英文自序
Preface

While I was on vacation in Florida this past winter, getting a brief respite from my whirlwind life as an IELTS instructor, I had a chance to reflect on my teaching experience and to consider how my own publications could best help IELTS candidates to succeed.

Legions of secondary school and university students have committed themselves to taking the IELTS test. However, in preparing for the writing module of the test, many of them feel daunted and disoriented by the sheer volume of information they are supplied: the endless word lists, the baffling grammatical quagmire, the bizarrely contorted sentences and the innumerable passages which could, purportedly, help them break through to a higher score.

This book goes beyond what readers generally find in other IELTS writing section preparation materials. It focuses on the skills, techniques and mindset needed to do well in the writing section of the test. To ensure that you gain maximum benefits, I set the following nine criteria to assist me in developing the contents of this book:

a) Helping my readers to generate enough ideas that will allow them to write convincing arguments within the time limits of the test.

b) Distilling the common English writing lexicon into a concise list of words and phrases while training my readers in proper diction (word choice and usage).

c) Deconstructing bewildering grammatical points for my readers in a practical fashion, and identifying common mechanical mistakes made by IELTS candidates.

d) Instilling a good sentence sense and providing a handy toolkit of linking devices, i.e. essential conjunctions, common transitional phrases and key sentence structures.

e) Training my readers to build a tight-knit and focused essay structure.

f) Providing my readers with various sample essays for study while discouraging rote memorisation or mere reproduction of the essays.

g) Furnishing my readers with accompanying audio support to help them to memorise particular selections of the visual text.

h) Reflecting the latest changes to the IELTS writing module.

i) Presenting a high level of utility to candidates of other English writing tests, such as the TOEFL-iBT Writing Test.

These nine criteria provided focus for me in developing the contents of this book. I hope that your experience with it is both a valuable and an interesting one.

Xiaoyi

(a.k.a. Patrick)