7 Ways to Improve English Writing Skills | IELTS | EXAM | ESSAY | ACADEMIC

(laid-back electronic music)

（背景音樂）

- Hello, everyone, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

哈囉，歡迎大家回到"English with Lucy"。

Today, I've got a video that I've never really done before.

今天這隻影片的主題我從未真的拍攝過

I've never really spoken about writing, as far as I know.

在我記憶中，我沒有真的教過寫作的技巧

So, this one has been highly requested.

所以這個主題一直被高度要求

I know a lot of you are doing your IELTS exams,

我知道你們很多人都在做雅思考試

so I have got seven top tips

所以我有七個最重要的技巧

that are going to help you improve your writing.

可以幫助提升你們的寫作

Quickly, before we get started, I'd just like to thank

快速一提 在我開始前 我要感謝

the sponsor of today's video, Lingoda.

今天影片的贊助商，Lingoda。

Lingoda is an amazing online language academy.

Lingoda是一個很棒的線上語言學校

They don't just teach English;

他們不只教英文

they also teach Spanish, German, and French.

還教西班牙語，德語，和法語

You can subscribe to Lingoda on a monthly package basis,

你可以訂閱Lingoda每月的事物

and you will gain access to a combination

然後你會得到

of both group and private video lessons

團體和個別的影片課程

with real, qualified, native teachers.

是真實，合格，本地的老師受教

It's actually highly relevant to this video,

實際上這跟這部影片有很大的關係

because you really, ideally want somebody

因為你真的想要有人

to check through your writing.

幫你看過你的文章

So, in your private lessons on Lingoda,

所以在你Lingoda的個人課程裡

you can mention that you'd like them

你可以說你想要他們

to look at your writing,

幫你看過你的文章

and that's what you can focus on for that lesson.

然後你可以專注在那個課程上面

Lingoda has given all English with Lucy subscribers

Lingoda有給所有"English with Lucy"的訂閱者

a special discount; you can get $50 or €50

一個特別的優惠，第一個月你可以減少＄50 或50歐元

off your first month at Lingoda.

在Lingoda

All you have to do is click on the link

你只要點擊連結

in the description box and apply this code at checkout.

在資訊欄裡 然後在checkout裡打上這個序號

Let's get started with the lesson.

我們來開始這個課程吧

So, my first tip for improving your writing

所以 我的第一個提升寫作的技巧是

is keep it simple.

保持簡單

Now, I know this seems really, really obvious,

現在 我知道這個看起來非常非常明確

but I always say to my students simple done accurately

但是我一直跟我的學生說精確又簡單的文章

is better than complicated done inaccurately.

勝過複雜卻不精準的

In other words, it's better to keep things simple

換句話說 最好是讓所有事情弄的很簡單

and do it well, rather than over-complicate everything

且做得好 勝過太過於複雜的事情

and do it badly.

然後弄的很糟

So, in English writing exams,

所以 在英文寫作考試裡

you want to show off your English,

你想要表現你的英文程度

but you want to show off your accurate English,

但是你想要表現你的精準度

not all this English that you don't know

不是所有你不知道的

or haven't learnt yet.

或沒學的

Now, that leads me on to point number two.

現在 這帶我們到第二點

In order to avoid making mistakes in your writing,

為了避免發生錯誤在寫作上

it's a really, really good idea

好主意是

to have a collection of set phrases and keywords

收集好以系列的片語和關鍵詞

that you can use in that exam.

是可以用在你的考試上的

So, my tip number two is prepare key phrases.

所以 我的第二點是準備好重要片語

Now, you do have to be careful with this.

現在 你需要很小心地使用

You don't want to rehearse what you're going to write,

你不想要演練你要寫的東西

but you do want to have a nice selection of things

但是你要準備一些好的選集

that you could possible say if the time arises.

那是你可能在時間到的時候說的

Now, especially on the IELTS exam,

現在 特別是在雅思考試上

and I know a lot of you are studying for this

我知道你們很多人都在準備這個考試

but this really goes for any academic writing exam,

但是這可以用在各個學術寫作考試上

you want to have linking words and key phrases prepared.

你想要有一些準備好的連接詞和重要片語

Now I'm going to give you a list

現在我要給你們一個清單

with two examples for each point.

各包含兩個例子

It doesn't cover everything that you need to know,

這不包含所以你們該知道的

but if you study everything in the list,

但是如果你們讀所有出現在清單上的東西

you will be much, much more prepared

你會比原本更加準備

for your English writing exam.

