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TOEFL Academic Discussion Writing Sample: Doctor Achebe:With so many opportunities to connect nowadays, some people believe that no matter which country we come from, we have more similarities than we have differences. However, others have observed that differences between themselves and people from other countries are growing. In your view, are differences between people from different countries increasing, or are they diminishing? Why? Andrew: I think the differences among us are decreasing as our exposure to products from other countries grows. We can enjoy food from any country. We can watch movies made in faraway places. We can go to a store and buy authentic goods from around the world. These things become part of our normal life and make our differences seem smaller. Claire: I understand what Andrew is saying, but for some people, being exposed to differences makes them retreat into their own corner even more. Look at social media. We are exposed to many different people and ideas, but a lot of people talk to only those they agree with and ignore the rest. This only makes the differences between people increase.

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Task Overview

Professor

With so many opportunities to connect nowadays, some people believe that no matter which country we come from, we have more similarities than we have differences. However, others have observed that differences between themselves and people from other countries are growing. In your view, are differences between people from different countries increasing, or are they diminishing? Why?

Andrew

I think the differences among us are decreasing as our exposure to products from other countries grows. We can enjoy food from any country. We can watch movies made in faraway places. We can go to a store and buy authentic goods from around the world. These things become part of our normal life and make our differences seem smaller.

Claire

I understand what Andrew is saying, but for some people, being exposed to differences makes them retreat into their own corner even more. Look at social media. We are exposed to many different people and ideas, but a lot of people talk to only those they agree with and ignore the rest. This only makes the differences between people increase.

User Samples & Evaluation Results

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User Sample #1

In my opinion, I concur with Andrew’s viewpoint that the differences among people from different countries are decreased. Expanding upon his idea that...

Score
27

User Sample

In my opinion, I concur with Andrew’s viewpoint that the differences among people from different countries are decreased. Expanding upon his idea that our exposure to the same products decreases differences, I would like to emphasize the advancement of technology and flourishing commerce also have a wide-reaching impact on this issue. To be specific, we are inhabiting an era of information, fueled by high technology represented by the Internet and cutting-edge digital devices, which allow us to easily contact and interact with people from different cultures through social media, such as Instagram, Weibo, and We chat etc. And as communications are increased, the misunderstanding and ignorance among people from different countries are mitigated thus people are getting closer than ever before. And what’s more, multinational companies also contribute to this situation. For example, universal brands like Starbucks and Luckin Coffee cultivate the habits of drinking coffee among Chinese people and introduce coffee culture in China as well. Such a phenomenon also happens in other international corporations during their commercial strategy. So under all these circumstances, I believe that the differences among people around the world are decreasing gradually indeed.

Evaluation Result

1. 子项得分

  • Relevance and Contribution to Discussion: 4.5

  • Clarity and Elaboration of Viewpoint: 4.0

  • Language Use and Grammar: 4.0

2. 预估分数

  • 27

3. 任务完成度

这篇文章在完成任务方面做得相当不错,但仍有一些可以改进的地方。首先,你可以更多地讨论和引用阅读材料中的观点,以便更全面地回应问题。此外,在提供支持观点的例子时,可以尝试使用更具体和详细的例子,以使论证更有说服力。

改进示例1:

  • 在讨论社交媒体对人们差异的影响时,可以引用Claire的观点,并对其进行批判性思考。

改进示例2:

  • 在提到跨国公司如何促使文化融合时,可以给出更多具体的例子,如麦当劳、肯德基等在全球范围内推广美式快餐文化。

4. 文章结构与组织

文章整体结构清晰,包括引言、正文和结论。然而,在组织上还有一些改进空间。建议在段落之间使用更明确的过渡词或短语来帮助读者理解你的观点是如何发展的。此外,可以尝试将观点更有条理地分配到不同的段落中,以便更清晰地阐述你的论点。

改进示例1:

  • 在讨论高科技如何促进文化交流时,可以使用过渡词如“首先”或“其次”,以突出这一观点在你的论证中的重要性。

改进示例2:

  • 在正文部分,可以将跨国公司对文化融合的影响与社交媒体对人们差异的影响分开讨论,以使文章结构更加清晰。

5. 语法批改

In my opinion, I concur with Andrew’s viewpoint that the differences among people from different countries are decreased. Expanding upon his idea that our exposure to the same products decreases differences, I would like to emphasize the advancement of technology and flourishing commerce also have a wide-reaching impact on this issue. To be specific, we are inhabiting an era of information, fueled by high technology represented by the Internet and cutting-edge digital devices, which allow us to easily contact and interact with people from different cultures through social media, such as Instagram, Weibo,Weibo(misspelling) and We chat etc. And as communications are increased, the misunderstanding and ignorance among people from different countries are mitigatedmitigated,(This rule identifies whether commas are missing in a sentence.) thus people are getting closer than ever before. And what’s more, multinational companies also contribute to this situation. For example, universal brands like Starbucks and LuckinLucking(misspelling) Coffee cultivate the habits of drinking coffee among Chinese people and introduce coffee culture in China as well. Such a phenomenon also happens in other international corporations during their commercial strategy. So under all these circumstances, I believe that the differences among people around the world are decreasing gradually indeed.

