TOEFL iBT Independent Writing, Progress in science is always good.

Writing Topic

Consider the following statement. Progress in science is always good. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Support your response by including specific reasons and examples.

☆Let’s think

1       Which of the following two statements do you sympathize more with? Why?

a.    Being carefree is always good.

b.    Being carefree is sometimes good.

2       Give examples of benefits from progress in science.

3       Are there any negative effects of the progress in science? What are they?

☆Hints for points

Good points of progress in science

-       It gives us more convenience, speed, or precision.

-       It makes possible what was impossible before.

-       It gives us new perspectives about the world and ourselves.

Drawbacks of progress in science

-       Many problems have occurred.

substances that are more hazardous to life than before, destructive weapons that are more destructive than before, environmental problems (pollution, global warming, etc.), new types of crimes, social change making some people confused, humans being unable to keep up with the speed of the technology, desire for new products, etc.

-       It causes degeneration

It makes us weak.  e.g. better transportation → less exercise

It makes us forget some skills  e.g. forgetting spellings

It makes us think less  e.g. Googling before thinking

☆Sample Essay Structures

A      【Introduction = Outline】I cannot entirely agree with the statement that progress in science is always good.  

【Good Points】Science makes our lives convenient and lets us know about the world.

【Bad Points】Science and technology has created weapons of mass destruction and caused global warming.

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】Progress in science sometimes causes problems. Therefore, it is not always good.

B      【Introduction = Outline】I totally disagree with the idea that progress in science is always good.

【Point 1】According to Harari, irrigation technology has deprived us of freedom by making us give up hunting and gathering, which is fun, and confining our lives to the care of plants, which is tough. Now the rhythm of life machines create has become too fast for humans to keep up with.

【Point 2】Death toll of wars have become larger as technology has advanced.

【Point 3】Countless numbers of species have gone extinct owing to human activities.

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】Admitting that we all benefit from scientific discoveries and inventions, I am still skeptical about goodness of scientific progress.

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction = Outline】

【                     】

【                     】

【                     】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】

早稲田国際教養学部AO入試 直前の注意点 - revised -

これから受験当日まで

☆過去問の解き直しと要約：　正解しなかったもののみ、添削された答案や模範解答を見たあともう一度解きなおしましょう。解き直しをすべて終えたら、内容を英語で要約しましょう。（入試が終われば恐らく読み直すことはないでしょうが、入学すれば同様の文章を大量に読むことになるのですから、準備のつもりで内容をしっかり頭に入れておきましょう。）Waseda Onlineに掲載されているエッセイを読んで要約するのも良いと思います。

☆苦手分野のチェック：　苦手分野の問題は解くたびに落ち込むので試験直前には回避しがちですが、最もチェックが必要です。直前まで学び続ける姿勢を崩さないことです。今まで知らないでいた常識などを発見した場合、「こんなことも知らないのではだめだ。」と思わず、「テスト前に知ることができてよかった。」と考えるようにしましょう。やる気が出ないときは本番でその苦手分野が出題されて困っている自分を想像してみてください。その時のつらさを回避するために前もって苦手分野の問題文や記事を読んで要約しておきましょう。

受験当日　《当日の注意点ですが普段から注意して習慣にしておきましょう》

☆小手先の技術で切り抜けようとしない：　早稲田国際AO入試の筆記テストも基本的には英語のテストです。見られるのは英語の読解力と表現力及び国際政治・経済の知識です。謙虚に実力を見てもらいましょう。要領よく解こうとするよりも、本文と問題を正確に読み取り、出題のテーマ（筆者の一番言いたいことと質問のポイント）を理解することに集中しましょう。良い解答の第一歩はそこからであり、それができれば7割とれたも同然です。（もちろん反論や具体例などで重要でないところは流し読みするなどの時間の節約は大切ですが、これも内容を理解することによってどこを流せばよいかが分かるのですからまずは内容理解です。）また、解答欄が余っても余計なことは書かないようにしましょう。減点されかねません。うまく最後をまとめる練習は普段からしておきましょう。解くときの優先順位は　１）理解　２）内容　３）量　でよいと思います。

☆解けそうなものから先に解く：　最初に大問すべてにざっと目を通し、解けそうなものから先に解きましょう。ただし、時間配分は全てを解くつもりで最後の問題に時間の余裕が取れるようにします。時間の余裕があれば心の余裕もできるので、解けにくそうだと思ったものも意外に簡単に解ける場合もあります。

