TOEFL TPO 1 Speaking Task 3 Sample: Explain groupthink and its effects using example of the computer company.

1.子项得分 Delivery: 3 Language Use: 3 Topic Development: 3

2.预估分数

23. 3.表达

从表达方面来看，这位同学的回答相对清晰，但在语速和停顿方面还有待提高。建议在练习时注意保持一致的语速，适当减少不必要的停顿。同时，注意发音的准确性，以避免拼写错误。

4.话题发展 从话题发展方面来看，这位同学的回答内容基本上符合题目要求，但在组织结构和论据支持方面还有提升空间。建议在练习时注意逻辑结构的梳理，确保观点之间的关联性，并尝试提供更多具体的例子或论据来支持观点。

5.语言使用

Original Answer: The group thinking is a process by which groups make bad or irrational decisions. The professor used his own example in a computer company to illustrate this idea. The professor proposed a new design of the computer in a meeting. However, originally, half of the co-workers voted for his opinion. However, after senior co-workers made disagreements, there was a shift in support. People began to vote against his own idea. And it turned out that the decision was really poor because the other year, the competitors changed his new design and used that design to attract the last of consumer which jeopardized the company's potential profits.

Corrected Answer: The group thinking Groupthink (原文为group thinking，应改为groupthink) is a process by which groups make bad or irrational decisions. The professor used his own example experience (原文为example，应改为experience) in a computer company to illustrate this idea. The professor proposed a new design of the computer in a meeting. However, originally, Initially (原文为however, originally，应改为initially以使句子更自然流畅), half of the co-workers voted for his opinion. However, Yet (原文为however，应改为yet以避免重复使用however), after senior co-workers made disagreements disagreed (原文为made disagreements，应改为disagreed), there was a shift in support. People began to vote against his own idea. And it turned out that the decision was really poor because the other year the following year (原文为the other year，应改为the following year), the competitors changed his new design introduced a new design (原文为changed his new design，应改为introduced a new design) and used that design to attract the last of consumer more consumers (原文为the last of consumer，应改为more consumers), which jeopardized the company's potential profits.

Revised Answer (140 words): Groupthink is a process by which groups make bad or irrational decisions. The professor shared his own experience in a computer company to illustrate this concept. He proposed a new design for the computer during a meeting. Initially, half of the co-workers supported his idea. Yet, when senior co-workers disagreed, there was a shift in support, and people began voting against his proposal. Eventually, the decision not to change the design proved to be detrimental, as the following year, competitors introduced an innovative design that attracted more consumers. This negatively impacted the company's potential profits. To achieve a higher score, it is essential to use advanced vocabulary, proper grammar, maintain a natural flow of statements, smooth transitions, and strong conclusions in your response.

6.思维导图

Groupthink
├─ Definition
├─ Professor's experience
│   ├─ Computer company
│   ├─ Proposed new design
│   ├─ Initial support
│   └─ Shift in support due to senior co-workers' disagreement
└─ Effects
    ├─ Decision not to change design
    └─ Competitors' success with new design and impact on company's profits

7.关键词

1.Sub Scores Delivery: 3 Language Use: 3 Topic Development: 3

2.Estimated Scores

23. 3.Delivery

The speaker's delivery is generally clear and fluid, but there are occasional pauses that disrupt the flow of speech. To improve, the speaker should practice maintaining a consistent pace and minimizing unnecessary pauses. Additionally, the speaker should work on pronunciation to avoid any spelling errors that may result from inaccuracies in speech.

4.Topic Development The response is coherent and well-organized, with clear connections between ideas and sufficient support or examples. However, there is room for improvement in providing more specific details from both the reading and listening passages to strengthen the response. The speaker should also focus on using more varied sentence structures and vocabulary to enhance the overall quality of the answer.

5.Language Use

The reading of high stage reading passage (clarification for better understanding) mainly talks about groupthink, which refers to one process by which groups may make insensible irrational (corrected word choice) decisions. In the business measurement management (corrected word choice) class, the professor used his own working experience in a computer company as an example to illustrate the concept. Actually, he and his co-worker wanted to make a design makeover in order to attract new customers. In the beginning, half of his colleagues approved their plan, but some seniors disagreed with them because they thought their focus was technology and the change was necessary unnecessary (corrected word choice for accurate meaning). Then suddenly, most of his supporters and even his co-worker changed their mind because they didn't want to have a bad impression on the senior managers. Finally, the professor also voted against his own idea, but the end result was terrible. His competitor made a new design and prevented the company from profiting from new customers.

