我是 Ben 老師。今天我們首先先講到的是托福寫作的介紹。托福寫作的題型基本上有兩種，相比其他例如 speaking 來講會簡單很多。只要掌握這兩種題型並熟悉它們的破解方法，基本上就能輕鬆應對。
一、托福寫作的題型介紹
1.1 Integrated Writing（整合性寫作）
- 題型介紹：第一題是萬年不變的 integrated writing（整合性寫作）。我們需要整合 reading 和 listening 的資訊，變成一篇完整的 essay。
- 注意事項：這種題型完全不需要加入自己的意見，只需單純地 summarize 內容。關鍵在於如何抓住重點並建立清晰的框架。
- 準備方法：
- 通常，reading 部分會是一個偏學術性的 topic，會介紹三個例子或理論。我們需要找出文章的主旨和這三個例子或理論的具體內容，並記在筆記上。
- listening 部分由教授反駁 reading 的三個點，挑戰它們不能支持主題。我們要記下教授的反駁點，然後將 reading 和 listening 互相交織，形成一個完整的答案。
- 考試時間：這題需在 20 分鐘內寫完 250 字。準備時間應該是充裕的，但如果框架不熟練，可能會在時間上有些壓力。
1.2 Academic Discussion Task（學術討論題型）
- 題型介紹：第二題是 academic discussion task，去年新制的題型。這題只有 10 分鐘時間，需要讀、想、寫三個步驟。
- 注意事項：reading 部分會有一個教授提問，並有兩個學生分別給出相反的意見。我們需要選邊站，表達自己的意見，並與兩個學生互動。
- 準備方法：
- 選邊站，表達自己的意見。
- 與兩個學生互動，展示我們的觀點和反駁。
- 清晰表達自己的立場和與學生的互動。
- 考試時間：這題需在 10 分鐘內完成至少 100 個字。
二、托福寫作的題型實際演練
接下來，我們通過實際演練來理解這兩種題型。
Integrated Writing 演練
題目：
Reading (3 minutes):
For years, people have been cutting down trees to provide the necessary materials to build homes and create various everyday items. However, due to population increases and the advent of new technology, clearing forests has become easier than ever. This has led to deforestation, a state in which large areas of nature are cleared of all trees. While some oppose deforestation, there are many benefits that help improve people’s lives.
The clearing of large areas of land has provided an abundance of farmland. In place of trees, large fields have been created which can be used to raise both crops and livestock. As the world population continues to increase, it’s crucial that enough food is produced for every single citizen. Not only do these new farms provide for local residents, but the local economy also benefits if they produce a surplus which can be exported to other areas.
Secondly, cleared land is not only used for farming, but for the development of new residential areas. As previously mentioned, the global population is rising, and with more people comes an increased demand for living space. This arrangement also benefits the regional economy. Investors buy up areas of land, employ locals to build homes and buildings, and a new urban area arises where people can live, work, and thrive.
Finally, it’s important to remember that the forestry industry is an integral part of many national economies. In countries like Brazil, Thailand, and Indonesia, there is a large percentage of the population who rely on deforestation as a source of income. In order to satisfy the world’s demand for paper, furniture, and lumber, thousands of jobs have already been created. What will happen to these workers if this industry is shut down?
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on the specific points made in the reading passage. You have 20 minutes to write your answer.
答案：
The reading and the lecture are both about deforestation, the clearing and cutting down of trees in a large area. While the author of the article argues that there are many benefits to deforestation, the lecturer disputes the claims presented in the article. The lecturer’s position is that deforestation has many consequences, and attacks each of the claims made in the reading.
According to the reading, cutting down trees creates farmlands now suitable for growing crops and raising livestock. The author states that this provides more food for people and can benefit the economy. This argument is challenged by the lecturer, claiming that it is not necessary to destroy rainforests for land to farm. In addition, the lecturer points out that there are advanced technologies that allow for alternative ways to farm without soil.
Secondly, the author suggests that clearing the areas also provides residential space for people to live and work in; a concern as the population continues to increase. The lecturer, however, asserts that deforestation displaces the animals from the forest and destroys the plants which provide us with oxygen. He goes on to say that this long-term cost is not worth the money people can make from residential developments on the land.
Finally, the author puts forth the idea that cutting down trees is necessary for many national economies. The author contends that thousands of jobs have been created due to deforestation. In contrast, the lecturer’s stance is that those who work in the wood cutting industry are actually paid very small wages. He says that deforestation does not benefit the workers at all, but rather the large company owners.
