IELTS Writing Task 2 Academic

Essay Topic: Reading for Pleasure（雅思作文真题回忆）

>Reading for pleasure can better develop imagination and language skills than watching TV. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.


谢振礼【起承转合】：

Introduction：申论主题 集中焦点 话分两头

If you could enjoy reading, the realm of books would become some kind of paradise which is not to be experienced in watching television solely for entertainment. Study after study has shown how those who read for pleasure achieve more in literacy standards and thinking abilities than those who do not. Probably there is nothing else which will so much expand your language skills and make your imagination fly.


Body A:

To begin with, language skills, such as possessing a wide range of lexical resources, can be better learned through reading for pleasure than through watching TV for entertainment. At its best, television can be educational as well as entertaining, but nobody should wish to raise literacy levels by simply sitting in front of a TV box. So, it is only by reading can you enrich your vocabulary. However, it must be made clear that the link between literacy and reading is like comparing health to sport. One is something functional, the other is something you do because you enjoy it. That is to say, the more you enjoy reading, the more language skills you would obtain, independent of whether you like to watch TV or not.

Body B:

The books that help you most in imagination are those which make you think the most. Such is an immense pleasure--that sort of pleasure which a cow must have in grazing. In this light, reading for pleasure, both paper-based and on-screen, is far more beneficial than watching TV. For instance, there is always a book which is opened with expectation and closed with profit: imagination. Unfortunately, some people's love of books is being ruined by television, which may be considered as a decline in thinking abilities. This is happening particularly to young people who seem to be shunning books in favour of TV; and, as a result, roughly 70 percent of those questioned prefer watching TV to reading in their own time, according to a nation-wide research.

Conclusion：二合为一 还原焦点 重申主题

On the whole, watching TV is largely harmless as an entertainment and information tool, but there is no better way to enhance your language skills and imagination than reading for pleasure. For those who would continue to enjoy reading as much as, or more than watching TV, there is a paradise not yet being lost. Having acquired an amount of language skills through wide and deep reading, you might as well imagine that such a paradise would not be very unlike a kind of library, or perhaps that part of Eden which is called "Adobe". (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh, 谢振礼老师)


>作者谢振礼自写自评：雅思范文 8483 看书乐趣

这个复杂的真题应该可以顺着话题的角度来整理成简单化。假设主题是同意看书比看电视更能增进想象力和语言技能。主题的焦点：看书乐趣 vs. 看电视。从焦点中发展论证方向（指标）——A. 语言技能+ B. 想象力。

心图大纲【起承转合】：

起——申论主题 reading for pleasure>watching TV for entertainment. A: language skills + B: imagination
承——支持主题 Body A: language skills
转——支持主题 Body B: imagination
合——重申主题 Body A + Body B. reading for pleasure>watching TV for entertainment

论说文出题有角度，考生答题有焦点. 缩小话题的范围是写作考试成功的关键之一。假设话题的角度移动，答题的主题也要顺变，所以主题的焦点也一定跟着变，佛则便落得跑题——答非所问。所幸命题者早已经缩小话题。从2013年1月5日雅思真题中列出角度关键字：看书乐趣 看电视 语言技能 想象力。为了能够有效限时答题，考生可以自行对于自己论证方便的焦点。

举【博物馆】为例，在雅思-托福考古真题中，【museum】至少出现过五个角度，缩小话题的范围，设定主题的焦点，再从焦点取出两个指标--话分两头。大家一起动动脑筋，以下是角度-焦点的练习题：

1. 博物馆的功用是教育还是娱乐？
2. 博物馆应该还是不应该收门票？
3. 为何人们不参观当地的博物馆？
4. 为何人们到了外地就访博物馆？
5. 何必亲临博物馆而不网路上看？

再举【朋友】的话题为例，【friend】至少六个角度：

1. 交友何重——幽默聪明可靠？
2. 朋友借钱会不会损害情感？
3. 朋友之间竞争是好事坏事？
4. 穷人富人有可能做朋友吗？
5. 兴趣不同能不能做好朋友？
6. 朋友之间做得到共患难吗？

又举【儿童】为例，【children】至少七个角度：

1. 教导儿童应该从严还是从宽？
2. 电脑对于儿童的影响和利弊？
3. 电视对于儿童的影响和利弊？
4. 手机对于儿童的影响和利弊？
5. 对学童需要指定家庭作业吗？
6. 如何教导儿童及早辨别是非？
7. 儿童是佛越早学习外语越好？

又再举【媒体】为例，【media】至少八个角度：

1. 电影为何风行？
2. 暴力电影影响？
3. 电视影响行为？
4. 电视广告利弊？
5. 因特网vs报纸？
6. 新闻报道必要？
7. 全天电视利弊？
8. 报道凶杀新闻？