☆ポイントを先に書く：　普段やっていないのに本番でやってしまいそうなミスが出だし部分にこだわることです。筆記問題の解答ワード数はTOEFLエッセイの3分の１程度なのですから前置きは不要です。また論じ方の説明や問題文の内容の繰り返しも要りません。1行目でストレートに言いたいことを書いてください。詳細はそのあとに書きます。そのほうが時間配分もしやすくなります。最後はまとめの1文をつけましょう。

☆要約問題は簡単な言葉、個性を見せる問題は精一杯の語彙で解答する：　内容を問う問題（要約問題）は内容を理解していることを示すことが大切です。簡単な言葉でよいので理解したことを自分の言葉で表現しましょう。自分の経験・知識を使って答える問題の場合、経験・知識＝語彙なのですから出せるものは全て出しましょう。【簡単にまとめる／個性を発揮する】のメリハリをつけた解答にしましょう。

☆解答・記入方法等の指示に注意：　解答・記入方法について、True/false、T/F、アルファベット順、日本語・英語、エッセイ等、様々な指示があるので、注意しましょう。

☆ロジックで暴走しない：友達の前で「百人救う為に一人を殺すのが正解だ」と平気で言う事のできる人はいないと思います。試験場でも普段の優しい気持ちは保って、冷血漢の答案にならないようにしましょう。

最後に：　あれこれ心配するよりも淡々と準備に時間を使いましょう。これだけやったのだから後は何とでもなれと思えるところまで準備すれば気持ちよく本番に望めます。頑張ってください。

早稲田国際教養学部AO入試 Cities and Agricultural Productivity - revised -

産業革命に伴う都市の発達が農業も巻き込んでいることを戦後日本の経済成長期（７０年代まで）の自給率の上昇によって示している文章です。

主な注意点

問１  繰り返しになりますが記号問題は全問正解を目指しましょう。本文中に根拠になる箇所は必ずあります。確認しながら丁寧に正誤を判断しましょう。

問２  本文のポイントを理解していることを採点者に分かってもらえるように書きましょう。要約と要約を基にした推測を書く問題なので、本文と関係ない根拠を使って独自の意見を書いてしまわないようにしましょう。

問３  本文の主張を基にするだけでなく、現在の農業の問題点と世界経済）を考慮した答案が期待されていると思います。グローバル化やTPP等（産業革命以降の産業・経済の流れの最先端）と関連付けましょう。

解答のポイント

主題： 農業の発展は都市の発展に伴って起こる。戦前の日本の自給率は低かったが戦後の都市の急成長と共に100％の自給率を達成し、農業の多様化が起こった。これらは農業に対する大きな需要を抱える都市からの技術革新の適用によるものである。

本文該当箇所　第1段落 It can readily be seen in the world today that agriculture is not even tolerably productive unless it incorporates many goods and services produced in cities or transplanted from cities. 都市で生産されるか都市から移植された多くの商品やサービスを取り込まない限り、農業はかろうじて生産的とさえ言えないという事が今日の世界では容易にみられる。  第6段落 It created rural productivity upon a foundation of city productivity. 日本は都市の生産性の基盤の上に田舎の生鮮性を想像したのだ。 第8段落It is in cities that new goods and services are first created. 新しい商品やサービスが最初に生みだされるのは都市においてである。第8段落 The industrial revolution occurred first in cities and later in agriculture. 産業革命はまず都市で起こり、それから農業で起こった。

問１　別プリント参照

問２　カロリー計算では日本の自給率（日本が消費する食品で日本国内で生産される食品の比率）は現在約40％です。上記の文章に基づくと100％近くにならない理由を筆者はどう説明するでしょうか？なぜ第2次世界大戦に至るまで日本の国土は食料が時給できていなかったのですか？解答用紙に与えられた箇所に自分の言葉で英語で答えて下さい。

考え方  「上記の文章に基づくと」「筆者はどう説明するでしょうか」とあるので本文の主張を使って答える。まず二つ目の質問「なぜ第2次世界大戦に至るまで日本の国土は食料が時給できていなかったのですか？」の該当箇所を見つけて要約し、それを基に推測できることを述べる。本文第2段落最後のIt was the custom to ascribe this sever food deficit to Japan’s small supply of farmable land. （このひどい食糧不足は日本は耕作可能な土地が少ないためだとするのか常であった）は当時の通説を述べているので筆者の主張する原因ではない。また、戦後の食の多様化は一時（肉以外は）自給できていたことが第5段落後半から分かる。筆者の考え方に従うと問題はその後食の多様化と輸入品に国産品が押される状態に技術革新が対応できていないということになる。

