Doubting research on animal self-awareness: a TOEFL integrated essay

To practice writing a TOEFL integrated essay, students are given three minutes to read a short passage, after which they listen to a lecture related to the topic they just read about. They are then given 20 minutes to outline, write, and edit their essays. This particular exercise is from page 391 of "Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT" preparation course book.

WRITING TASK: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.

ESSAY:
The reading passage discusses the idea that chimpanzees have the ability for self-awareness by mentioning an experiment and its positive results. The lecture, on the other hand, casts doubt on this experiment and questions the validity of its results.

The reading explains how scientists used the "mark test" to determine that chimpanzees experience self-awareness. During this test, chimpanzees were allowed to get used to the presence of a mirror and play with it. The animals were then given sleeping pills, and one eyebrow and one ear were marked red while they were unconscious. The chimpanzees were then observed with and without the mirror after they woke up, and scientists recorded how they behaved in both situations. The results of the experiment showed that the animals touched their heads and faces significantly more when the mirror was in the room. In addition, the animals seemed to notice the red spots on their bodies, sniffing and examining their fingers after touching the spots. Furthermore, the animals groomed themselves and made faces in front of the mirror, which made scientists conclude that the chimpanzees were able to be aware of their image in the mirror.

The lecture, on the other hand, questioned the results of the above experiment. First, the professor mentions that the results were inconsistent since in one test, only one chimpanzee touched the red marks. This differed from the other times when most of the chimpanzees showed awareness of the marks on their eyebrows and ears. Second, the lecture says that chimpanzees routinely touch parts of their body and, therefore, can't be interpreted as being aware of their image in the mirror. In fact, one chimpanzee rubbed the marks off even before he saw himself in the mirror. Third, the lecture mentions that chimpanzees are known to groom themselves around each other. Grooming is a social activity among their species when they are in each other's presence. Grooming themselves in front of a mirror, therefore, doesn't necessarily mean that they recognize themselves. It may simply be a social response upon seeing another chimpanzee in the room.

-- written by Joe Yu, ESL instructor, during a writing activity in class

Fiction or Nonfiction: A TOEFL Independent Essay

This TOEFL independent essay is in response to the writing task on page 423 of the course book "Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT" and was written in class during our writing practice exercise. The students were given 30 minutes to outline, write, and edit their own writing.

QUESTION: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to read books about real events than it is for them to read novels. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

ESSAY:
With very little free time on our hands these days, it's sometimes a challenge deciding which kinds of books to read. For example, are novels worth our time and effort more than books about real events? In my opinion, reading any book with good information and a potent message is a good choice. However, I think students are better off spending their time reading novels because of their entertainment value and because novels have their way of teaching that helps readers relate the message to their lives.

I like the entertainment value of novels especially because students usually have to read so much technical information for their classes. Reading novels allows them to escape reality while also teaching them about life and how to deal with problems and challenges. The characters in a novel often go through issues that seem unsurmountable in the beginning, and the reader is able to experience these challenges and witness how they are eventually dealt with or overcome. Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea," for example, shows how the main character wrestled with a huge fish and the elements in the open water, and as we are engaged in how the events unfold, we also learn about the character's tenacity and ability to master his environment and himself.

In addition, novels have a way of helping readers relate the book's message to their lives because the lives of the characters in novels, however strange, usually go through common human issues and dilemmas that are often easy to understand in an emotional or psychological level. Because of this, learning goes beyond intellectual knowledge and becomes deeper and, some might say, lasting because a story usually lingers in the reader's head long after he or she finishes reading a book. While the message is often indirect and expressed through the characters, its effect on the reader is often unmistakable and poignant. For example, in addition to being gripped by the old man's predicament in Hemingway's novel, we also learn about character and the writer's message about how to deal with the forces that we face in our lives.

Reading books about real events, while informative and also important for students, don't have the same effect that novels have. These books usually don't entertain their readers or take them to imaginary lands that seem strange or different while also helping readers understand themselves. In addition, books of nonfiction rarely take readers on a journey while at the same time help them understand their lives and their present circumstances.

written by Joe Yu, ESL instructor, during our writing activity in class.