雅思写作大部分是观点式议论文,问题方式是应该(should)怎么样,是一篇 argumentative essay, 比如大学是否应该免费?政府是否应该建设更多博物馆?老的建筑是否应该拆除等等。
当你有了立场,或者清晰的观点之后,别人自然会问:Why? Why do you think the higher education should be free? Why some old buildings should be protected?
不管你的观点是什么,你一定得给出理由,有理由才有说服力。
这种论证的思维就必然会用到一种逻辑思维关系:因果关系 cause→effect. 这也是为什么高分作文以及考官作文里有那么多 because 引导的从句。
因果关系的从句就是这么自然而然的写出来了。我们来看几个例子。
· An emphasis on memorization by repetition may curb the leaning outcome because this approach discourages students from correctly understanding the information, let alone critically thinking of it. 过分强调机械记忆会阻碍学习效果,因为这种方式不鼓励学生正确理解信息,更不要说批判性思维。
· College students would not be capable of innovation at work because the education system rarely encourages them to think critically and freely. 大学生在工作中不会有创新能力,因为教育体制不鼓励他们思想自由。
· I missed the opportunity to specialize in science because it was seen as the natural domain and career path for boys when I was a girl. 当我还是小女孩的时候,我错过学习科学的机会,因为当时认为科学是男孩子的职业选择
· Happiness is very difficult to define because it means so many different things to different people. 媳妇很难下定义是因为对不同人来说他的意义也不同。
除了because,还经常用到两个介词短语 because of 和 due to 表示因果关系,只不过because后面接从句,介词后面接名词或名词短语。
举两个例子:
The company has to lay off 30 employees because of the increasing rent and labor cost.
公司不得解雇30名员工,因为房租和劳工成本不断上涨。
The increasingly high dropout rate is due to the economic recession and high unemployment rate. 退学率不断上升,是因为经济萧条,失业率上升。
提醒:有同学喜欢用 due to the fact that 这一表达方式,在native speaker 眼中,这实在太罗嗦,用一个 because 就可以搞定,为什么要用5个单词?
要嘛凑字数,要嘛不懂装懂,考官是不会觉得你用这样的短语有多高明。
总之,准确表达是衡量你英文水平的唯一标准,不存在“高级用法” “普通用法” 这样的词汇。