本文該当箇所　第4段落What happened in Japan was, although wonderfully effective, commonplace. Their rural world began receiving, in vast amounts, for the first time, fertilizers, machines, electric power, refrigeration equipment, the results of plant and animal research, and a host of other goods and services developed in cities the ― same cities where the richest food markets already lay. 日本で起こったのは、素晴らしく効果的ではあったが、ありきたりのことだった。日本の田舎は、大量の肥料や機械、電力、冷蔵用機器、動植物研究の成果、そして多くの都市―最大の食品市場が既に存在した同じ都市―で開発された他の商品やサービスを始めて受け取り始めたのだ。第5段落The farmers in addition to supplying more rice, were producing so much more milk and other dairy products, chickens, eggs, meat, fruits and vegetables that the Japanese were not only eating more than before, they were also eating better, Nowadays when Japan imports food and pays for it with industrial products, it imports meats, not rice. 農家はより多くの米を供給するのに加えて以前よりずっと多くの牛乳や他の酪農製品、鶏肉、卵、肉、果物そして野菜を生産していたので日本人は以前より多く食べていただけではなく食の内容が良くなっていた。現在日本が食品を輸入し工業製品で支払う時、米ではなく肉を輸入する。

解答のポイント例  According to the text, Japanese achieved self-sufficiency only after WWII, when development of cities caused increased demand for food and provision of technology and skills to agriculture. Therefore, the low self-sufficiency before WWII can be attributed to the insufficient development of cities. Their urban development was not powerful enough to make an agricultural revolution, The current low self-sufficiency in Japan can be explained, following the authors theory, by lack of innovation. Although concentration of the population in large cities is still going on, significant innovation in technology and skills to produce new goods and services has not happened for a long time. This intellectual stagnation has affected the low productivity in the rural area, making it unable to meet the demand for diversified diet and vulnerable to cheap imports, although there are some political and economic factors relevant to this situation.

問3 日本の農村部の将来の経済的展望を改善するために何がなされ得るでしょうか？解答用紙に提供された場所に英語で答えてください。

考え方 テキスト内容を基にして答える場合は、答えは「都市部で開発された新しい技術革新やノウハウの導入」になる。更に、日本の農業の問題やグローバル化との関連に関して知っていることを基に答えることもできる。また、気候変動対策も重要なポイントになる。大規模農業化による小規模農家の消滅の問題も考慮してみよう。

解答のポイント例

◍新しい技術革新 As written in the text, new ideas and products in the urban areas should be actively applied to the countryside to raise its productivity. Factory farming, which is less affected by climate change and disasters and drones for pinpoint application of insecticide are some of the examples of high-tech farming.

◍大規模農業化 ・企業化 Large scale farming or corporatization of farming will streamline agriculture and make it agribusiness. Large corporations can spend money on research and development, prepare materials at low prices by bulk buying, grow and sell produce efficiently. They can also easily practice sustainable farming by using waste products in one department to make products in another department.

◍グローバル化への適応=競争力の高い作物の輸出（市場調査と宣伝）と特許取得（但し、食糧危機対策として自給率維持の為ある程度は保護主義が必要）To adapt to globalization, it is necessary to export crops that are competitive in the world market. Market research to find demands and advertising crops with added value and local specialties are part of the attempt. Making sure to receive international patent for hybrid crops is vital to prevent results of years of efforts from being copied in other countries. Meanwhile, selective protectionism is necessary even under the free trade pressure so that Japan can maintain some self-sufficiency for fear of emergency such as food crisis,

◍デフレ脱却または小規模農家の保護 Fighting against deflation and thus ensuring the basic income of small famers is necessary, for deflation lowers the prices of farm products and lead to farmers giving up farming.

◍農業や農村部の生活を魅力的にして若者の参加を促す The agriculture should make the environment the young people are happy to work. Agriculture should be made more attractive to the young and media should report improved working conditions and lifestyles in the rural areas.

◍気候変動対策 Growing the same crops in the same way as before is becoming impossible due to the climate change. To adapt to the change, research and development of species that are resistant to temperature rise, new diseases, drought, or flood is necessary. Also, to protect farmlands, to reduce the impact of typhoons and floods, ettempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be made.

