国際教養AO入試 TOEFL Reading reference, economic deregulation and depression, Greenspan

Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation

By EDMUND L. ANDREWSOCT. 23, 2008  The Economist

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/business/economy/24panel.html

TOEFL, iBT, Independent Writing, 注意事項の確認

まもなく実際にTOEFLを受験する人も多いと思いますのでindependent writingに解答する際の注意事項を今までの総復習をかねて確認しておきたいと思います。

《準備》

良いエッセイを書くために日頃から行っておくとよいこととしては、１）良い文章を読む ２）問題意識を持つ等がありますが、受験日が近くなると以下のようなことをすることも必要です。

様々なWriting Topicをチェックする 授業では主にagree/disagreeタイプの問題で命題が難しいものを解いてきましたが全ての問題パターンを見たわけではありません。公開されているWriting Topic（別紙参照）に目を通し、書きにくそうなものは実際に書いてみるかEssay Structure（論証の手順と具体例のメモ）を作成してみておきましょう。授業で出ていないパターンの主なものは以下の通りです。「AとBではどちらをより好むか？」「～において一番～なものは何か？」「～にとって重要な資質は何か？」

実際に書いて練習しておくまた、実際に書いてみてより完成度の高いエッセイへのイメージはつかめたことと思います。しかしレッスンで身につけたことを定着・維持・発展させるために「書く」ということを今後も続けましょう。ETSのHPに実際に出題される課題（URL→http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TEOFL/pdf)が掲載されていますので目を通し、特に書きづらそうなものを選んで書いて見ましょう。その際、最低２回書きます。最初は30分に時間を設定して書き、自分で添削するか誰かに添削してもらい、もう一度時間制限無しで書き直します。

添削済み答案の書き直し 自己添削では見つかりにくいミスや悪い癖を授業の添削済み答案の書き込みで確認し、それらに注意しながら書き直しましょう。

主な時事問題と自分の研究課題・趣味をまとめておく　AO対策も兼ねて環境問題、貧困対策、グローバル化等の時事問題と自分の趣味・研究課題を100語前後の英文にまとめておきましょう。

英文読後日記をつける 英字新聞・雑誌の記事・社説・投稿等を読み、要約と感想を各１～２文の英文にまとめましょう。具体例の材料集めと表現力をつけるのに役立ちます。

基本文法問題で典型的なミスをチェック　英文エッセイの試験ではきちんとした英文を書くことが最も重要です。文法の誤文訂正問題で典型的な文法ミスをチェックしておきましょう。また、文法の評価が１～２になることが多い人は文法の基本例文を言って書けるようにしましょう。

手本の書写と要約  文法・表現力の評価が３になることが多い人はテキストやBarron’s Writing for the TOEFL iBT等のsample essayの書写をお勧めします。意味単位ごとに写すと表現が身につきやすくなります。ただ写すのではなく内容を取りながら行ってください。最後に内容を要約します。最初は各段落のMain Ideaを抜き出し、次に自分の言葉で言い換えます。

他分野の強化 ライティングは総合的な分野ですので他分野の力が影響します。文法はもちろん、読解やリスニングの練習も続けましょう。文法は添削で直された文を和訳し元の文に戻す練習、読解は精読と多読・速読を並行して行いましょう。リスニングは解答・スクリプトの読解後、スクリプトを見ながらリズムと速さに注意して音声の完コピを目指して音読することをお勧めします。（筆者はこの方法で苦手だったUKアクセントへが聞き取りやすくなり、TOEICにUS以外のアクセントが導入された後も満点をとっています。）

《試験本番》

以下の注意点は普段の練習で実践し本番では自然にできるようにしておきましょう。

♦手順を守る  1. 課題の確認　2. Brainstormingと構成  3. 書く4. 見直し の流れで書く。（あせらずに、1～4の手順を守ってきちんとしたエッセイにすることを目指しましょう。）

1.     課題の確認

♦予想外の課題が出てもあわてない このテストは英作文の力を見るテストであって知識を試すテストではないことを忘れず、自分に分かる範囲内で論理性のある答案を書きましょう。

♦課題の条件を見落とさない 例えば”Parents are the best teachers for children (ages between 1-12).”の場合、eighth graders (中学生)を例に挙げることはできません。課題を正確に読み取ることが、期待される水準の答案を書く第一歩です。

