[Toefl essay] Explain why movies are popular.

Thank you, Gloria.

I have some questions.

I was certainly effected
I do not get why using 'effected' instead of 'affected' here? I meant that 'I was influenced by bad behaviors'

the child's difficulties in their studies
I mean that the difficulties is in the child's study process. So it is appropriate to use 'his or her' instead of 'their' here, isn't it?

Here is today essay.

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Studying Abroad.

People study abroad for many reasons. The most obvious advantage is that studying abroad brings people new experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, if a country has people with experiences and knowledge from studying abroad in more advanced country, that country will have the chance to develop better.

Studying abroad, especially in developed country, brings people new experience. For many people, living and studying in the same place all their lives seem to be so tedious. They seek for opportunities to gain new experience and perceptions about the world. Inside those people are the passions to explore the world. Studying abroad is one of the most legitimate and easiest ways to satisfy their desires. This provides the chances not only to know more people, more cultures but also to gain academic knowledge. This experience will give them advantages in the future success. Knowing more advanced knowledge helps them to get better job and promotion.


Sending students to study abroad is one of important strategies for a developing country to develop. As we all know, education has a crucial role in developing process of a lot of countries. Countries' governments realize the important of talents and the need to develop their abilities, but in those countries, the education system may not have enough facilities to support the teaching and studying process. Studying abroad comes as a pragmatic solution. Many developing countries send their students to more advanced country to study new knowledge which can be used in the developing process of those countries. In my country Vietnam, for example, students have many opportunities to receive scholarship to study abroad. The government is always willing grant money to good students so that they will have more advanced environment to study, and then the students will come back with knowledge to contribute to the country.

The fact is that more and more students go studying abroad can easily prove the advantages that studying abroad brings to develop each countries as well as the whole world. If countries can learn from each other by the mean of sending students studying abroad, I believe that the world will become an unite and advanced house for us to live in.

Good afternoon.

The difference, according to Webster's dictionary, between the "e" and the "a" is thus:

Effected:
Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result.
The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance.
A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon: the photovoltaic effect.
Advantage; avail: used her words to great effect in influencing the jury.
The condition of being in full force or execution: a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow.

Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention: The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama.
A particular impression: large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness.
Production of a desired impression: spent lavishly on dinner just for effect.
The basic or general meaning; import: He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect.
effects Movable belongings; goods.

Affected:

1. acted upon; influenced.
2. influenced in a harmful way; impaired, harmed, or attacked, as by climate or disease.
3. (of the mind or feelings) impressed; moved; touched: She was deeply affected by their generosity.

Upon your further explanation, the "a" is appropriate.

In regards to the "child's" situation, "child" is singular, therefore "his" or "hers" is more appropriate because they are singular. "Theirs" is plural, and should only be used with "children".

Here are my suggestions as to the other essay:

"Studying Abroad.

People study abroad for many reasons. The most obvious advantage is that studying abroad brings people new experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, if a country has people with experiences and knowledge from studying abroad in a more advanced country, that country will have the chance to develop better.

Studying abroad, especially in developed country, brings people new experience. For many people, living and studying in the same place all their lives seems to be very tedious. They seek opportunities to gain new experiences and perceptions about the world. Inside those people are the passions to explore the world. Studying abroad is one of the most legitimate and easiest ways to satisfy their desires. This provides the chances not only to know more people and more cultures but also to gain academic knowledge. This experience will give them advantages in the future success. Knowing more advanced knowledge helps them to get better job and promotion.


Sending students to study abroad is one of important strategies for a developing country to develop. As we all know, education has a crucial role in developing process of a lot of countries. Countries' governments realize the important of talents and the need to develop their abilities, but in those countries, the education system may not have enough facilities to support the teaching and studying process. Studying abroad comes as a pragmatic solution. Many developing countries send their students to more advanced country to study new knowledge which can be used in the developing process of those countries. In my country Vietnam, for example, students have many opportunities to receive scholarship to study abroad. The government is always willing to grant money to good students so that they will have more advanced environment to study, and then the students will come back with knowledge to contribute to the country.

The fact is that more and more students go studying abroad can easily prove the advantages that studying abroad brings to develop each countries as well as the whole world. If countries can learn from each other by the mean of sending students studying abroad, I believe that the world will become an unite and advanced house for us to live in."

Getting better!

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com

Thank for your very detailed explanations!

