Academic Discussion — join the conversation, do not write an essay
What the task actually is
- You are shown a professor's question and two students' replies, and you add your own post.
- You are joining a discussion: make a clear, supported contribution and respond to another viewpoint.
- Keep the post focused. Paragraph count is not a scoring rule.
A single paragraph does not improve by dressing up as a five-page essay.
Four moves to plan a useful post
- State a position — one sentence, first.
- Give a reason for it.
- Support the reason — an example, a consequence, a piece of evidence.
- Engage with a viewpoint — agree and extend it, or explain a disagreement. Naming the writer can make the link clear, but a name is not a magic scoring word.
Match each of the four moves to what it does.
These four moves are a planning aid. A strong post makes a clear claim, supports it and answers a real viewpoint.
Give the discussion something new
- Read the professor's question and both student posts before drafting. You need to know which idea your post develops or challenges.
- I agree with Mei that … but I would add that … works when the addition is specific; a name without a new idea adds little.
- A strong reply can acknowledge one point and then explain a practical consequence or a limit to it.
Your post states a position and example but never responds to either classmate's viewpoint. What should you improve?
ETS describes the task as responding to others' viewpoints. Connect your idea to theirs; merely inserting a name does not do that.
Thirty seconds of planning
- Before typing: position, reason, example, which idea you will answer. Then draft and leave time to read it back.
- Avoid spending your opening on a long restatement of the professor's question; the reader already knows it.
- Prefer a specific first sentence to a memorised opener such as With the development of society.
Which opening is the best use of your first sentence?
The first restates the question, and the second gives vague background. The third states a position and a reason immediately.
What a strong post looks like
- Short, specific and committed. A position you can point at in the first line.
- "It depends" is a position only if you say what it depends on, in the same sentence.
- Precision beats decoration: cost fell sharply after 2015 makes a clearer claim than there was a considerable diminution.
- Task description checked on 24 September 2026 against the ETS Writing overview. The model below is original practice material, not an ETS response or a guaranteed score.
'It depends on the situation' is a clear position.
It becomes one the moment you say WHAT it depends on, in the same sentence. Without that it reads as avoiding the question.
Worked example: finding a library room
Professor's question. Should a university replace paper building maps with a phone app?
Ana. Yes. An app can show which rooms have changed and give students an updated route.
Ravi. No. A phone battery can die, and visitors may not have the app.
I would keep a small number of paper maps and use an app for current routes. Ana is right that an app can be updated when a room moves; a printed map might send students to yesterday's seminar room. Ravi's concern also matters. A visitor whose phone has no battery still needs to find the library desk. I would put a clear paper map beside each main entrance and let the app handle temporary changes. This costs more than choosing one format, but it gives people a reliable starting point and a way to check last-minute changes. The app should help visitors find the room, not become the room's best-kept secret.
The first sentence gives a decision. The response then extends Ana's point, takes Ravi's objection seriously and proposes a workable division of roles. It does not invent survey results or merely repeat either post.
Why does the library-map model keep some paper maps while using an app?
The app can update routes; entrance maps still guide visitors whose phones fail or lack the app. The response develops both viewpoints.