All Samples

TOEFL Academic Discussion Writing Sample: Instructions: Your professor is teaching a class on education. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response you should:. express and support your personal opinion.make a contribution to the discussion in your own words An effective response will contain at least 100 words.

Real user submissions with AI-powered evaluation and feedback

1 user-submitted samples available

Start Free Practice

Task Overview

Dr. Achebe

Secondary or high school students (aged 14-18) who plan to attend university must begin thinking about what field of study they'll enter. Some students might be directed into certain fields by their parents and teachers. Others prefer to make their own choice based on their own interests and feelings. Do you believe that secondary school students should be allowed to choose their own field of study at university without being guided by parents and teachers? Why?

Kelly

I think it's a mistake to let students at that age make such an important decision on their own. They usually don't have the wisdom to choose appropriately. The people who know them best - their parents and teachers - will be more objective and give the best guidance.

Andrew

Choosing a field of study, and perhaps a career in that field based mainly on what others tell you to do seems wrong to me. My parents wanted me to study engineering, but I'm not interested in that; I want to help people learn. I know I'll struggle more financially as a teacher, but I'm sure I'll be happier.

User Samples & Evaluation Results

User Sample

While Andrew’s viewpoint holds merit, I am inclined to agree with Kelly that parents and teachers’ suggestions are crucial factor for secondary school. Building upon Kelly’s argument, I would like to emphasize that students in secondary school have high possibilities deciding a wrong path since they are in the stage of mental immaturity. However, parents and teachers have enough social experience can guide students to choose a right path that benefits their well-being in the future. Besides, they are familiar with the majors and lives in the university. It means they know which major have high employment rate, graduation rate, as well as tell them some convenient methods to solve some troubles in the campus. Moreover, parents and teachers can give some useful advices for students that avoid students to regret in the future. Teachers always teach and grade students that they are totally know which academic area is their good at. Teachers can give a reasonable suggestions for students to choose which subject will students major in. Also, parents are familiar with your characteristics and living habits. They can help you to choose the university by looking the location and university’s surrounding environment. By combining parents and teachers viewpoints, I convinced that you must have a perfect school choice that benefits you forever. In light of these points, It is evident that the benefits of parents and teachers advices for secondary students far outweigh any potential drawbacks.

Evaluation Result

1. Sub Scores

  • Relevance and Contribution to Discussion: 4.5

  • Clarity and Elaboration of Viewpoint: 4.0

  • Language Use and Grammar: 4.0

2. Estimated Scores

Estimated Score: 27

3. Task completeness

The essay does a good job of addressing the task requirements, expressing a clear opinion and supporting it with relevant arguments. However, there is room for improvement in terms of elaborating on the viewpoint and providing more specific examples to strengthen the argument.

Suggestions for improvement:

  • Provide more concrete examples to support your points.

  • Further elaborate on your viewpoint by discussing potential drawbacks or counterarguments.

Examples:

  1. "For instance, a student who excels in mathematics might be encouraged by their teacher to pursue a degree in engineering or computer science, as these fields are known for their high demand and lucrative job opportunities."
  2. "While some may argue that students should have complete autonomy in choosing their field of study, it is important to consider that guidance from experienced individuals can help them make informed decisions that will benefit them in the long run."

4. Essay structure and organization

The essay has a clear structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The organization is mostly logical, but there is room for improvement in terms of transitions between ideas and paragraphs.

Suggestions for improvement:

  • Use clearer transitions between ideas within paragraphs.

  • Ensure each paragraph focuses on one main point with supporting details.

Examples:

  1. "In addition to considering academic strengths, parents can also provide valuable input based on their understanding of their child's personality traits and preferences."
  2. "On the other hand, it is essential not to disregard the importance of personal interests when making such decisions. A balance between guidance from parents and teachers and individual choice should be sought to ensure both success and personal satisfaction."

5. Grammar

While Andrew's viewpoint holds merit, I am inclined to agree with Kelly that parents and teachers' suggestions are crucial factorfactors for secondary school. Building upon Kelly's argument, I would like to emphasize that students in secondary school have high possibilities deciding a wrong path since they are in thea stage of mental immaturity. However, parents and teachers have enoughteachers, with their social experienceexperience, can guide students to choose a right path that benefits their well-being in the future. Besides, they are familiar with the majors and lives in the university.university life. It means they know which major havehas high employment rate,and graduation rate,rates, as well as tell them someinform students of convenient methods to solve somepotential troubles in the campus. Moreover, parents and teachers can give someprovide useful advices for students thatadvice for students that help them avoid students to regretregrets in the future. Teachers alwaysTeachers, who teach and grade students that theystudents, are totally knowaware of which academic area is their good at.strong suit. Teachers can give a reasonable suggestions for students to choose which subject will studentsthey should major in. Also, parents are familiar with your characteristics and living habits. They can help you to choose the university by lookingconsidering the location and university's surrounding environment. By combining parents and teachersteachers' viewpoints, I convinced that you must have a perfect school choice that benefits you forever. In light of these points, Itit is evident that the benefits of parents and teachers advicesteachers' advice for secondary students far outweigh any potential drawbacks.

Display title: 6 Revised Essay

While Andrew's viewpoint holds merit, I am inclined to agree with Kelly that the guidance of parents and teachers is a crucial factor for secondary school students in choosing their field of study.

