Not all essays are fun to write | Types of Essays

[raghuveer_v]

Erin,

With three more days to go for my TOEFL, I thought of browsing through the entire list of essay topics. I just did, and spent two or three minutes on each topic, thinking about how to approach that topic if it actually appeared on my test.

Tell you what, after reading all the topics, I didn't feel any better. I actually got all confused.

I could see some patterns repeating ...

there are 4 or 5 topics like ...

It has recently been announced that a new restaurant/shopping complex/book store/theater/industry/high school/university/research center may be built in your neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? ...

another 4 or 5 are like ...

What are some important qualities of a good supervisor or boss/roommate/parent/son or daughter/neighbor/student/teacher?

many topics ask about the influence/use/bad effects of movies/TV/newspapers/other media/telephones/email on people/children/their lives.

some topics ask about working/studying/living/travel alone/in a group(large/small company, own/employed)

some topics ask about one important
- thing you would change about your hometown/college/school
- athelete/entertainer/person you would meet
- question you would ask
- important plant/person/animal in your country
- country you would visit

Well, all these aside, I found some topics really ...... what do you say ..... Hmm.... anyway ... here they are :



#139: What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room more important to you than any other room? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion
[xx(]

Isn't a kitchen as important as a bedroom and the drawing room. And ofcourse the bathroom



#164: People do many different things to stay healthy. What do you do for good health? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Honestly, I don't really do anything to stay healthy except eating good food and abstaining from activities which may harm my health.

Do I write that I do walking, jogging, running, working out in the gym, weight-lifting, swimming, hiking, biking, skiing, surfing, gliding, sky-diving and space-walking?



#033: You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

Belonging to the not-so-fair sex, I have really no interest in jewellery, nor do I care what women find so interesting in them. Do I have a choice here? Isn't the question also not-so-fair?

I would love to watch a concert of my choice, though. But then, do I choose it simply becaue "I don't care a damn about the other alternative?"

Hmm...

Will post later, .... if there's anything else...

Raghuveer.

[dstrauber]

Wow, Raghuveer you have just said everything I thought ,when I was reading the topics.

I also got stuck with the topic

Topic #139: What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room more important to you than any other room? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion

What do we suppose to write here?
1. decide on one room - I understood
2. Specify why that room is more important to you than other room
3. Specific examples
4. What will be the closure about?

Even that I do not like to spend too much time in the kitchen (except weekends when I cook ), I think will be the best to choose the kitchen, then we can talk about how important is for our health to eat right ....don't know maybe then I will be off topic
Any ideas, somebody....

Another topic that I didn't really know what to say is the topic with the most animal in my country ...I mean if I would come from India I would probably talk about the cow, but I come from Romania .I was thinking about the pork, almost everybody raise a pork in Romania, because the meat is so expensive that people can not afford to buy it they prefer to raise their own pork.
Does anyone have some other ideas???


Shalom le chulamm

[raghuveer_v]

Wow Shalom!

you seem to know quite a bit about India. You are right! the "Cow" is the most probable candidate for such a topic, for Indians.

Here is a humorous account on the same topic :

TOPIC:
What is the most important animal in your country? Why is the animal
important? Use reasons and specific details to explain your answer.
(This is a Real TOEFL Topic!)

ESSAY:
"He is the cow. The cow is a successful animal. Also he is four footed. And because he is female, he give milks, but will do so when he is got child. He is same like-God, sacred to Hindus and useful to man. But he has got four legs together. Two are forward and two are afterwards. His whole body can be utilised for use. More so the milk. Milk comes from 4 taps attached to his basement. Horses do not have any such attachment. What can it do? Various ghee, butter, cream, curd, why and the condensed milk and so forth. Also he is useful to cobbler, watermans and mankind generally."

"His motion is slow only because he is of lazy species. Also his other motion (gobar) is much useful to trees, plants as well as for making flat cakes like Pizza, in hand, and drying in the sun. Cow is the only animal that extricates his feeding after eating.... His only attacking and defending organ is the horns, specially so when he is got child. This is done by knowing his head whereby he causes the weapons to be paralleled to the ground of the earth and instantly proceed with great velocity forwards."

"He has got tails also, situated in the backyard, but not like similar animals. It has hairs on the other end of the other side. This is done to frighten away the flies which alight on his body whereupon he gives hit with it....''


visit:

http://www.shashitharoor.com/article...melikegod.html

for the complete article "He is the same like God"
By Shashi Tharoor
"The Hindu", Online edition of India's National Newspaper
March 03, 2002

And there's another topic (in actual TOEFL topics) which asks us about the most important plant in our country.

