Write for an Academic Discussion Test #066
Write for an Academic Discussion
A professor has posted a question about a topic and students have responded with their thoughts and ideas. Make a contribution to the discussion.
You will have 10 minutes to write.
Your professor is teaching a class on social studies.
In your response, you should do the following.
- • Express and support your opinion.
- • Make a contribution to the discussion in your own words.
An effective response will contain at least 100 words.
Professor’s question:
Let's discuss the role of museums in the 21st century. With high-quality digital archives and virtual tours available online, some people argue that physical museums are becoming less relevant. They believe information can be accessed more easily from home. Others insist that seeing historical artifacts and art in person offers an irreplaceable experience. What is your view on the importance of museums today? Why?
Student response 1:
I think museums are more important than ever. Seeing an actual historical object with your own eyes creates a powerful emotional connection that a digital image cannot replicate. For example, standing next to an ancient sculpture makes history feel real and tangible, not just an idea.
Student response 2:
I believe their importance is declining because museums are often inaccessible and expensive for many people. In contrast, online collections allow anyone with an internet connection to explore art and history for free. This digital access is a much more democratic and modern way to share knowledge.
Sample Score 5
Sample Score 4
Sample Score 3
TOEFL Writing – Write an Email Scoring Guide
SCORE 5: A fully successful response
The response is effective, is clearly expressed, and shows consistent facility in the use of language.
A typical response displays the following:
- Elaboration that effectively supports the communicative purpose
- Effective syntactic variety and precise, idiomatic word choice
- Consistent use of appropriate social conventions (e.g., politeness, register, organization of information and formulation of actions such as requests, refusals, criticisms, etc.)
- Almost no lexical or grammatical errors other than those expected from a competent writer writing under timed conditions (e.g., common typos or common misspellings or substitutions like there/their)
SCORE 4: A generally successful response
The response is mostly effective and easily understood. Language facility is adequate to the task.
A typical response displays the following:
- Adequate elaboration to support the communicative purpose
- Syntactic variety and appropriate word choice
- Mostly appropriate social conventions
- Few lexical or grammatical errors
SCORE 3: A partially successful response
The response generally accomplishes the task. Limitations in language facility may prevent parts of the message from being fully clear and effective.
A typical response displays the following:
- Elaboration that partially supports the communicative purpose
- A moderate range of syntax and vocabulary
- Some noticeable errors in structure, word forms, use of idiomatic language and/or social conventions
SCORE 2: A mostly unsuccessful response
The response reflects an attempt to address the task, but it is mostly ineffective. The message may be limited or difficult to interpret.
A typical response exhibits one or more of the following:
- Limited or irrelevant elaboration
- Some connected sentence-level language, with a limited range of syntax and vocabulary
- An accumulation of errors in sentence structure and/or language use
SCORE 1: An unsuccessful response
The response reflects an ineffective attempt to address the task. The message may be limited to the point of being unintelligible.
A typical response exhibits one or more of the following:
- Very little elaboration, if any
- Telegraphic language (i.e., short and/or disconnected phrases and sentences) with a very limited range of vocabulary
- Serious and frequent errors in the use of language
- Minimal original language; any coherent language is mostly borrowed from the stimulus
SCORE 0: No response / irrelevant response
The response is blank, rejects the topic, is not in English, is entirely copied from the prompt, is entirely unconnected to the prompt, or consists of arbitrary keystrokes.
Highlights
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