雅思(ielts)寫作高分談：思辨性思維的運用

　　英語應試類的寫作方法在中國范圍內的辯論已經持續了很長時間。辯論的雙方一邊大聲疾呼句子復雜的重要性，一邊也不遺余力地在呼吁文章必須言之有物。其實兩者皆為英語寫作的要素，并不矛盾，只不過是在不同考試中強調的重點不同罷了。如果對于這個問題看不透徹，也就無法解釋為什么有的考生GRE寫作可以考到5分(滿分6分)而相對簡單許多的IELTS寫作卻只能拿到一個普通的6分(滿分9分)而已了。由此可見看清考試本質的重要性。

　　在筆者所接觸的英語考試(TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, SAT)中可以感覺到非常明顯的區別。GRE和SAT的考試由于是主要針對母語是英語的考生，因此其考試性質已不僅僅在語言層面，而在更大程度上考查考生的思維，要求文章在語言基礎上體現思辨性，需要言之有物。而TOEFL和IELTS的考試性質不同，它們是對于母語非英語的考生的語言考試，因而從某種程度上來說更加注重語言本身的正確性和駕馭能力，對于思辯的考察幾乎都沒有列入正式的評分標準。

　　那么，是否可以說明IELTS的寫作應當忽略思維的練習呢？當然不是。

　　在筆者接觸的中國考生中，雅思寫作的難點不僅僅在語法和措詞，更重要的一點是思維的基本邏輯。這里筆者用了“基本邏輯”以區分前文中的“思辨性”。兩者區別在于后者的程度深要求高難度大，而前者只是文章基本通順的要求罷了。換言之，前者是logically make sense, 后者是make logical wonder. 但是令人擔憂的是，有時候即使請很多中國學生用中文寫作雅思作文，仍然會感覺其文章論證邏輯混亂，上下文聯系不緊，甚至出現理屈詞窮的尷尬場面。因此筆者認為，在國內鋪天蓋地的英語寫作模板泛濫之際，這是研究寫作，尤其是英語寫作的學生和老師都應該轉變思想的時候了。試想，如果拿幾個作文模板就能夠走遍天下都不怕， 如果這不是此種考試的悲哀，那么一定是這種語言的悲哀。況且，如果中國的雅思考生邏輯思維能力普遍薄弱，那么我們就應該跳過英語的層面去看到思維上的巨大漏洞。亡羊補牢，為時不晚。

　　為彌補這一弱點，教育工作者應該做的事有很多，比如說在中小學階段就應該強調寫作和日常口語中的邏輯問題，因為思維模式的形成和發展總是和大的環境和教育模式有關。這是一個長期的工作，但是意義深遠。畢竟，一個民族的思考方式的提升代表著一個民族的提升。這是比英語水平提高和留學成功率更加緊迫和重要的事情。當然，這些不是本文討論的重點。

　　作為普通的“烤鴨”來說，又應該如何在有限的備考時間內鍛煉基本思維和邏輯呢？

　　首先，了解基本邏輯，避免常見錯誤。

　　其次，關注社會現象，積累基本常識。

　　最后，瀏覽往年考題，多做提綱訓練。(一)了解基本邏輯，避免常見錯誤

　　要了解基本邏輯錯誤一定不能錯過一篇英文小品文Love Is A Fallacy，這里僅列舉出十種最常見的邏輯錯誤。

　　1.草率前提 (Dicto Simpliciter)

　　例如：Women are on average not as strong as men and less able to perform well politically. Therefore, women can't pull their weight in government work.

　　點評：雖然女性確實在政界擔任較少工作，但這不意味著女性群體中所有的人都是這樣。

　　2.過度概化 (Hasty Generalization)

　　例如：McDonald's and KFC offer foods with little nutrition, and thus we cannot expect any fast food restaurant to provide us with nutritious foods.

　　點評：兩個個例不足以推出一個真理。

　　3.因果顛倒 (Post Hoc)

　　例如：Most young criminals watch violent movies before they commit their crimes; obviously, violent movies lead to juvenile delinquency.

　　點評：甲事情發生在乙事情之前，這并不代表著先發生的甲事情就是后發生的乙事情的原因。

　　4.矛盾前提 (Contradictory Premises)

　　例如：If God can do everything, can he make a stone so heavy that he can't carry?

　　點評：前提條件中就有相互矛盾的地方，結論當然是錯誤的。

　　5.感性論證 (Ad Misericordiam)

　　例如：Think of all the poor, starving African children! How could rich countries be so cruel as not to help them?

　　點評：抒情是不能當作論證的。

　　6.錯誤類比 (False Analogy)

　　例如：Young children are like flowers---flowers should stay away from terrible weather to grow, so children need to get rid of everything negative.

　　點評：孩子和花朵的區別太大。成長的過程也太復雜。最好不要用這兩者來類比。

　　7.虛假假設 (Hypothesis Contrary to Fact)

　　例如：If TV were not invented, today people would never have such wonderful entertainment brought by TV.

