在多年的雅思培训教学中，笔者被学员追问最多的经典问题是：老师，能否预测雅思作文考题？临考前，考生往往寄希望于老师压中考题，重点准备几个话题；而最令考生恐惧的是所谓的每半年一次的“换题”。我完全理解考生的心情和顾虑——数百个题材广泛的雅思作文话题对于大多数中国雅思考生而言，实在太恐惧了。要解决这样的问题就要从两个方面着手：第一是跟随老师辅导，缩小复习范围，尽可能地提高复习的针对性。另外一个方面就是要提高自己的实际水平和能力，降低没有压中题的风险。

        之所以要跟随老师的辅导是因为茫茫题海会让考生往往不知所措：全部准备不切实际；不全面准备，心中没底。因此，我在《朗文雅思冲刺2》中特别给出完整的写作机经，让学生在复习的时候更有针对性。需要提醒大家的是，考生在使用机经的时候最好是选择专业老师给出的机经，因为这样的机经才具有完整性和可训练性。例如，很多学生对着中文的“警察是否应该配枪”作训练，出来的文章和实际题目中的“Unlike other countries, police in Britain do not carry guns. Some people believe that it will leave citizens unprotected, but some suggest that it reduces the overall violence in society. Discuss those two views.（见《朗文雅思冲刺1》）”在要求上颇有偏差，在考场上容易出现“偏题”的现象。

        除了老师的话题辅导，在写作的时候，考生普遍感到困难的是写作思路的问题。大家知道，雅思作文话题题材异常广泛，包括科技、教育、健康、环保、犯罪、文化传统、时尚、体育运动、动物保护、政府职能等等，其实不少话题我们中文写作课都罕见，如“强迫人们50岁退休是否合情合理？”，“分析语言文化消失的成因，提出相应对策”，“警察是否应该配枪？”。难怪不少同学感叹道：“这些题材用汉语也不见得能飞洒自如，有感而发！” 即使老师压中了题目，是否能够准备出高分作文都是难题。

        因此，笔者一直主张“授人以鱼，不如授人以渔。”强调提升学员的写作实力，而非单纯的应试。笔者通过对200多个雅思作文话题的深入研究，独创了“写作十大原则”，旨在帮助雅思考生摆脱“无米下炊”的困境，彻底消除对所谓新题的恐惧，做到“以不变应万变”。下面简单介绍十大原则的由来，并结合2005年的考题详细讲解如何利用十大原则备战雅思写作。

     “写作十大原则”其实是笔者通过研究众多雅思写作话题的“共性”，归纳出来的万用观点，是属于“精”的那一类观点。换句话说，是英语作文必备观点，属于“万金油”、“救命稻草”和“保底”类的观点。对已出现的作文考题稍作分析，笔者发现，尽管雅思作文话题多达数百题，不少话题的论据其实是类似，相近或者是相通的。例如，“远程教育是否将取代传统学校”=“电脑是否将取代老师”，“是否应该按照学生学习能力分班”=“智商高的学生是否应该和智商一般的学生同班学习”，“动物园有没有必要”=“该不该保护濒危动物”，“政府该不该资助艺术家”=“政府该不该投资艺术项目如音乐厅、博物馆等”。 “写作十大原则”包括以下方面：（1） ECONOMY (2) TIME (3)HEALTH (4) EDUCATION (5) EMOTION (6) PSYCHOLOGY (7) RIGHT (8) ENVIRONMENT (9)CULTURE (10) MORALITY。大部分雅思话题的正反论据都涉及到“十大原则”中的其中几个方面。只要掌握了十大原则及其核心词汇，不管考试中遇到什么话题，都能够说出个所以然，不会出现思维短路现象，或者有感而发不出来。

        下面我们通过分析2005年2月部分考题来验证十大原则的高效性。2月5号的A类考题为：“现代科技促进食品行业的发展，提供了各种美味食品如转基因食品等。但是有人却担心这将对人的健康构成潜在威胁。你的看法如何？”本题与《朗文雅思冲刺2》中的作文题目基本吻合。做题的第一步骤是判断该题属于DISCUSSION还是ARGUMENTATION。从题目我们可以断定，该题属于ARGUMENTATION型（FOR AND AGAINST）。然后按照十大原则进行BRAINSTORMING，看看正反方的论据有几方面涉及到十大原则，按照FOR 和AGAINST 罗列出来。最后利用十大原则核心词汇把各个观点有机地串起来。下面笔者根据十大原则罗列出该话题的正反论据。

          FOR （涉及经济、健康、环保、文化等原则）

         1. 经济原则：Genetically modified (GM) food is a key area of agricultural biotechnology. Supporters of GM food believe the technology could offer cheaper, safer and more nutritious food.

         2. 健康原则：Genetically modified food activists promise gene technology will supply plentiful amounts of food to starvation stricken areas in the Third World.

