TOEFL iBT Independent Writing It is always good to have as much information as possible. - revised -

Lesson 3  Writing Topic

Consider the following statement. It is always good to have as much information as possible. Do you agree with this idea? Support your response by including specific reasons and examples.

 

 

☆Let’s Think

Discussion

1.     Which of the following statements is more agreeable to you? Why?

a.     It feels great to spend time with friends.

b.     It always feels great to spend time with friends.

2.     When do you feel happy to have as much information as possible?

3.     Have you ever found it troublesome to have a lot of information? When?

 

☆Hints for Points

Agree:

1.     Two heads are better than one: This saying shows the benefit of sharing information in getting better results. School often uses group activities to take advantage of this benefit for better performances.

2.     Having as many information sources as possible helps make a good decision. e.g. choice of school

3.     The more information there is, the better perception of the world you can have.

e.g. more news → better understanding of the world,   the Internet → decentralization of information,

4.     Abundant information contributes to creativity.  e.g. the American culture, public domain

5.     Information disclosure helps society progress.  e.g. Patent information disclosure benefit a larger number of people and helps other inventors improve the invention. The government information disclosure enables citizens to learn about past and present activities of the government.

6.     Times of lack of information were dark eras of human history.  e.g. the medieval eras in the European history, the periods of national isolation in the Japanese history

7.     Lack of information is dangerous.  e.g. state control of information, dictatorship

8.     It is difficult to make a decision when there is more information than can be processed, but the problem is in the processing process, such as lack of prioritization or determination. Excessive amount of information is not a problem but a luxury which is inherently a boon as long as dealt with wisely.

 

Disagree:

1.     As the saying goes, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Sometimes, it becomes difficult to do a task when there is a large amount of information. e.g. Textbook contents vary according to the grade. A teacher decides the amount of the study supplement according to the levels and characteristics of the students. It seems that information should be limited at some stage of life. For example, a child may be confused with many pieces of contradicting information without ability to process information well. In case of language acquisition, it is said that the number of languages a child can learn at the same time to be a real multilingual is limited, around 5 or 6.  

2.     It is said that ignorance is bliss and that curiosity killed a cat. It is often better to leave something unrevealed. Trying to know more than you are supposed to could put you in trouble. e.g. white lie. Pandora’s box

3.     There are many kinds of information that are controlled for security, privacy, or education.  e.g. Leaking information that the public should know such as war crimes or corruptions is always done in consideration of sensitive information related to the leak such as names of agents (spies).

 

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions

There are things that you had better not know. A photograph shows all the visual information of a scene, and this is perfect as, say, a visual evidence. However, an artist deletes some information of the same scene to show what he sees in the scene. A picture is more real without all the information. A dancer’s face does not have a line in the picture, when, in fact, it does. No bug is not on the flower in the picture. Actually, a huge one is. Although we know the photograph is accurate, we see the truth in the picture. Therefore, I cannot totally agree with the statement that it is always good to have as much information as possible. While the increase of information makes our lives better, it can sometimes be a curse.

知らない方が良いことはある。 写真はある情景の全ての情報を示し、これは例えば視覚的証拠としては完璧だ。しかし、芸術家はその情景の中に自分が見る物を示すために同じ情景のある情報を削除する。絵は全情報がないと、より本物らしい。踊り子の顔に実はしわがある時に、絵の中にはない。絵の中で虫は花の上にいない。本当は大きいのがいる。私たちは写真が正確だと知っているが絵画に真実を見る。従って、できるだけ多くの情報があることは常に良いことだという意見には完全には賛成できない。情報の増加は生活を良くする一方で時として呪いになり得る。

 

Lack of information causes a lot of trouble. It leads to confusion and fear in emergencies, for example. It also causes prejudice. You might have heard someone say, “I had thought such and such people were stupid and mean, but after I made friends with Mary, who was intelligent and very kind, my image of those people changed.” The problem is that until meeting Mary, the person missed good communication and relationships with the other members of the group that Mary belongs to. Stereotype is the child of lack of information, and its children are discrimination, bullying, conflicts and wars. In politics, shortage of information will destroy democracy, or vice versa.

情報不足は多くの問題を引き起こす。例えば緊急事態には混乱と恐怖を引き起こす。また、偏見も引き起こす。「これこれの人たちはおろかで意地悪だと思っていたが知的でとても優しいメアリーに会ってからあの人たちのイメージが変わった。」と誰かが言うのを聞いたことがあるかもしれない。ここで問題なのはメアリーに会うまでその人はメアリーの属する集団の他の構成員との良い意思疎通と関係を得損ねたということだ。ステレオタイプは情報不足の子供であり、その子供たちは差別といじめと衝突そして戦争だ。政治においては情報不足は民主主義を破壊し、その逆もまた真なりだ。

 

Abundant information makes us happy. Today’s computer graphics, for instance, have much more amount of information than those in the past, and thus they are clearer and more real than before. The difference is evident if today’s computer graphics are compared with those in the 1980’s like Pack-Man or Mario Brothers, not Super Mario Brothers. When trying to understand a piece of news better, people read more than one newspaper. Before making an expensive purchase, most people try to collect as many catalogs as possible and read as many reviews as they can. Plenty of information brings better recognition and confidence.