你的英文寫作考試

So, pay attention, and if there's any point that you think,

所以 注意 如果有任何你們覺得

"I really could expand on that,"

我可以發展的詞

go and do your research, and prepare yourself.

去查詢 然後自己做準備

You want to make sure that you have a variety

你想要確認你有很多樣的

of different ways to ...

方式去

compare: "in the same way," "at the same time,"

比較：”“in the same way", "at the same time,"

contrast: "on the contrary," "however,"

對比："on the contrary"，"however"

give examples: "for instance," "to illustrate,"

舉裡："for instance"，"to illustrate"，

give your opinion: "from my perspective,"

提出自己看法："from my perspective"，

"from my point of view,"

"from my point of view"，

generalise: "overall," "all things considered,"

歸納："overall"，"all things considered"，

to express certainty: "undoubtedly," "of course,"

表示確定："undoubtedly"，"of course"，

to express partial agreement: "in a way," "to some extent,"

表示部份贊同："in a way"，"to some extent"

to show cause: "owing to," "due to,"

表示原因："owing to "，"due to"

to show effect: "for this reason," "consequently,"

表示結果："for this reason"，"consequently"

to mark time: "to begin with," "following this,"

標記時間："to begin with"，"following this"

to add information: "furthermore," "moreover,"

補充資料："furthermore"，"moreover"

to express condition: "unless," "provided that,"

表示條件："Unless"，"provided"

and to conclude: "in summary," "in short."

然後做結論："in summary"，"in short"

So that's just a very brief list

這是一個簡單的清單

showing you exactly what you need to study

確切地告訴你們什麼是你們需要讀的

to be fully prepared for any English writing exam.

來準備好任何英文寫作考試

Now, point number three, and definitely,

第三點

definitely, definitely for academic writing,

給學術寫作

i.e. English tests or university pieces,

例如 英文考試或大學作品

do not use contractions.

不要用縮寫

Or is that don't use contractions?

還是甭要縮寫？

So, cannot to can't,

用cannot代替can't

do not to don't,

do not 代替don't

shall not to shan't,

shall not 代替shan't

I am to I'm, these are all examples of contractions,

I am 代替 I'm，這些都是縮寫的例子

and in your writing exams you want to avoid these.

在寫作裡要避免這些

I know that you guys really, really, really

我知道你們真的

want to keep your word count down

想要減少字數

because you are restricted,

因為有被限制

and you want to show off as much as you possibly can,

然後你想表現你最多能寫的

but I've got lots of tips for reducing your word count

我有很多技巧讓你們減少字數

coming up, so make sure that you do not feel tempted

所以確定你們不要用縮寫

to include contractions in your academic writing.

來減少字數在你的寫作上

So, tip number four, reduce your word count.

第四點 減少你的字數

Use as few words as possible.

越少越好

Completely contradictory, because I've just told you

相當矛盾 因為我告訴過你們

that you should not use contractions.

不要是用縮寫

But I've got some really, really good mini tips

但是我有很好的技巧

within this big tip to help you keep your word count down

來幫助你們減少字數

and your English level up.

然後提升你們的英文程度

The first one is avoid these dead weight words

第一 避免適用沒有價值的字

like "very," "so," "a lot," "really."

像是 "like", "so", "a lot", "really"

I have mentioned this before in a video,

我在這影片裡有提及過

but if you want to show off your English,

如果你們想要表現你們的英文程度

avoid these; they're pointless.

避免這些字 他們沒有意義

They are empty calories in English.

在英文裡面他們很沒有重量

Replace them, instead, with a strong word.

用強而有力的字代替他們

So instead of saying "really happy,"

所以用來代替”‘really happy"

I would say, "I am elated."

我會說 “I am elated"

Instead of saying "so scared," I would say "terrified."

代替"so scared" 我會說“terrified"

Okay?

可以嗎？

So, by using strong words and avoiding these boring words,

用強而有力的詞然後避免這些無聊的詞

you can reduce your word count by a fair bit.

你可以減少一些字數

Now, another way to really reduce your word count

另一種方式來減少字數

but really improve the quality of your writing

且大大提升你的寫作品質

is avoiding "there is" and "there are."

是避免"there is" 和 "there are"

We want everything to be as clear as possible,

我們想要越清楚越好

and sometimes "there is" and "there are"

有時候"there is" 和 "there are"

can act as fillers; they add extra words to our sentences.

像是濫竽充數 他們是多餘的字在句子裡

So, I'm going to give you an example

我要來給你們一個例子

so you can see this and bear it in mind

你就可以看見 然後下次就會記在腦海裡

next time you're doing an academic piece of writing.