　　點評：因為電視已經被發明了，對于過去的否定假設后所得出的結論都是邏輯上的錯誤結論。

　　8.無關轉移 (Red Herring)

　　例如：Many people say we need to exploit the outer space, a point which I believe is wrong, because there are so many poor people on Earth who hardly make ends meet.

　　點評：有一個問題沒解決并不代表著另一個問題不值得解決。

　　9.從眾錯誤 (Bandwagon)

　　例如：Everyone says it is justified to learn a second language so we must learn one.

　　點評：人人都說，或者大多數都說，這并不意味著該觀點正確。

　　10.滑坡謬誤 (Slippery slope)

　　例如：If we don't care about the environment, the world will die in 50 years.

　　點評：從環境問題到世界滅亡，中間有無數環節未提供論證。(二)瀏覽往年考題，多做提綱訓練

　　這里列出2008年1月到7月全部考題，以供大家參考復習。最好分別列出提綱訓練組織文章結構的能力。

　　2008年1月10日

　　Some people believe that time spent on television, video and computer games can be valuable for children. Others believe this has negative effects on a child. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

　　2008年1月12日

　　Some people believe that in order to reduce crime, prisoners should be given longer prison sentence while other people think there are other alternative ways. Discuss the both viewpoints and give your opinion.

　　2008年1月19日

　　Old generations often hold some traditional ideas on the correct way of life, thinking and behavior. However, some people argue that older ideas are not helpful for the younger generation in preparing for the modern life in the future.

　　To what extent do you agree of disagree?

　　2008年1月26日

　　In countries where there is a high rate of unemployment, most pupils should be offered only primary education. There is no point in offering secondary education to those who have no hope of finding a job. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

　　2008 年2月2日

　　Some people think it is acceptable to use animals for the benefit of the human beings. Some people think it is wrong to exploit animals for the human purposes. What is your opinion?

　　2008年2月14日

　　People living in big cities face many problems today. What are the problems? Should the government encourage people to live in regional towns？

　　2008年2月16日

　　An American film actor John Wayne said: "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life."

　　How important it is to thinking about the future rather than focus on the present, for individuals and for the society?

　　What’s your opinion?

　　2008年2月23日

　　There is a possibility for any country to buy a wide variety of foods from other places all over the world. To what extent do you agree that the benefit of this development outweigh the drawback?

　　2008年3月1日

　　The government thinks that education system should be up to date. Following are a list of the subjects taught in school. Which two do you think are the most important subjects and which one is the least important to the young people?

　　Literature Sports

　　Mathematics Economics

　　Physics Music

　　Psychology History

　　Geography Foreign languages

　　2008年3月8日

　　Some people think that young people (children and teenagers) can easily learn foreign languages; others believe that adults are more successful in it. Discuss both and give your opinion.

　　As the number of cars increases, more money has to be spent on road systems. Some people think the government should pay for this. Others, however, think that the car users should cover the costs. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

　　2008年3月13日

　　People should look after their health to the society they live in rather than only own personal benefits. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年4月5日

　　Long distance flight uses more fuel than car and brings pollution to the environment. We should discourage non-essential flight rather than limit the use of car. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年4月12日

　　More working people are busy working and do not have enough time to spend with their family and friends. Why does this happen? What are the possible effects of these on family life and society as a whole?

　　2008年5月10日

　　Children learn things from TV easily. Some people suggest that they should be encouraged to watch TV regularly both at home and at school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年5月22日

　　Some people think that schools should concentrate on academic classes. They think music and sports classes are not useful. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年6月14日

　　Cheap air travel is welcomed because some people think it will give ordinary people more freedom to travel by air. However, others suggest that air travel should be more expensive as it causes environmental problems, in order to discourage people from traveling by air.

　　Discuss both views and present yours.

　　2008年6月16日

　　In many countries, traditional foods are being replaced by international fast foods. This is having a negative effect on both families and societies. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年6月28日

　　Mobile phones and the Internet are useful for old people. However, this section of population is the least users of Mobile phones and the Internet.

　　What do you think mobile phones and the Internet used by old people?

　　How to encourage old people to use mobile phones and the internet?

　　2008年7月5日

　　Nowadays, more university students choose to study some practical subjects (such as marketing, computer programming, etc.), instead of theoretical subjects (such as economy, math, chemistry). Some people suggest that universities should focus on practical subjects, but not theoretical subjects.

　　To what extent do you agree or disagree?

　　2008年7月12日

　　Some people support development in agriculture, such as factory farming and scientific create of new type of fruits and vegetables. Some people opposite it and support other development.

　　Discuss both views and give your opinion.

　　2008年7月24日

　　Some people think that we are more independent on each other in the world now, while others suppose that we are more dependent of each other.

　　Discuss both views and give your reasons.

　　2008年7月26日

　　Some people think international cooperation has brought benefits to world environment protection, while some people think more benefits has been brought to international business.

　　Discuss both views and give your own opinion