托福党们备考，一般最看重听力，毕竟体量大。有的则看重阅读，毕竟平均分最高。但是如果想短期提分，听力基本不可能“突然听懂”，一时半会也很难搞定阅读的逻辑，怎么办？

想要短期速成当然得靠写作，口语还会出现嘴瓢的状况，写作可不会暴露你的口音。本期我们就将带你学习如何有方法地提升托福写作能力。

 
托福和别的标化考试一样，考查的都是基础知识，所以要知道其考查的范围和标准就要研究它的考纲，而托福的考纲就是官方指南（Official Guide）。要成功地备考托福写作，就要研究官方对这部分的Task Description。以独立写作（Independent Writing）为例，我们对比一下Task Description中3到5分的差异： 

5分

Effectively addresses the topic and task

Is well organized and well developed, using clearly appropriate explanation, exemplifications and/or details

Displays unity, progression and coherence

Displays consistent facility in the use of language, demonstrating syntactic variety, appropriate word choice and idiomaticity, though it may have minor lexical or grammatical errors

 4分

Addresses the topic and task well, though some points may not be fully elaborated

Is generally well organized and well developed, using appropriate and sufficient explanation, exemplifications and/or details

Displays unity, progression and coherence, though it may contain occasional redundancy, digression, or unclear connections

Displays facility in the use of language, demonstrating syntactic variety and range of vocabulary, though it will probably have occasional noticeable minor errors in structure, word form or use of idiomatic language that do not interfere with meaning

3分

Addresses the topic and task using somewhat developed explanations, exemplifications and/or details

Display unity, progression and coherence, though connection of ideas may be occasionally obscured

May demonstrate inconsistent facility in sentence formation and word choice that may result in lack of clarity and occasionally obscure meaning

May display accurate but limited range of syntactic structures and vocabulary

从宏观角度，一篇好的独立作文应该

①清晰地展现题目规定的topic和自己的main idea；

②展现清晰的文章结构。

从微观角度，一篇好的独立作文应该

①展现良好的用词和句法；②流畅地展开文章内容。

把握topic通过审题；main idea和文章结构在写文章之前就应该在草稿纸上构建好；词汇和语法的使用，以及对句间、段间关系的掌握，依靠平时的积累和训练。这三部分的努力缺一不可，其中最容易被忽略的是草稿纸上的工作，所以这部分稍微展开说一说。 

文章结构是对每个段落存在的功能和意义（即为什么要写某个段落而不是把它删掉）以及每个段落如何展开（即段落内的句子以什么逻辑决定它们出现的顺序）的设计。我们先不看托福文章，先看一个普通的段落，看看合格的作家是如何构建文章结构的：

Atherosclerosis is the result of the buildup of fat, fibrin (formed in clots), parts of dead cells and calcium on the inside of arteries. These substances reduce the elasticity of the vessel, and by decreasing the diameter of the vessel, they raise blood pressure, just as you would raise the pressure in a garden hose by holding your thumb over the end. If the artery is in the heart. the result can be heart failure. If it is in the brain, a stroke can result. No one knows what causes atherosclerosis, but a number of things can speed its development. These include smoking cigarettes and eating animal fat and cholesterol. Other factors include age, hypertension, diabetes, stress, heredity and sex (males have more heart attacks).

（Robert A. Wallace, Biology: The World of Life）

我们可以还原作者在草稿纸上（或脑中）对这段文字的结构设计：

1. Atherosclerosis is the result of the buildup of fat, fibrin (formed in clots), parts of dead cells and calcium on the inside of arteries.(fat, fibrin, dead cells and calcium→atherosclerosis) 2. These substances reduce the elasticity of the vessel, and by decreasing the diameter of the vessel, they raise blood pressure, just as you would raise the pressure in a garden hose by holding your thumb over the end.(fat, fibrin, dead cells and calcium→reduce elasticity of vessel→raise blood pressure) 3. If the artery is in the heart. the result can be heart failure. If it is in the brain, a stroke can result.(raised blood pressure→heart failure + stroke) 4. No one knows what causes atherosclerosis, but a number of things can speed its development. These include smoking cigarettes and eating animal fat and cholesterol. Other factors include age, hypertension, diabetes, stress, heredity and sex (males have more heart attacks).(smoking cigarettes and eating animal fat and cholesterol + age, hypertension, diabetes, stress, heredity and sex→atherosclerosis) 

综合起来，我们可以清晰地看出作者以因果关系（cause-effect）的结构展开这段文字：

smoking cigarettes and eating animal fat and cholesterol + age, hypertension, diabetes, stress, heredity and sex→fat, fibrin, dead cells and calcium→reduce elasticity of vessel→raise blood pressure→heart failure + stroke。至于如何利用这段文字，想用这段文字说明什么内容，这就是main idea；比如可以用这段文字来说明“要养成良好作息”。 现在我们尝试把这种模式运用到托福独立写作中。比如TPO 6的题目：Life today is easier and more comfortable than it was when your grandparents were children。

假设我们想写life today确实easier and more comfortable，理由是现在有更发达的public transport，这能帮人们save time。假设我们也要用因果关系展开这个段落，那么我们在草稿纸上就要列出其中因果关系的逻辑，比如：

more developed public transport→longer rail and air routes→longer travel distance

more developed public transport→→more developed vehicle technology→increased speed

more developed public transport→comparatively lower ticket price→more affordable

less time spent on long-distance travels for ordinary people

在提纲的指导下，我们能让文章和段落well organized and well developed。因此，不要忽视草稿纸的作用。草稿不会浪费写作时间，而是帮助我们更加有效地利用写作时间。