TOEFL® essay sample: How could we do with the lack of oil supply?

[Grace]

It is widely believed that the world will soon run out of its oil supply. Providing details and examples, explain how you think the average person could reduce their oil consumption.

As is widely known, we human will soon face the problem of the lack of oil supply. How does this happen? And what indeed should we do to prevent this tragedy from coming true? I believe that these are the two main questions we should all ask ourselves and think deeply about. Among all the factors that cause the decrease of the oil provision, in my perspective, the overuse of private cars is the essential one that everybody should pay attention to, and so we should all take measures in order to make the situation better.

The first thing I think we ought to bear in mind is that other people's tastes do not always fit ours. We should never do one thing because others are all doing it. We should always remember that our choice is a reflection of our own mind, and that we should do what we really want and need to do. In this case, it means that even though buying private cars is a major trend of the society, we should really think twice before making the final decision: do I really need the car? Does it do more good than harm to myself as well as other people? We should always keep a clear mind that individuals are closely related to the whole society, so our choice must be for the sake of a bigger environment.

Despite buying less cars, another important thing we can do is take more chance to use the public transportation. As is the fact that our public transportation,for example the city bus, subway and the train, is developing so fast in the recent years, there is no reason for us not to make the full use of them. Since these types of transportation are consuming a large amount of oil, we have less excuse to find another way to waste the precious natural resource.

For an average person in society, there is always a lot to do to make change of the surrounding area. The only thing is that most of us do not have the consciousness to do what is right and what we should. Only when we realize every step we take is neccessary can we finally fulfill the dream to be an upstanding citizen and do real contribution to the world.

TOEFL listening lectures: A lecture by a professor of Fine Arts

[Grace]

I think I should have included more details and examples in this essay, or it would not be convincable.

Seems that the type of question above is rarely seen in Toefl iBT now.