A Good Topic Sentence：观点句怎么写得准确简洁

💡 课前问题 1: 观点句应放在文中什么位置？ 课前问题 2: 观点句最好用怎样的句型？ A. 复杂而长的句子，体现句法能力。 B. 简短准确的句子，正面分析问题。

Lesson Overview

Guidelines

Precise & Concise

• A strong topic directly addresses the issue in your thesis statement.

• A strong topic gives a preview to your paragraph and has to be specific enough.

• A strong topic should avoid overly complex structures or ambiguous language.

• A strong topic has to be formal in tone.

Precision

➡️ Thesis Statement: In my opinion, social media has profound impact on our interpersonal relationships and privacy.

Bad examples:

1. Firstly, social media is a popular tool that many people use these days.

(This could be in explanation section; try not to write the details in the T.S.)

1. These impacts on privacy can have two aspects. Firstly, …. Secondly, ….

(This is an acceptable topic but not a strong one, as your second sentence feels more like the breakdown of your thesis, while your first sentence is redundant in function. )

Can you give me some good examples?

• Suggestions

  Good examples:

  1. Social media has significantly altered how people communicate and maintain connections.
  2. Social media has redefined privacy by blurring the boundaries between public and private spaces.

Conciseness

Remember Hemingway’s Six-Word Story:

For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.

Bad examples:

1. Firstly, it is argued that technological advancements, in their various manifestations, have influenced society, and it becomes apparent that such developments deserve scrutiny.

(too complex in logic)

1. The aspect about phones is they help with our work and life.

(redundant structure)

1. Firstly, smartphones make our life much better.

(informal and vague)

Can you improve them?

• Suggestion

  Good examples:

  1. Firstly, the implications of technological advancements to modern society need to be scrutinized.
  2. Smartphones enhance both productivity and communication in daily life.
  3. Smartphones improve our quality of life.

Patterns

通用词汇/句型

Formality

In the Writing Task 2 essay, students who use noun phrases can create more sophisticated sentence structures.

Compare:

"Humans destroy natural habitats, which causes biodiversity to decline.”

&

"The destruction of natural habitats has led to a decline in biodiversity."

Essential skill - Change verb phrases to a noun phrase

Example:

1. waste food in many parts of the world

   —> food waste in many parts of the world,

2. emit large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air

   —> large-scale carbon dioxide emissions into the air,

名词短语更多练习

Final Tips

1. Avoid vague pronouns in T.S.

• It can provide a rewarding experience… → Taking a gap year before university can provide…

• They can improve their skills by… → Students can improve…

1. Avoid complex logic in T.S. (esp. adverbial clause)

• If we can safeguard biodiversity in…, we can → safeguarding biodiversity can….

• Because global warming aggravates, many species living near the coast will …

→ The aggravating effects of global warming threatens the…..

1. Avoid empty statement without substance.

• However, there are benefits too.

→ However, benefits resulted from…. can include….

→ However, taking a gap years also enhances students….

1. Avoid overgeneralization.

• all, always, every, etc. → often, usually, mostly

• The purpose of working is to make money. → The primary purpose of working is to earn an income.

🚨 What if I can’t think of any ideas?

重磅：Andrew 整理 > 24 个话题 1000+ 常用观点库

https://chouandrew.github.io/ielts/topic_sentence/topics.html