Three points, not three reasons
It’s time to write the TOEFL independent essay. Last section of the test … I’m almost done! I take a deep breath, look at the question, and …. blank out! What in the world can I say? I don’t have any ideas!
This is a common complaint of my students. And with only 30 minutes to complete the entire essay, you simply can’t waste time struggling to come up with ideas.
I advise my students to think about generating three points about the topic. Although the topic is usually an opinion question, that doesn’t mean that you have to come up with three reasons to agree or disagree with a given idea or to choose one option over another.
Remember that in real life, it’s very unlikely that we’ll feel 100% one way or the other. If someone asks us whether we liked a particular movie, we may say that we liked the plot, or the scenery, or a certain actor, but that we didn’t like something else, maybe the ending, the music, or the special effects.
My article on “it depends” approaches offers a variety of ways to answer opinion questions. In this article, I want to expand on that idea, and stress that you only need to come up with three points.
They don’t have to be profound.
They don’t have to be complex.
They don’t have to be especially intelligent.
Actually, the simpler they are, the better.
They just need to relate to the topic.
You should provide a few details to support each point.
And you should arrange them in a coherent order.
Let’s see how this can be done with some real-life topics.
I’ll be using two independent writing questions (TPOs 48 and 49). What points can I quickly come up with to answer these questions, and how can I elaborate on them?
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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
The ability to maintain friendships with a small number of people over a long period of time is more important for happiness than the ability to make many new friends easily.
The best place to start is always, always, always with your own personal experiences, opinions, and ideas. When you talk about what you think or know to be true, or about what has been true for you, your essay will sound authentic and genuine. It will express your unique voice. You will have more ideas, because the ideas are already there in your head.
So, immediately, I start thinking about friendships that I have. I quickly realize that I have a mix of both kinds of friends, and that they both offer different benefits and play different roles in my life, as I suspect they do in everyone else’s lives. A little tune I learned as a child comes into my head and … I’m off!
I quickly jot down my points as follows:
Now, here’s my essay which, as you can see, does not contain three reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the statement but nonetheless fully addresses the topic.
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My Essay
When I think about friendships, the words to a little song I learned as a Brownie Girl Scout come to mind: Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other, gold. Although a bit simplistic, I believe these lyrics truly reflect a wise and balanced approach to friendship.
Having the ability to make lots of friends quickly and easily can certainly provide us with advantages in many different settings. For example, university students engaged in a group project may not know their team members to begin with, but quickly establishing a sense of friendship and rapport can help the group to work more effectively. Business people who can strike up friendships at a work conference may find these connections valuable during a later job search. Even while traveling, making friends with some local residents can give tourists insights into the culture of the place they are visiting. Thus, although introverts might find it a challenge, easily making new friends definitely provides some pluses.
Maintaining deeper friendships also offers advantages. With our old friends, we can revisit long-lost memories … places and people that we might otherwise forget. Our long-time friends really KNOW us, inside and out; we can be honest and open about our challenges and struggles. For this reason, when we are suffering physically or emotionally, these are the friends we are more likely to turn to. However, in today’s mobile society, many of us have trouble maintaining these ties as we move from place to place, even country to country.
Because both types of friendships provide important benefits, I believe that the best strategy is to find a balance of both kinds. We should definitely make the effort to maintain long-term friendships whenever possible. In these days of email and social media, distance should not necessarily present an insurmountable obstacle to staying in touch. On the other hand, we should also overcome any natural shyness and work hard to make connections with those we encounter in everyday life … from our workplace to our gym, from our place of worship to our neighborhood.
As I learned when I was a Brownie Scout, old friendships are golden. Nothing can ever replace those friends who are there for us no matter what the circumstances. But “silver” friends, the ones who pass through our life more easily, are still valuable and make the world a happier place for us all.
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Now let’s proceed to the second question.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Because modern life is very complex, it is essential for young people to have the ability to plan and organize.
Again, three points pop fairly quickly into my mind. Based on my own experience, I know that everyone, not just young people, benefits from organization. But thinking about my own children, I also know that young people face particular challenges. However, I also believe that people should take time to relax.
Here are my notes:
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My Essay
When I consider the number of half-used planners, checklists, and to-do lists cluttering my house, I realize that although I’m certainly not young, I definitely want and need to organize my life. And although young people, like older adults, have specific needs and goals to plan for, it’s also important that everyone takes some time to relax and live spontaneously as well.
Compared to a hundred years ago, modern life is indeed complex and fast-paced. With agendas filled with appointments, emails bombarding us constantly, and work hours that stretch from sunrise to sunset, just about everyone needs to plan and organize. Young people will need to cultivate these skills, and it is definitely the responsibility of parents and teachers to help them succeed. From toddlers who are given simple tasks like putting away their toys to high school students with full class schedules and part-time jobs, young people must begin learning these life lessons.
In addition, young people face particular challenges that adults do not, and they need to plan and organize for these. High school students, with the help of guidance counselors, must schedule their classes to ensure a well-rounded college prep curriculum. They often need to prepare multiple college applications that require much planning and organization. And especially in the US, they may also have to juggle schoolwork with the responsibility of part-time jobs. Young people living in a simpler time and place rarely had to deal with these complex challenges.
However, whether a person is young or elderly, and no matter what their position or responsibilities, planning and organizing should not be a full-time occupation. The modern world is both complex and stressful, sometimes unhealthily so. Therefore, young people as well as adults should be encouraged to take occasional breaks when they throw their schedules to the wind and enjoy spontaneous, unplanned, unpressured FUN. Without these periodic opportunities to relax, life would become unbearably tense and unhealthy to both mind and body.
As a mother of three, I encouraged my own children to plan and organize. From household chores to applying to colleges, they honed those abilities so that they could face adult responsibilities more successfully. But we never hesitated to enjoy times when we broke free of the stress and pressure – whether to walk to the ice cream store or go to the swimming pool. Hopefully they learned that a happy, successful life in this modern world requires both planning and spontaneity.
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I hope these essays encourage you to think outside the “three reasons box” … because confining yourself to that type of response limits your ability to generate ideas and express what you really think.
