Hi. I'm Rebecca, and today I'm going to share with you a whole new way to think about your essay writing.
你好，我叫Rebecca，今天，我将和你分享一个全新的写作方法。
Now, a lot of students get very confused when it comes to essays.
当谈到写作时，很多学生都会感到很困惑。
They don't understand why they got a low score, they don't sometimes understand why they got a high score.
他们不明白为什么会得低分，有时也不明白为什么会得高分。
Well, I'm going to break it down for you so you understand exactly how an examiner thinks when he's giving... He or she is giving you marks.
那么，我来给你们分析一下，让你们明白考官在打分时是怎么想的。
All right? Because I've been an examiner thousands of times.So, this is what it breaks down to.What is good essay writing?
好吗？因为我已经当过很多次考官了。那么，接下来就开始分析吧。好的作文是什么呢？
Well, a good essay depends on two main areas: What you write and how you write.
一篇好的作文主要取决于两大方面：写作内容和写作方式。
What you write depends on your topic, whether you write about your topic because if you write a beautiful essay on the wrong topic, you're still going to get a zero.
写的内容取决于你的主题以及你是否围绕主题来写，因为如果你围绕错误的主题来写，写得再优美也还是要得零分。

It depends on what you write, depends on your topic, depends on your logic of your ideas, how you present it, the organization of your ideas, and things like that.
它取决于你写的内容、主题、思维逻辑、呈现方式、语言组织等诸如此类的东西。
That's what you write.But today we're not going to talk about what you write. We're going to talk about the second element, which is how you write. Okay?
这就是写的内容。但今天我们要讨论的不是写作内容，而是第二个要素，即写作方式。好吗？
It'll be...There are other essay...Other lessons of mine which talk about what to write.Today we're focused on how to write.
在我其他的课程里会有写作内容的讲解。今天，我们的重点是写作方式。
And what I want you to understand is in connection with how you write, every single little thing you do matters,
我想要让你明白的是，只要是与你的写作方式有关，你所做的每一件小事都很重要，
from the smallest thing to the biggest thing, and that's how I want you to learn to think about your writing,
从最小的细节到最大的方面都很重要，我想要让你学会思考，在你的写作中，
that everything from the micro level (the smallest level) to the macro level (the largest level) matters.What do I mean by that? Let's look.
一切事情，最小的方面和最大的方面都很重要。我说这些是什么意思呢？我们来看看。
So, what I mean is every mark you place on your essay matters, every word you choose matters, every sentence you write matters,
我的意思是，你作文中的每一个符号、你选择的每一个词、你写的每一个句子
every paragraph you construct matters, and the entire essay that you build is important. Okay?What did I just go over?
你构建的每一个段落以及你写的整篇文章都很重要。明白吗？我刚刚说了什么呢？
That every mark you place, every word you choose, every sentence you write, every paragraph you construct,
你作文中的每一个符号、你选择的每一个词、你写的每一个句子、你构建的每一个段落
and the entire essay - all of that constructs... Goes together and combines to give you a good score or not.
以及你写的整篇文章——所有的这些结合起来决定了你是否能得高分。
So, let's see how you can improve in every single aspect. Okay?
那么我们就来看看怎样提高每一个方面吧。好吗？
Let's start with the smallest aspect, but smallest doesn't mean necessarily least important. Okay?
我们先从最小的方面开始，但是最小的方面并不意味着它不重要，知道吗？
So when we talk about every mark you make, it means the punctuation.
我们所讨论的符号，也就是标点符号。
Now, people think that they know punctuation, but do you really know punctuation?
人们觉得他们认识标点符号，但你真的了解它吗？
Yes, you probably know how to use a question mark, you may know how to use an exclamation mark, although we don't use them too much in essay writing.
是的，你或许知道怎样使用问号或感叹号，但我们在写作中却不常用到它们。
Do you know how to use a semi-colon?Do you know how to use quotation marks?
