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You'll have 3 minutes to read a passage. After reading, you'll listen to a lecture regarding the same topic you just read. Finally, you'll have 20 minutes to write a response to a question that asks you about the relationship between the lecture you heard and the reading passage. Try to answer the question using information from the reading passage and the lecture.

Typically, an effective response will be 200 to 250 words.

We recommend you practice taking notes with a pen and paper like you will during your TOEFL exam.

Creează un cont pentru a salva progresul

Sea otters are a small mammal that lives in the waters along North America's west coast from California to Alaska.  A few years ago some of the sea otter populations off of the Alaskan coast started to decline rapidly and raised several concerns because of their important role in the coastal ecosystem. Experts began investigating and came up with two possible explanations. One explanation was environmental pollution and the second was attacks by predators.

At first it seemed as if the pollution was the most likely cause for the population decline. One reason pollution was more likely was because of the known pollution sources along the Alaskan coast such as oil rigs. Also water samples taken in the area showed increased levels of chemicals that could decrease the otters' immune systems and indirectly result in their deaths.

Another thing that pointed to pollution as the culprit was the decline of other sea mammals such as seals in the same areas. This indicated that whatever was affecting the otters was also affecting the other sea mammals. Environmental pollution usually affects an entire ecosystem instead of just one species. Only predators that occurred in a large area, such as orcas (a large predatory whale), could cause the same effect, but they usually hunt larger prey.

Finally, scientists believed the pollution hypothesis would also explain the uneven pattern of otter decline. In some Alaskan locations the otter population declined greatly while other populations remained stable. Some experts  suggested this could be explained by ocean currents, or other environmental factor, might have created uneven concentrations of pollutants along the coast.

Today's Topic:

Sea otters

Sea otters are a small mammal that lives in the waters along North America's west coast from California to Alaska.  A few years ago some of the sea otter populations off of the Alaskan coast started to decline rapidly and raised several concerns because of their important role in the coastal ecosystem. Experts began investigating and came up with two possible explanations. One explanation was environmental pollution and the second was attacks by predators.

At first it seemed as if the pollution was the most likely cause for the population decline. One reason pollution was more likely was because of the known pollution sources along the Alaskan coast such as oil rigs. Also water samples taken in the area showed increased levels of chemicals that could decrease the otters' immune systems and indirectly result in their deaths.

Another thing that pointed to pollution as the culprit was the decline of other sea mammals such as seals in the same areas. This indicated that whatever was affecting the otters was also affecting the other sea mammals. Environmental pollution usually affects an entire ecosystem instead of just one species. Only predators that occurred in a large area, such as orcas (a large predatory whale), could cause the same effect, but they usually hunt larger prey.

Finally, scientists believed the pollution hypothesis would also explain the uneven pattern of otter decline. In some Alaskan locations the otter population declined greatly while other populations remained stable. Some experts  suggested this could be explained by ocean currents, or other environmental factor, might have created uneven concentrations of pollutants along the coast.

Question: Summarize the point made in the lecture and explain how the speaker cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.

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Read a short passage

03:00

Sea otters are a small mammal that lives in the waters along North America's west coast from California to Alaska.  A few years ago some of the sea otter populations off of the Alaskan coast started to decline rapidly and raised several concerns because of their important role in the coastal ecosystem. Experts began investigating and came up with two possible explanations. One explanation was environmental pollution and the second was attacks by predators.

At first it seemed as if the pollution was the most likely cause for the population decline. One reason pollution was more likely was because of the known pollution sources along the Alaskan coast such as oil rigs. Also water samples taken in the area showed increased levels of chemicals that could decrease the otters' immune systems and indirectly result in their deaths.

Another thing that pointed to pollution as the culprit was the decline of other sea mammals such as seals in the same areas. This indicated that whatever was affecting the otters was also affecting the other sea mammals. Environmental pollution usually affects an entire ecosystem instead of just one species. Only predators that occurred in a large area, such as orcas (a large predatory whale), could cause the same effect, but they usually hunt larger prey.

Finally, scientists believed the pollution hypothesis would also explain the uneven pattern of otter decline. In some Alaskan locations the otter population declined greatly while other populations remained stable. Some experts  suggested this could be explained by ocean currents, or other environmental factor, might have created uneven concentrations of pollutants along the coast.


Listen to part of a lecture

Professor:

Ongoing investigations have shown that predation is the most likely cause of the sea otter decline after all.

