雅思考試大作文的評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)Task Response里提出了三點(diǎn)要求：1. addresses all parts of the task; 2. presents a position; 3. presents, extends and supports main ideas.對(duì)這三項(xiàng)完成情況的不同決定了不同的分?jǐn)?shù)。在考生寫(xiě)作時(shí)，完成題目所有要求和有明確的立場(chǎng)(即文章要以題干所提供的話題或觀點(diǎn)為依據(jù)，覆蓋雙方觀點(diǎn)或就利弊展開(kāi)討論，提出自己傾向的觀點(diǎn))并不難，但是如何展開(kāi)自己的main ideas，并且符合relevant, fully extended and well supported這三個(gè)要求時(shí)，很多學(xué)生就感覺(jué)無(wú)從下筆了。
展開(kāi)觀點(diǎn)的方法叫做論證方法，常見(jiàn)的有四種：舉例，因果，對(duì)比和解釋。在這篇文章中我們重點(diǎn)討論最后一種：解釋。
將一個(gè)觀點(diǎn)進(jìn)行解釋有三個(gè)方法：
1. if…will/would
2. without …will/would
3. in other words
一：正面論證 if…will/would
Advocates of this believe that today’s sedentary lifestyle and stressful working conditions mean that physical activity is no longer part of either our work or our leisure time. If there were easy-to-reach local sports centres, we would be more likely to make exercise a regular part of our lives, rather than just collapsing in front of a screen every evening. (C9 T3)
考官范文中給出的觀點(diǎn)是：如今終日伏案的生活方式和緊張的工作環(huán)境使體育活動(dòng)從我們的工作和休閑生活中消失。由于本段是寫(xiě)Advocates的觀點(diǎn)，即增加體育設(shè)施對(duì)提高公眾健康有好處，所以觀點(diǎn)之后緊跟著有進(jìn)一步的解釋：如果當(dāng)?shù)赜薪愕捏w育活動(dòng)中心，那么我們就很有可能將體育運(yùn)動(dòng)作為生活的一部分，而不是每晚都癱坐在屏幕前。
正面論證更像是對(duì)觀點(diǎn)所產(chǎn)生結(jié)果的進(jìn)一步列舉，比如談到出國(guó)的好處：出國(guó)可以提高語(yǔ)言水平，如果一個(gè)人出國(guó)，他會(huì)與native speaker直接接觸，從而有了更多面對(duì)面練習(xí)語(yǔ)言的機(jī)會(huì)。
二：反面論證 without … will/would
Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports stars have probably succeeded because of both good training and natural talent. Without the natural talent, continuous training would be neither attractive nor productive, and without the training, the child would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent. (C7 T1)
范文中觀點(diǎn)是：杰出的音樂(lè)家，藝術(shù)家和體育名星的成功是訓(xùn)練和天賦的結(jié)合。作者用了兩個(gè)without從反面進(jìn)行解釋論證：沒(méi)有天賦，連續(xù)訓(xùn)練可能既乏味又沒(méi)有效果;沒(méi)有訓(xùn)練，孩子們就不知道如何開(kāi)發(fā)利用他們的才能。
反面論證是從“如果沒(méi)有…”這個(gè)角度去擴(kuò)充思路。比如說(shuō)到政府與環(huán)境的話題：政府應(yīng)該加大對(duì)污染企業(yè)的監(jiān)管，如果沒(méi)有政府的監(jiān)督和管理，那些污染企業(yè)就可以在排放污染的同時(shí)獲利，并且逃脫懲罰，這樣對(duì)社會(huì)和環(huán)境治理都是極其不利的。
三：解釋 in other words
解釋并不是把一句話換幾個(gè)同義詞再寫(xiě)一遍，這個(gè)看似簡(jiǎn)單的短語(yǔ)前后有著很大的奧妙，看看考官是如何利用這個(gè)方法的。
Overall, I think an ability to keep clear perspectives in life is a more essential factor in achieving happiness. By that I mean an ability to have a clear sense of what is important in our lives (the welfare of our families, the quality of our relationships, making other people happy, etc.) and what is not ( a problem at work, getting annoyed about trivial things, etc.). (C4 T2)
作者認(rèn)為要獲得幸福的一個(gè)更重要的因素是：to keep clear perspectives in life。這是一個(gè)很抽象的概念，如何做到這一點(diǎn)呢?范文中用了by that I mean來(lái)做進(jìn)一步解釋：也就是要知道生命中什么是重要的什么是不重要的。這是一個(gè)從抽象到具體的解釋。
再如：
…They are allowed to have whatever they want, regardless of price, and to behave as they please. This means that the children grow up without consideration for others and without any understanding of where their standard of living comes from. (C4 T4)
This means that前面的內(nèi)容是由于出生率降低，孩子們被寵壞的具體表現(xiàn)，后面講他們?cè)诔砷L(zhǎng)的過(guò)程中很少為他人考慮，也從來(lái)不思考他們的幸福生活是從何而來(lái)。這是一個(gè)從具體到抽象的總結(jié)。
類似的短語(yǔ)還有：
It means
That is to say
In other words
To put it another way
By that I mean
總之，解釋是一種將觀點(diǎn)進(jìn)行再次闡釋的方法，通過(guò)正面，反面或抽象具體之間的轉(zhuǎn)化可以使考官更加詳盡地了解考生觀點(diǎn)，同時(shí)由于加入了一些細(xì)節(jié)內(nèi)容，也使觀點(diǎn)變得豐富，充實(shí)。