TOEFL iBT Independent Writing 1) What impact do you think people living longer now than they did will have on society? 2) What changes do you think this new century will bring? 3) What do you think is one change in the twentieth century that is most important to remember?

  

Writing Topic A

Generally speaking, people are living longer now than they did in previous centuries. What impact do you think this change will have on society?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.          Look up the following words.

average life-span ……………………………….   average life-expectancy …………………………………..

longevity………………………………………….   child mortality rate ……………………………………….

shrinking population ………………………….. aging society ………………………………………………..

 

2.      Research the impact of longevity, and share your findings with others.

 

 

☆Hints for points

1.       There is a much older but healthier and more experienced work force.

a.     People will retire much later.

b.     Retirees will volunteer in many areas (day-care centers, research facilities, etc.).

c.      Younger generation stay in school longer and start work later.

 

2.       Older consumers will increase.

a.     Less/more consumption, depending on the condition of the pension system, economy, etc.

b.     New products and services like nursing robots, counselors, mobile stores and cleaners, etc.

c.      Different city planning such as barrier-free designs, more accessible transportation, etc.

 

3.       Social services related to aging society will increase.

a.     Hospitals and retirement homes will increase.

b.     There will be more social workers, caregivers, medical personnel.

c.      Expenditure on social security programs, including healthcare and pension system, will rise.

 

4.       If wealth gap becomes wider, wealthy people will stay young till they get very old and have many children, while poor people die young and have fewer children. The social and health problems of the society will increase. Since rich people tend not to care about pollution as they live in clean areas, the environmental destruction may increase, and the earth may become uninhabitable.

 

 

☆Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction】Since people only in developed countries are living longer and old age is an anathema in modern society, all kinds of changes related to anti-aging will happen.

【Point 1】Anti-aging industry will thrive more.

【Point 2】The average life expectancy gap between the rich and the poor will be wider.

【Counterargument-treatment】Traditional cultures value old age, but it is quite possible that globalization can wipe the value out.

【Conclusion】Fear of aging and death in developed countries might change industries and demography on the whole planet.

 

 

Your Sample Essay Structure                                                  

【Introduction】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3 / Counterargument-treatment】

【Conclusion】

 

 

Speech Time:  Make a one-minute speech on this topic.

 

 

Writing Topic B

The 21st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

Research the changes expected in the near future concerning the following aspects.

1.      Technology  e.g. renewable energy and machines to clean up the environment

2.      Economic activities  e.g. more connection with neighboring countries

3.      Politics  e.g. efforts to avoid war

4.      Society  e.g. inequality and aging

5.      Environment  e.g. extinction and new distribution of species due to global warming

 

 

☆Hints for points

1.       “Peace” will be attained in the developed world.

Global warming and active plate tectonics will unite humans and end wars and conflicts. Those in developing countries will be protected by the developed countries because of the shortage of basic resources such as food and water. Grassroots movements will vitalize communities and change politics.

 

2.       Wild animals and human children will be rare.

a.     Development, pollution, and climate change will cause weathering of life force and many animals including humans will have fewer offspring.

b.     Income gap, bad welfare system, and discrimination will lead to lower birthrates.

 

3.       The next one hundred years will be the century of cooperation or destruction.

a.     Globalization, global warming, and the gap between the rich and the poor will develop.

-        Global warming combined with population growth will cause food and water shortage.

-        Businesses will keep outsourcing factories to countries with cheaper labor forces and fewer regulations, and hollowing out will continue to occur.

-        Another financial meltdown will occur as Wall Street corporations are buying politicians, who will pass or repeal laws weakening financial restrictions while no big companies are paying tax by means of using tax havens.

-        Anger among the public will develop because of the insecurity of their lives.

-        Conflicts between racial and ethnic groups will increase.

-        New generations will build a society which is friendly to the weak and the environment.

 

b.     We might see disarmament or proliferation of nuclear weapons followed by Armageddon in the worst case scenario.

-        The military industrial complex will keep developing by through wars.

-        Countries that are not allowed to have nuclear weapons will have them and use them as deterrent.

-        Information and materials (uranium and plutonium) to make nuclear arms will be available through the net.

 

c.      Tensions between religious groups, mainly between Christians and Muslims, will be stronger.

-        US diplomacy of waging wars against Muslim countries and helping Israel, which keeps invading Pakistan, will keep causing disruption in the Middle East.

-        US military will have more Evangelicals, fundamentalist sect of Christianity, and fear against Islamic extremists will be promoted more around the world.