First, there is a lack of dead sea otters washing up on Alaskan beaches which is not what you would expect from infections caused by pollution killing them off. However, the fact that dead otters are seldom found supports the predator hypothesis. If a predator kills an otter, then it is eaten right away and can't wash up on shore.

Second, orcas prefer to hunt whales, but whales have essentially disappeared in that area from human hunters. Since the whales are not as available, orcas have had to change their diet to what is available. Since it is only smaller sea animals available, the orcas have probably started hunting those more and created the decline in all of the species mentioned in the passage.

Finally, predation is a more likely reason for the uneven pattern of otter decline. Otters in locations that are more accessible to orcas are more likely to be hunted. This is supported by the stable populations of otters in shallow rocky locations where orcas can't access.

Question: Summarize the point made in the lecture and explain how the speaker cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.

Sample Essay 1
<p>The reading and the lecture are both about the decline&nbsp;in sea otter populations. While the reading’s author states that pollution is a cause of their populations declining, the lecturer suggests that the greatest factor is predation. The lecturer casts doubts on the main points made in the reading by providing three reasons.</p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p dir="ltr">First of all, according to the reading, higher levels of pollutants in water samples support the pollution theory. However, the lecturer disputes this by explaining that if sea otters had been killed by pollutants in water, their remains would appear on shores, which indicates predators ate the sea otters.</p><p dir="ltr">Secondly, the reading states that populations of other small sea animals have been hurt by pollution. Nevertheless, the lecturer refutes this argument. He argues that because the whale population decreased, nearby orcas had to eat otters instead.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, the reading claims that pollutant concentration can explain the uneven pattern of diminishing sea otter populations. On the other hand, the lecturer believes that this uneven population decline corresponds with the prevalence of orcas in different areas. He thinks that the otter population declines more in places with orcas, and less in those inaccessible to orcas.</p><p dir="ltr">In conclusion, although the reading and the lecture both concern hypotheses about diminishing sea otter populations, the three main points made in the reading are effectively challenged by the lecturer.</p>
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Cuvinte-cheie în exercițiul de practică
Nu există vocabular asociat acestui exercițiu de practică

Primește notarea eseului cu corecții gramaticale și un raport de scor detaliat.

assignment Obține o evaluare premium a scrierii

Evaluare demonstrativă writing

Rezumat al scorurilor
4.5 / 6
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Feedback detaliat

Corecturi gramaticale si feedback
I hope you are fine. My name is Philip and I am one of your reader. I really like your poetry magazine very much because the poems are very deep and emotional. Every time when I read the magazine, I feel inspired and peaceful. I also like that you give chance for new writers to share their works. It make me more confidence to send my poems.

Last week, I tried to submit two of my poems by the online submission form on your website. After I upload my files and click submit button, the page suddenly show error and become blank. I did not receive any confirmation email, so I am not sure my poems was received or not.

Could you please tell me about the status of my submissions? I worry that maybe they did not go through.
I hope you are fine. My name is Philip and I am one of your reader. readers. I really like your poetry magazine very much because the poems are very deep and emotional. Every time when I read the magazine, I feel inspired and peaceful. I also like that you give a chance for to new writers to share their works. It make makes me more confidence confident to send my poems.

Last week, I tried to submit two of my poems by through the online submission form on your website. After I upload uploaded my files and click clicked the submit button, the page suddenly show showed an error and become became blank. I did not receive any confirmation email, so I am not sure if my poems was were received or not.

Could you please tell me about the status of my submissions? I worry that maybe they did not go through.



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reader.
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emotional. Every time I read the magazine, I feel
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Rapoarte de scor pe criterii

Îndeplinirea sarcinii   5/5

Explicație: Îndeplinirea sarcinii. Organizare generală. Relevanță. Gramatică. Vocabular. Coerență.

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Organizare generală   4/5

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Question:
Sea otters

Obține corecție gramaticală


Exemple de corecturi gramaticale
Several doubt about the accuracy of the memoir writting by the Chevalier de Seingalt are raised in the reading but the professor clarify the seeming contradictions in the Chevalier's accounts to defend the memoir.

The professor explain that the Chevalier rich in assets, but poor in the cash, while he lived in Switzerland and had to occasionally borrow funds while waiting for its assets to selling. Accordingly, to the professor, being low on cash fund is not same as being financially poors. However, in reading someone who borrowing large of amounts of money could not be wealth, therefore the Chevalier must have lied his wealthy life in Switzerland.

