Class Supplement (TOEFL Essay, money for military or Olympic athletes?)

Writing Topic A: Suppose your country has an unexpected amount of money that can be spent on either the military or your country’s Olympic athletes. Which should your country spend money on, the military or Olympic sports?
☆Sample of a Thought Process
“military or Olympics?”
→ fight in arms race or fight in sports/economy? war or peace/war in economy?
“your country” → specific conditions of my country can be considered
specific conditions of Japan in terms of military/war
1. Article Nine in our constitution: renunciation of war and military force
2. history of diplomatic solutions of international problems after WWII
3. the second biggest economy in the world, and the world is shifting from competition to cooperation
counter argument: the threat of neighboring countries (e.g. North Korea, emerging economies in Asia) ⇔ Japan-U.S. relationship does not seem to change soon (Japanese prime ministers and U.S. presidents reaffirming Japan-U.S. security relationship)

specific conditions of Japan in terms of Olympic sports
1. tight government spending on sports because of huge national debts and long lasting recession worsened by the recent world economic crisis
2. economic effect: supporting Olympic sports usually provide good images (sometimes adverse effect on conscious people when the host country has some political problems)

Conclusion: Because of its peace diplomacy and necessity to recover the economy, it is better for Japan to spend the windfall on Olympic athletes rather than military buildup.


Writing Topic B: Many children like, and participate in, individual sports such as tennis, golf and swimming. Do you think it is better than doing team sports?
☆Sample of a thought process
You disagree with the statement that A is better than B.
You should prove either B is better than A or B is as good as A.

What are good points in each type of sports?
team sports: enjoyed with other people, teamwork, close relationship with teammates
individual sports: enjoyed alone (flexibility in exercise time and place), self-control, concentration

Wait a minute! Most of their good points overlap or can be found in other activities. Also, individual aptitude and personal preference count in sports.

Conclusion: Playing team sports is as good as playing individual sports because the good points of both types of sports overlap. Regardless of type, for a child to play a sport is good as long as the child can enjoy it and grow up mentally and physically through it.