TOEFL iBT People are less satisfied with their lives compared to previous generations. (Revised)

 

Are people less satisfied with their lives compared to previous generations? (psychology)

 

 

 

☆ Let’s Think

1.       Do you agree with that social media make people constantly compare themselves to others?

2.       Give examples of consumerism making people buy unnecessary things like a new iPhone model. What psyche do the industry take advantage of to make people buy more than necessary?

3.       Share your experience in which social pressures made you try to achieve more.

4.       Do you think your generation is less satisfied than your parents’?

5.       Do you agree with Mitchel’s idea that fulfillment of life with family and friends is the basic source of satisfaction that is not affected by changing times?

 

 

☆ Hints for Points

Agree

1.       Studies indicate the relation between social media and dissatisfaction.

2.       Consumerism starts the vicious cycle of short period of satisfaction and desire for more and better. It also leads to materialism, where one’s value is based on the amount one owns.

3.       Trying to live up to social expectation is stressful.

4.       Results-driven society alienates us from internal fulfillment.

5.       Desire for the better is in our instinct. Humans have evolved by constantly challenging ourselves for new goals. We instinctively keep improving ourselves or our environment, because to stop trying means to stop moving forward, which is dangerous as things are constantly changing.

 

Disagree

1.       Culture and education teach us the importance of lifestyle of moderation and gratitude for basic necessities.

2.       Teachings of major religions is about giving up desire in order to be free from pains of greed.

3.       What most people want is very modest. This world is made up of a few extremely greedy people who have amassed the wealth which equals to the total wealth of the bottom half of the population. However, most people do not care, as long as they can lead a decent life.

 

 

☆ Sample for Ideas and Expressions

【Thesis】To add to Emily’s opinion that social media make people less satisfied than before, I think capitalism has made them greedier than before.

【Supporting Details】Capitalism needs people who are constantly unsatisfied to keep consumerism going. It makes people focused on others’ business and feel sense of scarcity. The phenomenon that a new product gets popular and everybody has one overnight was often seen during the television era. Today, consumer psyche is manipulated in more sophisticated ways through social media. Pop-up banners and commercial posts according to the online user’s past purchase history and taste constantly stimulate appetite for shopping. Moreover, results-based business culture incessantly demands workers to show the result, making them obsessed with the notion that they must keep making achievements. These structural pressures in capitalist society leave us dissatisfied.

【Counterargument-treatment】Mitchel’s argument that people’s lives are centered around fundamental values such as happiness with family and friends could be true to some extent, but  urbanization and new technology have changed and keep changing untainted society into another hell of greed and envy. Bhutan, for instance, was once famous as a poor but happy kingdom, but it is not the same anymore after it started importing television sets and people started seeing luxury.

【Conclusion】The glass has always been greener somewhere else, and capitalism exacerbates it even more.  (216 words)

Write your draft. Then read each other’s draft, asking questions and making counterarguments.

 

                                                   DRAFT

 

 

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

 

TOEFL iBT Cigarette ban (Revised)

 

Should cigarettes be banned, or should people be allowed to make their own choices? (public health)

 

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        Is there anyone who smokes around you? Do you want them to stop smoking? Why/Why not?

2.        Marijana is now legal in most states of the U.S., and it is legal throughout Netherland. Why?

3.        Is secondhand smoke avoidable completely?

 

Notes:

1)     Ban on cigarettes means that production, sales, and purchase of cigarettes are prohibited by law.

2)     40 years ago, smoking was not a concern in Japan. Many people smoked. They smoked anywhere, anytime, and no one complained. Starbucks was the only shop where smoking was not allowed. In 2003, a law obligating public organizations to prevent passive smoking started, and businesses started to install spaces for non-smokers or those for smokers. Since then, the number of smokers has gradually decreased, and smoking in public areas was banned in 2020.

3)     Marijana is being legalized in countries where the number of users is large mainly to treat users not as criminals but as patients and to eradicate black market, which is run by antisocial groups.

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Smoking cigarette should be banned:

1.        Cigarettes are toxic and cause cancer and other severe diseases.

2.        It is addictive.

3.        There is the problem of second-hand smoke/smoking.

4.        Smokers’ families lose them twice. They first lose them when the smoker refuses to stop smoking despite their begging before the smoker actually dies of a smoking-related disease.

 

Smoking cigarettes should stay legal:

1.        The government has no right to prohibit individual habits. (infringement of freedom)

2.        Only public smoking should be banned.

3.        Smokers will be stressed out and resort to other harmful substances if smoking is banned.

4.        Banning will make cigarettes go underground just like what happened in the Great Prohibition and after cannabis ban.

