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TOEFL Academic Discussion Writing Sample: A professor is teaching a class on economics. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response you should: express and support your opinion make a contribution to the discussion.

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Task Overview

Professor

When people are asked about the most important discoveries or inventions made in the last two hundred years, they usually mention something very obvious, like the computer or the cell phone. But there are thousands of other discoveries or inventions that have had a huge impact on how we live today. What scientific discovery or technological invention from the last two hundred years other than computers and cell phones would you choose as being important? Why?

Student A

I mean, we're so used to science and technology that we are not even aware of all the things we use in our daily lives. I would probably choose space satellites. This technology happened in the last hundred years, and it has become important for so many things. Just think about navigation, or telecommunications, or even the military.

Student B

I am thinking about medical progress. Like, for example, when scientists discovered things about healthy nutrition. I am thinking of identifying all the vitamins we need to stay healthy. I am not sure exactly when the vitamin discoveries happened, but I know they are very important. Our health is much better than it was 200 years ago.

User Samples & Evaluation Results

User Sample

While Paul’s idea of space satellites and Claire’s mention of medical progress are both interesting, I believe that the invention and popularization of cameras have benefited people more significantly. Firstly, with the ability to take pictures, people are allowed to record their precious moments and re-experience them in the future through looking at old photos. It offers people the opportunity to recall more vivid memories, whereas in the past, the only way to record the present was by drawing scenes down, which couldn’t catch the moment because of its time-consuming nature. For instance, my mother, who was born in the 1970s, had the chance to record a lot of pictures of her grandmother. After her grandmother passed away, my mom would often gaze into the old pictures of her smiling, cooking, or playing, and quietly describe to me how much nostalgia but also happiness she obtained merely by looking at these photos.

Evaluation Result

1. 子项得分

  • Relevance and Contribution to Discussion: 5

  • Clarity and Elaboration of Viewpoint: 4.5

  • Language Use and Grammar: 4.5

2. 预估分数

28. 3 任务完成度

这篇文章在任务完成度方面表现良好,成功回答了问题并提供了有力的论据。然而,可以在以下方面进行改进:

  1. 在论证观点时,可以更具体地说明相机如何影响人们的生活,并与其他科技发明进行对比。

  2. 可以尝试使用更多的例子来支持观点,以增强说服力。

示例1(改进):相较于卫星技术和医学进步,摄影技术为人们提供了一个更加亲密、个人化的体验。例如,在家庭聚会上,人们可以通过拍照记录下美好时光,并在未来回顾这些珍贵瞬间。

示例2(改进):此外,摄影技术还在新闻报道、历史记录等领域发挥着重要作用。通过照片记录下重大事件,我们能够更直观地了解过去发生的事情。

4. 文章结构与组织

文章结构清晰,包括引言、正文和结论。各段落专注于特定观点及其支持细节。然而,在以下方面可以进行改进:

  1. 在段落之间增加过渡性词语,使文章更连贯。

  2. 可以在结论部分总结观点,强调相机对人们生活的重要性。

示例1(改进):首先,摄影技术使人们能够记录下珍贵时刻,并在未来通过回顾照片重温这些回忆(增加过渡词语)。

示例2(改进):总之,尽管卫星技术和医学进步对人类社会产生了深远影响,但我认为摄影技术在捕捉生活瞬间、传递情感以及记录历史方面具有更为重要的价值。

5. 语法批改

While Paul's idea of space satellites and Claire's mention of medical progress are both interesting, I believe that the invention and popularization of cameras have benefited people more significantly. Firstly, with the ability to take pictures, people are allowed to record their precious moments and re-experience them in the future through looking at old photos. It offers people the opportunity to recall more vivid memories, whereas in the past, the only way to record the present was by drawing scenes down,scenes, which couldn't catch the moment because of its time-consuming nature. For instance, my mother, who was born in the 1970s, had the chance to record a lot ofmany pictures of her grandmother. After her grandmother passed away, my mom would often gaze intoat the old pictures of her smiling, cooking, or playing, and quietly describe to me how much nostalgia but also happiness she obtained merely by looking at these photos.

Title: 6 文章修订

While Paul's suggestion of space satellites and Claire's emphasis on medical progress are noteworthy, I contend that the invention and widespread adoption of cameras have had a more profound impact on people's lives.

Firstly, the ability to capture images enables individuals to document cherished moments and relive them in the future by perusing old photographs. This technology allows for more vivid recollections, whereas in the past, people relied on sketching scenes, which was a time-consuming process that could not truly capture the essence of a moment.

For example, my mother, born in the 1970s, had the opportunity to take numerous pictures of her grandmother. After her grandmother's passing, my mother would often study these old photographs depicting her smiling, cooking, or playing and share with me the deep sense of nostalgia and happiness she derived from these visual memories. (142 words)

Revised essay: Title: 7 文章批改

While Paul’s idea Paul's suggestion of space satellites and Claire’s mention of Claire's emphasis on medical progress are both interesting, noteworthy (revised for clarity and parallelism), I believe contend that the invention and popularization widespread adoption of cameras have benefited people had a more significantly. profound impact on people's lives (revised for better flow).