2.     Brainstormingと構成

♦まず論点と構成を明確にしてから書き始め  実際に書く前に数分かけてよいのでBrainstorming + 構成の作業をしてエッセイの骨組みを作りましょう。Brainstormingは「頭の中の材料を外に出す作業」です。思いついたことを箇条書きでPC画面に打ち込んでゆきます。構成ではBrainstormingで箇条書きにした材料を整理し、１）topicごとにまとめ〈1 paragraph = 1 topic〉 ２）重要な順に本論の段落順を決め、最初に導入、最後に結論の段落を設定します。

♦英文エッセイの基本構造を崩さない 奇抜な構成のエッセイで評価が上がることはありません。基本のエッセイ構造に従って書きましょう。評価されるのは論証のうまさと表現力です。

3.     書く

♦読み手に話しかけるようなつもりで書くと同時にきちんとした書き言葉を心がける 実際に書き始めたら論証に集中します。読み手を身近な人に想定してその人に説明するような気持ちで書いてゆくのも良いと思います。文法に神経を使うとたくさん書けなくなりますが、きちんとした書き言葉を使うことだけは留意しましょう。

♦客観的な文章にする 書く内容を考える際に自分にとって身近なことから考えてゆくことはアイディアを出す上で大切ですが、考えを文章に変換するときは客観的な言い方を心がけましょう。主語が I ではなく People や Students 等のより一般的な人や 形式主語のItあるいは無生物主語で文を始めると客観的な文章にしやすくなります。特に個人的な好みや選択を述べる部分以外でこの点に気をつけることが大切です。

♦当然予測される反論は取り上げて反論への反論をする反論処理は問題のタイプにもよりますが 大まかに〔自分の主張・選択の利点＞選ばなかった考え・選択肢〕の証明と考えてください。高スコアを目指す場合、反論の処理は避けて通れません。反論の処理により内容が充実し、合格ラインの300語をクリアでき、英語に問題がなければ24点以上が可能になります。 １）反論処理用の段落を作る または ２）各段落の適所で反論を処理するようにしましょう。また、たまに反論処理不要の問題もありますので問題をよく読みましょう。

♦内容を掘り下げる 漠然としたtopic (もし発明家だったら何を発明したいか？等)に趣味関連で解答する場合、人生観・問題意識を入れて内容を深める努力をしましょう。♦よく知らない単語や使い慣れない構文は使わない 本番では実力を最大限に発揮することが大切です。背伸びをしたり迷ったりすると失敗しがちです。♦同じ単語・表現を繰り返さない 表現力がないと思われますので同じ語・表現の繰り返しは２回程度にとどめましょう。別の語を思いつかない場合は主語や構文自体を変えてみましょう。 ♦前置きは短めにする 導入の段落は主張とその理由があれば合格点の範囲内です。例えばいつもI agree with the statement that …(Writing Topicのstatement) . I have two reasons to support my opinion.のように書き出している場合、（このままでも良いですが）第2文を主張の理由を簡潔に述べたものにすると十分な導入になります。うまい前置きがあれば更に良いでしょうが時間配分も考えて主張は早めに簡潔に示すのが無難です。（２行目位までに書くべきだと言う人もいます。） 論じ方の説明はしない 300語程度のエッセイですので導入後はすぐ論証に入りましょう。 導入の段落に具体例は入れない 具体例は本論に書きます。 結論の段落に新しいtopicは加えない 結論では全てdiscussし終わっているはずなので新しいtopicは本論に入れましょう。 カンマは迷ったら入れない カンマは次の3つの場合は必ず入れ、その他は入れない方が無難です。１．挿入の前後 ２．副詞（句・節）が文頭に出た時、その副詞の直後（例外: 後ろが倒置の時はカンマ不要） ３．重文（ … and …のような文）の前半が長いか複雑な時、また短くても内容が一区切りしている時、その部分の直後  結論の段落を必ずつける 結論の段落は総括です。導入の段落と同じ内容を違う表現でまとめます。主張の理由は一言で締めくくるのも良いし、本論の各主張を1個の名詞や形容詞などで表すのも一つの方法です。時間切れで結論無しのエッセイになるのを避けるため、先に結論の1文を書いてからエッセイを書き始めるのも良いと思います。

4.     見直し

主に論理の矛盾と説明不足に注意して読み直しましょう。時間が余っていて300語に満たない場合、語数が一番少ない本論の段落を見直しましょう。Topic Sentenceや具体例、理由の説明を足すことができるはずです。Topic Sentenceを思いつかない場合は段落のまとめの文を段落の頭に持ってゆくのも一案です。

本番の前にはもう一度、基本を守り、論理性・客観性を保ち、沢山書くことを自分に言い聞かせましょう。頑張ってください！

TOEFL, iBT, Independent Writing, The most important thing business corporations should invest in is the education and training of their employees. - rewrite -

Writing Topic

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. The most important thing business corporations should invest in is the education and training of their employees.