Oh! Class assignments are bringing me down =.=, but I still keep writing...^^

Here is today essay

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Which would you prefer? Studying though computer or studying in school

When it comes to the idea of study method, many people believe some more advanced ways like studying through computer are better; I personally think that it is better to study traditionally – study in school with friends.

The most important factor that influences my stance is the study interaction. When studying through computer, a person usually interact with only a single other person – his or her tutor. To study well, a student needs to discuss with not only the teacher but also the other students because the teacher cannot always provide the optimal solution to a problem, or always have the right advice; the student needs his or her classmates, who may have a better, even far better, way to overcome problems the student has faced. I myself have faced this situation. My grade 9 chemistry teacher had a teaching method that I could not follow. When I was frustrated because of my chemistry knowledge and the final test were coming, no one but my friends helped me to improve my knowledge, in a way that I thought is more understandable than any teachers' teaching methods.

Secondly, I think that studying is not only study some academic subjects but only study how to behave in society - the veritable society, not the virtual society like study through computer with internet. While not studying academic classes, friends can us some other useful things like how to behave properly. It is so tedious to face to face with nothing but the computer screen while the outside world is just wonderful with many great friends who can teach us how to live properly in this harsh and competitive society. We definitely cannot study the living experience without seeing the real world but by interact with some person through the computer. We all can see that this vicarious way of learning experiences is not as good as the way of real interaction.

Our world is wonderful, and it is waiting for our explorations. Just the notion of studying through the computer and not meeting any real people make me have the intermediate decision of studying in the traditional way – going to school.

Keep your head up!

"When it comes to the idea of studying methods, many people believe some more advanced ways like studying through computers are better; I personally think that it is better to study traditionally – in school with friends.

The most important factor that influences my stance is interaction. When studying through a computer, a person usually interacts with only a single other person – his or her tutor. To study well, a student needs to discuss with not only the teacher but also the other students because the teacher cannot always provide the optimal solution to a problem, or always have the right advice; the student needs his or her classmates, who may have a better, even far better, way to overcome problems the student has faced. I myself have faced this situation. My grade 9 chemistry teacher had a teaching method that I could not follow. When I was frustrated because of my chemistry knowledge and the final test were coming, no one but my friends helped me to improve my knowledge, in a way that I thought is more understandable than any teachers' teaching methods. Nice example.

Secondly, I think that studying should not only include some academic subjects but also how to behave in society - the veritable society, not the virtual society like study through computer with internet. While not studying academic classes, friends can us some other useful things like how to behave properly. It is so tedious to face to face with nothing but the computer screen while the outside world is just wonderful with many great friends who can teach us how to live properly in this harsh and competitive society. We definitely cannot study the living experience without seeing the real world but by interact with some person through the computer. We all can see that this vicarious way of learning experiences is not as good as the way of real interaction.

Our world is wonderful, and it is waiting for our explorations. Just the notion of studying through the computer and not meeting any real people make me have the intermediate decision of studying in the traditional way – going to school."

You're getting better!

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com

Thank you again, Gloria! ^^

This is today essay

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Internet good sides.

For me, one of the best moments in 20th century is the invention of internet. In just a few years' time from its first appearance, internet became one of the most important inventions to a lot of people, for whom the experience with internet was new, strange, and delightful. Nowadays, internet is inseparable from many people's daily lives. Internet assists them in many aspects of life, including studying, trading, and entertaining.

Studying now becomes convenient more than ever. Students do not need to spend their money on buying books, sometimes expensive books, to learn. The internet provides them free resources, in many of which the knowledge is provided and tested by not just some individuals but also a large online community. Students now do not need to spend time finding the right book for their studies. Internet provides not only the resource to study but search machines as well, Google for example, for finding best appropriate resources for the students. With internet, students also have a chance build their self-reliance. For example, in the past, whenever students met obstacles in solving problems or conducting a project, the found the professors for assistance. Today, though professors' advices are of course trustworthy as they were in the past, students have another way to overcome difficulties actively by themselves - finding information or others' experience in the large online community. Imagine, then, what it is like to be in the college when students are more self-reliable; that is a college where students study actively and have the better potential for future success.

Today, people do not need to out for shopping. Internet provides them the chance to buy many things while they are at home. Just turning on the computer, getting in a suitable online shop, people will find everything they can find in the real shop. Moreover, when people want to make a business but they are far from each others, such as they are from different countries, they still have the chance to negotiate and deal online, through the internet. Entertaining also becomes more convenient and comfortable more than ever. Nowadays, online music and movies store are abundant for people to find most fashionable music and films. When a person wants to listen to his or her favorite song, he or she does not need waste time to go out to buy a CD. He or she just downloads the song in more or less a minute, and then listen to it.

