Writing Feedback / (TOEFL) Maintain a small number of friends over long time or make new friends easily [5]

friendship skills quality

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Question: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The ability to maintain friendships with a small number of people over a long period of time is more important for happiness than the ability to make many new friends easily. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Social interactions and relationships with people have always played an important role in one's life and development. A varied array of relationships, such as what is mentioned in the question, may require different skills and can have different impacts on one's happiness. Although both types of relationships are crucial to one's well-being, I believe that the ability to maintain a small group of friends for a long time period is more important, due to the reasons in trust, support and interest.

To start with, a small group of friends is more likely to form a tighter bond to develop trust. In other words, it is easier to communicate and share life problems of each other, without the concern that someone in the group may spread this to others. Take my life experience for an example. I used to share my confusion about long distance relationship with my best friend in high school, who gave me some suggestions from her perspective, and her words were very helpful to me.

Furthermore, mutual support tends to be more effective in a small group of friends. This is because the large size creates a free rider effect, which means people are inclined to shy away from offering help with the presence of many other people, expecting someone else to do so. As a result, when there are a number of free riders in a large group of friends, mutual support becomes more challenging. A small group of friends, on the other hand, can overcome the free rider effect and it is easier to receive help and support.

Last but not least, a small groups of friends may share more interests in common, thereby enjoy their life together. A large group of new friends may have various preferences and hobbies, thus making it difficult to arrange group activities, which hinders the development of friendship. In contrast, a small group of friends with can easily enjoy quality time together, from playing video games to forming a reading club, without having to compromise to avoid conflicts.

In conclusion, the ability to maintain a small group of friends outweighs that to make a large group of new friends in a short time.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL - What to do if the teacher of meeting leader says something incorrect [2]

It's about 450 words so I guess the length is fine for toefl exam. Do I need more complicated "big" words?
Any feedback would be appreciated! :)

how to behave during a meeting situation

Question: Imagine that you are in a classroom or a meeting. The teacher or the meeting leader says something incorrect. In your opinion, which of the following is the best thing to do? 1. Interrupt and correct the mistake right away; 2. Wait until the class or meeting is over and the people are gone, and then talk to the teacher or meeting leader; 3. Say nothing.

Answer:

When we attend classes or meetings,it is a common case that what the teachers of the leaders say is not 100 percent precise, and it leads us to ponder if or how we should let them know. While peoples' reactions after noticing the mistakes can be varied, personally I believe that it is the best option to wait until the class or meeting is over and talk to the speaker, and I will explore several reasons in this essay.

To start with, compared with saying nothing, pointing out the mistake can avoid misunderstanding. In most circumstances, mistakes made in meetings or classes can cause misconception. For example, if the leader announces a measure to deal with a problem in a meeting but he makes a minor mistake, the audience would misunderstand the current situation and the effective solutions to solve the problem. As a result, people in charge of implementing this measure may make even more mistakes when they carry it out, which can have undesirable consequences.

Moreover, waiting for a while is more efficient for the progress of the event than interrupting immediately. This is because the speaker is usually unaware of the mistake before someone points it out, so it will take him some time to understand the mistake and to figure out how to correct it. As a result, interrupting right away would disturb the meeting or the class and slow down the progress. For instance, a few years ago, when I was in a game theory class, I noticed the model was not precise because of a small detail, but it would take about 10 minutes to explain the detail and make sure everyone in the classroom understand it, so I waited until after class and talked to the professor, and he corrected it next day.

Last but not least, talking with the teacher or the meeting leader afterwards provides more time for communication. During the discussion after the class or meeting, it is possible to further discuss the mistake, and to propose potential solutions to correct the mistake. For example, when we notice that the teacher misinterprets a concept in class, we can show him the correct definition after class, and provide several explanations and examples to make it easier for students to understand. In this way, not only the teacher reconsiders an issue that he overlooked when preparing for the class, but also students can learn more about this concept.

In conclusion, the best alternative is to wait until the class or meeting is over and talk to the speaker, due to the fact that it can avoid potential misunderstanding, it's more efficient for the progress, and it provides more time for exchanging ideas.