Pre-TOEFL Writing Which would you buy, a piece of jewelry or tickets to a concert - revised -

Writing Topic: You have received a gift money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

☆Let’s Think

For some students, jewelry might be something of their least interest, so replacing a piece of jewelry with a watch might help make comparisons of it with concert tickets.

宝石に実感がわかない場合、時計に置き換えて考えてみよう 

Hints for Points

1.    You can use a piece of jewelry repeatedly while you can use tickets to a concert only once.

宝石は何度も使えるがコンサートは1回切り。

2.    Jewelry is an asset. You can sell it when you need money.

宝石は財産だ。お金が必要な時に売ることができる。

3.    You can buy a piece of jewelry as a present for someone. 誰かの為の贈り物として宝石を買うことができる。

4.    You can go to a concert with your friends. 友達とコンサートに行くことができる。

5.    Going to a concert is a good experience. コンサートに行くことは良い経験だ。

6.    Seeing your favorite musician performing live will be a good memory.

お気に入りのミュージシャンがライブ演奏しているのを見るのは良い思い出になるだろう。

☆Sample Essay Structures エッセイ構成例

A      【導入】An old TV advertisement catch phrase was “memory rather than material” and I totally agree with the idea. Given the choice between a piece of jewelry and tickets to a concert, I would definitely buy the latter. It will transform my mind and helps share joy with my friends.  物より思い出

【利点 1】A concert helps you see your life in positive ways. A good concert enthralls the audience and profoundly affects your spirit. Listening to a live performance is a different experience from listening to a recorded form. For example, when I came out of a concert of my favorite group, I was literally someone else. All the stress of everyday life was gone because of my encountering the world of pure minds. The experience gave me energy to live.

人生を肯定させてくれる魂に影響、録音とは異なる経験 （人を変える  ストレス解消  生きる力）

【利点 2】Going to a concert with your friend will help deepen the relationship. It gives you chances to interact with your friend in different ways than usual. All the interactions from making the arrangement to waiting in a line together in front of the venue before the doors open, to exchanging smiles during the show and going home together talking about the show will strengthen the bond.

友達との仲が深まる  （普段と違う交流  予約時・開場前・演奏中の交流・帰宅時等で絆強化）

【欠点が問題でない理由】It is true that a concert is not a concrete thing like a piece of jewelry, but a good experience will not disappear but stay in your mind forever.  宝石のように形はないが心に永久に残る

【結論】Going to a concert helps enrich your life. This is a trick that an object cannot do. Therefore, I would rather go to a concert with my friend than buy a jewel if I received some money. 人生を豊かにする

B      【導入】A precious stone might have many meanings to other people, but it is just a stone to me. On the other hand, I find tickets to a concert invaluable. I would certainly buy tickets to a concert, not a piece of jewelry, if I have received some gift money. 宝石は自分にとってはただの石だがコンサートは貴重

【宝石の場合】A piece of jewelry would be a reminder of the person who gave you the gift money to buy it. By wearing the jewelry, you can show your affection to the person who gave it to you. In the case of giving the jewelry to someone, you can make the person happy for two reasons: the joy of owning a good piece of accessory and the joy of receiving a good jewel from someone she or he likes, which makes you even happier. 宝石はくれた人の思い出、身に付けることにより感謝を示す 誰かに贈れば2倍喜ばせる

【コンサートの場合】A good concert gives you a life-time memory. You can share the memory with the people you went to the concert with. If the concert is a famous one, you could share the experience with people all over the world on the related website later. コンサートは一生の思い出  共通の話題になる

【自分の選択と理由】Using the money for tickets is sharing joy with others while buying a piece of jewelry only satisfies the desire to possess something good unless you get it for someone else. As I have no one that I want to please by giving a gem to, I would spend the gift money to go to a concert with my friend. コンサートは他の人と楽しさを分かち合えるが宝石は（他人にあげる場合以外は）自己満足  宝石を贈る相手がいないので友達とコンサート

【結論】I would buy tickets to a concert because I would like to have a good time with my friend.

友達と楽しみたい

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction - Outline】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

【Conclusion – Wrap-up】