For many people, inventing the internet is important more than anything else. Many other people of course think differently, but I can say that they all agree that internet has been providing us many benefits which contribute in the world's development progress.

You're welcome.

"For me, one of the best moments of the 20th century is the invention of the internet. In just a few years time from its first appearance, the internet has become one of the most important inventions to a lot of people, for whom the experience with internet was new, strange, and delightful. Nowadays, internet is inseparable from many people's daily lives. Internet assists them in many aspects of life, including studying, trading, and entertaining.

Studying now becomes more convenient than ever. Students do not need to spend their money on buying books, sometimes expensive books, to learn. The internet provides them free resources, in many of which the knowledge is provided and tested by not just some individuals but also a large online community. Students now do not need to spend time finding the right book for their studies. Internet provides not only the resource to study but search machines as well, Google for example, for finding best appropriate resources for the students. With internet, students also have a chance build their self-reliance. For example, in the past, whenever students met obstacles in solving problems or conducting a project, the found the professors for assistance. Today, though professors' advice are of course trustworthy as they were in the past, students have another way to overcome difficulties actively by themselves - finding information or others' experience in the large online community. Imagine, then, what it is like to be in the college when students are more self-reliable; that is a college where students study actively and have the better potential for future success.

Today, people do not need to out for shopping. Internet provides them the chance to buy many things while they are at home. Just turning on the computer, getting in a suitable online shop, people will find everything they can find in the real shop. Moreover, when people want to make a business but they are far from each other, such as they are from different countries, they still have the chance to negotiate and deal online (Remove comma) through the internet. Entertaining also becomes more convenient and comfortable more than ever. Nowadays, online music and movies are abundant for people to find. When a person wants to listen to his or her favorite song, he or she does not need waste time to go out to buy a CD;e or she just downloads the song in more or less a minute, and then listens to it.

For many people, inventing the internet is important more than anything else. Many other people of course think differently, but I can say that they all agree that internet has provided us many benefits which contribute in the world's developmental progress."

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com

Thank you, Gloria!

Here is today essay

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If we valued honesty, we would be willing to risk our jobs to become whistleblowers and tell truths that our employers did not want revealed. If we valued success, we would give up our free time in order to excel in a subject or sport. In other words, the sacrifices we are willing to make reveal what we care about the most.

Assignment:
Can what we value be determined only by what we sacrifice? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue.
Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations

What we sacrifice definitely reveals what we care about the most. I am living in Vietnam. There are many things, such as my country itself, influence my stance on this statement. My experience about the life also gives me many reasons to believe in that statement. In a word, I totally agree with the notion that what we sacrifice have a crucial role in determine what we are trying to achieve.

Vietnam – a developing country – is a good model to exemplify this statement's rightness. In this developing country, the government cares most about the improvement of people life. There are so many people who are so poor to have an ordinary life; what those people want is not a comfortable life but just a life with enough food to survive. In this condition, the government has to sacrifice something. What is developed in advanced country such as space explore has being dismissed in Vietnam. To the government, while the people's lives are not improved, and the nation budget will not be provided to some other less important national plans. A few of the national budget saved today will leave a more meaningful budget tomorrow to spend on a better health care system, a saner economy policy, and better people's lives.

When I was ten years old, just as many of my pioneers have their own passions, so did I love playing piano very much; the city's music school was granting a scholarship for pupils who had the tendency to play piano well. I first intended to apply for the scholarship, but the situation at that time did not allow me to do what I loved. I needed to learn some academic subjects to prepare to the elementary school graduation test. To not make my parents frustrated, I had to spend most of my time in do in academic exercises and hardly had time playing piano. Without training hard in playing piano, I failed in achieving the scholarship. Because what I valued most in that time was studying academic subjects, I had to sacrifice my chance to develop my piano skills.

Each people have different aims to pursuit. What we are try to achieve reveal not only a part of our characteristics but also the things that we care about the most. My personal experience and what I know about the developing progress of my country has proved this opinion, not adequately, but I think it is enough to substantiate my stance on the statement.

Good evening.

"What we sacrifice definitely reveals what we care about the most. I am living in Vietnam. There are many things, such as my country itself, that influence my stance on this statement. My experiences in life also gives me many reasons to believe in that statement. In a word, I totally agree with the notion that what we sacrifice have a crucial role in determine what we are trying to achieve.