☆Let’s Think

To decide something is the most important, we need to compare the thing with all the other counterparts. It might be difficult to do unless you know a lot about business. Asking yourself if there is anything more important than employee education may be doable.

Sample Thought Process

1.    Investment is spending resources in something for future returns.

The word investment usually means buying stocks, which will increase capitals of corporations. If the company does well, investors will gain returns (dividends). We also use the word investment figuratively as in “You should invest your time and energy in many things so that you can have wider choices when you try to find a job.” Thus, investment is spending many kinds of resources for future returns.

2.    The goal of the corporation is to make profits.

As everyone knows, the goal of the corporation is to make profits. Then corporations invest their money to make profits,

3.    What does a business invest its resources in?

For example, if you start an ice cream shop, you need a place, some equipment, materials, workers, advertisements, research and development, and so on. Is educating employees more important than renting a good-looking building, buying efficient machines, buying better ingredients, using a famous advertising company, or upgrading or inventing a good product or service?

4.    Well educated employees will contribute to making profits.

What happens if you make more efforts in educating and training employees? Here are some results you can expect.

a.    They will work more efficiently (more work in less time with fewer mistakes) and productivity will increase.

b.    They will educate themselves and each other (less training costs in the future)

c.     They will be loyal to the company (lower turnover rates and lower hiring costs).

d.    They will contribute to evolving the company especially when it needs to change.

e.     They will improve the company image (good public relations).

f.     Good workers help distinguish your company from your competitors.

5.    What about other things to invest in?

a.    Place: Customers may increase. Consumers will give it a try with a new building.

b.    Facilities and materials: You can make better products more efficiently and more safely and they can sell well.

c.     Advertisement: You can make your company known to more people. You might also get consumers to have better image of the company and the products.

d.    Research and development (R & D): The goods and services the company provides will be more competitive.

e.     Improving employee benefits: If employees are not paid well and treated like slaves or a part of factory equipment, they won’t work well. They are unhappy about their life. If they are treated well, they will be happy to conform to company policy, and the company will make profits.

f.     Outsourcing or using robots: You can cut costs for a moment but it might not be a help in the long run.

6.    What is the decisive reason?

［workers > other factors］

a.    A machine will not change but a person will.

b.    It is people that differentiate a company from its competitors.

c.     Loyalty, morale, and passion are vital for a company to survive.

［workers ≦ another factor/other factors］

a.    AI learns much faster than humans.

b.    It is innovation that will make the firm survive in competition

☆Body Structure Samples

Sample Body Structure 1

【Body 1】Merits of employee education

【Body 2】Merits of other types of investment

【Body 3】Your decision

Sample Body Structure 2

【Body 1】Benefit of employee education 1

【Body 2】Benefit of employee education 2

【Body 3】Reasons why employee education outweigh other types of investment

Your original body structure

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions

The contracts corporations make with shareholders clearly state that they work in order to increase the capital that their shareholders have invested in, and it is often a common practice for a company to treat its workers as part of consumable supplies. However, the people are the entity of a company, and I entirely agree with the statement that the most important thing business corporations should invest in is the education and training of their employees.

Many companies give workers little education and easily make them redundant. Not only do they lay off workers to make ends meet, they try to cut costs by offshoring for cheap labor or replacing humans with robots. These practices cannot lead to the establishment of the company in the end not to speak of being inhumane. Cheap labor, labor without skills and experience, cannot perform well. Also, consumers, aware that cheap goods come from sweatshops, low-wage factories with terrible work conditions, often refrain from purchasing cheap products. Robotization may not be a tide that cannot be resisted, but then the reputation of the company will be all the better if it keeps its workers. At least, a workplace full of well-treated humans is literally humane and jolly. Last but not least, higher unemployment means lower consumer confidence, making the economy weak. Marginalizing workers has little benefit.

There are many benefits in training workers well. If you spend some extra time and money to show your employees how the business works, they will have more interest in it. If you show them how to work quickly and neatly, they will practice it. If you share your ideas about a new product, they can come up with better ones. Straight-forward opinions from the people who actually do the job often lead to a good insight. Employee education will probably pay off more than you expect.

