Writing Feedback / TOEFL essay: Zoos have no useful purpose. Agree/disagree [4]

TOPIC:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A zoo has no useful purpose.
Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer.

ESSAY:

Have you ever seen a real life bear or a monkey? If you did, it was probably at a zoo. Zoos are big outdoor spaces in which different animal species are kept, so that people can look, learn and admire them. A lot of people think that zoos have no use, or provide no purpose. I strongly disagree with this affirmation because I believe zoos provide social interaction, education, and develop qualities such as animal respect and understanding.

When people visit the zoo, they normally do it in a group, with their families, or as a part of a school group activity. In the zoo they interact with each other and are able to relax and look at the animals, play with some of them, comment on their appearance and behavior, and laugh at their funny customs. Nowadays families do not spend as much time together as they used to a couple of decades ago. The zoo is a great reason for spending time with the family, it is a great activity that can be enjoyed every family member, from little children to grandparents.

Animals, the different species, their habitats and behaviors are a subject of study at schools and universities. We can learn a lot from books and lectures, but there is an even better way to learn, that is visuals and personal experience. If you visit the zoo, you get to watch the animals, their customs, what they eat and how they eat it, as well as which characteristics the different species have. In the zoo you can see an animal and their different variations, the male and the female or the baby and the adult. It offers a great opportunity to observe their reactions to different situations, such as weather, specie and genre interaction, defense behavior, or protection of their babies. Moreover, it will also help identify which animals could be dangerous. Visiting the zoo would help the students understand what they learn at school.

Finally, a visit to the zoo will help increasing someone's respect and appreciation for animals. It is a lot easier to appreciate something after you have seen it, and learned from it. This is especially true for people living in the city, where the only animals they normally interact with are pets like cats and dogs. In the present there is a lack of respect for animals. Being able to see the animals in real life and learning facts about them would help by making people aware of the importance of animals and the respect they deserve.

The reason why most people oppose to zoos is that in some of them the animals are not very well taken care of and they do not have good and clean facilities. This is mostly true but does not relate to the purpose of zoos. It would be great if every zoo kept the animals in perfect conditions, but regardless of the condition, zoos are very useful.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL essay: Apartment Vs dormitories at university. [3]

Hi. Please review my essay for the independent writing section of the TOEFL. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance

TOPIC:
Students at a university often have a choice of places to live. They may choose to live in university dormitories, or they may choose to live in apartments in the community. Compare the advantages of living in university housing with the advantages of living in an apartment in the community. where would you prefer to live? Give reasons for your preference.

ESSAY:
Many students prefer to live in the university dormitories while others prefer an apartment in the city. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. After considering the level of freedom, the studying conditions and the economic factor, if I had to choose, I would prefer to live in an apartment in the community rather than in the university dormitories.

First, an apartment provides a lot more freedom than a dormitory. While in a dormitory you have to obey preset rules, in the apartment you set your own rules. You are free to have visits at any time or to be left alone if you want. An apartment offers more privacy because you can choose to have your own room instead of sharing with another student. This is an important factor because you also get more space than you would in a dormitory.

Second, from an economic point of view, people often argue that an apartment is more expensive. This is only partially true, you could rent the extra rooms in the apartment to other people and rent would be a lot cheaper. Transportation is another issue, you have to go to and return from the university everyday. You could choose to use public transportation, a cheaper option, or to have a car. The car is an expensive option, but also offers freedom of schedule and destination.

Lastly, the studying conditions are better in an apartment because you don't have all the noise and distractions that you often have in dormitories. A lot of students often complain about their roommate playing music too loud or bringing friends over at inappropriate times. Since in an apartment you don't have a roommate, you won't have this problem, and as a result you would be able to concentrate better. For the same reason, you won't have a problem if you are the one who wants to play music, bring friends over, or study late at night. You set your own schedules. In the other hand, living in a dormitory, and being surrounded by students also has some advantages, like being able to get help with any academic issues from them.

To conclude, both options have their advantages, but personally I think the advantages of living in an apartment outshine those of living in a dormitory.

Writing Feedback / Essay about "what I would do with some land" [2]

Topic: imagine thet you have received some land to use as you wish. how would you use this land? use specific details to explain your answer.

Essay:

I love animals, especially cats. It really saddens me to hear about animal shelters and how most animals they rescued had to be euthanized. If I was given a piece of land and were able to use it any way I wanted, I would build a cat shelter. I think we need more no-kill animal rescue centers capable of offering good adoption supervision and cleaner facilities where the animals can enjoy more freedom.

The shelter's main characteristic would be a "no- kill" policy. I believe that animals should have the same rights as humans, and we shouldn't decide their destiny for them. The rescue center would be big enough to offer shelter to a huge amount of cats. In the case it ever becomes full, "foster homes" would be provided for the felines. Foster homes are people who take the cats to their homes temporarily until someone else adopts them, or space becomes available in the shelter.

Most animal shelters have no control of the adoption process. Anyone can adopt an animal, regardless of their capability to take care of them or of their plans to keep them forever. If I could use that land to build a cat shelter I would have a strict adoption screening process. The person willing to adopt a cat would have to submit an application in which they would include details such us economic situation or housing and family conditions. This should help evaluating whether the cat would be in a good environment. Each person would be interviewed in order to evaluate if they are psychologically able to take care of the animal. This process would help reduce the number of abandoned animals.

If I could build a cat shelter, I would make sure it had excellent hygiene and living conditions for the animals. Most shelters keep the cats in very small crates, by themselves. I would like to build a shelter with big ventilated rooms for the cats, where they could enjoy freedom, exercise, and could play with the other cats. Since cats love sun bathing and playing, I would build the center with big windows. The cats would have plenty of toys and cat trees to exercise.

I would use the given land to provide a better environment for rescued cats. I think that if the cats were cleaner, healthier and able to play around, more people would be attracted to the idea of adopting them.