Building upon Kelly's argument, I would like to emphasize that students in secondary school may have a higher likelihood of making an ill-informed decision due to their mental immaturity. Parents and teachers, with their wealth of social experience, can guide students towards a path that benefits their well-being in the future. Furthermore, they are familiar with university majors and campus life, which means they can provide insights on employment rates, graduation rates, and offer practical advice for navigating campus challenges.

Moreover, parents and teachers can offer valuable advice to help students avoid future regrets. Teachers interact with and evaluate students regularly, giving them insight into each student's strengths and weaknesses in various academic areas. They can provide well-informed suggestions on which subjects would be best suited for each student. Similarly, parents are familiar with their child's characteristics and living habits. They can assist in selecting a university based on factors such as location and the surrounding environment. By combining the perspectives of both parents and teachers, I am convinced that students will make well-rounded choices that benefit them in the long run.

In light of these points, it is evident that the benefits of guidance from parents and teachers for secondary school students far outweigh any potential drawbacks when choosing a field of study at university. (254 words)

While Andrew’s Andrew's viewpoint holds merit, I am inclined to agree with Kelly that parents and teachers’ suggestions are the guidance of parents and teachers is a crucial factor for secondary school. school students in choosing their field of study (revised for clarity and specificity).

Building upon Kelly’s Kelly's argument, I would like to emphasize that students in secondary school may have high possibilities deciding a wrong a higher likelihood of making an ill-informed decision due to their mental immaturity (revised for clarity). Parents and teachers, with their wealth of social experience, can guide students towards a path since they are in the stage of mental immaturity. However, parents and teachers have enough social experience can guide students to choose a right path that benefits their well-being in the future. Besides, Furthermore, they are familiar with the university majors and lives in the university. It campus life, which means they know which major have high can provide insights on employment rate, rates, graduation rate, as well as tell them some convenient methods to solve some troubles in the campus. rates, and offer practical advice for navigating campus challenges (revised for readability).

Moreover, parents and teachers can give some useful advices for students that offer valuable advice to help students avoid students to regret in the future. future regrets (revised for clarity). Teachers always teach and grade students that they are totally know interact with and evaluate students regularly, giving them insight into each student's strengths and weaknesses in various academic areas. They can provide well-informed suggestions on which academic area is their good at. Teachers can give a reasonable suggestions for students to choose which subject will students major in. Also, subjects would be best suited for each student (revised for readability). Similarly, parents are familiar with your their child's characteristics and living habits. They can help you to choose the assist in selecting a university by looking the based on factors such as location and university’s the surrounding environment. environment (revised for clarity). By combining parents and teachers viewpoints, the perspectives of both parents and teachers, I am convinced that you must have a perfect school choice that benefits you forever. students will make well-rounded choices that benefit them in the long run (revised for readability).

In light of these points, It it is evident that the benefits of guidance from parents and teachers advices for secondary school students far outweigh any potential drawbacks.drawbacks when choosing a field of study at university (revised for clarity).

8 Mind Map

  1. Introduction

    • Andrew's viewpoint
    • Agree with Kelly
    • Importance of guidance from parents and teachers
  2. Mental immaturity of secondary school students

    • Ill-informed decisions
    • Parents and teachers' experience
  3. Familiarity with university majors and campus life

    • Employment rates
    • Graduation rates
    • Practical advice
  4. Avoiding future regrets

    • Teachers' insight into student strengths and weaknesses
    • Parents' knowledge of child's characteristics and habits
  5. Well-rounded choices

    • Combining perspectives of parents and teachers
  6. Conclusion

    • Benefits outweigh drawbacks

9 Key Words

WordPhonetic SymbolPart of SpeechEnglish DefinitionEnglish TranslationSample Sentence
InclinedɪnˈklaɪndAdjectiveHaving a tendency or preference for somethingInclinedI am inclined to agree with Kelly's perspective on this issue.
ImmaturityˌɪməˈtʃʊrɪtiNounThe state of not being fully developed or grownImmaturityTheir mental immaturity may lead to ill-informed decisions.
Well-beingˈwɛlbiɪŋNounThe state of being comfortable, healthy, or happyWell-beingGuidance can benefit the students' well-being in the future.
InsightˈɪnsʌɪtNounThe capacity to gain an accurate understandingInsightTeachers can provide insights on employment rates and graduation rates.
RegretrɪˈɡrɛtNounA feeling of sadness or disappointmentRegretAdvice from parents and teachers can help students avoid future regrets.
StrengthsstrɛŋθsNounThe quality or state of being strong; an advantageStrengthsTeachers can evaluate students' strengths and weaknesses in various subjects.
Well-roundedˌwɛlˈraʊndɪdAdjectiveHaving a range of abilities or skills; balancedWell-roundedCombining perspectives leads to well-rounded choices for students.
DrawbacksˈdrɔbæksNounA disadvantage or negative aspectDrawbacksThe benefits of guidance far outweigh any potential drawbacks.
Field of studyfi:ld ʌv stʌdiNounA particular subject area that one studiesField of studyGuidance is crucial for secondary school students in choosing their field of study.

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.

Rooting for Your Goal Score Today!

With LingoLeap, an expert in English exams

Get to Your Dream Score Faster

Try for free now