TOEFL iBT Independent Writing, Grades (marks) encourage students to learn.- revised -

Writing Topic 1

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students to learn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

☆Let’s think

1.      This topic might be difficult for many to give a clear-cut answer. Most people have both experiences of being encouraged and discouraged by grades. If the grades are high or higher than before, we are happy. If we keep getting lower grades, we might decide we are not apt for the subject and stop making efforts. Share your experiences about grading with your partner or group members.

2.      When you cannot give a clearly positive or negative answer, how can you put the thesis statement?

--- When you can think of both merits and demerits of a statement, you might want to use words like “mostly agree”, “partly agree”, or “cannot totally agree” in the thesis statement. If your stand is clear, you could use entirely, totally, etc.

☆Ideas and Expressions

For the statement:

1)  Students can see objectively how much they have or have not made progress.

2)  Students can set the next goal by grades.

3)  Competition makes students study harder.

Against the statement:

1)  Some students get discouraged by repeatedly being told that they are not good.

2)  Grading force teachers to focus on making students get higher scores on tests. This will lead to rote learning, depriving students of real knowledge and making them less interested in the subject.

3)  Grading instill students with the idea that society is nothing but competition, and students will miss experiencing joy of learning since it arises when there is no pressure to learn.

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions  (Barron’s, Writing for the TOEFL iBT, pp.285-286)

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

【Conclusion】

☆Speech Time

Make a one-minute speech on this topic.

☆Sample Paragraph Development             

【Main Idea】I cannot totally agree with the statement that grades encourage students to learn because there are people who are discouraged by competition.  

【Supporting Detail (general)】Grades make students compete against each other.

【Supporting Detail (specific)】There are two kinds of people who dislike this situation: those who are always at the bottom in academic competition and those who just do not like to see themselves competing against their classmates. Both types can lose interest in study the moment they become aware that they are being made to race their classmates.

【Follow-up】It is true that competition raises levels of achievements on the whole and grading is a way to provide students with objective means of reflection about their jobs, but learning is primarily a personal activity, which is stimulated by pure interest in the subject whether you have rivals or not. A student whose motivation to learn is to defeat someone in tests would lose interest in learning if his target leaves him. Students need more fundamental motivation to learn such as interest in nature or community.

【Conclusion】Thus, grading does not encourage but force students to learn.

Your Sample Paragraph Development:

【Main Idea】                                                                                       

                                                                                                    

【Supporting Detail (general)】                                                                      

                                                                                                    

【Supporting Detail (specific)】                                                                        

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

【Follow-up】                                                                                       

                                                                                                   

【Conclusion】                                                                                      

                                                                                                   

Comments or Suggestion from your partner or group members