The skepticism regards the reliability of the recorded conversations with Voltaire is challenging by the professor as well. She explains that, due to habit of recording each conversation with Voltaire immediately afterward, the Chevalier was able to recall those discussions in detail even after several years had passing.

Finally, the professor refute the idea briber was how the Chevalier got out of prison. She point out that because even the other prisoners who had better resources were unable to successfully bribe their way out of prison it was very unlikely that bribery was how he escaped. Also, she notes the existences of government papers recording repair work done to the Chevalier's prison cell ceiling as strong evidence that his escaping from the prison was accurately recorded.
Several doubt doubts about the accuracy of the memoir writting written by the Chevalier de Seingalt are raised in the reading reading, but the professor clarify clarifies the seeming contradictions in the Chevalier's accounts to defend the memoir.

The professor explain explains that the Chevalier was rich in assets, but poor in the cash, while he lived in Switzerland and had to occasionally borrow funds while waiting for its his assets to selling. Accordingly, sell. According to the professor, being low on cash fund funds is not the same as being financially poors. poor. However, in reading the reading, someone who borrowing borrows large of amounts of money could not be wealth, wealthy, therefore the Chevalier must have lied about his wealthy life in Switzerland.

The skepticism regards regarding the reliability of the recorded conversations with Voltaire is challenging challenged by the professor as well. She explains that, due to the habit of recording each conversation with Voltaire immediately afterward, the Chevalier was able to recall those discussions in detail even after several years had passing. passed.

Finally, the professor refute refutes the idea briber that bribery was how the Chevalier got out of prison. She point points out that because even the other prisoners who had better resources were unable to successfully bribe their way out of prison prison, it was very unlikely that bribery was how he escaped. Also, she notes the existences existence of government papers recording repair work done to the Chevalier's prison cell ceiling as strong evidence that his escaping escape from the prison was accurately recorded.



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doubt
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doubts The plural form 'doubts' is needed here because there are multiple uncertainties being discussed.

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writting
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written The correct past participle of 'write' is 'written'.

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reading
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reading, A comma is needed after 'reading' to separate the two independent clauses.

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clarify
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clarifies The third person singular form 'clarifies' is needed to agree with the singular subject 'professor'.

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explain
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explains The third person singular form 'explains' is needed to agree with the singular subject 'professor'.

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was
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was The verb 'was' is needed to form the past continuous tense.

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the
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The article 'the' is not needed before 'assets'.

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its
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his The possessive pronoun 'his' is needed to refer back to 'the Chevalier'.

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selling. Accordingly,
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sell. According The verb 'sell' is needed here, and 'According' should start a new sentence.

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fund
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funds The plural form 'funds' is needed here because it refers to money in general.

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the
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the The article 'the' is needed before 'Chevalier'.

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poors.
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poor. The correct adjective form is 'poor'.

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reading
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the reading, The article 'the' is needed before 'reading', and a comma is needed to separate the two independent clauses.

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borrowing
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borrows The present simple tense 'borrows' is needed to describe a general situation.

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of
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The preposition 'of' is not needed here.

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wealth,
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wealthy, The adjective 'wealthy' is needed to describe 'the Chevalier'.

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about
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about The preposition 'about' is needed to introduce the topic of the sentence.

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regards
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regarding The preposition 'regarding' is needed to introduce the topic of the sentence.

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challenging
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challenged The past participle 'challenged' is needed to form the passive voice.

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the
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the The article 'the' is needed before 'Chevalier'.

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passing.
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passed. The past participle 'passed' is needed to form the past perfect tense.

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refute
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refutes The third person singular form 'refutes' is needed to agree with the singular subject 'professor'.

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briber
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that bribery The noun 'bribery' is needed to refer to the act of giving bribes.

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point
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points The third person singular form 'points' is needed to agree with the singular subject 'she'.

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prison
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prison, A comma is needed after 'prison' to separate the two independent clauses.

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existences
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existence The singular form 'existence' is needed because it refers to one specific thing.

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escaping
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escape The noun 'escape' is needed to refer to the act of escaping.
writing LessonsCompleted: 0 / 77
Writing Template for Scenario 1: Contradiction

This scenario is the most common scenario. In this scenario, the lecture will contradict or cast doubt on the key points in the reading passage.

Writing Template:
The reading and the lecture are both about ______. Whereas the author of the reading states that _______, the lecturer suggests that ________. The lecturer casts doubt on the main points made in the reading by providing two/three reasons.

