首先要看好题目
仔细阅读题目，而不是匆匆忙忙地看一遍题目后就立刻开始敲键盘写文章，否则就有可能遗漏掉题目中的重要信息，甚至造成写跑题的后果。让我们来看道
For college students, an arts course is more important than a sports activity.
首先，这道题是要求在art和sports之间进行比较，所以在作文中这两方都必须讨论到，即使我们认为其中一方明显比另一方更重要。然后，我们注意到在题目中给出了一个范围的限制for college students, 这提示我们在作文中要结合普遍意义上的大学教育和大学生的特点展开论述，而不是泛泛地讨论学生，或者只谈论自己的需求。如果直接结合自己的个人经验和偏好去展开，就不够有说服力。
从话题涉及的正反两面进行分析
在绝大多数情况下，
The government plans to limit class sizes to a maximum of 15 students. Do you support or oppose the plan?
政府计划将班级人数限制在15人以内，问支持还是反对这项计划?无论我们的立场如何，在分析这道题的时候，我们都可以从这项计划的利(advantages)和弊(disadvantages)这两个方面入手，也许很快我们就能想到：
好处包括：减少课堂上的干扰(fewer distractions)、老师更多的辅导和帮助、学生上课更容易集中注意力(more concentration)、减轻老师的压力、增强对课堂的控制、有利于改善教学效果……
弊端包括：成本更高、需要更多老师、有些学生仍然会不遵守纪律、集体活动的规模的缩小等……
对题目进行同义转换
在说明我们的中心论点(thesis)时用到题目中的某些表达是重要的，但是要注意千万不要原文照搬，这时应作适当地同义转换 (paraphrase)，这种托福写作技巧既可以表明对题目的深刻理解，又能够证明自己的语言能力，还可以避免对原题的抄袭重复。例如，对于上面的这道题目，我们可以提出如下的论点：
I agree that classes should be limited to 15 students.
I agree with smaller class sizes.
I support the reduction in class size.
I think the government should reduce class sizes.
I am for the new limit on the size of classes.
I am in favor of limiting classes to 15 students each.
用具体的细节来支撑论点
当我们确定了中心论点以及主体段的分论点，完成了主题句之后，接下来的就是进行段落的展开(development)了，这往往是不少同学倍感头疼的一件事，总觉得没有什么话说。在这里介绍几种经典的段落展开的方法。
1) 描述description
当使用这种方法时，我们可以问自己“what is it like”，然后去联想关于被描述对象的具体的信息，比如各种感官的感受(appearance, sound, taste等等)和各种特征，比如数量、方向、速度、成本、效率和人格等等。并不需要写下所有的细节，只需要那些能够有效说明支持论点的细节就可以了。这些关于细节的描述可以使文章更加生动具体形象，例如：
Third, quality of life needs to be taken into consideration. Retirement homes can be lonely places, especially if the home is far from family. Also, the activities in retirement homes are too repetitive and impersonal. Playing cards or bingo with strangers is not exciting. In contrast, family homes have more intimate company and livelier activities. For example, grandparents can help with things like childcare in many homes. The elderly can play with their grandkids, and the children can learn from the experience of their elders.
2) 下定义definitions
当选择定义时，我们可以回答这样的问题“What is it?”或者是“What does it mean?”。特别是当文章中涉及到专业术语时，或者引入其他读者并不熟悉的观念时，我们需要给出一个明确的定义，来帮助读者更好地理解文章。当下定义时，可以用到如下的这些表达：be, refer to, mean, be called, include, involve, be referred to as等等。下面的一段话中就有关于老年痴呆症Alzheimer’s disease的解释：
Second, caring for elderly relatives at home is more respectful than putting them in retirement homes, but this not always possible. Retirement homes are necessary for people who need a lot of attention, such as Alzheimer’s patients. Alzheimer’s is a disease that first affects a person’s memory, and then eventually damages language and motor skills. However, if they are healthy enough, the elderly deserve to stay with the family. They took care of younger family members at tone time in their lives, and so their children and grandchildren should take care of them when they need it. People that allow their healthy older members to live separately from their families don’t put a high value on the elderly.
3) 其他
此外还有解释(explanation)和举例(exemplification)两种主要的段落展开方法，在此暂不一一说明了。
通过上面对于托福写作技巧和策略的介绍相信大家以后在做托福独立写作的时候就有自己的心得了，希望大家能在以后的托福写作考试中有所进步。
(编辑：Sally)