Toefl Integrated Writing Practice Set

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Passage

Sea otters are a small mammal that lives in the waters along North America's
west coast from California to Alaska. A few years ago some of the sea otter
populations off of the Alaskan coast started to decline rapidly and raised
several concerns because of their important role in the coastal ecosystem.
Experts began investigating and came up with two possible explanations. One
explanation was environmental pollution and the second was attacks by
predators.
At first it seemed as if the pollution was the most likely cause for the
population decline. One reason pollution was more likely was because of the
known pollution sources along the Alaskan coast such as oil rigs. Also water
samples taken in the area showed increased levels of chemicals that could
decrease the otters' immune systems and indirectly result in their deaths.
Another thing that pointed to pollution as the culprit was the decline of other
sea mammals such as seals in the same areas. This indicated that whatever
was affecting the otters was also affecting the other sea mammals.
Environmental pollution usually affects an entire ecosystem instead of just one
species. Only predators that occurred in a large area, such as orcas (a large
predatory whale), could cause the same effect, but they usually hunt larger
prey.
Finally, scientists believed the pollution hypothesis would also explain the
uneven pattern of otter decline. In some Alaskan locations the otter population
declined greatly while other populations remained stable. Some
experts suggested this could be explained by ocean currents, or other
environmental factor, might have created uneven concentrations of pollutants
along the coast.

Passage Word count: 276

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice 2
Passage

In several organizations the best way to approach certain new projects is by

establishing a team of individuals. There are several advantages to teamwork
when completing a project.
One of the advantages of teamwork is the wider range of knowledge, skills,
and expertise brought to the situation by having multiple individuals involved.
Everyone is unique and has different skills, backgrounds and experiences.
Therefore, others in a team can help an individual see things from a different
angle.
Also, teamwork enables a group of individuals to respond more quickly to their
assigned task and come up with creative solutions to problems. The projects
will be completed more quickly because there are more resources in a group
than an individual would have access to. Creative solutions are more likely to
come about because teamwork spreads the responsibility for a decision to all
of the members . This means that no single individual will feel as if they are
solely responsible for a wrong decision.
Finally, being a member of a team can be very rewarding for the individual.
Team members will understand the processes they are involved in instituting
which will make them more comfortable with carrying out the work. In addition,
individual team members have a better opportunity to get their contributions
and ideas recognized as highly significant. This is because a team's overall
results are likely to have a greater impact than would have been
accomplished by an individual.

Passage Word count: 249

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice 3
Passage

There are many paintings attributed to Rembrandt, the most famous

seventeenth-century Dutch painter, but there are doubts that some of the
paintings are truly by him. One such painting is "Portrait of an Elderly Woman
in a White Bonnet" which was attributed to Rembrandt because of its style.
The representation of the woman's face is very similar other portraits painted
by Rembrandt, but there are problems that suggest it might not be a work by
Rembrandt.

First, the clothing of the woman is inconsistent. She is wearing a white linen
cap, like that of a servant, but her coat has a luxurious fur collar that would be
worn by a wealthy member of society. Being known for his attention to detail,
this is not something Rembrandt would have done.
Second, the lighting within the painting are not consistent with Rembrandt's
style. He was known as the master of painting light and shadow, but in the
painting light is reflected up onto the face, even though the collar below is a
dark color which would have absorbed the light. Due to the darkness of the
collar, the face should have been partially in shadow. Again this is not an error
that Rembrandt would make.

Finally, the painting was revealed to have been painted on a panel of wood
pieces glued together. Rembrandt often painted on wood panels, but he was
not known to use more than one piece of wood. Due to these inconsistencies,
the painting was removed from the official catalog of Rembrandt's paintings in
the 1930s.

Passage Word count: 266

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice 4
Passage

Endotherms are animals that maintain a constant body temperature no matter

what the external temperature is. Humans are an example of an endotherm
because they maintain a constant internal temperature of 37°C independent of
external temperatures. Since modern reptiles are not endotherms, it is
assumed that dinosaurs were not endotherms either because they are
reptiles. However, dinosaurs were different in many ways from modern
reptiles and there is considerable evidence that they were endotherms.
One piece of evidence is the existence of polar dinosaurs. Dinosaur fossils
discovered in polar regions support the endotherm theory about dinosaurs
because only animals capable of maintaining an internal temperature of the
surrounding environment could be active in such a frigid climate.
A second piece of evidence is the connection between the position and
movement of the legs and endothermy. The physiology of endothermy allows
sustained physical activity. An example of these kinds of sustained physical
activities is running. Running is only efficient if the animal's legs are positioned
underneath its body like in all modern endotherms and in dinosaurs. This leg
placement strongly suggests that dinosaurs were endotherms.
Finally, there is the connection between endothermy and bone
structure. Canals that house nerves and blood vessels or rapid body growth
called Haversian Canals are usually found in the bones of endotherms. The
presence of these canals is a strong indication that the animal is an
endotherm, and they have been found in the fossilized bones of dinosaurs.

Passage Word count: 255