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.
Read a short passage
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.
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For example To elaborate, some of these are the lack of food, the need for more farming lands, or the desire for new productive production systems. The dearth of land constitute constitutes the main issue. Nowadays, the superstructure has become incredibly harmful for to natural habits and animals. It has destroyed several ecosystems which provided food and home homes for a large range of fauna.
Certainly Next, the need for expantion expansion it is an important reason to enlarge towns and cities. But, despite an initial advantage, it will be a serious problem in a few years. Actually, it already is. We have to think to of renewable way ways to build and work, using and use the space that we already have, instead of expand expanding and invade invading the natural enviroment environment. This would just harm endangered animals and plants that are the base for the natural ecosystem.
Burning Finally, burning wood or deforest deforesting it, it is not the solution. We have several examples we can consider. Probably the most striking case is the Amazonian Amazon rainforest. The uncontrolled Uncontrolled deforestation has provided several issues to the enviroment environment. First of all, the lack of oxygen, is due to the cut of tropical tree trees cut, which are the main productors producers of the gas. Not Moreover, this is not considering the loss of natural diversity that affect affects also our climate.
In conclusion, I strongly think that the lack of lands land must not be the reason to destroy our world. It certanly certainly won't will not be a loss for all the humankind not saving to save the endangered animals. Think to of our children who never will see a chita cheetah or a polare polar bear. A multitude of countries have recognized the problem, and they are moving to solutions that implied imply renewable and clear clean energy.
Task Achievement:
Although you have structured your essay well, upon reading your introduction I noticed you have not provided a good hook and thesis statement and you have not stated your opinion, that is whether you agree or disagree with the statement.
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SAMPLE Criteria Score Reports
Task Fulfillment 5/5
Task Fulfillment is about how well you respond to the question you are given. TOEFL raters are looking for...
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Overall Organization 4/5
Overall organization is about how you organize the ideas in your essay. This includes showing that you understand how to...
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We suggest you study the organization of good paragraphs and essays, and spend time planning and thinking about how to...
Relevance & Quality of Supporting Ideas 3/5
Relevance and quality of support is about your essay content or ideas. Your content should be related directly to...
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An often, overlooked, yet important skill in TOEFL writing is how fast you can...
Step 1
Let your mind...
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Step 2
Whilst...
- Does my...
- Can I...
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Grammatical Usage 2/5
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Connections & Coherence 0/5
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Sample Grammar Correction
Probably one of the worst problem problems of this decade is the uncontrolled growth of the population. In a century, we have our population has passed to be one or two billions billion, to be more than seven billios billion of people. This has provided resulted in huge, harmful consequences.
For example To elaborate, some of these are the lack of food, the need for more farming lands, or the desire for new productive production systems. The dearth of land constitute constitutes the main issue. Nowadays, the superstructure has become incredibly harmful for to natural habits and animals. It has destroyed several ecosystems which provided food and home homes for a large range of fauna.
Certainly Next, the need for expantion expansion it is an important reason to enlarge towns and cities. But, despite an initial advantage, it will be a serious problem in a few years. Actually, it already is. We have to think to of renewable way ways to build and work, using and use the space that we already have, instead of expand expanding and invade invading the natural enviroment environment. This would just harm endangered animals and plants that are the base for the natural ecosystem.
Burning Finally, burning wood or deforest deforesting it, it is not the solution. We have several examples we can consider. Probably the most striking case is the Amazonian Amazon rainforest. The uncontrolled Uncontrolled deforestation has provided several issues to the enviroment environment. First of all, the lack of oxygen, is due to the cut of tropical tree trees cut, which are the main productors producers of the gas. Not Moreover, this is not considering the loss of natural diversity that affect affects also our climate.
In conclusion, I strongly think that the lack of lands land must not be the reason to destroy our world. It certanly certainly won't will not be a loss for all the humankind not saving to save the endangered animals. Think to of our children who never will see a chita cheetah or a polare polar bear. A multitude of countries have recognized the problem, and they are moving to solutions that implied imply renewable and clear clean energy.
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Master TOEFL Integrated Writing Task
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 lectureNeedless 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 responseThere 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.
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.
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: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.
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.