老師講解：
好，當我們遇到這種整合性寫作時，我們要怎麼去準備呢？基本上這種題型會有一個 reading 和一個 listening，我們要做的就是把它們兩個資訊全部整合在一起。
- 做筆記：reading 和 listening 的重點要抓出來。
- 利用框架的建立方法，知道我們的框架怎樣，需要哪些資訊。這裡可能需要一個 main statement，這裡可能需要一個 supporting argument 等等。
- 找出連接詞，通常連接詞後面會有我們需要的東西。例如，reading 的第一段要找出 main subject 和定義。
- 抓重點：
- 例如，第一段的主旨是 deforestation，接下來是它的三個好處。我們找到 deforestation 和 benefits of deforestation 的資訊，後面三個段落的 main statement 和 supporting statement 也要找出來。
- 例如，第一段的主旨是 deforestation，接下來是它的三個好處。我們找到 deforestation 和 benefits of deforestation 的資訊，後面三個段落的 main statement 和 supporting statement 也要找出來。
- Listening 部分：
- 教授會反駁 reading 的三個好處。我們一樣要找出每一段的 main argument 和 supporting argument。例如，第一段的重點是 it’s not necessary to destroy rainforest for land to farm，抓住連接詞後面的重點，記下主要論點。第二段反駁 residential areas 的好處，指出 deforestation 的長期代價不值得。第三段反駁 national economies 的好處，指出工作人員的工資很低，並不真正受益於 deforestation。
Academic Discussion Task 演練
題目：
Your professor is teaching a class on education. Write a post responding to the professor’s question. In your response, you should
- express and support your personal opinion
- make a contribution to the discussion in your own words An effective response will contain at least 100 words. You have ten minutes to write.
Professor: A new story about Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the news almost every day. And, of course, companies are spending an enormous amount of money to develop new technologies related to AI. Before next class, I want you to consider the following question: Is AI a dangerous technology that, overall, will be harmful to society, or is it a powerful tool that will improve the lives of people?
Megan: Personally, I think AI is a threat. As AI advances, many jobs may become automated, leaving people without work. That will certainly increase income inequality. Additionally, there’s the risk that AI systems could be programmed with biases or used to discriminate against certain groups. We need to be careful and ensure that AI is developed in an ethical and responsible way. Since we can’t guarantee that right now, I think it is best to slow down.
David: I disagree with Megan. I’m of the opinion that AI has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems, from climate change to disease. Additionally, AI can help us make better decisions by analyzing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns that humans may miss. That said, I agree with Megan that we must ensure that AI is developed and used in a responsible way that benefits society as a whole.
答案：
Personally, I believe that AI technology will only be an impactful tool that can improve our lives in the future. I strongly agree with David’s idea that many world’s issues like climate change and disease could potentially be dealt with by AI. I’d add that the algorithm will allow this technology to complete numerous tasks more efficiently in order to cut down manual effort, such as customer service and text comprehension. While Megan raised the relevant point that income inequality could be one of the consequences as many jobs may become automated due to the AI advancement, she didn’t mention that there are still plenty of important jobs that are irreplaceable by technology, especially those that require human empathy. To be specific, although we can talk to Alexa or Siri to check up on the weather or news, it is hard to build a trusting relationship and find mental health support from AI because they are highly dependent on human interaction. Therefore, I think that despite some concerns, AI will undoubtedly be a useful tool to assist our daily lives.
