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TOEFL Academic Discussion Writing Sample: Your professor is teaching a class on sociology. 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 An effective response will contain at least 100 words. You will have 10 minutes to write it.

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2 user-submitted samples available

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Task Overview

PrDr. Diazofessor

Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at lots of different materials about the role of television programs and television watching in people’s lives. But first, I want to know what you think about this topic. So here’s a question for the class discussion board: What do you think is the most significant effect that watching television has on people? Why do you think television has this effect?

Kelly

I know that one way that television influences people’s behavior is that when you are watching television, you are not moving around or exercising. This is especially true for children. When children spend a lot of time watching television, they have a greater tendency to be overweight.

Paul

I think the main effect that television has on people is to broaden their experience. There are so many programs devoted to nature and travel. Think of all the different places in the world you can experience through television! Last night I watched a program about life in Antarctica, and it was fascinating!

User Samples & Evaluation Results

User Sample

Paul states that the main effect made by television which is to broaden people’s experience. Well, i don’t agree with him. However, i personally think that the television is not good for people’s health. There may have common between my opinion and Kelly’s opinion. First, watching television is not good for our eyes.The television program has a kind of strange attraction for all of us.If you open the TV and keep watching it,you will not stop to do other things.As the electric products the screen is bad for our eyes to focus on it for a long time.So it is not good for our eyesight. Second,As Kelly said,It is a good way for us to get weight.The problem is that losing weight is so hard.So if you don’t want to be a fat guy, just stay away from the televison.The television is not only bad for our eyes,but also for our health.My friend’s baby is so young,but his parents are busy working.Thy can’t stay with the little baby.The only way to stop him crying is to make him watch TV.While the baby at a very young age,He is not healthy with bad eyesight. Hence, in my opinion, TV is not good for us, and we need to go outside to have a better experience.

Evaluation Result

1. 子项得分

  • Relevance and Contribution to Discussion: 4.0

  • Clarity and Elaboration of Viewpoint: 3.5

  • Language Use and Grammar: 3.0

2. 预估分数

22. 3 任务完成度

根据托福iBT写作任务的评分标准,你的文章在任务完成度方面表现尚可。你回答了教授的问题,并表达了自己的观点。然而,你可以进一步改进以下方面:

  1. 更具体地支持你的观点,提供更多详细的例子。

  2. 注意语法错误和词汇使用。

改进建议示例:

  1. 在谈论电视对眼睛不好时,可以提供一些研究或数据来支持这一观点。

  2. 避免使用非正式用语,如“fat guy”。

4. 文章结构与组织

从组织结构方面看,你的文章结构清晰,包括引言、正文和结论。然而,在逻辑组织和段落之间的过渡方面还有待改进。根据托福iBT写作任务1评分标准,以下是改进建议:

  1. 在每个段落中明确提出一个主要观点,并用详细信息进行支持。

  2. 使用过渡词或短语来连接不同观点和段落。

改进建议示例:

  1. 在第一个论点中,可以这样写:“首先,长时间观看电视对我们的眼睛有害。根据一项研究,长时间盯着电视屏幕会导致视力下降。”

  2. 在连接不同观点时,可以使用过渡词,如:“此外”,“然而”等。例如:“此外,正如Kelly所说,长时间看电视容易导致体重增加。”

5. 语法批改

Paul states that the main effect made by televisiontelevision,(This rule identifies whether commas are missing in a sentence.) which is to broaden people’s experience. Well, iI(i vs. I) don’t agree with him. However, iI(i vs. I) personally think that the television is not good for people’s health. There may have common between my opinion and Kelly’s opinion. First, watching television is not good for our eyes.The The(Missing space between sentences) television program has a kind of strange attraction for all of us.If If(Missing space between sentences) you open the TV and keep watching it,you, you(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) will not stop to do other things.As As(Missing space between sentences) the electric productsproducts,(This rule identifies whether commas are missing in a sentence.) the screen is bad for our eyes to focus on it for a long time.So So(Missing space between sentences) it is not good for our eyesight. Second,As, As(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) Kelly said,It, It(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) is a good way for us to get weight.The The(Missing space between sentences) problem is that losing weight is so hard.So So(Missing space between sentences) if you don’t want to be a fat guy, just stay away from the televisontelevision(misspelling).The The(Missing space between sentences) television is not only bad for our eyes,but, but(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) also for our health.My My(Missing space between sentences) friend’s baby is so young,but, but(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) his parents are busy working.Thy Thy(Missing space between sentences) can’t stay with the little baby.The The(Missing space between sentences) only way to stop him crying is to make him watch TV.While While(Missing space between sentences) the baby at a very young age,He, He(Use of whitespace before comma and before/after parentheses) is not healthy with bad eyesight. Hence, in my opinion, TV is not good for us, and we need to go outside to have a better experience.

Section Title: 6 Article Revision

Paul asserts that television's primary effect is to broaden people's experiences. While I understand his perspective, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, television can have detrimental effects on people's health, which aligns more closely with Kelly's viewpoint.

Firstly, watching television can be harmful to our eyes. Television programs possess a peculiar allure that often prevents us from engaging in other activities. As electronic devices, screens can strain our eyes when we focus on them for extended periods, potentially damaging our eyesight.

