新托福独立写作的解题流程和思路拓展

 我们以2011年12月17日北美新托福考试的独立写作真题为例，帮助大家掌握英语作文论述的逻辑，启发大家的语言表达并提高组句能力。

　　首先，考生会看到关于第二题的题目说明：

　　Task 2: Writing Based on Knowledge and Experience

　　Directions: For this task, you will write an essay in response to a question that asks you to state, explain, and support your opinion on an issue。

　　Typically, an effective essay will contain a minimum of 300 words. Your essay will be judged on the quality of your writing. This includes the development of your ideas, the organization of your essay, and the quality and accuracy of the language you use to express your ideas。

　　You have 30 minutes to plan and complete your essay。

　　然后，电脑屏幕上将出现题目要求、答题框以及字数统计，左下角还会出现30分钟倒计时显示。本题题目如下：

　　Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

　　It is impossible to be completely honest with your friends。

　　Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer。

　　1. 快速破题，明确观点

　　看到题目后，首先明确观点，即“同意”还是“不同意”，如：

　　I agree that it is impossible to be totally honest with your friends。

　　当然，不能在第一句就“交底”，否则首段就没什么可写了。因此，从题干中找核心词，以此为突破口慢慢引出中心论点。如本题题干的核心词为honest和friends，那么不妨先说说自己对这两个词的认识，即：我觉得……

　　2. 首段(Introduction)的思路拓展

　　先进行铺垫：

　　Friends make the good times even better, and keep the bad times from overwhelming¹ us。

　　→ 然后以设问方式进行过渡：

　　One trait² of a lasting³ friendship is honesty, but how honest must one be?

　　→ 引出中心论点：

　　I believe that it is impossible to remain totally honest with our friends all the time。

　　→ 解释中心论点：

　　We must not only protect their feelings and interests, but also keep our own secrets。

　　以上述方式展开的首段逻辑性很强。更重要的是，大家拿到一道独立写作题知道如何思考，并将“头脑风暴”后的想法进行流畅地表达。

　　3. 中间段落(Essay Body)的思路拓展

　　Paragraph 1

　　先阐明本段论点，即过于坦诚会伤及别人：

　　To begin with, truth can be like a sword that breaks people’s hearts instead of protecting them。

　　→ 变化措辞解释一下这个论点：

　　In other words, telling someone the truth may break their heart。

　　→ 因此有时候需要保持沉默：

　　There are some situations that require us to adopt sensible silence because as a good friend, I feel obliged to support and always stand behind my friend。

　　→ 举例，以“假设+ 结论”的方式展开，更有说服力：

　　If your friend is not good-looking and there is nothing you can do to change that, maybe it’s better to just keep quiet and protect his or her feelings。

　　→ 继续举例，仍以“假设+ 结论”的方式展开：

　　Similarly, when our friends date someone we don’t like, if this person is not actually harmful to our friends, maybe we should let the relationship run its course。

　　→ 总结：

　　Therefore, being totally honest is not possible because we must protect our friends and their feelings。

　　Paragraph 2

　　提出本段论点，即应该保守自己的秘密：

　　In addition to protecting our friends by withholding⁴ information, we must also be careful to protect our own secrets。

　　→ 解释论点，即有些个人私事是不方便对他人说的：

　　Friends sometimes share secrets with each other, but when it comes to some personal matters which we want to keep to ourselves, it is better not to share our secrets。

　　→ 举例说明什么样的事“我”不会实话实说：

　　For example, in a game called “truth or dare”， am I supposed to say who I have a crush on in front of many other friends? By no means would I tell the truth。

　　→ 总结：

　　Again, everyone has some private matters which they cannot tell anyone. So we should keep a certain distance in our relationships, even with our closest friends。

　　4. 末段(Conclusion)的思路拓展

　　首先重申中心论点：

　　Total honesty makes no practical sense in the real world。

　　→ 具体到友情，再次阐明上文提到的不能完全诚实的原因：

　　In regard to friendships, we sometimes have to lie or keep silent in order to protect our friends’ feelings and protect our secrets。

　　→ 总结：

　　Tact⁵ and consideration of others’ feelings is more important in a friendship than unwavering honesty。

1 overwhelming   

adj.势不可挡的，压倒的，无法抵抗的

参考例句：

• The flood was overwhelming and the city was soon drowned.洪水来势凶猛，很快这个城市就被淹没了。
• The act was adopted by an overwhelming majority.该法案以压倒多数通过。

2 trait   

n.显著特点，特性

参考例句：

• Creativity is a human trait.创造力是人类的一种特性。
• Repose of manner is an estimable trait in a horse.神情镇定是一匹马可贵的特质。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

5 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。