當你在寫作的時候

Sentence one: there are many problems that we may encounter.

第一句：there are many problems that we may encounter.

There are many problems that we may encounter.

There are many problems that we may encounter.

Sentence two: We may encounter many problems.

第二句：We may encounter many problems.

We may encounter many problems.

We may encounter many problems.

The first sentence has eight words.

第一句有八個字

The second sentence has five words.

第二句有五個字

You have reduced your word count, and you have increased

你有減少字數 然後提升了

the quality and the clarity of your writing.

你寫作的質量和明確性

So, make sure you apply this in your next exam.

所以確認你有試用這個技巧在你下一次寫作時

Number five, read ...

第五 讀

the right documents.

對的文件

Read the right pieces of writing.

讀對的寫作文章

I know many of you like to read in your spare time,

我知道你們很多人都喜歡在休閒時間看書

you like to do it for fun,

你們用來娛樂

and a lot of you will read books in English,

很多人會讀英文的書

which is amazing for improving you spelling

是個很棒的方式來提升拼字

and improving your vocabulary as well.

和單字

But if you're trying to get a good score

但是如果你們是要得到好的分數

in an academic writing exam,

在學術寫作的考試上

you might not be reading the right kind of thing.

你可能不是在讀對的東西

Look at the potential pieces of writing

看那些寫作文章

that they're going to ask you to do.

是你要寫得

Are they asking you to write article, reports, essays?

你是要寫文章 報導 還是短文？

Maybe they're asking you to write all three.

可能他要你寫這三種的全部

If they are, read all three.

如果他們是 那就讀這三種得全部

You need to go online or go to your library

你需要上網或去圖書館

and read articles, read reports,

然後讀文章 讀報導

read essays, read reviews.

看短文 讀評論

Do everything you can to familiarise yourselves

做所有你可以讓自己熟悉

with all the styles of writing.

各類的寫作樣式

Number six is one that you will have heard in school

第六點是你在學校會常常聽到的

so many times; but, I've worked as a teacher

但是 我在學校當老師

for many, many years, and I get so frustrated

好多好多年了 然後很困擾因為

with silly, stupid mistakes

很多很愚蠢的錯誤

that I know that my students know.

我知道我的學生知道

They don't make these mistakes when they're speaking,

他們不會再說話的時候犯錯

so why do they make them when they're writing?

但是為什麼他們寫作的時候會犯錯

So many times I've gone and I've prepared a lesson

所以我有準備課程好幾次

because I've seen that there were some very clear mistakes

因為我有看到很清楚的錯誤

in my students' writing.

在我學生的文章中

And I prepare a lesson to correct this mistake,

然後我準備了課程去改正這個問題

and when I go to teach it they say,

然後當我上這堂課的時候 他們說

"But teacher, we already know this; this is baby stuff."

“但是老師 我們已經知道了 這是幼稚園的東西”

And it's because they don't check their work.

這是因為他們都不檢查他們的文章

I have a clear example of this.

我有一個很清楚的例子

I used to work as a proofreader.

我曾經當過校對員

I used to check through documents

我以前檢查文件

before they got sent off to publishers

在送出出版社錢

to make sure that they were all correct,

確認文章都是正確的

that there was no spelling mistakes,

沒有拼錯字

there were no grammar mistakes,

沒有文法上的錯誤

there was nothing, nothing wrong, they were all perfect.

沒有任何錯誤 都是精確的

And I was amazing at doing this.

我非常會做這件事

I could get every single mistake.

我可以找出每一個錯誤

Just by looking at a document from a distance

遠遠就能看出

I could pick out those errors.

我可以挑出那些錯誤

However, if you follow me on Instagram,

然而 如果你有在Instagram上追蹤我

you will see that I make spelling and grammar mistakes

你會看到我有拼字和文法錯誤

all the time.

每一次

Why?

為什麼？

Because I don't check; I don't check my writing.

因為我不檢查 我不檢查我的寫作

I am a native English speaker, and I make spelling mistakes.

我是一個母語是英文的人 然後我會有拼字錯誤

Granted, many of them are due to auto-correct on my phone,

同意！很多都是手機自動校正

which I am battling with.

我在對抗中

But a lot of them are my fault.

但是很多都是我的錯

And I don't check them, so I don't see them.

我不檢查 所以我不會看見錯誤

I know when you finish an exam, you're like,

我知道當你們做完一份考試 你會

"Ugh, I'm done; I want to move on to the next question,"

“痾 我做完了 我要做下一題了”

but you can avoid so many point deductions

但是你可以避面分數被扣

just by checking through your work,

只要你檢查過你的工作

so please, please, please, make it your absolute priority.

