这次的雅思写作有点难（2022年7月26日考抽象类话题 如何应对？）
(图片来自网络)
雅思写作中有一类题是比较难写的，就是抽象类话题。例如“幸福与经济发展的关系”、“对未来是否该保持乐观”、“考虑未来vs注重当下”等等。昨天（7月26日）就考到了一道比较抽象的话题。具体题目回忆如下：
Some people saythat the most important thing about being rich is that it gives the opportunity to help other people. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
对于抽象类话题的写作题目，我建议大家要尽可能将题目中的关键词具体化，否则所写内容过于抽象容易让人觉得不知所云。
首先我们来注意审题时的一些陷阱：
1）some people say，所以你只要发表你认不认可他们说的观点即可，如果富人不认可则不影响你的答案；
2）gives the opportunity≠should，所以不要对富人进行道德绑架，这里只强调他们有了帮助他人的机会，这一点很重要。
其次，要对一些关键词做如下思考：
1） being rich / help other people: 怎样才算富有(how rich is rich)？应该是有多得一辈子（或几辈子）花不完的钱(have more money than one generation
2） Can you think of some rich people who offer help? 对于这个问题，我的脑海里蹦出来的是Bill Gates。他很早就援助非洲，也成立了基金会进行艾滋病方面的研究等等。抽象类话题使用例子是比较有说服力的。大家可以想出更多的例子。
3） the most important: 既然这是最高级，肯定是跟其他important options进行比较得出的结论。那么其他options有哪些呢？一定是利他行为(altruistic deeds)才显得重要吗？改善自己的生活不重要吗？尤其对于那些出生贫困白手起家的人(self-made men)，改善自己及父母的生活不重要吗？为自己及子女留下教育基金不重要吗？出去旅游增长见识不重要吗？为自己留足备用资金以防重大意外不重要吗？这些选项都可以考虑一下，文章可以提及，但如果你是持“同意”观点，则其他内容不宜展开太多。
看到这里，大家是否对内容拓展有了一定的把握？现在可以自己在脑海里构思一下了。
我的思路如下：
首段（观点）：同意（对富人来说最重要的是有机会帮助他人）
Body paragraph 1: (让步段) 财富可以做很多很重要也很有意义的事情，如改善自己的生活，提升自己及子女的教育，让生活后顾无忧，可以听从内心做自己真正感兴趣的事，使生活更多姿多彩。
Body paragraph 2: 根据马斯洛需求理论，人的最高追求是自我实现(self-actualization)，这往往是通过帮助他人才能实现的。而金钱往往是必不可少的工具。（然后给出例证：比尔盖茨）富人可以通过多种帮助他人的方式创造最大的价值。
结尾段：重述观点。
My sample essay:
Affluent people account for a small part of a society, but the wealth they have amassed occupies a disproportionally high percentage of the social wealth. I think they can contribute most to the society they live in by selflessly helping others, especially the underprivileged.
There are justifiable reasons for rich people only caring about their own life. When a person has struggled to success, he deserves a better life, say buying a large villa and luxury cars. Apart from the material life, it is equally important to invest in their children’s education. Whether finding an experienced private teacher, buying a house near a famed school, or sending children abroad to study, all needs a large sum of money that common wage earners may never dare to imagine. Free from survival concerns, wealthy people can pursue things they are truly interested in, thus leading to quality life.
Despite personal goals which can be realized with money, I believe the most significant is the power to help others on the ground of Maslow need hierarchy, where self actualization is the top need. At this level, people are eager to fully develop themselves and exert their potential, and the best way to achieve this is to enlarge their influence circle, i.e. how many people they can influence and how much they can change the world in a positive way. In this sense, money serves as an indispensable tool. The most striking example, for me, is Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world. It was his wealth that helped him establish a fund dedicated to research into cures for diseases and aiming to relieve poverty and alleviate inequality in regional development. In reality, rich people can help others in different ways, even without having their own life quality suffer. For example, they can invest their extra money in prospective start-ups, or start their business to create more job opportunities, or just help a patient who is in urgent need of money for a big operation. By doing these, they create enormous value for the whole society.
On the whole, while it is not compulsory for wealthy people to help others, using their resources to change others’ life for the better is more than a personal virtue, but also an important contributing force to the betterment of the whole society.
（388 words）
最后，我想谈谈写这篇文章的感受。（其实本来不想写范文，觉得前面的分析已经写得够详细了。后来一想，这篇文章不好写，作为老师更是要自己写一遍，才能明白学生碰到的困难可能是什么，同时也要经常练练手感。）Body部分的第一段写完后，我就意识到，下一段必须要更长（因为第二段才是支持我的观点，上一段只不过是让步段）。这个字数的要求给了我一点点的压力。一般写议论文，因果论证是少不了的。但是对于这种抽象的的结论（“认为什么是最重要的”似乎只是个人价值观选择，很难找到物质基础）找到原因有点难，我决定从马斯洛需求理论入手：人满足了基本的生存需求、归属感、自尊等目标之后，会追求自我实现。而我们知道，最高层次的快乐和价值一般是帮助他人。总之，这一部分把他们整成因果关系是我写这篇文章中最难的部分。写完这部分之后，之后的例子就顺理成章比较自然了。
Anyway, this essay is just one possible approach. 大家可以分享更多的思路甚至文章。