Revised Answer (140 words):

The reading passage discusses groupthink, a process where groups make irrational decisions due to conformity pressures. In a business management class, the professor shared his experience at a computer company to illustrate this concept. He and his coworker proposed a design makeover to attract new customers. Initially, half of their colleagues supported the idea, but some senior managers opposed it, believing their focus should be on technology and that the change was unnecessary. Subsequently, many supporters, including the coworker, changed their stance to avoid leaving a negative impression on senior managers. The professor eventually voted against his own proposal, leading to a poor outcome. Their competitor introduced a new design, attracting potential customers and negatively impacting their company's profits.

6.Mind Map

- Groupthink
  - Definition
  - Reasons for occurrence

- Professor's experience
  - Computer company
  - Design makeover proposal
  - Initial support
  - Senior managers' opposition
  - Supporters changing stance
  - Professor voting against own idea

- Consequences
  - Competitor's new design
  - Loss of potential customers and profits

7.Key Words

1.子项得分 Delivery: 3 Language Use: 3 Topic Development: 3

2.预估分数 Estimated Score: 23

3.表达 在表达方面，发言者的语言流利度和语速基本上是一致的，但偶尔会有停顿。为了提高发言质量，建议发言者注意以下几点：1) 在适当的地方停顿，以增强语言的连贯性；2) 确保发音准确，以避免拼写错误。通过改进这些方面，发言者可以更清晰、流畅地表达观点。

4.话题发展 The speaker provided a coherent and well-organized response, with clear connections between ideas and sufficient support or examples. However, there is room for improvement in topic development. The speaker could have elaborated more on the reasons behind groupthink and its effects on the computer company's decision-making process. Additionally, the speaker could have better emphasized the consequences of groupthink in the given example, such as the loss of customers and profits due to the company's decision not to update their computer design. By expanding on these points, the speaker's response would be more comprehensive and persuasive.

5.语言使用

Original Answer: Groupthink said team members insist on immature and unreasonable thought only because of his fear or desire to take part in the group's group work. Groupthink occurs when team members adopt irrational and immature thoughts due to their fear or desire to conform to the group's consensus. (将原句中的表述进行了调整，使其更自然流畅) The company example is the speaker want to make a new design makeover to attract more customers. In the company example, the speaker wanted to create a new design makeover to attract more customers. (修改了时态和语法结构，使句子更清晰) Originally half of the people support the speaker but only when the senior manager disagreed with the opinion and said they should only focus on the technology, more and more people agreed with the senior manager because they think the disagreement will only jeopardize their promotion. Initially, half of the people supported the speaker, but when the senior manager disagreed and stated that they should focus solely on technology, more people agreed with him, fearing that disagreement would jeopardize their promotions. (调整了句子结构，使其更连贯) After more and more people supporting the senior manager, even if the speaker himself disagreed with the original thought, at the end the immature thought cost a lot of money and prevent the company from getting new customers. As more people supported the senior manager, even the speaker eventually disagreed with his original idea, resulting in the company losing money and potential new customers due to the immature decision. (对句子进行了重组，使其更清晰)

Revised Answer (140 words): Groupthink occurs when team members adopt irrational and immature thoughts due to their fear or desire to conform to the group's consensus. In the company example, the speaker wanted to create a new design makeover to attract more customers. Initially, half of the people supported the speaker, but when the senior manager disagreed and stated that they should focus solely on technology, more people agreed with him, fearing that disagreement would jeopardize their promotions. As more people supported the senior manager, even the speaker eventually disagreed with his original idea, resulting in the company losing money and potential new customers due to the immature decision. By understanding and addressing groupthink, companies can make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes like the one in this example.

6.思维导图

- Groupthink
  - Definition
  - Reasons
    - Fear
    - Desire to conform

- Company Example
  - New design makeover proposal
  - Initial support
  - Senior manager's disagreement
    - Focus on technology
  - Shift in support
    - Fear of jeopardizing promotions
  - Resulting decision
    - Loss of money and potential customers

7.关键词