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.