Secondly, as Kelly mentioned, excessive television watching can contribute to weight gain. The sedentary nature of this activity makes it difficult for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Losing weight is challenging; therefore, it is crucial to avoid habits that promote weight gain, such as spending excessive time in front of the TV. Moreover, television can negatively impact not only our eyes but also our overall health. For instance, my friend's baby has poor eyesight due to excessive TV exposure at a young age because his busy parents relied on it as a means of keeping him occupied.

Consequently, I believe that television is not beneficial for us and that we should seek alternative ways to broaden our experiences by venturing outdoors and engaging in more stimulating activities. (214 words)

Paul states that the main asserts that television's primary effect made by television is to broaden people's experiences (I rephrased the sentence to make it clearer and more concise). While I understand his perspective, I respectfully disagree (I added "respectfully" to show politeness). In my opinion, television can have detrimental effects on people's health, which aligns more closely with Kelly's viewpoint (I rephrased the sentence to improve clarity and flow).

Firstly, watching television can be harmful to our eyes (I changed "is not good" to "can be harmful" for a stronger impact). Television programs possess a peculiar allure (I replaced "strange attraction" with "peculiar allure" for better word choice) that often prevents us from engaging in other activities. As electronic devices, screens can strain our eyes when we focus on them for extended periods, potentially damaging our eyesight (I rephrased the sentence for better flow and clarity).

Secondly, as Kelly mentioned, excessive television watching can contribute to weight gain (I rephrased the sentence for better flow and clarity). The sedentary nature of this activity makes it difficult for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Losing weight is to broaden people’s experience. Well, i don’t agree with him. However, i personally think that the challenging; therefore, it is crucial to avoid habits that promote weight gain, such as spending excessive time in front of the TV (I rephrased the sentence for better flow and clarity). Moreover, television can negatively impact not only our eyes but also our overall health (I improved the sentence structure for better flow). For instance, my friend's baby has poor eyesight due to excessive TV exposure at a young age because his busy parents relied on it as a means of keeping him occupied (I rephrased the sentence for better clarity and flow).

Consequently, I believe that television is not good for people’s health. There may have common between my opinion and Kelly’s opinion. ¶ First, watching television is not good for our eyes.The television program has a kind of strange attraction for all of us.If you open the TV and keep watching it,you will not stop to do other things.As the electric products the screen is bad for our eyes to focus on it for a long time.So it is not good for our eyesight. ¶ Second,As Kelly said,It is a good way beneficial for us to get weight.The problem is that losing weight is so hard.So if you don’t want to be a fat guy, just stay away from the televison.The television is not only bad for our eyes,but also for our health.My friend’s baby is so young,but his parents are busy working.Thy can’t stay with the little baby.The only way to stop him crying is to make him watch TV.While the baby at a very young age,He is not healthy with bad eyesight. ¶ Hence, and that we should seek alternative ways to broaden our experiences by venturing outdoors and engaging in my opinion, TV is not good for us, and we need to go outside to have a better experience.more stimulating activities (I rephrased the sentence for better flow and clarity).

8 思维导图


- Detrimental Effects of Television
  - Harmful to eyes
    - Prolonged screen exposure
    - Potential damage to eyesight
  - Weight gain
    - Sedentary nature of watching TV
    - Difficulty in maintaining a healthy lifestyle
  - Negative impact on overall health
    - Example: Baby with poor eyesight due to excessive TV exposure

- Alternative ways to broaden experiences
  - Venturing outdoors
  - Engaging in stimulating activities

9 关键词

WordPhonetic SymbolPart of SpeechEnglish DefinitionSimplified Chinese TranslationSample Sentence
detrimental/ˌdetrɪˈmentl/adjectivecausing harm or damage有害的Excessive television watching can be detrimental to our health.
allure/əˈlʊr/nounthe quality of being powerfully attractive or fascinating吸引力Television programs possess a peculiar allure that often prevents us from engaging in other activities.
strain/streɪn/verbforce (a part of one's body) to make an unusually great effort拉紧,使紧张Screens can strain our eyes when we focus on them for extended periods.
sedentary/ˈsednteri/adjectivecharacterized by much sitting and little physical exercise久坐不动的The sedentary nature of watching TV makes it difficult for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
venture/ˈventʃər/verbdare to do something or go somewhere that may be dangerous or unpleasant冒险We should venture outdoors and engage in more stimulating activities.
stimulating/ˈstɪmjəleɪtɪŋ/adjectiveencouraging new ideas or enthusiasm刺激的,鼓舞人心的Engaging in stimulating activities can help broaden our experiences.
exposure/ɪkˈspoʊʒər/nounthe state of being exposed to contact with something暴露My friend's baby has poor eyesight due to excessive TV exposure at a young age.
occupied/ˈɒkjupaɪd/adjectivebusy; engaged忙碌的His busy parents relied on television as a means of keeping him occupied.
alternative/ɔːlˈtɜrnətɪv/nounone of two or more available possibilities可供选择的事物- I believe that we should seek alternative ways to broaden our experiences.
consequence/ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/nouna result or effect of an action or condition结果,后果Consequently, I believe that television is not beneficial for us.

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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