第一章教育類話題
第一章
教育類話題是托福獨(dú)立寫作中最�？嫉脑掝}，話題涉及選課、課堂組織形式、師生關(guān)系、課外活動等方面，考生多少有些了解，結(jié)合自己平時(shí)所見所聞和個人經(jīng)歷都能寫出一些內(nèi)容；考題類型比較常規(guī)，通常都是二選一或者三選一，推薦的寫法是選定一個內(nèi)容，分析其合理性或者益處即可。
通常來說，這些題目乍一看都很容易理解，寫出一篇 500 詞左右的文章似乎不難，但是當(dāng)題目問得非常具體，比如“大學(xué)生應(yīng)不應(yīng)該上公共演講課？”，同學(xué)們可能就無話可說了，語言質(zhì)量也不盡如人意。因此，我們把同類話題都放在一起，幫助同學(xué)們整理不同話題中常用到的論點(diǎn)及語料。這些內(nèi)容在考題之間有一些共通之處時(shí)，稍加調(diào)整就可以拿來用。
下列選題同屬教育類范疇，極具代表性，所用到的理由和例子都是積累的上好素材。遇到同類型題目時(shí)構(gòu)思起來會輕松很多。


1. (20180909) Students should be encouraged to study fields like science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) rather than what they have interest in.
  頭腦風(fēng)暴 
這道題問的是學(xué)生們應(yīng)該選擇學(xué)習(xí)科學(xué)技術(shù)類的學(xué)科，還是選擇自己更感興趣的領(lǐng)域。在頭腦風(fēng)暴時(shí)可以分別思考這兩方面的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)，選擇你認(rèn)為理由比較充分的觀點(diǎn)來寫。如果選擇學(xué)習(xí)科學(xué)技術(shù)類的學(xué)科，這一類的學(xué)科實(shí)用性可能會更強(qiáng)，相關(guān)工作報(bào)酬豐厚，對未來的職業(yè)發(fā)展有所幫助；但是這類學(xué)科可能會難度比較大，在就業(yè)時(shí)競爭激烈。如果選擇自己喜歡的學(xué)科，則更能激發(fā)自己的學(xué)習(xí)興趣，使自己在擅長的領(lǐng)域有更好的發(fā)展。但是未來職業(yè)選擇可能有限。


論點(diǎn)： 應(yīng)當(dāng)選擇自己更喜歡的領(lǐng)域?qū)W習(xí)。
理由一： 選擇自己更感興趣的領(lǐng)域能夠激勵學(xué)生追求更高的目標(biāo)，在學(xué)習(xí)中有更好的
表現(xiàn)。
理由二： 選擇自己感興趣的領(lǐng)域可以使學(xué)生在專業(yè)領(lǐng)域上更擅長，從而使他們在求職
時(shí)有更大的優(yōu)勢。
理由三： 雖然 STEM 類學(xué)科實(shí)用性強(qiáng)，但是它們不一定能成為學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)的動力。


Education is one of the keywords of this age since it has an
overall impact on people’s quality of life, both intellectually and
financially. However, people’s views differ greatly as to which should
be the priority of academic pursuit, to study the STEM subjects or to
focus on subjects that interest them. As I see it, choosing to specialize
in one’s favorite courses is more commendable.
To begin with, opting for the courses that greatly interest the
students will drive them to achieve higher goals. When students’
motivation is stimulated by the subject exerting a special fascination
on them, they are likely to spend more time on it and accomplish
better academic performance. According to a recent study conducted
by the Society of Developmental Psychology, primary-school students
would spend approximately three more hours each week on subjects
they are interested in than on other subjects, and score about 10%
higher correspondingly. This trend is also valid when it comes to highschool students. As revealed by a research of Rice University, over
95% of the students who had won an award in the state math
competition have demonstrated their interest in math at an early age.
Therefore, students who are interested in the classes they are taking
are more likely to have better academic performance.
  范文思路 
Besides, learning subjects that students are interested in can
facilitate them to secure a good job. Under such a society full of fierce
competition, it is the professional skills people own that make them
stand out. And only when people select the field they are passionate
about can they establish a solid foundation of specific knowledge and
skills in this field. My cousin Anthony’s experience can well illustrate
this point. Fascinated by medicine, he started reading a mass of articles
and books about the discipline since an early age. After entering the
Ph.D. program of Medicine at Yale, he constantly stood out among his
peers in his knowledge about medicine. Because of his preeminence,
he was immediately employed by one of the best medical companies
after graduation. Till now, he is the leading researcher in the company
and earns a high payment. Hence, learning courses catering to
students’ interest can better improve their competence, thus increasing
their likelihood of securing a decent job.
Granted, courses like science, technology, engineering, and math
are technical, most of which can be applied in solving real-world
issues. However, technically oriented classes do not serve as an
impetus for learning, a stimulus for growth, or a trigger for action.
Instead, fields that interest students encourage them to learn more and
perform better, thus guaranteeing students a competitive edge to
ensure future jobs opportunities.
To sum up, given the discussion above, we can firmly draw the
conclusion that it is better to study subjects that interest the students,
in terms of making them have a better grasp of their knowledge and
find a suitable job.
  語料積累 
本篇文章的語料適用于涉及興趣、選擇類的話題。


詞組
differ greatly as to... 在……議題上有不同意見
as to 關(guān)于
specialize in 專長／專注于
opt for=choose 選擇
drive them to achieve higher goals 促使他們達(dá)到更高的目標(biāo)（ drive 一詞在語境中有“促使，引導(dǎo)”的意思）
exert a fascination on... 引起……的興趣
establish a foundation of... 為……打下基礎(chǔ)
secure a good job 找到一份好工作
under such a society full of fierce competition 在這樣一個充滿激烈競爭的社會里
cater to students’ interest 迎合學(xué)生的興趣
improve their competence 增加他們的競爭力
guarantee students a competitive edge 保證學(xué)生們的競爭優(yōu)勢


句型
Education is one of the keywords of this age since it has an overall impact on people’s quality of life, both intellectually and financially. 教育是這個年代的關(guān)鍵詞之一，因?yàn)樗鼘θ藗兊纳�活質(zhì)量，包括智力和經(jīng)濟(jì)方面，都起到總體的影響。（可作為教育類話題背景句使用）
it is the professional skills people own that make them stand out 使人們與眾不同的是他們所擁有的專業(yè)技能（這是一個強(qiáng)調(diào)句用法， it is...that... 強(qiáng)調(diào)的重點(diǎn)在于 it is 后的內(nèi)容）
an impetus for learning, a stimulus for growth, a trigger for action 激發(fā)學(xué)習(xí)興趣、促進(jìn)成長、引發(fā)行動（是托福很喜歡的排比句式）


從這篇文章中，大家不難看出作者在例子積累方面的功底之深。在第一個主論點(diǎn)中，作者提出了心理學(xué)中的研究數(shù)據(jù)，在第二個主論點(diǎn)中，作者使用了自己身邊人的事例。在讀范文時(shí)，同學(xué)們也可以學(xué)習(xí)不同作者使用例子去展開段落、支持自己論點(diǎn)的方法，同時(shí)從中積累自己的例子庫。