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ESSAY TOPICS

continuacin vers una lista de los Temas (Topics) y Estmulos

de Redaccin (Prompts) disponibles para cada mdulo.

Qu es un Prompt ?

Una forma de empezar cualquier composicin es usar estmulos de redaccin

(writing prompts) son como el inicio de una historia. Bsicamente es como
un cuento corto, prrafo, y/o idea que te estimular a escribir la historia
completa.

uestra de ensayos

Despus de enviar (submit) tu trabajo, podrs ver ensayos escritos por otras
personas y sus puntajes. Tambin se incluye en el mdulo Gamma
Intermediate Module (GIM), ms abajo, un ejemplo de ensayo (Sample
Essay) para que te formes una idea de como queda un escrito terminado.

Beta Upper Module Essay Topics

BUM Topic 1 A New Season
Prompt
When winter is over and spring arrives, the days get longer and the weather gets warmer.
How do the longer days and warmer weather cause changes in what you do each day? Do
you wear different clothes? Do you take part in different activities? Write an essay
explaining how your days are different when spring arrives. Provide specific examples in
your response.
BUM Topic 2 No Technology
Prompt
Imagine your life without technology. It would mean we would not have cars, telephones,
computers, or televisions. How would this affect your daily life? Explain how your life
would change if we didn't have technology.
BUM Topic 3 Your New Park
Prompt
What if you could create a new park in the area where you live? Imagine the park you
would want to create. Describe its size, trees, and plants. Describe the equipment you want
in your park. Does it have a pond or a hill? Is there a zoo? Write an essay telling how your
park would look and what features it would include.

Gamma Lower Module - Essay Topics

GLM Topic 1 E-Mails vs. Letters
Prompt
Emails and letters are similar forms of communication, yet they have some important
differences. Write an essay comparing and contrasting e-mails and old-fashioned letters.
Are there specific times when you use one or the other, or are the two interchangeable? Do
you write letters to the same people that you e-mail? How do the rules for writing letters
differ from the rules for writing e-mails? Use specific examples from your experience to
support your comparison.
GLM Topic 2 Worlds Fair
Prompt
Your hometown is on the short list of possible locations for the next World's Fair. Write
an essay for the World's Fair officials persuading them to choose your hometown. List at
least three reasons why your hometown should be picked to host the next World's Fair.
GLM Topic 3 About you
Prompt
People sometimes act one way around their family and another way around their friends.
As a result, our family and friends may have very different ideas of what we are like.
Write an essay comparing and contrasting what your family and your friends think you are
like. Include several ways that their views are similar and several ways that they are
different. Give specific examples to support your points.

Gamma Intermediate Module Essay Topics

GIM Topic 1 Winter Tourism
Prompt
The civic and business leaders of your hometown want to increase the number of tourists
who visit there. These leaders have decided that they will advertise winter as one of the
best times for tourists to come. Write an essay in which you explain whether you agree or
disagree that winter is a good time to visit your hometown. Give several reasons and
examples to support your viewpoint.
Sample Essay:
The business leaders of Juneau, Alaska have decided to focus on winter as a good season
for tourists to come. They hope that by advertising they will be able to increase the use of
facilities that are normally very slow during the winter months. For several reasons, I
dont feel that they have made a wise decision. Encouraging winter tourism will have
effects that these leaders didnt think about.
Everyone knows that it snows a lot in Alaska. This may be good for skiers, but the area
around Juneau is not for skiing. Snow and ice will make it impossible for tourists to travel
to the forests and other nature sites that are the real attraction of the area. It will not be
possible for cruise ships, one of the main transports to this area, to navigate the channels.
The amount of snow and ice will discourage tourists.
Low temperatures are another problem in the winter. This will cause several negative
results. Water pipes that are usually closed in the winter will freeze and burst if they are
open. The cost of heating the places where tourists stay will increase the prices, also.
And it wont be fun to be outside when the cold winds are blowing.
Normally, tourists come to Juneau to see the wildlife and nature. These aspects dont look
their best in the winter. Whales, which are a major attraction in summer, are in Mexico in
the winter, and not in the water here. Most birds migrate to other areas like the whales
do. All of the trees in the forest have lost their leaves, and the animals are hiding or
hibernating.
For these reasons, I believe that it is a bad decision to promote winter tourism in Juneau.
The business leaders only thought about their goals, but didnt think about the obstacles.
They will not be able to achieve their goals, because the tourists wont come. They have
to find another solution to help the local economy in the winter.
GIM Topic 2 New Challenges
Prompt
Learning new things can be difficult, but it can be rewarding too. Think about a skill you
have that wasn't easy to learn - it could be anything from juggling, to dribbling a
basketball, to playing a musical instrument. Tell the story of the learning process you went
through to develop the new skill, the challenges you faced, and how you felt when you
finally mastered the skill.

GIM Topic 3 Favorite Movie

Prompt
You have been asked to write a review of your favorite movie for an online magazine.
Write an essay describing what makes your favorite movie so enjoyable. Your review
might include discussions of the quality of the acting in the movie, the movie's story,
characters, setting, genre, etc., but remember that a good movie review will characterize
and evaluate a movie without giving away the whole plot.

Gamma Upper Module (Academic Purpose) General Essay Topics

GUM Topic 1 Ever-Changing You x2 (submit 1st time, review Criterion
corrections, access via Portfolio, edit paragraph while viewing corrections, and
submit 2nd time)
Prompt
Picture yourself as you were four years ago. What were your interests and hobbies?
Compare and contrast this younger version of yourself with your current self. Include at
least three ways you have changed, and three ways you have remained the same.
GUM Topic 2 Wiki x1 (submit 1st time only)
Prompt
Wikipedia is a collaborative online encyclopedia that is written and edited by its users.
Anyone may contribute information about a given topic or edit information posted by
other users. A city official has posted a short entry on the town that provides only basic
information. In an effort to collect as much information as possible, the official is
encouraging each resident to share his or her local knowledge by writing about an aspect
of the town that is particularly familiar. Write a short essay to add to your town's
Wikipedia entry. Be sure to choose a topic that you know a lot about.
GUM TOEFL Essay Topics and corrections
GUM Topic 3 Change Job or Not x2 (submit 1st time, receive Criterion corrections,
access via Portfolio, edit paragraph while viewing corrections, and submit 2nd
time)
Prompt
Some people prefer to change jobs or professions during their careers. Others choose to
stay in the same job or profession. Discuss the advantages of each choice. Which do you
prefer? Use reasons and examples to explain your choice.
GUM Topic 4 Sources of News x1 (submit 1st time only)
Prompt
Some people believe that newspapers are the best source of news. Others people think that
the news is presented better on radio or television. Which of these sources of news do you
prefer? Use specific reasons to support your choice.