什麼偏好。只要高中7000單有背熟,基本上閱讀拿到8.0~9.0都是沒問題的(至少不會是在單字這關出現障礙)。

學術寫作的風格

The IELTS.org website identifies that as IELTS Academic is a test of language ability for academic contexts, the expected language and register used should be towards one end of a spectrum and requires features that writing in that context tend to exhibit, e.g. less use of first person; more nominalisation, etc. As contractions generally are not a feature of academic writing, it is recommended that they be avoided. The extent to which individuals are able to control their style will be related to their language level and will be reflected in their potential band score.

所謂的 “style” (出現在評分標準7~9分的敘述中),這封信明確定義了雅思是「學術測驗」,因此考生的寫作必須符合學術風格。不過如果你不需要7.0,或許可以考慮寫的簡單一點,還是可以拿到6.0~6.5,因為style是7分的要求。

所謂的學術風格,大致如下:

https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*nsybZj4WymqqrDPNyCmFNg.png

來自Harvard Writing Center關於學術寫作架構的說明

https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*P64wKx5ZszRIRGvE.png

名詞化的示範