There is an idea that many people work for money and educating them does nothing to improve their performance. It is condescending to have such an idea. People will not waste the time and money for training as long as they are treated properly. Everyone has a desire for improvement and companies should invest in it. Whether stressing employee education is paternalistic or not is not directly related to the thesis of this essay and therefore it cannot be discussed here, but making training optional except for basic one to reflect diverse lifestyles would keep all employees happy and lead to a higher morale. Also, it is necessary to consider other areas that a company could invest in, but my hunch is that other choices cannot really differentiate the company from its competitors, and it is humans, not money, that improve the other areas of investment. They are the root of a company tree and they should be watered.

Personnel are the most valuable asset of a corporation. By investing in its people, the company will thrive in a real sense and increase of such companies will make society better. 

Pre-TOEFL Reading, Summary (L. 7)

Induction

While d        tive reasoning proceeds from general principles, or p         s, to specific conclusions, inductive reasoning goes the other way around. It starts with specific o      ions to a conclusion or a u     ying rule or general p         e. Using this method, r  w data will be organized into manageable c       ries based on commonalities of the facts. The weakness of induction is that conclusions are generalized and the inductive leap that draws conclusions is not inf     ible. New observations can c           e the conclusion. Thus a great number of cases that are tested are necessary to draw a            te scientific conclusions. The scientist seeks to state with c                ce that any specific conclusion has a certain s             cal p              ty of being correct.

Pre-TOEFL writing, People behave differently when they wear different clothes. - rewrite -

Writing Topic

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People behave differently when they wear different clothes. Do you agree that different clothes influence the way people behave? Use specific examples to support your answer.

☆Let’s Think

Let us remember seeing people dressed differently than usual and ask ourselves whether they were acting differently or not. Does your family behave differently when they are in different clothes?

☆Hints for Points

Agree

1.    People tend to act very politely when they wear formal clothes and in rough manners in casual clothes.   e.g. ceremony, bedroom, etc.

2.    Uniforms and costumes are used partly to utilize the effect.  e.g. school uniform

Disagree

1.    It is not the clothes they wear but the situation they are in that affects how people behave.  e.g. funeral

2.    Personality does not change with the change of clothes, so the person’s behavior will not change.

☆Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction = Outline】I largely agree with the opinion that different clothes influence the way people behave although it is not always true.

【Point 1】Based on experience, you can tell the statement hold some truth.

【Point 2】Clothing is closely related to social structure and communication.

【follow-up】On the other hand, the basic nature of an individual will not change with the change of the appearance.

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】Whether it is the cause or effect, behavioral change corresponds with change of clothes, and it seems to me that the latter is the cause of the former.

♦Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction = Outline】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3/ Follow-up】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】

☆Sample Paragraph Development

Point 1 in Sample Essay Structure

Based on experience, you can tell the statement holds some truth. Most people have the experience of change of mood and behavior corresponding to change of clothes. You might remember feeling that you have transformed into a new person when you looked yourself wearing a school uniform in the mirror for the first time. Although you knew as an individual you have not changed at all, from that moment on, you started acting like the character that the clothing represents, saying good-by to the earlier you. Some clothes have a power to make you behave differently.

Point 2 in Sample Essay Structure

Clothing is closely related to social structure and communication. Choice of clothes is a choice of your attitude. People in uniform are expected to act in a certain way and they act accordingly. Also, people who see them treat them as they are thought to be, and this makes them act more like what that particular uniform symbolizes. The same can be said for fashion and traditional clothing. A person’s action is significantly decided by the message what he or she is wearing sends to others.

Follow-up in Sample Essay Structure

On the other hand, the basic nature of an individual will not change with the change of the appearance, and neither will his or her behavior change dramatically. A gentle person is always gentle whatever he or she is wearing. A thief will steal even when dressed in expensive clothes. Your mother is always your mother no matter what she is wearing, but it is also true that she acts more actively when she is in a suit than when she is in kimono. 

TOEFL, iBT, Independent Writing, Is the rising college-going rate a bad trend or positive development? - rewrite -

Writing Topic

Some people believe that a college or university diploma has become far less meaningful than before, with ever larger percentages of people receiving higher-levels of education. Others believe that it is a positive development to have increasing numbers of students graduating from college. Discuss these views. Which view do you agree with?

☆Let’s Think

The first thing to do to answer this question would be to read the two opposite views carefully and analyze them.

