2023托福獨立寫作-段落的架構(1)

by 送佛計畫

大家都了解，英文作文是由Introduction(起始段), body paragraphs (內容段落), and conclusion (結尾段)所組成的。

今天，就來跟大家聊聊，寫一個段落所應該具備的架構。

稍有英文作文底子的同學，都知道一個好的段落，必須具備這三部份

托福獨立寫作-1

  1. Topic Sentence(主題句) => the focus + the controlling idea or the main idea in the paragraph.
    也就是說，主題句必須要貫穿整段的一個陳述句。
  2. Supporting Sentences => to provide evidence for the writer’s assertion.
    必須支持"主題句"且必須跟主題緊扣的句子來加以說明主題句之用途
  3. Conclusion => to sum up the whole paragraph.
    結尾段就是將主題句換句話說來作出整個段落的總結

舉例說明

I like to go swimming. Therefore, I have participated in a swimming team for many years. While I have learned swimming skills, I met different people in the team. For example, John not only helped me a lot in practice, but also donated funds to our swimming team. Hence, my team had chances to go abroad to join the swimming competition every year. I have a lot of unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories from swimming.

這篇段落很輕鬆的我們看到

Topic Sentence:

I like to go swimming.

顧名思義，看到此句，讀者心中可以知道接下來一整段都要來談論=> 我"喜歡"去游泳。

在此句，我，是這個句子的主詞，也會是整個段落的論述主題= the focus.

like to go swimming 是整個句子的controlling idea.

所以，大家了解the topic sentence = focus + the controlling ideas 的意思了嗎?

Supporting Sentences:

While I have learned swimming skills, I met different people in the team. For example, John not only helped me a lot in practice, but also donated funds to our swimming team. Hence, my team had chances to go abroad to join the swimming competitions every year.

在此，所有的supporting sentences 都用來說明，加以解釋主題句，也就是要說明why do I like to go swimming? How much do I like to go swimming? what kinds of swimming skills have I learned? etc. 也因此，每一句的supporting sentences 必須扣住主題句，不可離題。

Conclusion:

I have a lot of unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories from swimming.

結尾句就是將主題句換句話說為整段細節加成後所作出的結論。

在此，作者提到unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories 來總結主題句 I like to go swimming.

這樣看起來很簡單，對不對!

那為什麼同學都覺得自己寫作文很難呢???

延伸閱讀:《【托福寫作】掌握這 10 大技巧，托福寫作輕鬆拿高分》

如果對於托福 TOEFL iBT 考試內容還不是很熟悉的同學，建議你可以先閱讀這篇托福考試內容總整理，會讓你對托福考試更了解，也更能理解我們接下來解釋的準備和練習技巧！

接下來，我們來看看一個段落裡的第一句 -主題句，應該要注意的一個好的主題句必需具備的條件

托福獨立寫作-2

  1. A topic sentence must be a complete sentence.
  2. A topic sentence is usually a clear and direct statement.
  3. The subject of the topic sentence is usually the subject idea of the paragraph.
  4. The verb of the topic sentence usually shows the focus of the paragraph. So, it usually presents a judgment or attitude about the subject.

所以，我們看一下上面的這個主題句: I like to go swimming.

他符合了以上四個條件。他是一個完整的句子，非問句。他有清楚的陳述，且這句話的主詞就是整個段落要談的主題。他的動詞帶有一個”態度=> Like。

那我們繼續來看上週面談的作文題目以及同學們的作文，看看那些主題句是否合乎主題句的規則。

題目:

In universities, people tend to concern more about the career prospect of the subjects they learn.

Some people propose that students should learn subjects with a fast job growth including math, science, technology, and engineering even if they are interested in other subjects.

Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

這個題目裡的people很清楚，就是students.

所以，同學在寫主題句的時候，要以students 為發想的對象。

題目想要論證的地方就是您是否同意學生需要拿跟工作進展快速的相關課程即使該學生的興趣是在其他的課程。

這個題目，正面跟反面各有同學寫。我們來一起看一下同學們的主題句是否合乎英文作文裡主題句的條件。

立場為”Agree”的主題句

  1. learning subjects with fast growing careers is the crucial factor for students to get a job after they graduate from the university.
    他是一個完整的句子，非問句。他有清楚的陳述句，且這句話的主詞students who learn subjects with fast growing careers就是整個段落要談的主題。他的動詞帶有一個”態度=> is crucial。
  2. learning subjects with fast job growth provides students with plenty of resources for their studying.
    他是一個完整的句子，非問句。他有清楚的陳述句，且這句話的主詞 learning subjects with a fast job growth 就是整個段落要談的主題。他的動詞帶有一個”態度=> provides resources 。

立場為”Disagree”的主題句

  1. students are competitive in the job market if they choose the subjects which they are interested in.
    他是一個完整的句子，非問句。他有清楚的陳述句，且這句話的主詞 students 就是整個段落要談的主題。他的動詞帶有一個”態度=> are competitive 。
  2. Choosing the courses students are interested in could enlighten their future career.
    他是一個完整的句子，非問句。他有清楚的陳述句，且這句話的主詞Choosing the courses students are interested in就是整個段落要談的主題。他的動詞帶有一個”態度=> enlighten future career 。

這樣同學在思考怎麼下筆主題句時，有沒有比較清楚了呢?

其他推薦托福練習資源：

很多考生將托福寫作當成考試大魔王，但其實獨立寫作也只要按照上述方法，學會審題、想論點和舉例，也不用太過於緊張。

祝福大家都能夠順利戰勝托福寫作，也歡迎加入送佛計畫大家庭，老師們、高分助教們、櫃台助教們，大家都會是你準備托福的好助力：