你知道怎样使用分号吗？你知道怎样使用引号吗？
If not, that's something you need to go and study so that you can include the whole range of punctuation marks in your essay
如果不知道的话，那你就需要好好学习一下了，这样你就能够在写作中运用到多种标点符号，
so you can show the examiner that I know how to write well in English, which is what you're trying to do.
让考官知道你能够用英语很好地写作，这也是你现在努力要做到的。
So if you're not 100% sure, for example, how to use a semi-colon, then go and find out. Okay?
所以，比如说，你不是百分百确定怎样使用分号的话，那就去学习。好吗？
Next: The words you choose, obviously, are very important.That means you need to use rich vocabulary.
下一点：你选择的词汇显然是很重要的。这意味着你需要使用丰富的词汇量。
That means using more than just saying "good" and "bad".In fact, I have another lesson on that.
这就意味着你要使用除了“好”和“坏”以外更多的词汇。事实上，关于这一点我还有另外一个课程。
Go check that out on how to use anything but "good" and "bad". Right?
去看一看那个课程，它讲的是如何使用“好”和“坏”之外的单词。
And go to our website. I have a whole resource about 142 words you can use instead of "good" or "bad" to give you a higher score. All right?
去我们的网站看一看，我有一整套资源，里面有142个可以替换“好”和“坏”的单词，使用这些单词可以得到高分。
It also means...Vocabulary in essay writing also means using transition words, like to express your opinion, to compare and contrast, things like that. Right? To conclude.
词汇量在写作中还意味着要使用转折词，比如表达自己的观点、作比较等，总结观点。
And if you want a list of those, you can go to another website which I'll give you a little bit later.
如果你想要这些词的话，我稍后会给你另一个网站。
You can check these things out. These things are available. Take advantage of them. Okay?Next: What's important when it comes to the word?
你可以看看这些，它们都很有用，好好利用。下一点：当谈到单词时什么最重要呢？
Spelling. Yeah, you have to learn spelling. I know that English spelling is very difficult.
拼写。是的，你得学会拼写。我知道英语单词的拼写很困难。
I have a resource about that, too, on our engVid website about 50 common spelling errors.
针对这个我也有资源，我们的engVid网站上列出了50个常见的拼写错误。
Make sure... Go through the list, make sure you're not making those errors.
一定要看一下这个列表，确保你不要犯这些错误。
There are some things we can control, for example, check the spelling of the transition words. Right?
有些事情是我们可以掌握的，比如，检查一下转折词的拼写。
Make sure that you're not making a mistake in something you're guaranteed to use.
确保在你一定要使用的单词里不要犯错误。
You can't know all the words you're going to use, but you can know some of the words you're going to use for sure.
你不可能知道你要使用的所有单词，但你能知道哪些单词是你一定要用的。
Make sure you know how to spell them. Make sure you know the rules of capitalization. Which words do you capitalize? Right?
确保你知道如何拼写它们。确保你知道字母大写的规则。哪些单词要大写呢？
Make sure you go over those rules, it's really important.
一定要复习一下这些规则，这一点非常重要。
Next: When it comes to the sentence, obviously...What do we mean by the sentence?
下一点：当谈到句子时，很明显......我们所说的句子是什么呢？
Why are you getting good or bad marks based on the sentence?Depends on your grammar.
以句子为判断标准，你为什么会得高分或低分呢？这取决于你的语法。
Grammar includes, of course, all of the things you've been trying so hard to learn,
语法当然包括你努力学的所有东西：
it includes your tenses, the word order, the prepositions, the articles, and modals, everything. Okay?
时态、语序、介词、冠词以及情态动词，所有的这些都包括在内。
We do have things to help you there, also. We have resources all about the tenses, for example, about word order, things like that.
在这方面我们也有能帮助你的东西。我们有关于时态、语序等的资源。
Check out those resources, use them.Make sure you're not making those mistakes.
看一看这些资源，用上它们。确保不要犯这些错误。
And if you are, correct yourself. You can do it. Okay?Next: Sentence structure.