所以把這件事作為優先事項

I personally think it's much better if you write less

我個人覺得你寫少點

and check more; fewer words, higher accuracy.

然後多檢查比較好 少一點字 精準性高一點

And I know normally I promote fluency over accuracy,

我知道我通常推廣流利勝過準確性

but not in writing exams.

但是不適用於寫作考試

In writing exams, you want perfection.

在寫作考試裡 你想要完美

Now, number seven is perhaps the most relevant

第七點 最有關

and the most difficult of all, especially if you're in

且最困難的 特別是你在

really remote parts of the world.

很遙遠的地方

Number seven is write and get it checked.

第七點是寫然後檢查

Write and get it checked.

寫完然後檢查過

And unfortunately, the getting it checked thing

很不幸的 這件事

is a lot harder than it seems.

比看起來還難

You want to write as much as possible,

你想要寫盡可能的寫很多

checking it, of course.

當然要檢查

It used to really annoy me when my students

這以前常常困擾我 當我的學生

would come in with five essays.

會給我五個短文

I was so happy that they'd done that,

我很開心他們能做到

but then I saw that they'd made loads and loads

但是當我看到他們做了很多很多

of stupid mistakes, and I just thought,

的愚蠢錯誤 然後我就會想

"Ugh, why didn't you check it?

“痾 為什麼你不檢查呢？”

"I'm just correcting the same thing over and over again."

我一而再 再而三的在改正一樣的東西

But write as much as you can, check it,

盡可能地寫 檢查他

and then see if you can find somebody to correct it.

然後看看有沒有人能幫你改正

Now, I'm not saying find a complete stranger.

我不是指要找一個完全不熟的人

It's got to be in their interest to correct it as well.

要是對方樂於檢查才可以

I personally think it's very unlikely

我個人覺得這不大可能

that you're going to find a random teacher on the internet

隨機在網路上找到一個老師

that will be willing to check your writing for free.

願意免費幫你改你的文章

However, there are lots of services and pen pal sites

然而 有很多服務和筆友

if it's like a mutual exchange.

像是相互交換

If you find somebody who wants to learn your language

如果你發現有人想要學習你的語言

and they can help you with your English,

然後他們可以幫助你的英文

then you can do that.

那麼你可以去做

Or, like I mentioned, on services such as Lingoda,

或是想我說的 服務方面 例如 Lingoda

and you can just have a straight hour of analysing writing

而且你可以直接分析文章

that you've already done and already sent them.

是你做過的 然後寄給他們的

But I will say, especially to my younger viewers,

我會說 特別是年輕一點的觀看者

really, really, really be careful when you're contacting

要特別小心 當你在接觸

people online to practise your English.

在網路上練習你英文的人

Make sure it's a trustworthy person, because there are

確認他是值得信任的

so many predators that want to talk to you,

因為很多掠食者想要跟你說話

especially young girls, to "practise their English,"

特別是對年輕女性 他們說要看你的英文

and it doesn't actually turn out to be a English practise.

但是實際上並不是在練習英文

It turns out to be something quite different,

而是一些不同目的的

so please, please, please be careful.

所以一定要特別小心

If you've got the funds, and if you've got the time,

如果你們有儲蓄有時間

get a proper teacher and pay them to help you.

找個適合的老師 付他們錢來幫助你

Is there any way that you're going to be guaranteed

有沒有方法是讓你有保障的

the proper skills, and the proper qualifications,

適合的技巧和適合的素質

and also the proper incentive.

還有合適的優惠

Why would a random stranger on the internet

為什麼一個陌生人在網路上

want to help you with your writing?

會想幫助你的寫作

What's in it for them?

他們真正是什麼？

Always think about that.

想想這些

Right, guys, that's it for today's lesson.

今天的課程到此結束

Don't forget to check out Lingoda.

別忘了去看Lingoda

You can take advantage of this voucher code

你有打折優惠卷

by clicking on the link in the description

從資訊欄裡的連結點進去

and applying it at checkout

然後打在checkout那邊

when purchasing your first month subscription.

當你購買的第一個月

Don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.

不要忘了在社群網站上和我聯繫

I've got my Facebook, my Instagram, and my Twitter.

我有Facebook Instagram 還有Twitter

And I'll se you soon for another lesson.

很快會在下個課程看到你

Mwah!

ㄇㄨㄚˋ

(laid-back electronic music)

（背景音樂）