下面是在雅思考試中，導致考生們失分的8個最常見的錯誤：
1. More is less. A very common mistake is to answer in more words than instructed. If the task says "Not more than 3 words", answering in 4 or more words will definitely cost marks.
不能超過規(guī)定字數(shù)。常見的一個錯誤就是答案超過要求的數(shù)字。如果試題要求“不超過3個詞”，那么用四個及以上的詞就會導致失分。
2. Less is less. The length of a written task is crucial. When instructions mention a minimal number of words (250 for essay, 150 for report or letter), it means that any work shorter than required will be penalized.
不能少于規(guī)定字數(shù)。寫作板塊的字數(shù)是嚴格要求的。當出題者提及最少字數(shù)（作文250字，報告或信件150字），這也就意味著少于規(guī)定字數(shù)的會被扣分。
3. Longer essay doesn't mean better mark. Another common misconception is that longer essays score better in IELTS. Not only is this a myth, but also a dangerous one. Writing a long essay can indirectly cost marks, because the chances of making mistakes increase with the number of words and sentences.
并不是寫的越多分數(shù)就越高。另一個常見的誤解就是，雅思考試中，文章寫得越長，分數(shù)就越多。這種想法不僅是不現(xiàn)實的，也是危險的。篇幅長的文章也會間接導致失分，因為，隨著詞句數(shù)量的增加，出現(xiàn)錯誤的幾率也會上漲。
4. Changing the subject is unacceptable. Every so often a student is asked to write on topic, that he doesn't understand. To avoid the disaster of missing a whole task they decide to write on a slightly – or entirely - different topic. The sad fact is that no matter how beautiful the submitted work is, the wrong topic means zero score. Another similar pitfall is to omit parts of the given topic or ignore the guidelines in your work. Every point the topic refers to needs to be covered because the examiners will be actually counting them.
主題不能改變。學生們經(jīng)常會被要求就一個自己不懂的主題進行寫作。為了避免無話可說，他們決定寫一個稍微不同——或者截然不同的主題。令人沮喪的是，不管他們最后提交的文章寫得多么好，離題就意味著零分。還有一個常見的失誤就是，遺漏主題的部分內(nèi)容，或者沒有留意到文中的參考信息。我們需要涉及到主題包含的每一個知識點，因為閱卷老師會將它們一個個數(shù)出來。
5. Good memory can get you in trouble. Having seen that the topics sometimes repeat, "smart" students with good memory decide to memorize essays. This is a terrible mistake to make because the examiners are trained to look for memorized essays and have firm instructions to disqualify such works on the spot.
記憶力好有時并不是件好事。在看到重復出現(xiàn)的題目后，“聰明”又記性好的學生會選擇熟記這些文章。這是一個嚴重的錯誤，因為閱卷老師都是經(jīng)過培訓的，他們能看出哪些文章是你背誦出來的，并且可以毋庸置疑地當場取消你的應(yīng)試資格。
6. Accent is not important. Pronunciation is.! IELTS, being a test for non-native English speakers can't penalize people for having an accent. The problem here is that not everyone knows the difference between speaking with an accent and mispronouncing the words. No matter how strong of an accent a person has, the words are to be pronounced correctly or it will cost marks.
口音并不重要，發(fā)音才重要！作為一場面向非英語母語者的考試，雅思考試不會因為口音問題而處罰應(yīng)試者。問題在于，不是所有的人都能夠區(qū)分說話帶口音和發(fā)錯音的區(qū)別。不管一個人說話的口音多么重，只要發(fā)音正確就不會被扣分。
7. It is not the ideas that are important, but the way they are described in. Many students think that expressing the wrong ideas (whether it is in essay, letter or discussion) can harm their score. The truth is that no idea can be wrong and the ideas are not important on their own, it is the way they are expressed in that important.
重要的不是你敘述的觀點，而是你敘述觀點的方式。許多學生認為，表達錯誤的觀點（不管是在作文、寫信還是討論中）會使他們失分。然而事實是，沒有絕對錯誤的觀點，觀點本身并不重要，重要的是你敘述觀點的方式。
8. Connective words: the more is not always the better. Smart students know that one of the essay marking criteria are coherence and cohesion, and what better way is there to demonstrate cohesion than to use lots of connective words, right? Wrong. Overuse of connective words is a know problem, which is easily recognized and penalized by the examiners.
關(guān)聯(lián)詞語：更多并不一定更好。聰明的學生知道，作文的評分標準是連貫性和統(tǒng)一性，那么使用一堆關(guān)聯(lián)詞語來表示統(tǒng)一性是不是會更好呢？錯。過度使用關(guān)聯(lián)詞是一個非常明顯的錯誤，閱卷老師會輕而易舉地發(fā)現(xiàn)并扣掉考生的分數(shù)。
A word of advice: to stay out of trouble, it is equally important to be aware of the pitfalls and to practice enough before the exam. Being familiar with the structure and the procedure of the test will build up confidence and that will reflect in your score.
一句忠告：為了避免失誤，考前了解失分點并做好充分的練習也是非常重要的。熟悉考試的結(jié)構(gòu)及流程可以幫助你樹立自信心，對你的成績也自然有幫助。
