Onterra TutorDo individual actions matter for the environment, or only government policy?
TOEFL iBT writing question in the official format, with a full model answer and notes on why it scores. Write your own version below it and get an instant rater-style score.
The question
Your professor is teaching a class on environmental science. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response, express and support your opinion and add to the discussion in your own words. A strong response has at least 100 words.
Professor Silva: Some people argue that individual actions like recycling or cycling to work make little difference, and that only government policy can address environmental problems. What role do you think individual behaviour plays?
Aisha: Individual actions matter because they add up. When millions of people change their habits, companies notice and adapt their products. Governments also follow public opinion, so individuals lead the way.
Tom: Honestly, the numbers say otherwise. A handful of industries produce most emissions, and no amount of home recycling changes that. Voting and regulation matter far more than personal habits.
Model answer
Tom has the numbers right but the mechanism wrong. It is true that a handful of industries produce most emissions, yet those industries sell to individuals, and regulation of them is written by politicians who read polls. Aisha's point about habits adding up is really a point about signals: when millions of people change what they buy, they make green policy politically safe and green products commercially viable. So I would reframe the question. Individual action rarely reduces emissions directly, but it manufactures the public permission that policy needs. The person who cycles to work and then votes accordingly is not choosing between the two approaches; each one makes the other more likely to happen.
Why this answer scores
- Synthesizes both positions into a third view instead of picking a side mechanically, the strongest possible move.
- 'Manufactures the public permission that policy needs' condenses the argument into one precise phrase.
- Ends by resolving the apparent conflict, showing full control of the discussion.
Do not memorise model answers; raters recognise recycled essays instantly. Study the moves, then make them with your own ideas, and check where you stand with a scored practice.
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