14815 countries
IELTS Writing Task 2 (Thailand, New Zealand)
Essay Topic: Comparing Countries by Economic Success
Sample Answer by Jeenn Lee Hsieh ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
Essay Question:
>Most countries are compared by their economic success. Do you think that there are other important factors that need to be taken into consideration? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples to support your opinion.
Example Answer (Jeenn Lee Hsieh):
The overall well-being of people, rather than simply the economic prosperity, is the most appropriate way to compare country from country because there is more to life than the cold numbers of Grand Domestic Product (GDP) and economic statistics. A country's economic success speaks for itself, of course, but there are other factors that need to be considered. Across countries, any reference may not be complete without as well taking into account other factors, such as education, health, governance, personal freedom, safety and security.
On the one hand, it is necessary to make sense of the economic success, when comparing countries in a global context. For example, in terms of GDP (nominal), it should come as no surprise that on the list of leading countries are the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France. But this list does not exactly match the global prosperity index which currently puts on the map such shining names as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland. Further, in personal incomes, the following countries are especially worthy of international envy--Qatar, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, Brunei. Judging from foreign reserves, however, the top places go to China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, India. In addition, to assess the strength of an economy, typically experts also look at unemployment rate, entrepreneurship and opportunity, inflation rate, balance of payment, and currency exchange rate.
On the other hand, other factors also play a role in country rankings, alternatively from different perspectives in different categories. To begin with, the highest ranking country for safety and security is Iceland; and for personal freedom, it is Canada. The top spot for governance goes to Switzerland while Luxembourg is ranked number one for health. Apart from these examples, it is interesting to include education as a critical factor when defining a country's social progress, in particular referring to school children's performance in reading, mathematics, and science. In this category, the highest scores go mostly to Asian countries and regions--China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, although also almost equally outstanding are New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands. Based on this information, it becomes clear that countries should not be compared by their economic success alone.
To sum up, there are more ways to compare countries than simply measuring a country's economy. Nevertheless, economic success is still the most important factor that matters because it is directly associated with the well-being of each country's people. All in all, therefore, the focus ought to be more on the real quality of life than on the changing size of the pockets. (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh ielts360toefl@hotmail.com pigai zuowen)
Writing An Opinion Essay
雅思 Jeenn Lee Hsieh 谢振礼老师
作文如不先立定大纲，则思路不知去向
谢振礼发布雅思范文+托福范文，凡360篇原创，无一不是套用四段18句=
【起3承6转6合3】。参考目录标题可以索取部分免费英文范文+讲解： ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
从论说文的大纲谈起，越单调则越快速。作大纲有公式【起=承+转=合】。谢振礼老师的答题规矩都是千篇一律=循规蹈矩不逾矩。
简而言之，中体写两段(承+转)，其论证的理由例子细节则完全支持引言起段中的主题。结论合段是开头起段的倒影，重申主题。 你可要接受【起中有合，合中有起】。
什么是主题呢?说来话短，你答题的立场就是文章的主题。有了立场就有主题，可是话题偏大则不容易控制内容，所以在技巧上必须把话题缩小成为一个你自己觉得有把握的焦点。
接着，从焦点又引出你自己觉得有把握的论证方向。不多不少，只需要两个方向指标。一个指标朝向中体的承段;一个指标朝向中体的转段。两个指标投射中体两段的Topic Sentence 指标句，其一对承段，其一对转段。一个萝卜一个坑。
说来答题技巧简直不值一分钱。谢振礼锻炼写作时先做简单大纲。想好大纲才写四段全文，这样才能话不离题，又快又准又狠。立场自主，焦点自选，指标自定。所以论说文就是独立写作。
谢振礼的英文不是母语，若干英文错误或可自我原谅，不能原谅自己的是作文的逻辑大纲。懂中文真好，来论语则想中文，来莎士比亚则想英文，毫无冲突。身为龙的传人，不可能忘记中文血液在身上流。顺其自然，所以你在英文写作时，千万不要怪自已的中文思维可能害了你的雅思作文或托福作文。可以用中文立定大纲， 也可以用英文立定大纲，也可以两者混用。只要尽量写出道地的英文论说文，谁在乎?
海外教师在远方智利，西班牙文是当地母语。恐怕英文原创带有莫须有的拉丁味道。然而，可以确定的是作文的思路只有一条中文的【起承转合】。初学者谦虚自认是用中文思维，爱面子自以为用英文思维。或黑猫或白猫，上道的只顾抓老鼠，根本不在乎中文思维或英文思维。
>Writing in English as a foreign language
TOEFL Independent Writing Task
IELTS Writing Task 2 (academic/general)
>Important!!!
When answering an essay question, you shoud always...
read the question carefully
make sure your ideas are directly relevant and specific to the question
address all parts of the question and stick to a 4-paragraph format
change the focus of your thesis (or the topic), if you have no ideas related to the question
re-read the task regularly to check that you are answering the question
>Introduction (3 sentences): Thesis-Focus-Signposts (from general to specific)
Answer the essay topic in one sentence as your Thesis Statement in which you present your position in answer to the question.
Create a relevant and specific Focus for discussion by narrowing down the scope of your Thesis Statement.
Signpost the 2 main points (Signpost A and Signpost B) that are relevant and specific to your Focus, and say what you are going to say in the Body Paragraph A and Body Paragraph B, respectively.
>Body Paragraph A (6 sentences): PEE=Point A + Examples + Explanations
Topic Sentence A (Signpost Point A)
+5 Supporting Sentences=6 sentences
>Body Paragraph B (6 sentences): PEE=Point B + Examples + Explanations
Topic Sentence B (Signpost Point B)
+5 Supporting Sentences=6 sentences
>Conclusion (3 sentences): Signposts+Focus+Thesis (from specific to general)
Summarize Signpost A and Signpost B.
Widen the scope of your Focus.
Re-state your Thesis Statement.
# Say, say, say: Opinion Essays (Thesis, Focus, Signpost Points are abstract ideas, not facts)
>Introduction: Say what you are going to say.
>Body Paragraphs A and B: Say it with evidence.
>Conclusion: Say what you have said.
# Scoring Standards: Writing Guides
IELTS: Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience to support your opinion. (40 minutes; 250 words+; handwriting)
TOEFL: Use reasons and specific examples or details (based on your knowledge or experience) to support your answer. (30 minutes; 300 words+; typing)
To score higher in an independent writing task, whether it is about IELTS or TOEFL, it is important to get a clear idea regarding how a test essay is rated. For example, how well one writes is much more important than how much one writes. According to the official scoring guides of TOEFL and IELTS, a most successful paper should typically include the following features--
>英文合文法 (Grammatical English)
1. language effectiveness=rhetoric 语言效率
TOEFL--displays consistent facility in the use of language
IELTS--uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention
2. sentence variety=syntax 句型变化
TOEFL--demonstrates syntactic variety
IELTS--uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as 'slips'
3. word choice=lexicon 字汇恰当
TOEFL--demonstrates appropriate word choice
IELTS--uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as 'slips'
>作文合逻辑 (Logical Composition)
1. [a thesis well-focused] 主题有焦点
TOEFL--effectively addresses the writing task
IELTS--fully addresses all parts of the task
2. [a structure well-organized] 结构有组织
TOEFL--is well organized and well developed
IELTS--skillfully manages paragraphing
3. [a content well-supported] 内容有支持
TOEFL--uses clearly appropriate details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas
IELTS--presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas
