TOEFL iBT Writing for an Academic Discussion Should dancing be valued more than now? (Revised)

Which room of a house do you consider the most important? (Sociology)

 

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        What are the differences between the following sentences?

A.     Which room of your house do you think is the most important?

B.     Which room of a house do you think is the most important?

Note: Sentence A is about your house, while Sentence B is about a house in general.

 

2.        What functions do the following rooms have?

The living room:

 

The bedroom:

 

The kitchen/dining room:

 

3.        Why do you go home after school or work? You could eat, take a bath, sleep, communicate, and watch TV without going home. What is the purpose of going home? Even single people like to go home. What are the good things about going home other than rejoining your family?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

The living room

1.     Man is a social animal, and the living room is used for communication, bonding and socializing with family members and neighbors.

2.     It is used for important occasions like celebrations or meetings. Memories of a family are made there.

3.     Simple houses like pit houses look like a living room. This shows that the living room is the essence of a house.

4.     This room is located in the best area in a house.

5.     The most important things of the family are in the living room. (The last two are ideas of a former TOFL student.)

 

The bedroom

1.     The main function of a house is rest and relaxation.

2.     Everyone needs to be alone sometimes to release stress and get refreshed.

3.     Personal things are in the bedroom. Privacy is protected only in the bedroom.

4.     The bedroom is for deep mental activities, such as reflection, mediation, and creative activities.

 

The kitchen/dining room

1.      A house is for food storage. It is also for cooking and eating fresh and healthy food.

2.      A house is for family dinner.

 

 

☆Sample Answer for ideas and expressions

【Main Idea】Although both Grace and Daniel make good points, I think the living room is the most important in a house, because I think the main function of the living room, the role it plays as the symbol of bonding, is more important than those of the other rooms.

【Supporting Details】The living room is for activities of significance for the family. Parties, marriage celebrations, and wake and funeral gatherings are held in the living room. Visitors are invited into the living room, and family photos are usually taken in the living room.

【Follow-up】The kitchen also plays this social function as Grace describes, but the basic function of the kitchen is to provide food, and bonding is its secondary function. As for the bed room, although privacy and rest are essential in life, I think most people would choose bonding rather than solitude if they had to choose. Also, rest can be taken in the living room. Some would say that more profound events in life like emotional interactions happen in the kitchen or the bedroom. However, the living room always exists in your mind as a special place for official presentation of your attitude toward other members of your family and community. For instance, it is almost always the living room that is chosen for a serious announcement or confession.

【Conclusion】We see the living room as a sacred place in family life, and this makes it the most important room of a house.  (241 words)

Write your draft. Then read each other’s draft, asking questions and making counterarguments.

 

                                                   DRAFT