十分な情報はうれしい。例えば現在のコンピューター・グラフィックスは過去のものよりずっと情報量が多く、従って以前より明瞭で現実感がある。現在のコンピューター・グラフィックスをパックマンやマリオブラザーズ（スーパーマリオブラザーズではない）のような1980年代のものと比べれば違いは歴然としている。あるニュースを理解しようとすると人は新聞を2紙以上読む。高価な買い物をする前、たいていの人はできるだけ多くのカタログを集めようとし、できるだけ多くの評価を読もうとする。豊富な情報はより良い認識と自信もたらす。

 

On the other hand, the word “always” in the statement makes you think twice before agreeing with the statement. A lot of information may do harm to us. I remember a teacher saying that we would be confused if we had extra eyes on the back side of our heads. There would be too much information to process, and we would be at a loss of which way we should take, ending up being unable to move at all. We all know that this is true when we use Google. Birds have a wide view, as we say a bird’s-eye-view, but even birds have a blind spot, a narrow area in the back of their head. Perhaps, lack of certain information is necessary. This spot could be a necessary anatomy, not just a weak point. It not only tells the bird which side is its back but also helps birds help each other. Because of the existence of this weak spot, birds perching side by side cover each other, by facing the direction opposite to the direction their mates are facing. I guess most of us would rather be imperfect birds helping each other than a god with a hundred eyes.

一方で意見の中の「常に」という言葉で賛成するのに二の足を踏んでしまう。多くの情報は害を与えるかもしれない。頭の後ろに余分な目がついていたら混乱するだろうとある先生が言ったのを覚えている。情報が多すぎて処理できずどちらに進むべきか途方に暮れ全く動けなくなるだろう。私たちは皆、グーグルを使う時にこれが正しいことが分かる。たぶん、特定の情報の欠如は必要なのだ。鳥は鳥観図と言うように視野が広いが鳥でさえ盲点がある。後頭部の狭い一点だ。この点は単なる弱点ではなく必要な体の構造なのかもしれない。後ろがどちらかが分かるだけでなく、鳥たちが助け合うのを助ける。この弱点の存在のおかげで、隣り合ってとまっている鳥たちは仲間が向いている方向と逆の方向を向くことによってお互いを庇うのだ。我々の大部分は、百の目を持つ神より助け合う不完全な鳥になりたいだろうと思う。

 

In general, the more information you have, the better recognition you have, and the problem of confusion caused by abundant information can be avoided by general knowledge such as checking the news source and shunning fake news. Still, it would be beyond our capacity and disagree with our nature to have as much information as possible all the time.

一般的には情報が多ければ多いほど一層認識は良くなる。そして豊富な情報によって引き起こされる混乱の問題は情報源を確認し偽ニュースを避ける等の常識によって回避可能だろう。それでも、常に可能な限りの情報を持っているのは我々の能力を超え性に合わないだろう。

 

 

☆Sample Essay Structure

A           【Introduction】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Counterargument-treatment】

【Conclusion】

 

B          【Introduction】

【Advantage 1】

【Advantage 2】

【Exceptions】

【Conclusion】.

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

【Conclusion】

 

 

Note: as much many information/knowledge as possible （不可算）, （数えたいとき）a piece of information,

the Internet （インフラの名前なので高速道路と同様に ｔｈｅ 付きでI は大文字が正式、形容詞として使う場合は小文字）, SNS = Social Networking Serviceの略、ただし、同義語の social media の方がよく使われる。

 

☆Sample Paragraph Development

【Main Idea】 Having as many information sources as possible is desirable to make a good decision.

【Supporting Detail (general)】 The more information you have, the more wrong decisions you can avoid.

【Supporting Detail (specific)】 For example, choosing a school to attend is one which involves some important factors. When you decide which university you should go to, you would consult the Internet or specialists for information so that you can find a school which provides what you want to learn with the best faculty and facilities possible, for the smallest expenses.

【Follow-up】Even if there seem to be too many choices to compare, as long as you know what you want, you can find an answer. Although it takes time to choose one out of many choices, it will save time in the end because careful research helps eliminate bad choices beforehand.

【Conclusion】 You need as much information as possible so as not to be sorry later.

【主題】 できるだけ多くの情報源があることは良い決定をするのに望ましい。

【詳細（一般的）】 情報が多ければ多いほどより多くの間違った情報を避けることができる。

【詳細（具体的）】 例えば進学先の選択はいくつかの重要な要素を含む決定だ。

【より具体的な例】どの大学に行くかを決める時、学びたいことを可能な限り最高の教授陣と設備を最小の経費で提供する学校を見つけることができるようにインターネットか専門家に情報を求めるだろう。

【補足】たとえ比べる選択肢が多すぎて決められないように思えても、何が欲しいかが分かっている限り答えが見つかる。多くの選択肢から一つを選ぶのは時間がかかるが注意深い調査が前もって悪い選択をなくすのを助けるので長期的には時間の節約になる。

【結論】 後で後悔しないためにできるだけたくさんの情報が必要だ。

 

 

Your Sample Paragraph Development

【Main Idea】

 

【Supporting Detail (general)】

 

 

【Supporting Detail (specific)】

 

 

 

 

【Follow-up / Counterargument-treatment】

 

 

 

【Conclusion】