作者：王鶴群
從這個學期開始，我們要逐漸接觸2017和2018年度的託福作文和口語的真題，並且給出可以參考的範本。
首先，我要感謝小站託福給出的TPO軟體和歷年真題，這對於我們給學生提供講解非常有幫助。同時，我的講解和小站託福的老師並不一樣，請大家湊合湊合僅供參考的看吧。
2017年1月託福考試作文真題：
Generally speaking, the break between college semesters can last for one or several months,so colleges and universities normally require all students to do one of the followingduring the break:
1.Students may take a course unrelated to their majors of study. For example, an engineeringstudent might take a course in fine arts or social science, etc.
2.Students may volunteer to work in their college’s or university’s location (cityor town) to improve some aspects of this place, such as helping local primary school children with their homework assignments.
Whichone do you think is more beneficial to college students? Why?
Usespecific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
學生寫作：
選擇1--taking a course ：
College is the golden time in one’s whole life, so every second seems to be too precious to waste.Therefore, it is reasonable for students to seriously consider and carefully plan their breaks between semesters, in order to maximally utilize that time to achieve better growth and development. Under such a condition, I strongly suggest college students to take courses unrelated to their majors during the semester break, because in this way they can not only enjoy themselves but also pave way for their future brilliant life.
解析：
託福作文的第一段，要明確給出自己的觀點。在這個第一段的最後一句話，作者給出了自己的觀點。同時，為了文章看起來連貫流暢，在開頭最好對於該話題的社會背景做一個介紹。我們這篇作文的第一句和第二句確實也是介紹了相關的社會背景。因此，這個第一段是切題的，滿足了基本的要求。
As we all know, the current college study is highly focused and specialized.For example, a mathematics major student at college might need to study not only pre-Calculus, Calculus, but also Linear Algebra, Theoretical Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and some students are required to study such complex modeling theories as Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Maximum Likelihood Estimation, etc. All of these subjects are related, yet each of them has its distinctive focus and features. As a result, it is very easy for students to get bored and tired because of the highly concentrated study. Actually,some college students』 depression at school is not caused by sleep-deprivation,but is caused by intensive and repetitive study in a very focused field of study.Fortunately, if during the semester break the college students are encouraged to take other courses outside of their majors, they can get distracted from their pressure to turn to something of their interests. Then, this deliberate distraction will immediately take away their normal pressure and make them feel happy. For example,my cousin Tom is a Computer Science major busy learning computer programming, so during the school days he is very nervous and sometimes feels depressed. However,during the last summer vocation, he took a course to study sculpture, which turned his attention away from programming and codes and allowed him to play mud—making cups with cows and cats and our names and really having fun during that summer.From this example we can see that taking a course unrelated to our major is quite enlightening and impressive!
解析：
第二段的內容寫的稍許長了。雖然很多老師都希望學生作文的長度越長越好，但是考慮到考試時候的一個時間限制，託福大作文的長度應該在350-600字之內為佳。我們這個第二段，其reasoning的部分過於長（文章中斜體劃線的部分為reasoning），因為中間夾雜了一個例子：數學系學生的例子。在正式的考試中，這樣的例子儘量要避免。而後面用來支持statement的例子，計算機系Tom的例子，應該適當變長，給予更多的篇幅，描繪更多的細節。
At the same time we should realize that taking a seemingly unrelated course might be quite beneficial to a person’s future life. For this aspect I can use my Uncle Joe’s example to supportmy opinion. My Uncle Joe, when he was at college, was majoring in English Literature. However,at that time he was interested in communication, radio, and TV programs, so during his summer vacations he took courses in communication and studied advertising and some other subjects irrelevant to literature. After graduation, his classmates went to work as English teachers, but he found a position in an advertising agency. Because his literature study had solid basis, he was quite excellent in the agency. Also,because he knew advertising, he could effectively design advertisements to achieve amazing communication. As a result, his interdisciplinary expertise made him become the successful boss of that agency and brought him fame and fortune. From this example we can see that learning an unrelated major may add power to one’s life and career.
解析：
第三段的說理和例證的結構對於廣大託福考生而言更加具有說服力和效仿性。
In conclusion,learning is beneficial, and learning an unrelated subject during the semester break is even more beneficial because it not only makes college students happy but also opens a brilliant future with many optimistic career opportunities.
解析：
結論言簡意賅，對於全文進行總結。
總結：
在託福作文的寫作過程中，基本語法錯誤一定要避免，同時段落結構要清晰完整，這樣就能得到基本分數。此外，如果要提高分數，還要注意文章的流暢性，語句的多樣性等等。本文在流暢性方面是很好的，但是在用詞和修辭的多樣性上要進一步提高。比方說，第二段中用了兩處for example，這顯得乏味。而全文用了好幾處not only, but also，最好能夠用各種不同的關聯詞來達到更好的效果。