作者：北美考试院 托福写作组 马锦雯

考情分析：

    这道题目虽然在综合写作中，并不属于大家常见的生态类，考古类或者是艺术类等。反而是和现在生活息息相关的事情，属于生活类话题。因此，通过考生现在拥有的生活经验，并不难理解文章和听力的意思，整体难度属于中等。同时，这篇文章并没有太多较难理解的词汇出现，大多数的词汇例如database，online store，pharmacist等，都是一些基础的托福词汇，因此，平时在积累的时候，也可以和独立写作以及口语中生活类话题素材积累的过程中，一并完成。

题目解析：

    这是一道相对常规的教育类话题考题，从话题看，主要是针对大班教育和小班教育进行一个对比。针对这一类的话题，同样也是双边立场都可以进行选择，在写之前，考生可以先去思考两边各自有什么优缺点。例如，大班上课，因为人多，学生们可以有机会接触到不同的人，从而分享不同的观点，也能得到跟多新的观点。另外，这也是学生认识更多的人，锻炼社交能力，扩大人际圈的机会。另一方面，对于小班教学，这也是目前越来越多人更愿意选择的一个上课方式，因为，老师的精力有限，对于小班，老师更能够实施个性化的教育，同时，在课堂上，学生也能够有更多的机会，去发表自己的观点，老师，也能够对此给予及时的反馈。针对这样子的题目，重点是需要去突出谁比谁更好。

    下面我们来看一篇范文：

Have you ever had experienced that you or your friends browsed the websites or got addicted to the social applications during the course? Most of the students do have those misconducts in bigger classes because of the absent of the supervise. As far as I am concerned, I honestly believe the smaller class will bring more benefits to our future pillars.

To start with, the differentiated teaching approach will be achieved easily in the class with fewer students, which means that students can receive education in various ways but with the same or similar achievements. After all, teachers have limit energy and time, so if they have to deal with the bigger classes such as the class with over fifty students at the same time, the only thing they can do is to stand in front of the class and follow the uniform curriculum. As a result, the needs of students with diverse capacities and backgrounds are rarely properly met. However, for the class with few students, the class assignments and activities would be based on the individual’s needs. Similarly, when students encounter with some problems, the teachers would find them in time and correct in an efficient way, which will not only build stronger connections with students, but also help students to grasp concepts in a more intuitive way.

Furthermore, the smaller classes are vital to ensure the studying efficiency. It is not uncommon that the students are easily to get distracted and sidetracked from the class with more learners owing to the deficient supervision and regulations. For example, some students could put phones into the classroom and secretly under the table to play. Worse, once someone started doing this kind of misconduct, others with limited autonomy will follow suit. Conversely, when it comes to the smaller class, the teachers could have enough energy to set the rules, to ensure the implement of discipline, to check the progress of each learner, and to provide feedback in time. That means the students will follow up with the teaching schedule, resulting in better understanding of the content and higher academic achievements.

Admittedly, opponents may argue that the social skills will be improved through large classes. This is because learners could share their opinions with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Some people insist that it is indispensable for one to step into the society. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that the core of the lecture is educating rather than socializing. Therefore, once the students’ thoughts flee from the class, they would hardly understand the true meaning of the course.

To sum up, we cannot deny the fact that many students prefer to take the bigger class owing to the opportunity to expand their interpersonal relationship. But the merits of small class are prominent as the quality and equity of education will be achieved both simultaneously.