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions  

【Thesis】Although I partly agree with Sophia in that second-hand smoking must be prevented for public health by any means necessary, I am skeptical of the legitimacy of banning cigarette smoking.

【Supporting Details】Although the government must protect public health and therefore must ban harmful substances like poisonous drugs, cigarettes are not so harmful as banned substances. Specifically, it has little immediate adverse effect on the user or those around them compared to heavy drugs like heroin or cocaine. Cigarettes are among the non-essential items like sugar and alcohol, which are as harmful as or more harmful than cigarettes. These products have been around us humans as part of our lives and culture for millennia, and they are closely intertwined with sense of happiness and identity. For example, students in the old days learned how to smoke from their intimate seniors, hence the habit later being associated with memories of their youth. Ban on cigarettes will take away the virtues related to them from the users. This is a violation of freedom to pursue happiness. Decisions on whether to take health risks in exchange for indulgence should be left to individual decisions. Governments are not authorized to intervene an individual’s habit of smoking.

【Counterargument-treatment】Second-hand smoke can be avoided by banning public smoking. Families of smokers can also avoid the smoke by asking the smoker to smoke in the back yard or on the terrace. Education on adverse effects of smoking and regulation of excessive advertisements will help increase awareness.

【Conclusion】Activities, including smoking, in private spaces are at the discretion of individuals, and therefore, total ban on cigarettes is overregulation. (266 words)

 

Write your draft. Then read each other’s draft, asking questions and making counterarguments.

 

                                                   DRAFT

 

 

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                          

 

 

TOEFL iBT Should we be pushing young people to take more risks, or should we emphasize cautioninstead? (Revised)

Should we be pushing young people to take more risks, or should we emphasize caution instead?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        Name examples of risk-taking.

2.        Would you give it a go with the following cases? Why/why not?

a.     Choosing to be a professional athlete, musician, artist, or writer instead of studying for higher education

b.     Going abroad for a year after graduation instead of taking a very good job offer

c.      Confessing your love to someone

d.     Starting a business

3.        Share your experience that is similar to Lily’s point: Taking a risk leads to personal growth.

4.        Have you ever been persuaded not to take a risk? Share the story with others. What were the concerns?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Taking risks

1.        Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

2.        It is only when you are young that you can take risks.

3.        By taking risks, young people will grow whether they fail or not.

4.        You live only once.

5.        One of the greatest regret of elderlies is that they did not challenge something while young.

6.        Precarious life is stressful.

 

Exercising caution

1.        Slow and steady wins the race.

2.        Learning to make an informed decision is important to be successful.

3.        One should prioritize protecting what has been proved secure and beneficial.

4.        Loss of opportunities might happen, for luck and fun are often something new and strange.

5.        Young people tend to be reckless, so they need to be told to think twice before actually doing something risky.

6.        “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.” Matthew 7: 13-14

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions  

【Thesis】I believe that it is irresponsible for adults to encourage young people to take risks because risk-taking is gambling, a trap that seems easy and exciting.

【Supporting Details】Very often, what is called risk-taking is a premature action done by skipping the process of rigorous research, meticulous planning, and robust and patient execution of the plan, which are the practices that are imperative for success. Young people must train themselves through these practices to gain enough knowledge and skills for their goals. In addition, successful adventure depends on experience, but, as James points out, young people lack adequate experience to take a risk. They should wait and learn until they are ready to take up the challenge they cannot escape when the time is ripe.

【Counterargument-treatment】Lily’s point that taking a risk can lead to personal growth sounds valid. Taking responsibility of the action and wider perspective and confidence gained through new experiences nurture well-rounded and resourceful personality, whether the person wins succeeds in an attempt or not. However, venturing also involves a huge loss when the challenger fails. For example, failing to establish a business will leave the person with a huge debt, sense of loss, regret, and feeling of inferiority. They may also lose their family and friends. Very strong will power and discipline are necessary to overcome the predicament, and most people are not so strong and become real losers, who give up their life. Moreover, victory at an early age has a negative impact on the person’s life as it makes the person and conceited, even if the success was greatly due to luck. Personal growth stops, and depravation follows.

【Conclusion】In the end, slow but steady is the best policy. Real chances will come to those who are ready to grab it after their enough efforts. (297 words)

 

Write your draft. Then read each other’s draft, asking questions and making counterarguments.

 

                                                   DRAFT