-        Young people who cannot adapt to reality seek refuge in the bond with the members of religious groups.

 

 

You’re Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Point 3 / Counterargument-treatment】

【Conclusion】

 

 

☆Speech Time  Make a one-minute speech on this topic.

 

 

 

Extra Writing Topic

There were many changes in the twentieth century. What do you think is one change in the twentieth century that is most important to remember? Include specific reasons to justify your choice.

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.       Questions of the same type as today’s topics

a.     What invention in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country?

b.     What discovery in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

 

2.       To which question do you have more than one answer?

a.    Name the sweetest cake in the world.

b.    Name a sweetest cake.

 

Fill in the parentheses.

a.  The lion is (     )   large mammal.

b.  The elephant is  (      )  largest mammal on land.

 

Note: The superlatives in the writing topic, most important, does not have the article “the.” This means that you do not have to decide the most important change in the 20th century. There are some most important changes that happened in the last century, and you are supposed to pick up one of them and explain why it has the highest level of importance.

 

3.       Do research on changes that took place in the last century and share your findings.

 

Note: It is rather easy to think of the answer to this type of question. You can easily come up with changes like the development of the information technology. Probably the difficult part is to explain why, but the hint is in the question. In this case, the hints are the words “change” and “most important.” They are related to great moments in history: the story of before and after the change. What is expected in your essay is probably the description of how great the impact of the change was, in other words, in what way and how much it has changed society and the environment.

 

 

☆Hints for points

1.       The rapid development of technology.

Technological breakthroughs had happened before, but it was in the 20th century that the rapid the development of technology happened, and the lives of people changed dramatically. Nowadays, thanks to convenient electronic appliances, people can have more extra time than they did one hundred years ago and use it to do things other than daily chores. The development of technology enabled people to enjoy creative activities, which were possible only for the few privileged people before. The changes were good for the most part, but since it happened in a short time, people did not have enough time to adapt to it or consider the influence of it. As a result, the change left some negative assets to coming generations, such as pollution, global warming, threat of nuclear arms, and new types of crimes.

 

2.       Wars and the invention of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

In World War I and World War II, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and died, and biological and nuclear weapons were made. Biological weapons were used during WWI and they were prohibited after the war. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII, each killing around 140,000 and 370,000 by the end of the year. After World War II, America’s wars such as Vietnam War and Iraq-Afghanistan War killed tens of thousands of people. Nuclear armament competition drove the world to have approximately 13,000 nuclear warheads. In addition, nuclear energy is applied to electricity generation, causing Chernobyl and Fukushima.

 

3.       The influence of the airplane

The rapid development of commercial airplanes in the 20th century might be compared to the domestication of horses. It has made the world smaller and dramatically changed people’s lives. It has enabled people to visit other countries for study, on business, or on vacation quickly and easily.

 

4.       The invention of television

The invention of television has given people a new source of information and a new tool of entertainment. Television has made it possible for people to learn with sound and moving pictures what is happening in remote areas or in places they usually cannot go in. People started watching news shows instead of reading newspapers or listening to the radio. Television has also provided various kinds of shows that people can enjoy with their family and friends. At the same time, television made it easier for governments and corporations to control people’s thoughts.

 

5.       Globalization

The development of transportation and communication allowed corporations to do business worldwide. They now have their branch offices and factories in other countries, import cheap materials from other countries, and sell their products around the world. As a result, people all over the world have the same kind of products, and some cultures are shared around the world. At the same time, languages and cultures of minorities are lost in this change.

 

 

☆Let’s make a point

Write about the points you are going to make by answering the following two questions.

 

Question 1  What is different before and after the change?

Sample response: I think the advent of the Internet is most important to remember in the last 100 years. In the old days, before the advent of the Internet, the information was something that was provided in limited amounts by authorities. However, lately, most information on this planet has become available to anyone. Also, it has become possible for anyone to provide information to the public easily.

 

Your response:

I think ………………………………………..……. is most important to remember in the last 100 years.

In the old days, ……………………………………………………………………………………………..………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

However, these days, ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

 

Question 2  What makes the change more important than other changes?

Sample responses: The change brought by the Internet is most important to remember in that it has become the infrastructure of the world. Its impact on our society was so great that no one in our society now lives completely independent of the Internet.

 

Your short response:

The change brought by …………………………………………….……….… is most important to remember

in that ...………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Its impact on our society was so great that ………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………