熟悉雅思官方例文的同学是否有发现在考官评价考生作文的时候，在语法中有一项对标点符号使用的评价，例如(Band 3.5) Commas, full-stops and capital letters are misused throughout so "punctuation" is faulty. (Band5.5) In general grammar and "punctuation" are fairly well controlled. /There are also quite frequent errors in "punctuation". (Band7) Grammar and "punctuation" are well controlled and error-free sentences are frequent.
　　为什么标点符号这么重要呢？其实，标点本身的作用是使作者的情绪和思想表达得更清楚，有了标点，读者知道应该在哪里停顿，读者能在复杂的句子当中区分主要信息和次要信息。所以正确使用标点可以帮助清晰流畅地表达思想。今天我们借用雅思阅读的一篇文章，先来看看老外是如何玩转标点的。（例文选自剑10 Test1 Passage1、Test2 Passage1、Test3 Passage2和Test3 Passage3）

　　1. 逗号

　　例句1: Some wells are vast, open craters with hundreds of steps paving each sloping side, often in tiers.（逗号分隔定语，凸显表达层次。）
　　例句2: Another example is the Surya Kund in Modhera, northern Gujarat, next to the sun Temple, built by King Bhinma I in 1026 to honour the sun god Surya.（逗号分隔插入语，凸显主干又不失细节。）
　　例句3: Built in around 850 AD next to the temple of Harshat Mata, the baori comprises hundreds of zigzagging steps that run along three of its sides, steeply descending 11 storeys, resulting in a striking patter when seen from afar.（逗号分隔非谓语，凸显主干。）
　　例句4: But perhaps the most impressive features are the intricate decorative sculptures that embellish many step-wells, showing activities from fighting and dancing to everyday acts such as women combing their hair or churning butter.（such as前不加逗号，说明such as是对其紧挨着的名词acts进行举例，而不是其他的名词。）

　　2. 分号

　　分号的作用是连接两个意思紧密的意群。如果改用句号，反而会疏远两个句子的关系。需要注意的是，分号好的句子开头首字母“小写”。
　　例句1: Some were located in or near villages as public spaces for the community; Others were positioned beside roads as resting places for travellers.（分号=while表some和others两组对比。）
　　例句2: When the water level was high, the user needed only to descend a few steps to reach it; when it was low, several levels would have to be negotiated.（分号=and连接两个并列的when）
　　例句3: Down the centuries, thousands of wells were constructed throughout north-western India, but the majority have now fallen into disuse; many are derelict and dry, as groundwater has been diverted for industrial use and the wells no longer reach the water table.（分号=and连接两个并列的句子thousands of wells和many [wells省略]）
　　例句4: In the old ruined town of Abhaneri, about 95 kilometres east of Jaipur, is chand Baori, one of India's oldest and deepest wells; aesthetically it's perhaps one of the most dramatic.（分号=and在这里起到补充说明的作用，后半句，可以改成“, which aesthetically is perhaps one of the most dramatic.）

　　3. 破折号

　　“解释说明、同位语、插入语”是破折号的功能。注意有时使用一个，有时使用一对。
　　例句1: For many trees—evergreen conifers being an exception—the best strategy is to abandon photosynthesis until the spring.（插入语）
　　例句2: However, the significance of this invention—the stepwell—goes beyond its utilitarian application.（同位语+插入语）
　　例句3: They were also pioneers who carried with them everything they would need to build new lives—their livestock, taro seedlings and stone tools.（解释说明=such as）

　　4. 括号

　　括号的作用在于解释说明或者补充说明，而且用括号括起来，不影响主体意思的表达，解释或者补充一些让读者概念更清晰的内容，使文章理解起来更容易，跟插入语的效果差不多。
　　例句1: Most stepwells are found dotted round the desert areas of Gujarat (where they are called vav) and Rajasthan (where they are called baori), while a few also survive in Delhi.
　　例句2: As their name suggests, stepwells comprise a series of stone steps descending from ground level to the water source (normally an underground aquifer) as it recedes following the rains.
　　例句3: In Patan, the state's ancient capital, the stepwell of Rani Ki Vav (Queen's Stepwell) is perhaps the finest current example.

　　5. 冒号

　　使表达内容具体化，可以用于解释、举例、话术具体内容。注意，冒号后面有首字母大写和小写两种情况，通常只有人物话术的时候才大写，其他都小写。
　　例句1: Their condition hasn't been helped by recent dry spells: southern Rajasthan suffered an eight-year drought between 1996 and 2004.（举例）
　　例句2: Macfarlane says: 'The infant mortality rate halved in the space of 20 years, and this happened in both rural areas and cities, and across all classes.'（话术）
　　例句3: But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is also vital to outstanding performance: individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not.（解释）

　　6. 连字符

　　连字符在“组团形容词”方面表现良好，自由组合，完美体现语言灵活性！特此多举一些例子方面烤鸭体会并应用。注意，一般情况下，连字符比破折号短小一点。
　　例句1: Why did this particular Big Band—the world-changing birth of industry—happen in Britain?
　　例句2: For industry to take off, there needs to be the technology and power to drive factories, large urban populations to provide cheap labour, easy transport to move goods around, an affluent middle-class willing to buy mass-produced objects, a market-driven economy and a political system that allows this to happen.
　　例句3: Historians had alighted on one interesting factor around the mid-18th century that required explanation.
　　例句4: Water-borne diseases had a much looser grip on the Japanese population than those in Britain.
　　例句5: Macfarlane guessed that the fact that water had to be boiled, together with the stomach-purifying properties of tea meant that the breast milk provided by mothers was healthier than it had ever been.
　　例句6: Macfarlane notes that even though 17th-century Japan had large cities, high literacy rates, even a futures market, it had turned its back on the essence of any work-based revolution by giving up labour-saving devices such as animals, afraid that they would put people our of work.
　　例句7: During the sixth and seventh centuries, the inhabitants of the modern-day states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India developed a method of gaining access to clean, fresh groundwater during the dry season for drinking, bathing, watering animals and irrigation.
　　例子8: Tourists flock to wells in far-flung corners of north-western India to gaze in wonder at these architectural marvels from hundreds of years ago, which serve as a reminder of both the ingenuity and artistry of ancient civilisations and of the value of water to human existence.
　　通过以上的例句和讲解，不知道烤鸭们是否明确地掌握了标点符号的正确使用。如果能顺利理解，那么就赶快行动起来，让自己的写作表达更加内容丰富，清晰有型。没能理解清楚的烤鸭，可能需要专业的老师指点之后，继续自己的备考之路啦！