Title: 6 文章修订

In my opinion, I concur with Andrew's viewpoint that the differences among people from different countries are diminishing. Building upon his idea that our exposure to the same products decreases differences, I would like to emphasize that advancements in technology and flourishing commerce also have a significant impact on this issue. Specifically, we inhabit an era of information, fueled by cutting-edge technology represented by the Internet and digital devices, which allow us to easily connect and interact with individuals from diverse cultures through social media platforms such as Instagram, Weibo, and WeChat. As communication increases, misunderstandings and ignorance among people from different countries are mitigated, thus fostering closer connections than ever before. Furthermore, multinational corporations contribute to this situation. For instance, global brands like Starbucks and Luckin Coffee cultivate coffee-drinking habits among Chinese consumers and introduce coffee culture in China. Similar phenomena occur with other international corporations during their commercial strategies implementation. Under these circumstances, I firmly believe that the differences among people worldwide are gradually decreasing. (170 words)

In my opinion, I concur with Andrew’s Andrew's viewpoint that the differences among people from different countries are decreased. Expanding diminishing (revised for clarity and conciseness). Building upon his idea that our exposure to the same products decreases differences, I would like to emphasize the advancement of that advancements in technology and flourishing commerce also have a wide-reaching significant impact on this issue. To be specific, issue (revised for better word choice and clarity). Specifically, we are inhabiting inhabit an era of information, fueled by high cutting-edge technology represented by the Internet and cutting-edge digital devices, devices (revised for conciseness), which allow us to easily contact connect and interact with people individuals from different diverse cultures through social media, media platforms such as Instagram, Weibo, and We chat etc. And as communications are increased, the misunderstanding Weibo, and WeChat (corrected punctuation). As communication increases, misunderstandings and ignorance among people from different countries are mitigated mitigated, thus people are getting fostering closer connections than ever before. And what’s more, before (revised for clarity). Furthermore, multinational companies also corporations contribute to this situation. situation (revised for conciseness). For example, universal instance, global brands like Starbucks and Luckin Coffee cultivate the coffee-drinking habits of drinking coffee among Chinese people consumers and introduce coffee culture in China as well. Such a phenomenon also happens in (revised for clarity). Similar phenomena occur with other international corporations during their commercial strategy. So under all strategies implementation (revised for better word choice). Under these circumstances, I firmly believe that the differences among people around the world worldwide are gradually decreasing gradually indeed.(revised for emphasis and clarity).

Title: 8 思维导图


1. Introduction
   - Agree with Andrew's viewpoint
   - Differences among people diminishing

2. Technology advancements
   - Era of information
   - Internet and digital devices

3. Social media platforms
   - Instagram, Weibo, WeChat
   - Connect and interact with diverse cultures

4. Decreased misunderstandings and ignorance
   - Fostering closer connections globally

5. Multinational corporations' impact
   - Starbucks and Luckin Coffee example
   - Introducing coffee culture in China

6. Commercial strategies implementation 
   - Similar phenomena with other international corporations 

7. Conclusion 
   - Firm belief in decreasing differences among people worldwide 

Title: 9 关键词

WordPhonetic SymbolPart of SpeechEnglish DefinitionSimplified Chinese TranslationSample Sentence
concur/kənˈkɜr/verbto agree同意I concur with Andrew's viewpoint on this issue.
advancements/ədˈvæns.mənts/nounprogress or improvements进步Advancements in technology have made communication easier.
flourishing/ˈflʌrɪʃɪŋ/adjective/growing or developing successfully/繁荣的/The flourishing commerce has brought new opportunities to people.
multinational/ˌmʌltiˈnæʃənəl//adjective/involving several different countries/跨国的/Multinational corporations contribute to cultural exchange.
cultivate/ˈkʌltɪveɪt/verb/to try to develop and improve something/培养/Starbucks helps cultivate coffee-drinking habits in China.
phenomena/fəˈnɒmɪnə/noun/things that exist or happen, usually things that are unusual/现象/Similar phenomena occur with other international corporations.
implementation/ɪmˌplɛmənˈteɪʃən/nounthe process of putting a plan or decision into effect实施The implementation of commercial strategies affects cultures.
era/ˈɪrə/nouna period of time marked by particular events or features时代We live in an era of information and technology.
diminishing/dɪˈmɪnɪʃɪŋ/adjectivebecoming smaller, weaker, or less important减少的The differences among people from different countries are diminishing.
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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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