Vietnam – a developing country – is a good model to exemplify this statement's correctness. In this developing country, the government cares most about the improvement of people's lives. There are so many people who are so poor to have an ordinary life; what those people want is not a comfortable life but just a life with enough food to survive. In this condition, the government has to sacrifice something. What is developed in advanced country such as space exploration has being dismissed in Vietnam. To the government, while the people's lives are not improved, and the nation budget will not be provided to some other less important national plans. A few of the national budget saved today will leave a more meaningful budget tomorrow to spend on a better health care system, a saner economy policy, and better people's lives.

When I was ten years old, just as many of my pioneers have their own passions, so did I love playing piano very much; the city's music school was granting a scholarship for pupils who had the tendency to play piano well. I first intended to apply for the scholarship, but the situation at that time did not allow me to do what I loved. I needed to learn some academic subjects to prepare to the elementary school graduation test. To not make my parents frustrated, I had to spend most of my time in do in academic exercises and hardly had time playing piano. Without training hard in playing piano, I failed in achieving the scholarship. Because what I valued most in that time was studying academic subjects, I had to sacrifice my chance to develop my piano skills.

Each person has different aims to pursue. What we try to achieve reveals not only a part of our characteristics but also the things that we care about the most. My personal experience and what I know about the developing progress of my country has proved this opinion, not adequately, but I think it is enough to substantiate my stance on the statement."

Nice example.

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com

Thank you very much, Gloria!
When I feel my writing is not good for me to face the coming test, your help is invaluable and make me more confident.

Here is my essay

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When people form opinions about someone or something, what affects them most is not substance but style. In other words, the way something appears or is presented is more important than what it actually is. This principle affects how people look at their leaders and their lives, the books they read, the products they buy, and even the subjects they take at school.

Assignment:
Is style more important than substance? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

People are definitely affected by something's style rather than its substance, because style is the first impression people have to judge whether something, even somebody, is good or bad. The first impression is sometimes too good that can make people dismiss their cerebral reaction toward that impression. There are lots of situations, both in our daily lives as well as in some prominent occasions, which can efficiently prove this opinion.

In our daily lives, we can meet many situations that something's style makes us become vulnerable toward that thing. Sometimes because that thing's style was just so good that we impetuously define that thing as a good one, though in fact, it does not. I myself have many experiences of being affected by something's style. Most striking, two years ago, I and my friend went shopping to buy a mobile phone as a gift for our friend's birthday. After wondering around the shop, we selected out two affordable phones, one from noble Nokia, other from Mobell, a brand from Chinese. Though by our vicarious experience, we knew that the solid Nokia was better but the Chinese one was just so well-designed, it was wonderful for a 100$ phone included screen-touching and many other functions. Though I knew that my decision was impulsive, the style of the Mobell was just so good that made me, on thinking about it, concluded that it was the superior one. Soon after, the information that the Chinese one had easily broken made my thinking tinged with regrets.

Not only things that we have the inclination to judge based on the styles but people as well. When we meet the others, what make us immediately assess those people as good or bad are their styles. For example, when going for an interview, an applicant's style toward the employer is as prominent as his or her achievements before. The employer, by their first impression, which is mostly affected by the applicant's style, decides to employ this applicant or not. Just as the employer in above example acts, so do we in many situations. When voting to select a president, we are affected by candidates' styles to decide who we are going to vote for. How their gestures on the public are, how they wear, how they say all, at least to us, are somehow important than the veritable things they can do in the future.

My inescapable conclusion, therefore, that people are definitely affected by something's style to judge whether it is good or bad. On looking back through the years, both my experience and other people's tendency toward something's style solidly support what I base on to form my stance.

Good afternoon.

"People are definitely affected by something's style rather than its substance, because style is the first impression people have to judge whether something, even somebody, is good or bad. The first impression is sometimes too good that can make people dismiss their cerebral reaction toward that impression. There are lots of situations, both in our daily lives as well as in some prominent occasions, which can efficiently prove this opinion.

In our daily lives, we can meet many situations that something's style makes us become vulnerable toward that thing. Sometimes because that thing's style was just so good that we impetuously define that thing as a good one, though in fact, it does not. I myself have many experiences of being affected by something's style. Most striking, two years ago, I and my friend went shopping to buy a mobile phone as a gift for our friend's birthday. After wondering around the shop, we selected out two affordable phones, one from noble Nokia, other from Mobell, a brand from China. Though by our vicarious experience, we knew that the solid Nokia was better but the Chinese one was just so well-designed, it was wonderful for a $100 phone; it included a touch screen and many other functions. Though I knew that my decision was impulsive, the style of the Mobell was just so good that made me, on thinking about it, conclude that it was the superior one. Soon after, the information that the Chinese one had easily broken made my thinking tinged with regrets.