The first view, a college or university diploma has become far less meaningful than before, with ever larger percentages of people receiving higher-levels of education, is negative about rising college-going rates and reminds you of the phrase, “scarcity value”. This opinion sees a college or university diploma as something like a commodity that has a value in the market. The market is probably the job market in this case. When you apply for a job, having a higher educational background than others is a plus. Unlike long time ago, however, most people in developed countries go to college now and there is little advantage in having a bachelor’s degree when you try to find a job.

The second view says that having more college graduates is a positive development. It is probably about the development of society with the increase of the number of highly-educated citizens. What is good about society filled with people with higher-levels of education? Well-educated people can read and write well. They have a lot of general knowledge and have been trained to think logically and conclude based on evidences. Many of them also have special knowledge and skills for specific jobs. Developing countries with good leaders spend a lot of money on education especially on university education because they need human resources to build their countries: engineers, office workers, teachers, and many other professions that require at least a college degree. This is fundamentally true to developed countries, too. Increasing numbers of college graduates indicates prosperity.

Each view has a point. The difference between these views might be the values that they are based on. What does a college diploma mean? Why do you go to college?

☆Hints for points

♦Discussion points on the first view

1.    If most people have a bachelor’s degree, having one means that you are average, not special.

2.    Having a graduate degree is no longer an advantage when you look for a good job.

3.    The trend automatically requires you to acquire more than the college or university degree to make a head-start in society.

♦Discussion points on the second view

1.    Highly-educated workforce will develop society. Literacy rates of developed countries are higher than those of developing countries, and this is not so much as a result of development as it is a cause. Developing countries that spend a lot of money on higher education are doing well while those that do not or cannot stay poor.

2.    College or university graduates make resourceful workers for businesses. Modern industrialized society requires highly-qualified workers with good interpersonal skills. College or university graduates meet these needs and some even have special skills that many companies are in need of.

3.    Geniuses appeared when cultural level of societies were high. With so many problems concerning all human beings such as energy problems and food shortage, we are in dire need of not only more scientists but also politicians who can understand the nature of the problem and details of the proposed measures to organize and manage projects Therefore, the more people go to college, the better our future will be.

4.    Well-educated citizens will protect the world. If most people are highly educated, they can understand what politicians and corporate officials are doing, and can prevent politics from going wrong. In other words, they can protect democracy.

5.    Although college education is taken for granted in developed countries, in most countries it is still only for the elite and most of their populations are illiterate. If the day comes when all people on the earth can go to college, it will be an accomplishment of humankind.

6.    Knowledge and skills acquired at college will make the person’s everyday life easier and more enjoyable. If the number of individuals who are happy increases, it can be said that it is a good thing.

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions:

Although the hard work one does to go to college does not seem to be rewarded as many others go to college now, I personally consider it intrinsically good that more people have contact with the best in education. It will contribute to the development of society and will enrich personal life.

It is true that the value of college diploma as qualification goes down as more people go to college. Having a bachelor’s degree is no longer an advantage in competition, especially in job-hunting. Seventy years ago, graduating from college or university was an accomplishment, but now, most people in developed countries go to college and no one makes much of a college degree anymore.

However, it is also true that having higher numbers of college graduates is a positive development. First, it develops the economy. As the education level of a society goes up, so do the living standards of the people. In a developed economy, college or university education seems to be redundant. Many college graduates in rich countries are doing the job that high school graduates were doing fifty years ago. Still, the fact that the same job is done by a person with higher academic background means the society benefits from the well-educated personnel, who are trained to work effectively and pro-actively.

Second, it will be good for the cohesion of the community. If a larger percentage of citizens are well-educated, it will be easier to reach a consensus and implement decisions on issues that require higher levels of knowledge to understand. In addition, the more conscious and informed citizens become, the more critical issues they can solve. This is especially important when they have a delinquent government. Informed citizens won’t let it deceive them and ruin their lives.

Lastly, more individuals having the luxury of spending four years in learning something special means more people given chances to make their lives more fulfilling. At university, people are trained to think in scientific ways, see things from multiple perspectives, and keep themselves informed and inspired even after graduation. The increasing numbers of housewives with college diplomas means more informed mothers and happier children.

Experiences in highly academic circumstances will light up each individual’s life and collectively this is good for society. Therefore, I believe that to have more college graduates is a positive development that should be celebrated. A bachelor’s degree is not only a qualification for job-hunting but also a building block of society.

☆Your Sample Essay Structure

Reminder: The topic instructs you to discuss both views.

【Introduction = Outline】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】