Academic Discussion — join the conversation, do not write an essay · Discussion académique — rejoignez la conversation, ne rédigez pas une dissertation
An app helps updates but a visitor may have no battery
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A discussion about building maps has two real needs. Contribute a decision that develops those viewpoints rather than merely naming both students.
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You are shown a professor's question and · et two students' replies, and you add your own post.
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You are joining a discussion: make a clear, supported contribution and respond to another viewpoint. Keep the post focused. Paragraph count is not a scoring rule.
A single paragraph does not improve by dressing up as a five-page essay.
Four moves to plan a useful post
- State a position — one sentence, first.
- Give a reason for it.
- Support the reason — an example, a consequence, a piece of evidence.
- Engage with a viewpoint — agree and extend it, or explain a disagreement. Naming the writer can make the link clear, but a name is not a magic scoring word.
Match each of the four moves to what it does. · Reliez chacun des quatre mouvements à ce qu'il fait.
These four moves are a planning aid. A strong post makes a clear claim, supports it and answers a real viewpoint. · Ces quatre mouvements sont un outil de planification. Un bon post énonce une affirmation claire, la soutient et répond à une opinion réelle.
Give the discussion something new
- Read the professor's question and both student posts before drafting. You need to know which idea your post develops or challenges.
- I agree with Mei that … but I would add that … works when the addition is specific; a name without a new idea adds little. A strong reply can acknowledge one point and then explain a practical consequence or a limit to it.
Your post states a position and example but never responds to either classmate's viewpoint. What should you improve? · Votre post énonce une position et un exemple mais ne répond jamais à l'opinion de l'un ou l'autre camarade. Que devez-vous améliorer ?
ETS describes the task as responding to others' viewpoints. Connect your idea to theirs; merely inserting a name does not do that. · ETS décrit la tâche comme une réponse aux opinions d'autrui. Reliez votre idée à la leur ; insérer simplement un nom ne suffit pas.
Try a brief planning pause
- As a study method, try about thirty seconds for position, reason, example and which idea you will answer; this is not an official fixed planning allowance. Then draft and leave time to read it back.
- Avoid spending your opening on a long restatement of the professor's question; the reader already knows it. Prefer a specific first sentence to a memorised opener such as With the development of society.
Which opening is the best use of your first sentence? · Quelle ouverture est la meilleure utilisation de votre première phrase ?
The first restates the question, and the second gives vague background. The third states a position and a reason immediately. · La première reformule la question, et la deuxième donne un contexte vague. La troisième énonce une position et une raison immédiatement.
What a strong post looks like
- Short, specific and committed. A position you can point at in the first line. A conditional position can work when you explain what it depends on and why. The explanation need not be in the same sentence; a bare “it depends” leaves the decision unclear.
- Precision beats decoration: cost fell sharply after 2015 makes a clearer claim than there was a considerable diminution. The cost sentence is a wording example, not factual evidence for this task. Task description checked on 2 October 2026 against the ETS Writing overview. The model below is original practice material, not an ETS response or a guaranteed score.
A bare “It depends on the situation”, without any further explanation, gives a clear conditional position.
Name the relevant condition and explain its consequence. This can span sentences; there is no same-sentence scoring rule.
Worked example: finding a library room
Professor's question. Should a university replace paper building maps with a phone app?
Ana. Yes. An app can show which rooms have changed and give students an updated route.
Ravi. No. A phone battery can die, and visitors may not have the app.
I would keep a small number of paper maps and use an app for current routes. Ana is right that an app can be updated when a room moves; a printed map might send students to yesterday's seminar room. Ravi's concern also matters. A visitor whose phone has no battery still needs to find the library desk. I would put a clear paper map beside each main entrance and let the app handle temporary changes. This costs more than choosing one format, but it gives people a reliable starting point and a way to check last-minute changes. The app should help visitors find the room, not become the room's best-kept secret.
The first sentence gives a decision. The response then extends Ana's point, takes Ravi's objection seriously and proposes a workable division of roles. It does not invent survey results or merely repeat either post.
Why does the library-map model keep some paper maps while using an app? · Pourquoi le modèle de la carte de bibliothèque conserve-t-il certaines cartes papier tout en utilisant une application ?
The app can update routes; entrance maps still guide visitors whose phones fail or lack the app. The response develops both viewpoints. · L'application peut mettre à jour les itinéraires ; les cartes à l'entrée guident toujours les visiteurs dont le téléphone tombe en panne ou qui n'ont pas l'application. La réponse développe les deux points de vue.
Extend another view with a workable limit
- In the app-and-paper-map discussion, Ana values updates and Ravi worries about phone access. The model allocates current routes to the app and a reliable entrance map to paper.
- To extend it, add a practical limit: “The entrance map should also name a help desk, since temporary signs may change before a visitor downloads the app.” This contributes a consequence rather than restating both posts.
- Agreement alone does not develop a reason. Naming another student is useful only when you respond to the idea they actually offered.
- State a position, explain it and contribute a specific development or qualification.
- Try the transfer checks below before returning to the explanation. These are original self-checks, with no official score conversion.
Match the three distinctions from the worked case.
To extend it, add a practical limit: “The entrance map should also name a help desk, since temporary signs may change before a visitor downloads the app.” This contributes a consequence rather than restating both posts.
Which addition develops the discussion rather than repeating it?
In the app-and-paper-map discussion, Ana values updates and Ravi worries about phone access. The model allocates current routes to the app and a reliable entrance map to paper. To extend it, add a practical limit: “The entrance map should also name a help desk, since temporary signs may change before a visitor downloads the app.” This contributes a consequence rather than restating both posts.
Complete the worked-case label: Ana’s concern → ____. Use the phrase in the diagram.
State a position, explain it and contribute a specific development or qualification.