From my elementary school textbooks, I vaguely remember that I was told it is the "coconut" tree for Indians.

But then It is not a plant. is it?

Hmm..

Raghuveer.

[raghuveer_v]

And from my experience,

When you first read essay topic, you feel "Aah! that's a nice topic" and some ideas spark and flash in you mind.

When you see a topic for the second time, you say "Aah! I've seen that. It's boring."

So, my advice, for those who have enough time to prepare for TOEFL, is ... "don't look at all the writing topics (as I did) unless you are going to write an essay on that topic on that day. Choose one or two topics at a time and read only them. Write about them, get feedback and move on to the others."

HTH.

Raghuveer.

[Erin]

Excellent analysis!

It has recently been announced that a new restaurant/shopping complex/book store/theater/industry/high school/university/research center may be built in your neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? ...

Yes...

What are some important qualities of a good supervisor or boss/roommate/parent/son or daughter/neighbor/student/teacher?

Yes...

many topics ask about the influence/use/bad effects of movies/TV/newspapers/other media/telephones/email on people/children/their lives.

Yep!

some topics ask about working/studying/living/travel alone/in a group(large/small company, own/employed)

Yes. This one is kind of "alone" vs. "together."

some topics ask about one important
- thing you would change about your hometown/college/school
- athelete/entertainer/person you would meet
- question you would ask
- important plant/person/animal in your country
- country you would visit

Yes. I call this one "pick one or think of something."

Well, all these aside, I found some topics really ...... what do you say ..... Hmm.... anyway ... here they are :

Agree again. I call these simply "hard" topics.

#139: What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room more important to you than any other room? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion

Don't worry too much! This one's not hard at all! Just pick a room and explain why it's the most important:

kitchen: that's we cook our food. Without food, we die. Sometimes we cook together, it's where we wash dishes, etc.
bedroom: my private space, where I can do whatever I want, where we sleep, study, other stuff
living room: where we spend time together, with the family. Family is the most important.
bathroom: no comment! <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Isn't a kitchen as important as a bedroom and the drawing room. And ofcourse the bathroom

If there's one thing I'm trying to get across, it's this: it doesn't matter! Just write whatever you have to write to get a good score!

#164: People do many different things to stay healthy. What do you do for good health? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Honestly, I don't really do anything to stay healthy except eating good food and abstaining from activities which may harm my health.

Well, to me that sounds like you *are* doing something. And even if you weren't doing anything, you could write about how you don't do anything. You could say that you are young and don't have any health problems, so it's not a big concern for you. I think that would be acceptable.

Do I write that I do walking, jogging, running, working out in the gym, weight-lifting, swimming, hiking, biking, skiing, surfing, gliding, sky-diving and space-walking? <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Again, it doesn't matter. Okay, I wouldn't talk about sky-diving or shark-chasing, but it doesn't matter. The easiest way to get our score and get out is say that you eat healthy food, you exercise, you sleep, you don't smoke, drink, you are kind and polite, you meditate, you are perfect!

#033: You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

Belonging to the not-so-fair sex, I have really no interest in jewellery, nor do I care what women find so interesting in them. Do I have a choice here? Isn't the question also not-so-fair?

The point of this topic is would you rather have something that is tangible or intangible. There's another topic like this, too. If I recall, it's something like, "A friend has some money to spend and wants to spend it on either a car or a vacation. What would you advise?"

HTH!!

Erin

TestMagic help you before your test?

Please remember to post after your test.

Please? Please?

[arti]

Raguveer, you are unneccessary working yourself and adding to your confusions. There's no need to get so worked up. Be cool. And even if you get a topic, you don't know much about........don't worry.....Just plan and write in a proper essay format. One of my friends got the essay - "Most important plant"......he was blank on it.......still managed to get 270.

So just COOL IT YAAR!.



Arti Gupta

[raghuveer_v]

Yeah, both of you are right.

I will try ...

Raghuveer.

[INU]

Come on, come on! Hang in there!
Raghuveer, you can do it!

[Erin]

So just COOL IT YAAR!.

Arti Gupta

Arti--pardon my ignorance... But what is "YAAR"???????

Erin

[arti]

Arti--pardon my ignorance... But what is "YAAR"???????

Erin

Hi Erin

This is a Hindi language word for "buddy".
Since i was communicating with Raghuveer who is from India, i used it.


Arti Gupta