Not only things that we have the inclination to judge based on the styles but people as well. When we meet the others, what make us immediately assess those people as good or bad are their styles. For example, when going for an interview, an applicant's style toward the employer is as prominent as his or her achievements before. The employer, by their first impression, which is mostly affected by the applicant's style, decides to employ this applicant or not. Just as the employer in above example acts, so do we in many situations. When voting to select a president, we are affected by candidates' styles to decide who we are going to vote for. How their gestures on the public are, what they wear, how they say all, at least to us, are somehow important than the veritable things they can do in the future.

My inescapable conclusion, therefore, that people are definitely affected by something's style to judge whether it is good or bad. On looking back through the years, both my experience and other people's tendency toward something's style solidly support what I base on to form my stance."

Great examples.

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com

Some weeks not writing makes me feel hard to write again, yet I have finished an essay. Please give me some comments. Thank you a lot.

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People usually assume that the quality of a decision is directly related to the time and effort that went into making it. We believe that we are always better off gathering as much information as possible and then spending as much time as possible analyzing that information. But there are times when making a quick judgment is the best thing to do. Decisions made quickly can be as good as decisions made slowly and cautiously.

Adapted from Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Assignment:

Are decisions made quickly just as good as decisions made slowly and carefully? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

During my lifetime, I have made a prodigious number of decisions. Though quickly made decisions were sometimes efficient, they failed in most cases, especially in crucial situations which deserve rigorous scrutiny. My opinion, therefore, is that decisions made quickly cannot be as good as decisions made slowly and cautiously.

In our daily lives, we can meet a lot of situations in which we choose to make decisions slowly and cautiously. Though decisions made quickly may work, we cannot risk our chance to solve a problem or to achieve something just because we did not choose to make decisions more slowly and prudently. Most striking, two years ago, when attending informatics class, I decided to buy a laptop to make support my study. Though the school had facilitated this class with a computer room, my desire of owning a laptop made me decision to buy the laptop. Hardly the laptop has been using since then because school computers are just adequate for my study. As if I considered my decision more cautiously, that impetuous decision could not turn my one thousand dollars to a futile thing.

Many people lives have come to jeopardize just because they made decisions quickly. One of my father's friends, a young businessman, went bankruptcy when he invested in a project which had been considered as a potential one. Seeing the superficial advantages of the project, he impetuously used a large part of his budget to invest in it. Several months later, the investment failed when the project turned out to be a tenuous one which was easily exploited by others. Had he made the decision more slowly and more cerebrally, he would have not begun his business with nothing again.

My own experience lies the reason why I want to make decisions slowly and cautiously. Decisions, when being devoted enough time and consideration, will improve our chance to succeed in life profoundly.

Good afternoon.

Here are my suggestions:

"During my lifetime, I have made a prodigious number of decisions. Though quickly made decisions were sometimes efficient, they failed in most cases, especially in crucial situations which deserve rigorous scrutiny. My opinion, therefore, is that decisions made quickly cannot be as good as decisions made slowly and cautiously.

In our daily lives, we can meet a lot of situations in which we choose to make decisions slowly and cautiously. Though decisions made quickly may work, we cannot risk our chance to solve a problem or to achieve something just because we did not choose to make decisions more slowly and prudently. Most striking, two years ago, when attending informatics class, I decided to buy a laptop to support my study. Though the school had facilitated this class with a computer room, my desire of owning a laptop made me decide to buy the laptop. Hardly the laptop has been used since then because school computers are just adequate for my study. As if I considered my decision more cautiously, that impetuous decision could not turn my one thousand dollars to a futile thing.

Many people's lives have become jeopardized just because they made decisions quickly. One of my father's friends, a young businessman, went bankrupt when he invested in a project which had been considered as a potential one. A potential what? Risk? Please finish your sentence here. Seeing the superficial advantages of the project, he impetuously used a large part of his budget to invest in it. Several months later, the investment failed when the project turned out to be a tenuous one which was easily exploited by others. Had he made the decision more slowly and more cerebrally, he would have not begun his business with nothing again. This is an awkward sentence, it uses circular logic. What exactly do you mean here?

My own experience shows the reason why I want to make decisions slowly and cautiously. Decisions, when devoted enough time and consideration, will improve our chance to succeed in life profoundly."

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com