iBT TOEFL Writing with Mark Kim (markkim0221@gmail.

com)

Brainstorming Topic List

1.

A city should try to preserve its old, historic building rather than destroy them and replace them with modern buildings.

2.

A company should invest in supporting the arts rather than in protecting the environment.

3.

A job that gives you lots of vacation time is better than a job that gives you a higher salary and not much free time.

4.

A person's looks and dress is more important for success that having good ideas is.

5.

A person should not make an important decision alone.

6.

A school should invest in purchasing computers for students rather than books for the library.

7.

A teacher who is serious and strict is more effective than a teacher who is humorous and easygoing.

8.

Advertisements are a waste of a companys time and money.

9.

Advertising is main cause of unhealthy eating habits.

10. After graduating from high school, students should take a year off to travel or work before going to college.
11. All high school students should be required to learn three years of studying a foreign language.
12. All teachers are required to update their knowledge every five years.
13. All university students should be required to take at least one class that teaches the culture of a foreign country.
14. All university students should be required to take history courses.
15. All university students should take basic science courses even when they are not planning on going into the field of science.
16. An inexperienced worker at a lower salary is better than an experienced worker at a higher salary.
17. Because environmental issues are very complex, individual people can do nothing about them on their own.
18. Because life is too complex nowadays, young people are in need of the ability to plan and organize.
19. Because people are so busy doing many different things, they do only few things well.
20. Being creative, rather than planning carefully, results in the best solution.
21. Being happy with a job is more important than having a high salary.
22. Businesses should do anything they can do to make a profit.
23. Cars have had a greater effect on society than planes have.
24. Children should begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school.
25. Children should spend most of their time playing or studying, not on household chores like cleaning or cooking.
26. Classmates have more influence on a childs successful school life than parents.
27. Dancing plays an important role in a culture.
28. Direct advertising toward children of 2-5 years of age should not be allowed.
29. Drivers should be charged for congestion when they drive in areas with heavy traffic.
30. Eating home-made food is better than eating out in restaurants or food stands.
31. Enjoying your money when you earn it is better than saving it for some time in the future.
32. Face-to-face communication is better than other types of communication, such as letters, e-mail, or telephone calls.
33. Films can tell us a lot about the country in which they were made.
34. Games are as important for adults as they are for children.
35. Getting a job in which you work with other people is better than getting a job in which you work alone.
36. Getting a university education (degree) is most important for success in life.
37. Giving the same grade to all members of a group is a good way to evaluate students who work on projects together in high schools and
universities.
38. Governments should pay attention to health care issues rather than environmental issues.
39. Governments should spend more money expanding access to the Internet than improving public transportation.
40. Governments should spend more money in support of arts than athletics.
41. Grades encourage students to study.
42. High schools or colleges spend less time teaching students general subjects and prepare students for careers and jobs.
43. If you cannot say anything nice, it is better to say nothing.
44. In any society, the contributions of scientists and engineers are more important than the contributions of artists and writers.
45. In order to succeed it is better to be more like others than to be different from everybody else.
46. In order to truly understand the world events, we must read newspapers; TV news does not provide enough information.
47. In the past people were friendlier than we are today.