TOEFL iBT Independent Writing Imagine that a company has announced plans to build a large factory in your community. Would you support this addition to your community? - revised -

Imagine that a company has announced plans to build a large factory in your community. Would you support this addition to your community?

☆Let’s Think

1       What are the merits and demerits of building a factory in general?

2       Are there any conditions of your community to welcome or reject a new factory?

3       Are there any counter arguments against the opinion that a new factory will increase employment?

4       Are there any counter arguments against the opinion that a new factory will have a negative effect on the environment?

Note: Let’s deal with counterarguments. When you think of a counterargument, take it up, and deal with it by, for example, proving the counter argument does not matter so much or showing that there is a solution.

☆Hints for Points

◍merits and demerits of building a factory in general

advantages: It will stimulate the local economy. / The employment will improve. / The municipal government will benefit from the tax revenue increase.

disadvantages: air/water/noise pollution / Transportation will be crowded. / There might be conflicts between old and new residents

◍conditions of your community

old residential area → The health of children and might be senior citizens adversely affected.

already full of factories  → more demerits than merits

☆Counterarguments and counter-counterarguments

◍The employment will improve.

Counterargument: Corporations employ dispatched workers, who are already trained to do the tasks and do not cost much, or use robots.

Counter-counterargument: The community leaders can organize themselves to make sure that the factory will give priority to hiring residents in the area before the construction starts.

◍effect on the environment (pollution, CO2 emissions, habitat loss, etc.)

Counterargument: New technology will reduce the impact on the environment.

Counter-counterargument: A corporation will do anything for profits. It will not seriously take measures to protect the environment. Once the damage is done, the community will never be the same.

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions

I would welcome the factory if it is run by a new type of company but strongly reject it if it is owned by the conventional corporation. Although it would seemingly benefit my town mainly because of job creation, a factory owned by the corporation would eventually bring unhappiness to the community.

In the long run, a corporate-owned factory would harm my community and the environment. By law, a corporation is only responsible to its shareholders, not to the community, and much less to the environment. If calculation shows that it can still make profits even if it has to pay compensation for the damage caused by the production or the products, the corporation just makes the product. As we have seen, factories have polluted the air, water, and soil, and many people have suffered due to defective products.

Outsourcing is another practice to worry about. If the factory is successful, the company wants to expand and it will close the factory to build some in overseas countries where cheap labor forces are available. If this happens, not to speak of the plight of the people who are exploited there in the third world, my town will be full of the unemployed. This has happened in America over the last 20 years. The result is a lot of ghost towns and the crushed middle class. Tight economy and harsh global market competition, plus very expensive personnel costs of my country Japan, can transform even a paternalistic Japanese company into a ruthless, money-hungry machine. It is sensible to suspect the possibility of future offshoring of the factory.

Moreover, the corporation could close even a most productive factory for profits. For example, if the product the factory turns out is abundant in the market, the company could stop manufacturing it to prevent its price from falling down, just as extra crops such as oranges are discarded to manipulate the market prices, when many people are starving, as depicted in The Grapes of Wrath half a century ago and is being done right at this moment somewhere on this planet.

A new type of company that I would be pleased to invite to my town is one of employee ownership. I myself have no desire to own a company, but, in theory, I think this system will make our lives better. Employee ownership allows all employees literally participate in policy making. This would drive the factory to the right direction even though the majority is not always right. For instance, considering most ordinary citizens are concerned about environmental issues while many large companies are still denying the global warming theory for fear of loss caused by policy change, a company where decisions are made by workers’ majority vote is likely to emit minimum amount of CO2 and easy on the environment in general. Needless to say, the pay gap between the officials and the rank-and-files would be smaller because everyone is the owner of the company. This kind of company is established by people who have values far from money-and-power orientation and therefore, my town would be livelier with people respecting and supporting each other.

A company as a tool for extra-income of a few super-rich people is not welcome, while a company of the ordinary people, by the ordinary people, for the ordinary people is a great welcome. Increase of factories operated by this type of companies would drastically change society.

☆Sample Essay Structures

A      【Introduction = Outline】

【Point 1】

【Point 2】

【Counterargument-treatment】*

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】

B      【Introduction = Outline】

【Good Points】

【Bad Points】

【Conditions of My Community】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】

*Why good points are not attractive / Why bad points do not matter

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Introduction = Outline】

【                     】

【                     】

【                     】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】