TOEFL, iBT, Independent Writing, Which is more important, first-hand experience or knowledge from books? - rewrite -

Writing Topic

Some people stress the importance of learning from books, while others feel that first-hand experience is far more important and valid than knowledge gained from books. Discuss the differences between the two sources of learning and compare the merits of knowledge obtained from experience and that gained from books. Which source do you feel is more important, and why?

☆ Let’s think

The second sentence of this writing topic gives you two assignments. You are required to 1) tell the difference between the two types of learning described in the first sentence and 2) compare the good things about knowledge gained from them. The last sentence is a question about which is more important. Thus, as well as writing about the source you think is more important, you are supposed to deal with the other way, which means that you have to deal with both.

To learn and grow, most of us depend on both hands-on experience and information from books, and prioritize either or both depending on what you want to know and the conditions you are in. In science classes, teachers start with reminding students of some experience or actually making them experience a phenomenon and then move on to inquiry, assumption and research and experiment. But you might not want to experiment with all the elements on the periodic table unless you want to be a chemist. Reading is enough and efficient to gain general knowledge about them, especially when some of them have very nasty properties. In the same way, if you want to know what it is like to be on Mars, you will do some research on Mars because you cannot go to the planet and see and feel the actual environment there. You read history books because most of the things in the past do not remain in the present world. On the other hand, if you are interested in skiing, you might give it a try and see what it is like to go down the snow slope with long thin boards. The feel of the activity cannot be learned without actually doing it. Also, things like culture, language, or human relationships are learned mainly through real experiences with them.

Now what about the relative importance of experience and information from books in sympathizing others, which is a most important property as a human, in issues such as globalization? The subject has many aspects and people who read have a lot to talk about it. However, if they have never put their feet into the shoes of the countless numbers of people suffering from its results, it could hardly be said that they really know what globalization is. On the other hand, if you have made friends with someone whose father has lost his job because of free trade treaties, which is the driving force of globalization, you would sincerely feel that something is wrong with this on-going change and might feel the urge to do something. However, if you do not read, you would not see the whole picture of globalization and would never know what is causing its problems and how it can be dealt with. Furthermore, if people who have seen only the good results of globalization never read about bad results of it, they might not question the goodness of globalization. In these cases, it seems that reading supplements experience which is the main source of our decisions.

☆ Hints for points

♦learning from books: Humankind has dominated the earth by sharing knowledge, and revolutions related to information-sharing always expanded our ranges of activities. Gaining knowledge by reading is taking advantage of the shared assets of information humans accumulated through thousands of years. The merits of knowledge gained by reading are …

1.    it is of wider-range (comprehensive), and relatively less slanted (less personal. less partial) and more accurate than knowledge based on personal experiences.

2.    it is knowledge about things that cannot be learned by actually experiencing them.

3.    it is gained in rather short time compared to actually trying everything.

♦learning through experience: As saying goes, seeing is believing. Hands-on experience is the data obtained by your own senses and processed by yourself. In terms of reality, no other information can beat your own experience. The merits of the knowledge obtained through experience are …

1.    it is convincing to you and stays in your memory easily and forever. It is connected to your heart.

2.    it motivates you to learn more or to take actions from the bottom of your heart.

3.    it is often not written in books and cannot be copied by others.

♦reasoning of why you think one is more important than the other

1.    personal experience

【Your decision on which is more important】I think knowledge from experience is more important because it is a pure sense data and without it you cannot organize and process other information.

【Counterargument】Knowledge gained from experience lacks balance in terms of forming a more accurate picture, but as long as you keep supplementing it by reading or listening to others, you have less chance of becoming biased and making bad decisions.

【Conclusion】Learning is difficult without motivation, which is kindled by experience. Thus, experience is more important than books for you to approach study actively.

2.    books

【Your decision on which is more important】Knowledge from experience is destined to be wrong because an individual can see only part of the whole picture and processes it alone. We read books to make up for this demerit and avoid failure caused by ignorance. For example, people without the experience of war may have wars if not informed of it more easily than those who are informed.

【Counterargument】Information provided by books can be wrong, but since it has usually been exposed to examinations of more than one heads, it is closer to the truth than information held by one head.

【Conclusion】 Books are more important than experience as they help good understanding.

3.    both

【Your decision on which is more important】Knowledge based on experience and that from books compensate for each other. It is difficult to know something without a real contact with it, but it is also difficult to comprehend it well without reading.

【Counterargument】Some scientists and artists come up with great ideas with scant experience related to it. However, they are exceptional people with extraordinary imagination that enables them to experience reality through reading, and their imagination has developed from their experiences. No one can form an idea without sense data, which is experience. On the other hand, it is true that there exist people who leave great works without any proper education, but the assumption is that they could have been even more successful had they had more resources in the field of their interest other than their own personal experiences.

【Conclusion】Both books and experiences are necessary to build a well-rounded view on something.

Your full essay structure

【Introduction】

【Merits of knowledge gained from books】

【Merits of knowledge gained from experience】

【Your decision on which is more important】

【Counterargument】

【Conclusion】

☆ Essay for Ideas and Expressions

Barron’s Writing for the TOEFL iBT, p. 248