2016年10月16日托福机经之托福独立写作作文真题

 　　Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

　　Many schools require young children (aged 5-11) to work together in a small group instead of working alone to learn man activities.

　　Educators and researchers have never stopped the examination of the importance and relevance¹ of collaborative that are encouraged by middle schools. When compared with studying alone, I personally believe that it is far more beneficial to students when working in groups for the following reasons.

　　First off, working in a group finishing group projects can be very conducive² for students since they can help students to study more effectively and get exposure in real-world issues. If teachers categorize students and organize them in small study groups, chances are that they would solve complex issues together, like research the history of the city, examine the water quality of the local town, so on and so forth³. Students can develop critical thinking skills as well as learn to collect and analyze⁴ information from multiple sources. A recent study by the University of Minnesota backed up the claim that study teams, collaborative learning and group projects are far more effective in helping⁵ students to develop useful skills than traditional teacher-led teaching approach. In fact, when learning in groups, students have to do some research about the topic they are expected to discuss beforehand, which helps them to clear up some misunderstandings and boast their enthusiasm of academic exploration.

　　Additionally, as the saying goes: "many hands make light work", actually it remains⁶ as relevant today as it did a century ago. Working in groups has much deeper implications beyond students' academic experience, to be more specific, it helps to develop skills like cooperation, organization and leadership. When learning in a group, every single student gets a chance to contribute their knowledge to the group, they can learn to appreciate the work of other simultaneously⁷. What's more, they have to work closely with others for the same goal otherwise they might not be able to compete with other study groups. More importantly, students will get exposure to distinctive⁸ perspectives and at the same time learn how to accept different points of view and find common ground in this process. Such an educational experience will not only be helpful for their future study but also beneficial to them when they have to deal with coworkers, clients, and teammates in a professional setting in the future. Numerous studies have shown that students who have prior experience working with others enjoy a better chance to be successful in their future career.

　　In conclusion, working together in a group has far more meaningful implications than working alone since collaborative learning helps students to learn much more effectively and develop important skills that are vital for their future study and career.

1 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

2 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

8 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。