First of all, according to the reading, _____________. However, the lecturer disputes this point. He/She says that _________. Furthermore, he/she mentions that ___________

Secondly, the reading states that _______. Nevertheless, the lecturer refutes this argument. He/She argues that __________. In addition, he/she points out ________.

Finally, the reading claims that _________. On the other hand, the lecturer believe that _____. He/She thinks that _______. Moreover, he/she feels that ________

In conclusion, although the reading and the lecture are both about _______, the two/three main points made in the reading are effectively challenged by the lecturer.
Writing Template for Scenario 2: Supporting with examples

Note: This scenario rarely appears in a TOEFL Test, but still necessary to learn.

In this scenario, the main points of the lecture are examples that support the key points in the reading passage.

Writing Template:
The reading and the lecture are both about _____________. The reading states that ____________. The lecture builds upon those same ideas to give a more comprehensive picture with two/three examples.

First of all, according to the reading, _________. Supporting this idea, the lecturer explains that _________. Furthermore, he/she mentions that __________.

Secondly, the reading states that_______. The lecturer then goes on to explain that ________. In addition, he/she points out ________.

Finally, the reading claims that _______. In support of this idea, the lecturer brings up the point that ________. (Optional) Moreover, he/she feels that _________.

In conclusion, although the reading and the lecture both discuss __________, the two/three main points made in the reading are effectively supported by the lecturer.
Master TOEFL Integrated Writing Task
Step 1: Read the passage

The passage is important in giving you general background information of the topic. Read the passage carefully and make sure you understand it well. Take notes of the main ideas of the passage but do not go into too many details. Even though there will be a three minute timer for you to read the passage, the passage is actually displayed while you are writing your essay. Your goal while reading the passage the first time should be to understand the main points in each paragraph.

Step 2: Take notes during the lecture

Needless to say, you need to take careful notes during the lecture. Unlike the passage, you will not have a chance to listen to the lecture again, so make sure you take careful notes of either the contrast between the passage and the audio or the similarities. The lecture will provide wither counter examples and disagreements or will provide examples to further prove the passage correct. Every main point from the passage is discussed again in the lecture, but with a different angle and attitude. For example, if the lecture is disagreeing with the reading and the reading says "teamwork allows individuals to respond quicker to their assignments", then the lecture might say "teamwork takes away the opportunities for hard working, talented individuals to be recognized".

Step 3: Organize your response

There are many ways to organize an essay, but there are still a few good rules you can follow. The essay should have three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. See the "TEACHING" tab in Independent Writing for an overview of the basic essay format.

1) Introduction
Write a short and concise introduction for your essay. This introduction should include an explanation of your topic, and how the article and the professor either agree or disagree with each other about the topic. Keep this introduction short. Do not go into details of the reasons. You will only need to introduce the topic briefly, so the reader knows what to expect in the body section.

2) Body
This section should include 2 to 3 paragraphs, each one with the main point that is mentioned in the reading. So each paragraph should start with a sentence that introduces the point to be discussed in the paragraph. Use the specific examples from the article and lectures. Use the same paragraph structure for all the paragraphs in the body section. Remember to start a new line for every paragraph. Don't clump all the paragraph together as a big block, and also do not break a paragraph into many small paragraphs. Each topic should be contained in one paragraph only. Do not copy the article or the lecture into your essay. This is your essay so all the information should be conveyed in your own words. Paraphrase as much as you can. Use a variety of words and sentence structures to avoid repetition in your essay, as well.

3) Conclusion
Write a short conclusion to sum up the whole essay. This conclusion can be considered a paraphrased version of the introduction. Restate the list of the main points and how the article and the professor either agreed or disagreed. Because this is the last section of the essay, many people tend to run out of time do not write a conclusion. First of all, running out of time can be avoided with proper organization and following our process. Secondly, forgetting to write a conclusion is a big mistake that you should avoid. Even if there is only one sentence in the conclusion, you still need to have one. It is essential for an essay to have three sections. Missing one section will make the essay incomplete, and that will cost you some points.

Step 4: Review

You should time yourself so that you have about 5 minutes left to review your essay. Fix typos, check for inconsistencies of the tenses of the verbs, the plurality of the subjects and verbs, and add transition words wherever you see fit. Having good transitions will gain you some extra points. Make sure the essay flows in a logical order.

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