老師講解：
當我們在準備 academic discussion task 的時候，基本上我們讀加想加寫只有 10 分鐘，讀的時候儘量要把時間省下來，儘量能找到重點趕快開始寫。
- 找到 professor 的問題：通常這個問題在最後一句，直接先讀最後一句就好，如果題目不清楚再去前面看前言的部分。
- 例如，is AI a dangerous technology that overall will be harmful to society or is it a powerful tool that will improve the lives of people？題目非常清楚了，問你 AI 是不是危險的工具，我們要做的就是選邊站。
- 選邊站：
- 以這個 answer 為例，我們是 support AI is gonna become a powerful tool to improve our lives，首先 straight to the point 回答問題，personally I believe that AI technology will only be an impactful tool that can improve our lives in the future，straight to the point，不需要太多前言。
- 與學生互動：
- 先與 David 互動，因為他跟我們站同一邊，summarize 他為什麼，reason 是什麼，I strongly agree with David’s idea that many world issues like climate change and disease could potentially be dealt with by AI，summarize，結束。
- 加入自己的 opinion，為什麼也支持 AI 對人們有幫助，efficient，讓流程變得非常 efficient，I will add that the algorithm will allow this technology to complete numerous tasks more efficiently in order to cut down manual efforts，減少人力，節省人力成本，such as customer service and text comprehension，more efficient，帶一點 example，customer service, text comprehension，這些工作容易被 replaced，也可以省下很多人力成本。
- 與 Megan 互動，雖然站不同邊，不支持 AI，也 summarize 讓她 recognize your point，while Megan raises the relevant point that income inequality could be one of the consequences as many jobs may become automated due to the AI advancement，再來 challenge，她沒有提到還有其他重要工作不能被技術取代，especially those that require human empathy，很多需要人們同情心的東西，AI 做不到，這個 example 再進部分，一句話就好，to be specific, although we can talk to Alexa or Siri to check up the weather or the news, it’s hard to build a trusting relationship or find mental support from AI because they’re highly dependent on human interaction。
- 總結：therefore I think that despite some concerns, AI will undoubtedly be a useful tool to assist our daily lives in the future。清楚的開頭，與第一個學生互動，自己 opinion，與第二個學生互動，反對第二個學生，最後 conclusion，框架完整，10 分鐘內寫完，抓時間，如果時間不夠，一些 example 可以省略性刪除，主要還是大方向 opinion 和反對點講清楚，有時間再補 support。
三、學生通常托福寫作上的盲點為何？老師會如何幫助他們進步
以過去來講，我基本上平均幫學生提高 20-40 分的總分左右，通常如果同學一開始第一次考可能只有 60-70 分，但成績不滿意，我會幫他們提高到 80 以上，80 是基本分。只要框架建立清楚，時間和框架掌握住，基本分很容易有。
學生比較多的問題，方向上基本上第一個是連接詞用得不順，都用一些很基本的 first, second, third 或 the first reason is, second reason is，這些很容易改，平替用 to begin with, to start with, moreover, in addition, furthermore 這些連接詞，therefore, as a result，幫助你替換基本的 also, but。這是第一個幫助學生把答案脫穎而出的很大方法。
再來是精簡改寫，很多同學不太容易快速把東西精簡濃縮，時間花很多，complain 時間不夠。這部分我們會有幾個專門精簡改寫的練習，先看別人怎麼做，再學習資訊很多時候怎麼快速濃縮，意識不漏掉。再有第三點是最多學生會遇到，寫作第一題 listening 聽不清楚，找不到重點，最好的練習方法是提升聽力。一開始聽不懂沒關係，多聽 2-3 次，不講解，讓自己聽，把筆記補完。每一段找兩句話的方向，多聽幾次，重點找出來再討論，找不到一句一句來。通常這樣幫助學生，他們會有很大進步。後面越來越順，就算詞彙量不多或聽不懂，只要知道一段找兩句話，壓力小很多。快速筆記也是幫助學生的點，熟悉這些點後，分數馬上提高，因為知道怎麼建立框架，需要的是資訊，填進去分數自然高。
再來第四點，時間掌控，框架搞定後就是時間掌控。我用剛剛的應試技巧，很大程度幫助每個寫不完的學生。慢慢壓，不會一開始就強求在時間內寫完，一開始先寫 15 分鐘，下次寫 12 分鐘，只要比上一次好就是進步，比之前快多一分鐘也好。多幾秒進步不大，但每次練習有比之前好，考試前多練，壓到 10 分鐘內或第一題 20 分鐘內，時間問題解決。
四、關於托福寫作要得高分的訣竅總結
- 框架：最重要的一點。利用 template 學習建立框架，讓每一段對稱，主題發展明確。而且不要無限延伸，不要一直拖，尤其是 example。時間有限，講到點就卡掉，move on to the next section。
- 筆記：筆記一定要自己看得懂，多練習從關鍵字生出完整句子。抓不到重點時，鎖定一段找兩句話，尤其是 supporting statement，前面漏掉了，後面還有機會。main argument 找連接詞，first, second, third，後面通常有需要的東西，鎖定關鍵字，筆記會好很多。
- 時間：時間掌控非常重要，平常練習多用碼表看每個 section 花多少時間。如果時間不夠，先拿掉加分的東西，先建構基本分的東西。確認框架對稱，在時間內把剩下的東西補齊或去掉。
- 連接詞和精簡改寫：利用連接詞，精簡改寫的技巧，幫助提高分數。不要硬把中文翻成英文，換種方式講，一樣意思就好。不要刻意用難字，有 broad range of vocabulary 是好，但不必刻意用難字替換原本的字。
- 自信：對自己的答案有自信，避免使用 maybe, probably 這些字眼，尤其在講自己 opinion 的時候。選擇能展現自信的字，該斷句的地方要斷句，句子精簡，straight to the point。
希望上述這些技巧能幫助大家在托福寫作中取得好成績。祝所有考生都能取得理想的分數！
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