如果你犯了这些错误的话，改正过来，你可以做到的。下一点：句子结构。
If you're going to write an interesting essay, you have to use varied sentence structure.
如果你要写一篇有趣的作文，你要使用不同的句子结构。
So, what does that mean?That means you won't always write every sentence in the same way.
这是什么意思呢？这意味着你不能一直用一种方法来写每一个句子。
Sometimes you're going to use simple sentences, sometimes you're going to use compound sentences, and sometimes complex sentences.What is that?
有时你要用简单句，有时要用复合句，有时要用复杂句式。这是什么意思呢？
If you don't know what a simple sentence is in English, and a compound sentence, and a complex sentence, then I think you better go and check that out.
如果你不知道英语中的简单句、复合句以及复杂句式是什么的话，那么我觉得你最好去查一下。
But to tell you very briefly: A simple sentence is like: "My name is Mary."Compound sentence is: "My name is Mary, and his name is John."
但简短地告诉你的话：简单句就像：“我的名字是Mary.”复合句是：“我的名字是Mary, 他的名字是John.”
And a complex sentence is: "While my name is Mary, his name is John." Okay?
复杂句式就是：“我的名字是Mary, 而他的名字是John.”
So, you have to use a variation of sentences. Okay? Variety of sentences to make your essay interesting. They also checking for that.
所以你要用上各种句式。用不同的句式来使你的文章变得有趣。并且也要检查句子。
You're also going to, at the sentence level, make sure that your capitalization is right at the beginning of the sentence, and anywhere it's necessary, and also correct punctuation.
在句子层面，你还要确保句首以及需要的地方字母大写，还要纠正标点符号。
All of that comes into play at the sentence level.Next: We come to the paragraph itself.
在句子层面这些都要用到。下一点：我们要讨论段落。
Do you know how to construct a proper paragraph, or are you just sort of writing?
你知道怎样构建一个合适的段落吗？还是说你只是在写？
Well, there are rules and guidelines- right? -how to do that.
有一些构建段落的规则和准则。
You have to make sure, if it's an introductory paragraph: Do you have a thesis statement?
你必须确保，如果是开头段落的话：你有提出论点吗？
If you write a beautiful essay and you forget to have a thesis statement, that's...You're going to lose marks. That's really bad.
如果你写了一篇优美的文章却忘了写论点的话，你就要失分了，这是很不好的。
Each paragraph also needs to have a topic sentence.Do you know what a topic sentence is?
每一段也要有中心句。你知道中心句是什么吗？
You should know. You need to check that if you're going to appear for an exam, like the IELTS or the TOEFL or the TOEIC. Right?
你应该知道的。如果你要考雅思、托福或托业的话你就要注意一下了。
Topic sentence is basically a general descriptive sentence before...
中心句基本上就是一个大致的描述性的句子。
Usually at the very beginning of each paragraph to give you a general idea of what you're going to talk about in that paragraph.
通常出现在段首，呈现出这一段的大致意思。
And usually for, let's say the TOEFL essays you're asked to give an example, so you are to make sure if they ask you to give examples,
通常，在托福考试中，你被要求举例子，那么你就要确保他们是否让你举例，
give an example, give a result, give a summary sentence. Right?
先举例，再给出结果，再写总结句。
That will construct your paragraph, and that will construct a good paragraph, but you'll give the examiner all the things that he or she is looking for to give you better marks.
这样就构建了一个段落了，一个非常好的段落，并且你会写出考官想要看到的东西，得到高分。
Next: At the level of the essay. Right?Now we're looking at the macro level. Right? Overall, have you divided your essay?
下一点：文章整体层面。现在我们讨论的是最大的方面。整体的层面，你分割过你的文章了吗？
Have you structured your essay in the way it should be?Do you have an introduction? Do you have a body? Do you have a conclusion? Right?
你用正确的方法构造你的文章了吗？你有引言吗？你有正文吗？你有总结部分吗？
So usually we have one introductory paragraph, two or three body paragraphs.