Firstly, with the ability to take pictures, people are allowed capture images enables individuals to record their precious document cherished moments (revised for clarity) and re-experience relive them in the future through looking at by perusing old photos. It offers people the opportunity to recall photographs. This technology allows for more vivid memories, recollections (revised for conciseness), whereas in the past, people relied on sketching scenes, which was a time-consuming process that could not truly capture the only way to record the present was by drawing scenes down, which couldn’t catch the essence of a moment because of its time-consuming nature. (revised for clarity).

For instance, example, my mother, who was born in the 1970s, had the chance opportunity to record a lot of take numerous pictures of her grandmother. After her grandmother passed away, grandmother's passing, my mom mother would often gaze into the study these old pictures of photographs depicting her smiling, cooking, or playing, playing (revised for variety) and quietly describe to share with me how much the deep sense of nostalgia but also and happiness she obtained merely by looking at derived from these photos.visual memories (revised for better flow).

8 思维导图


1. Introduction
   - Space satellites
   - Medical progress
   - Cameras (main focus)

2. Capturing Cherished Moments
   - Documenting memories
   - Vivid recollections
   - Comparison to sketching

3. Personal Example
   - Mother's photographs of grandmother
   - Nostalgia and happiness from visual memories

4. Conclusion
   - Profound impact of cameras on people's lives

9 关键词

WordPhonetic SymbolPart of SpeechEnglish DefinitionSimplified Chinese TranslationSample Sentence
noteworthy/ˈnoʊtwɜrði/adjectivedeserving attention because of being important or interesting值得注意的The invention of cameras is a noteworthy development in human history.
profound/prəˈfaʊnd/adjectivevery great or intense深远的The impact of cameras on people's lives has been profound.
vivid/ˈvɪvɪd/adjectiveproducing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind |生动的 |Old photographs provide vivid recollections of cherished moments.
recollection |/ˌrɛkəˈlɛkʃən/ |noun |a memory, especially one that is fond or nostalgic |回忆 |My mother shared her recollections of her grandmother with me through photographs.
essence |/ˈɛsəns/ |noun |the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something |本质 |Sketching could not truly capture the essence of a moment like a photograph can.
nostalgia |/nɒˈstældʒə/ |noun |a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past |怀旧之情 |My mother felt a deep sense of nostalgia when looking at old photographs.
derive/dɪˈraɪv/verbto obtain something from (a specified source)源于She derived happiness from the visual memories captured in photographs.
cherish/ˈtʃɛrɪʃ/verbto protect and care for (someone) lovingly珍爱People cherish moments by capturing them in photographs.
peruse/pəˈruːz/verbto read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way细读She would peruse old photographs to relive cherished memories.
time-consuming/taɪm kənˈsju mɪŋ/adjectivetaking up much time; lengthy耗时的Sketching scenes was a time-consuming process compared to taking photographs.

How Academic Discussion Is Scored

The TOEFL Academic Discussion task is evaluated based on the official ETS scoring rubric. AI evaluation analyzes each response across multiple dimensions.

Relevance & Contribution

Does the response address the question and contribute meaningfully to the discussion?

Language Use

Grammar accuracy, vocabulary range, and sentence structure quality.

Development & Support

Are ideas well-developed with specific examples and clear reasoning?

Common Patterns Across Responses

Based on analysis of user submissions for this task, here are common patterns observed in student responses.

Many students provide clear opinions but lack specific supporting examples.

Strong responses directly reference the reading passage and other speakers' viewpoints.

Higher-scoring responses use varied sentence structures and academic vocabulary.

Time management is a key factor — responses that feel rushed tend to score lower on development.

Learning Tips

1

Read the prompt carefully and identify all parts of the question before writing.

2

Reference the reading passage and the other students' opinions in your response.

3

Use specific examples to support your main point — avoid generic statements.

4

Aim for 120-150 words. Longer responses are not always better; clarity and focus matter more.

5

Practice timed responses (10 minutes) to build fluency under exam conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the TOEFL Academic Discussion task?
The TOEFL Academic Discussion task requires you to contribute to an online classroom discussion. You'll read a professor's question and other students' responses, then write your own post expressing and supporting your opinion in about 10 minutes.
How is the Academic Discussion task scored?
The task is scored on a scale of 0-5 based on relevance to the discussion, quality of language use (grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure), and how well you develop and support your ideas with specific examples and reasoning.
What are the user samples on this page?
These are real responses submitted by TOEFL test-takers who practiced this question on LingoLeap. Each sample has been evaluated by our AI scoring engine, which provides a score and detailed feedback on strengths and areas for improvement.
How accurate is the AI evaluation?
LingoLeap's AI evaluation engine is trained on official ETS scoring rubrics and calibrated against human rater scores. While no automated system is perfect, it provides reliable feedback for practice purposes and helps identify specific areas for improvement.
How can I practice this Academic Discussion task?
You can practice by signing up for a free LingoLeap account. Write your own response to this exact question, submit it, and receive instant AI evaluation with detailed feedback on your writing.
How long should my Academic Discussion response be?
Aim for 120-150 words. The task gives you 10 minutes to write your response. Focus on clarity, supporting your opinion with specific examples, and referencing the discussion context rather than writing a longer response.

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