TOEFL TPO 3 Speaking Task 3 Sample: Using the example discussed by the professor, explain what cognitive dissonance is and how people often deal with it. 

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, with a consistent pace and only occasional pauses. However, there are some minor issues with pronunciation and word choice that could be improved. For example, the speaker used "liked to be addicted" instead of "liked being addicted" and "Terry interprets" instead of "he reinterprets." To improve delivery, the speaker should focus on refining their pronunciation and choosing more accurate words to convey their ideas.

4.Topic Development The response is coherent and well-organized, with clear connections between ideas and sufficient support from the professor's example. However, there is room for improvement in terms of providing more specific details from the listening passage. For instance, the speaker could mention how the professor resolved his cognitive dissonance by changing his perspective on what it meant to do well in school. Additionally, the speaker should avoid using informal language like "he will just do a socialist" and instead use more formal language such as "he wanted to become a sociologist." To improve topic development, the speaker should focus on incorporating more specific details from the listening passage and using more formal language.

5.Language Use

Original: Cognitive dissonance refers to that when your action and your belief is contradict with each other, you might change your perspective of the idea. The professor gave an example of himself to explain this concept. When he was young, he liked to be addicted to video games, but he also knows that to get a good job, he needs to study well, but he is not good at his chemistry. But he doesn't want to give up his game, so he changes his perspective, because he will just do a socialist, so the chemistry is not important. Terry interprets his perspective from study well all the class to just study well.

Corrected: Cognitive dissonance refers to that when the situation where your action(changed "that when" to "the situation where" for clarity) and your belief is are (changed "is" to "are" for subject-verb agreement) in contradiction with each other; you might change your perspective of the idea. The professor gave an example of himself to explain this concept. When he was young, he liked to be addicted was addicted (changed "liked to be addicted" to "was addicted" for accuracy) to video games, but he also knew that to get a good job, he needed to study well; however, he was not good at chemistry. He didn't want to give up his game, so he changed his perspective because he wanted to become a socialist sociologist (changed "socialist" to "sociologist" for accuracy), making chemistry less important. He reinterpreted his perspective from studying well in all classes to focusing on the relevant ones.

Revised (140 words): Cognitive dissonance refers to the situation where one's actions and beliefs are in contradiction with each other, leading to a change in perspective. The professor provided a personal example to illustrate this concept. In his youth, he was addicted to video games and struggled with chemistry. Despite knowing the importance of academic success for future career prospects, he didn't want to give up gaming. To resolve this conflict, he changed his perspective by focusing on his desired career as a sociologist, which made chemistry less relevant. This reinterpretation allowed him to prioritize studying well in classes directly related to his future profession, rather than striving for excellence in every subject. By adjusting his perspective, the professor effectively minimized the cognitive dissonance he experienced between his actions and beliefs.

6.Mind Map

Cognitive Dissonance
├─ Contradiction between actions and beliefs
│   ├─ Change in perspective
│   └─ Professor's example
│       ├─ Addiction to video games
│       ├─ Struggling with chemistry
│       ├─ Importance of academic success
│       └─ Resolution
│           ├─ Focus on desired career (sociologist)
│           └─ Prioritize relevant classes
└─ Minimizing cognitive dissonance

7.Key Words