作為一名托福寫作教師，筆者經(jīng)常告訴學(xué)生，寫作之難無非在于“理屈詞窮”四字，對初學(xué)者而言尤以前者為甚。中國傳統(tǒng)英語教學(xué)更多專注于詞匯、語法等純粹的言語層面，而對學(xué)生的批判性思維培養(yǎng)乏善可陳，加之學(xué)生個人知識結(jié)構(gòu)和閱歷的局限性，在托福獨立寫作中就反映為brainstorming中的各種問題。
1. 觀點不合理
雖然《官方指南》告訴我們“評分人員經(jīng)過培訓(xùn)能夠接受所有不同類型的觀點”，但這絕不意味著考生能夠天馬行空隨意表達，一些明顯不合常理或不邏輯的觀點是難以接受的。如以下幾例：
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Visiting museum is the best way to learn about a country.
學(xué)生習(xí)作：Going sightseeing is cheaper than visiting museum which will pay a lots on the tickets.
點評：雖然現(xiàn)在流行“窮游”，國內(nèi)外也不乏免費景點，但若作為“了解一個國家的最好方式”的話，旅游觀光的總體花費一般遠(yuǎn)高于博物館的票價。
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Young people today are less dependent on their parents than in the past.
學(xué)生習(xí)作：Because of one-child policy, children become more and more self-oriented. They always do something on their own, rather than depend on their parents.
點評：姑且不論“一胎化政策”作為論點是否合適，這個表達顯然嚴(yán)重前言不搭后語：“自我中心”和“獨立自主”是兩個完全不相關(guān)的概念，決不能混同。
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People today do not respect teachers as much as they did in the past.
學(xué)生習(xí)作：Teachers have competition, students have the right to choose their teachers.
點評：當(dāng)前學(xué)生權(quán)利得到了更多的保障，教師之間存在競爭關(guān)系，這都不假，但“學(xué)生擁有選擇權(quán)”和“學(xué)生不再尊敬老師”是否相關(guān)？
2. 觀點重復(fù)
學(xué)術(shù)議論文要求作者從不同的角度對自己的論點進行充分證明，但有時學(xué)員由于思路不夠開闊，行文又欠謹(jǐn)慎，導(dǎo)致分論點之間沒有拉開足夠的區(qū)分度，出現(xiàn)一定程度的重復(fù)。如下例：
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Young people today are less dependent on their parents than in the past.
學(xué)生習(xí)作：
Young people can make money today by themselves and they can handle many things themselves.
Young people are now more independent than ever.
Young people are more mature compared with youngsters 30 years ago.
點評：這三個觀點的重復(fù)性就非常嚴(yán)重。“自己賺錢并且能自己搞定許多事”不正是“獨立”的具體表現(xiàn)嗎？“獨立”和“成熟”又要如何區(qū)分？
以上是老師在教學(xué)實踐中發(fā)現(xiàn)的兩種典型情況。學(xué)員只有積極擴大閱讀量，熟悉英語作者的思維方式，并注意積累素材，堅持做構(gòu)思和大綱寫作練習(xí)，才能在考試中有良好的發(fā)揮。
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