         3. 健康原则：Genetically modified crops (transgenic crops) are best known for their abilities to resist pests (weeds, insects, and diseases) or for produce containing high nutrient levels.

         4. 经济和健康原则：Transgenic crops may provide increased profits to the farmer while providing cheaper and more nutritious food.

         5. 环保原则：Genetic engineering also has helped make crops available that could not otherwise tolerate adverse environmental conditions (drought, cold, high salt levels in the soils, etc.).

         6. 经济、环保和健康原则：Such crops are capable of resisting pests, generating higher yields, and producing food with high nutrient content. They are considered an effective means of dealing with pest problems while reducing production costs.

         7. 经济原则：A possible benefit of transgenic crops or animals is that they can be bred for desirable traits very precisely and much faster than when traditional methods are used.

         8. 健康原则：Certain transgenic crops (e.g., "golden rice" capable of synthesizing the precursor of Vitamin A) are capable of producing higher amounts of nutrients and vitamins, which could be have a great impact on solving nutrition problems in heavily populated and underdeveloped countries.

        9. 文化原则：GMF technology provides us with a rich variety of foods that enrich our diet and may introduce new culture of eating and diverse cuisines.

        10. 经济原则：According to its proponents, genetic engineering could improve the growth rate and yield from crops, and so feed more people from the available land, in the face of the expansion of the world's population.

        11. 环保原则：It may be possible to develop genetically modified plants to be more resistant to the vagaries of climate, or to grow on marginal land prone to drought or erosion, or highly salt or acid conditions.

        12. 健康原则：GM food increases the nutritional qualities of food from crops and animals.

        13. 环保和健康原则：The environmental advantages of reducing chemical inputs to the land, the possibility of growing crops in hitherto marginal regions of the Third World, and the improvements in nutritional qualities of food are excellent goals, and would be welcomed by most people.

         AGAINST （涉及健康、经济、环保、伦理道德和权利等）

         1. 健康、伦理、环保和权利原则：Concerns about deploying genetically modified crops include food safety, ethics, environmental risk, loss of landrace biodiversity, and the lack of appropriate biosafety regulations.

        2. 健康原则：Giant transnational companies are carrying out a dangerous global experiment by introducing large numbers of genetically engineered foods into our diet.

        3. 健康原则：Opponents argue that there are still many unknowns, despite the absence of problems so far.

        4. 健康和环保原则：Genetic manipulations can result in unanticipated harmful effects, and because genetically engineered foods are not tested sufficiently, this experiment not only jeopardizes the health of individuals, but could also lead to global food shortages and extensive ecological hazards.

         5. 健康原则：Due to genetically modified food's unique and unknown nature, there is potential for adverse health side effects. It is impossible to predict the impact of genetic food; it is a matter of waiting for and observing future consequences.

        6. 健康和环保原则：The cross-species transfers being made, such as between fish and tomatoes, would not happen in nature and may create new toxins, diseases, and weaknesses.

        7. 健康原则：An example of a possible health detrimental effect is resistance to widely used antibiotics.

        8. 伦理道德和权利原则：Transferring animal genes into plants also raises important ethical issues for vegetarians and religious groups. It may also involve animal experiments that are unacceptable to many people. Some Christians object in principle to genetically modified food, as an unacceptable intervention in God's creation violating barriers in the natural world.

        9. 环保原则：Once a genetically modified organism has been released into the environment it can reproduce, move and even mutate.

        10. 环保原则：After its release, it cannot be recalled. Unlike chemical or nuclear contamination, genetic pollution is perpetual. It can never be reversed or cleaned up; genetic mistakes will be passed on to all future generations of a species.

        11. 环保原则:The huge areas of genetically identical crops will influence the evolution of local pests, plants, wildlife, and disrupt surrounding ecosystems.

        12. 环保原则：What would happen if the genes for insect and weed killer resistance, which have been introduced to crop plants, found their way into weeds? The result could be 'super weeds' which would force the development of more toxic herbicides.

        13. 健康原则：If we allow the development of genetically modified food to continue we are consequently handing our lives over to the Biotech companies.

        14. 健康原则：Eating certain transgenic foods has occasionally led to the development of allergies.

        15. 健康和环保原则：Opponents of the technology argue that transgenic crops would increase our dependence on pesticides.

        16. 环保和健康原则：The flow of transgenes into other organisms through pollution (termed "genetic pollution") may pose unknown risks to the ecosystem. Once these genes are released, it is difficult to recall them.

         17. 环保原则：Because genetic engineering focuses on crops with certain highly desirable traits, genetic diversity within the crop could be diminished.

        18. 环保和健康原则：This can make crops more susceptible to natural calamities such as disease outbreaks.

        19. 环保原则：Fruits and vegetables may be changed for the worse and may spread these changes to wild organisms, ruining the Earth's environment.