1. Some universities require first-year students to live in dorms on campus. Others allow students to live off campus. Which policy do you think is better and why?
High-level sample response—A: I think it’s better for the first-year students to live on campus rather than off campus. Main reason is because they are new to the city and it’s safer for them to live on campus where there’s more security, because they don’t know much about the city in the first place. Second of all, it helps them to become more familiar with their surroundings where they have to study. It also helps them to meet with people who you might not seem very comfortable with the first time. And it helps you to meet people. It helps you to interact with your seniors if you are living in a dorm.
Rating annotation by ETS:
1. delivery: In this response, the speaker provides a clear and coherent response. She is able to maintain a steady, fluid pace with little to no hesitation. Her pronunciation is very good. There is minor but noticeable first-language influence on stress and intonation patterns, but they do not obscure meaning for the listener.
2. language use: She demonstrates a range of vocabulary and grammar that is appropriate to the task.
3. topic development: In general, the response is well developed. The speaker clearly states her opinion and provides several reasons for her point of view. She then explains each reason in varying degrees of detail. There is a clear progression of ideas and an ease of presentation.
High-level sample response—B: I think the first-year students should live on campus. That is because the first year, especially the first semester, they will have a heavy load of subjects. They have to follow and that means they have to be able to be on time in campus. And also, the first year of campus life needs them to familiarize with buildings, with the surroundings, with the environment of the campus itself, so more times in campus will help them to do that and also you have to have lots of friends to be able to make yourself at home in the campus. At least this is the home for you in the next four years. So it’s important to socialize.
Rating annotation by ETS:
1. delivery: The speaker maintains an even pace throughout the response with little noticeable hesitancy. Her speech is clear with few pronunciation errors. She is able to use intonation effectively to convey meaning.
2. language use: She makes some systematic mistakes of grammar and minor errors of word choice. For example, she uses the expressions “in campus” and “in the campus”, rather than “on campus”. She begins the response discussing what “they”(students)should do, but then changes to the second person “you”. The errors are generally minor and do not pose a problem for the listener.
3. topic development: She provides a fairly complete answer to the question. She clearly states her opinion and then gives several reasons to explain why she thinks first-year students should live on campus. Most of the ideas are well supported. Overall, the response is complete and clearly presented.
2. Talk about the most memorable birthday you have ever had, explain why it is very memorable.
High-level sample response: To be honest, I haven’t really celebrated my birthday, but last year I had a fantastic birthday party. Last year, I invited my high school friends to come to my house and we had a really wonderful time since we haven’t met each other for a long time. We talked about our current life, like someone found a job and others have gone to college. It feels so great to be back with your classmates. My dad cooked a lot of great dishes for us. By the way, my father is a master chef. We really enjoyed the dinner. During the dinner, we talked about our future plans, you know, like someone was going to the United States for further education. So this was really memorable for me.
