This is the second writing question on the TOEFL iBT Test. Get more samples here.
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Your professor is teaching a class on research techniques. Write a post responding to the professor’s question. In your response, you should
- express and support your personal opinion
- make a contribution to the discussion in your own words
An effective response will contain at least 100 words.
Professor: Next week, we’re going to discuss the best way to determine if a website or article is reliable. There are many factors to consider in order to ensure that your essays are supported by reliable sources. Before we meet, I want you to consider the following question: what do you think is the most effective way to assess whether a website or article can be trusted?
Laura: I think the best way is to check if the author of the article makes use of strong evidence and sources. A reliable article should cite credible studies, data, or expert opinions. If the author’s claims are backed by verifiable information and come from a trustworthy institution like a university or academic publisher, it’s a good sign the website or article can be trusted.
Caleb: I believe the author’s credibility is most important. If the writer has expertise or professional experience related to the topic, it’s more likely the content is accurate. For instance, I trust articles written by scientists about health topics more than random blogs. Checking the author’s background is a crucial first step.
Sample Answer
While I appreciate the points made by both Caleb and Laura, I think the best method of determining whether an article is reliable is to check who has published it. This is because if it has been published by a trustworthy source like the “New York Times” we know that a lot of time and money has been used to ensure that it is accurate. Moreover, when this sort of publisher realizes that they’ve made a mistake in an article they usually go back and fix it. Sometimes they even retract the article. Some people, like Laura, might argue that it is most important to check which sources the author has cited but they don’t realize that some unscrupulous writers might simply fabricate sources.
Video
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