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48. In today's world, the ability to cooperate well with others is more important than it was in the past.
49. In twenty years, people will have more leisure time (free time). [2009 6 7 ()]
50. In twenty years, people will spend less time cooking or preparing food.
51. In twenty years, students will no longer have printed books.
52. It is better to be a member of a group than to be a leader of a group.
53. It is better to do one thing after another than to do multiple things at the same time.
54. It is better to have a broad knowledge from academic subjects than to have a specific knowledge from one subject.
55. It is better to have friends who are intelligent than to have friends who are humorous.
56. It is better to live in one city or town than to move from one place to another.
57. It is better to spend money on a thing that will last long such as jewelry than on a short-term pleasure such as a vacation.
58. It is better to take the most difficult and challenging classes in college even if it means that you probably will not get top grades in them.
59. It is better to use your knowledge and experience to solve problems than ask other people for advice.
60. It is better to watch serious movies that are designed to make you think than to watch movies that are primarily designed to amuse or entertain.
61. It is better to work for a large company than to work for a small company.
62. It is easier for success in the past than it is today.
63. It is good to take the most difficult and challenging class.
64. It is important to have rules about the types of clothing people are allowed to wear to work and school.
65. It is more enjoyable to watch movies with others at a movie theater than to watch them at home.
66. It is more important for a teacher to try to help students gain self-confidence than to teach them specific knowledge.
67. It is more important for people to spend their time at the workplace than with their families.
68. It is more important for students to study history and literature than it is for them to study science and mathematics.
69. It is more important for students to understand ideas and concepts than for them to learn facts.
70. It is more important to give students prizes or awards for students' effort than achievement.
71. It is more important to keep old friends than to make new friends.
72. It is more important to use land for human needs such as farming, housing, industry than for saving endangered animals.
73. It is more interesting to read a book for the second time than to read it for the first time.
74. It is more valuable to receive advice from older friends than from those in the same age.
75. It is not important for families to have meals together nowadays.
76. It is unrealistic for people to work at the same company all their life.
77. Knowledge from study is more important for success than creativity.
78. Life today is easier and more comfortable than when our grandparents were young.
79. Modern technology is creating a single world culture.
80. Most advertisements make products seem much better.
81. Most businesspeople are motivated only by the desire for money.
82. Most experiences in our lives that seemed difficult at the time become valuable lessons for the future.
83. Most people prefer to have others make decisions for them.
84. Nowadays people put too much emphasis on personal appearance and fashion.
85. Nowadays, it is not important for families to have a meal together.
86. Observing and studying animals teach us about human nature.
87. Older people enjoy their life more than young people.
88. Parents can no longer control what their children do; children's behavior is affected by television, movies, or other influences from outside the
home.
89. Parents or other adult relatives should make important decisions for their older teenaged children.
90. People can benefit more from traveling in their own country than traveling in foreign countries.
91. People learn more by watching television than by reading books.
92. People learn more from their friends and co-workers than from their teachers and bosses.
93. People need to know about the worlds events not relevant to them.
94. People often buy products not because they really need it but because other people have them.
95. People pay too much attention to celebrities.
96. People say that the ability to read and write has become more important than in the past.
97. People should be allowed to use their mobile phones when using the public transportation such as buses, trains or airplanes.
98. People should get information from different news sources in order to be well-informed.

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99. People should not have to pay to use public transportation.
100.People should spend money on travel and have a nice holiday rather than to save.
101.People who do not work because they have enough money are rarely happy.
102.People who have different interests and personalities cannot be friends.
103.Playing a game is fun only when you win.
104.Playing computer games is a waste of time, so it should not be allowed.
105.Progress is always good.
106.Renewable sources of energy will soon replace fossil fuels.
107.Schools are the only places to receive true education.
108.Schools should teach students about specific careers and jobs instead of general knowledge and subjects.
109.Solving a problem alone is better than asking advice from others to solve it.
110.Some people say getting too much information causes problems.
111.Some say it is more important for teachers to relate well with students than to share knowledge.
112.Sometimes it is difficult to tell who is telling the truth or which one is the truth on the news and information.
113.Speaking well is more important than writing well.
114.Sports and social activities should be given the same financial support as classes and libraries.
115.Students who keep rooms neat and organized are more successful than those who do not.
116.Students would receive better education if they were required to attend classes for 11 months.
117.Studying what you are interested in is more important than studying what helps you get a job.
118.Success in life comes from taking risks or trying new things.
119.Teachers should be paid according to how well their students perform.
120.Teachers should be paid as much as doctors, lawyers or corporate leaders are.
121.Teachers should give students daily work.
122.Teachers should not make their social or political views known to the students in the classroom.
123.Technology designed to make people's lives simpler often turns out to make them more complicated.
124.Technology makes children less creative.
125.Telephones and email have made communication between people less personal.
126.Television has destroyed communication among friends and family.
127.The automobile is destroying our quality of life.
128.The best way for a good future is to plan carefully when you are young.
129.The best way for a government to improve health care is to clean the environment.
130.The best way to learn foreign country is to read newspapers and magazines.
131.The best way to relax and reduce stress is to spend time alone.
132.The extended family is less important now than it was in the past.
133.The government should focus more on the environment than on economic development.
134.The most effective way for the government to conserve energy is to increase the price of gasoline and electricity.
135.The news media is a reliable source of unbiased information.
136.The number of cars will increase in the future.
137.The purpose of television should be educational, not for entertainment.
138.Today young people do little to help their communities.
139.Todays parents do not understand their children as much as they did in the past.
140.Todays people spend too much time on personal enjoyment - doing things they like to do rather than what they should do.
141.Traveling alone is better than a group tour led by a tour guide.
142.TV or movies have a positive effect on the way young people behave.
143.University students should not be required to attend classes. Instead, they should be able to receive the credits through a final test or a paper.
144.Visiting museums is the best way to learn about a country.
145.We need to understand the past to solve problems of the present or the future.
146.When a friend of yours makes a mistake, you have to tell him or her about it even though it may damage the friendship.
147.With the help of the Internet, students can learn more effectively.

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