通常，引言是一段，正文部分是两段或三段。
If it's a TOEFL essay, which has to be a little bit longer, 300 to 350 words, then you'll probably have three body paragraphs, and then a conclusion.
如果是托福作文的话，作文会稍长一点，大概是300到350词，那么你就大概要写三段正文，然后一段总结。
If it's an IELTS essay, you have one introduction, one conclusion, maybe two body paragraphs because you don't have to make it as long.
如果是雅思作文的话，你要写一段引言，一段总结，或许两段正文，因为你不用写得像托福作文一样长。
But you must have those paragraphs. If you don't have them, you'll lose marks. Right?
但你必须要有这些段落。如果没有的话，就会失分。
You must know what an... What an introductory paragraph is, how it should be written.What are the essential elements of it?
你必须知道开头段落是什么，以及要怎样写。它的基本要素是什么？
One essential element is a thesis statement, again, in the introduction you've got to have one.
其中一个基本要素就是论点，你必须要在引言中提出一个论点。
And the body paragraphs, you must have your topic sentences there.
正文段落里必须要有中心句。
In the conclusion you must have a concluding sentence that clearly shows that it's a concluding sentence.
在总结段落里，你必须要写一个总结句，要清楚地表明它是一个总结句。
So you need to learn to use a transition expression, like: "In conclusion", "In summary", "All in all", something like that. Right?
所以，你必须学会使用一些转折词，比如：“总之”、“总的来说”、“总而言之”，诸如此类的短语。
And last, you must make sure that the total length of your essay is what they asked you to do.
最后，你必须确保文章的总长度达到要求。
So if they told you to write 300 to 350 words, make sure that you have 300 or 350 words.How do you know that?
如果他们要求你写300到350词，那就一定要写300到350词。怎样知道字数达到要求了呢？
By practicing, by practicing until you have a sense of what 300 to 350 words are like. Okay?
练习，练习到你能感觉出300到350词是什么样的。
In some exams you can... There is a word count, in some exams there aren't; there's no word count. Right?
在一些考试中有单词计数，但一些考试中没有。
There's nothing like that. On the IELTS you just have to write on a piece of paper, so unless you've practiced and you have an idea what 250 words are like, you won't know.
一些考试中是没有的。在雅思考试中，你必须在纸上写作，所以如果你没有足够的练习的话，你是不会知道250词有多少的。
So make sure because you can lose marks for any of... For leaving out any of these things, and you can also increase your marks by doing all these things.
所以要确认这些事情。因为你可能因为漏掉其中一项事情而失分，你也可能通过做到以上所有事情而提分。
So what I'm trying to do, here, is to get you to think from the smallest point to the biggest point how you can improve.
所以我现在做的就是让你思考你能提高的地方，从最小方面到最大方面。
And I can guarantee you that if you address it at all of these levels: the mark, the word, the sentence, the paragraph, and the essay - you are guaranteed a much higher score.
而且我能保证，如果你从所有的这些方面下手：标点符号、单词、句子、段落、文章——你肯定能得到更高的分数。
Now, if you are appearing for the TOEFL exam, we also have a website that I wrote, which is: www. GoodLuckTOEFL. com.
如果你要参加托福考试的话，我们也有一个网站：www. GoodLuckTOEFL. com.
Another one if you're appearing for the IELTS is: www. GoodLuckIELTS. com.
如果你要参加雅思考试的话，参考这个网站：www. GoodLuckIELTS. com.
And if you'd like to do a quiz on this or go to some of the references and resources that we have available, go to our website: www. engvid. com.
如果你想做小测验或想看参考资料的话，参考这个网站：www. engvid. com.
And I mentioned about the transition words, that we have a really good list of transition words which you can use on our GoodLuckIELTS website. Okay?
我之前提到过转折词，我们的GoodLuckIELTS网站上有这些转折词的列表。
All the best with your essay writing. It's not random.You can make yourself get a better score.All the best. Bye for now.
祝你们在写作上取得成功。这可不是随便说说。你可以拿到更高的分数。祝好运。再见。