TOEFL essay sample: experience vs books

English as a Second Language Preparation for and help with the TOEFL® Test and
1

Hello alan,

i hope you dont consider my enthusiasm in writing so many essays as some kind of spam :wink:

It has been said, “Not everything that is learned is contained in books.” Compare and contrast
knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source
is more important? Why? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Obviously the best sources to increase ones knowledge are books and practical experience. In this
essay i want to contrast these two sources and point out which one is better.

Gaining knowledge by practical work is definitely the most effective method in many fields.
Without experience its almost impossible to solve certain problems even if the person has a solid
theoretical expertise.

On the other hand a broad theoretical knowledge is needed if difficult problems have to be solved.
Such knowledge can be gained by reading books or similar mediums like magazines or articles.
A person who has read a lot of books may be able to understand the core of a certain complex subject
and is able to develop new techniques or methods in this field. Moreover someone with a
solid knowledge gained from books is likely able to gain experience much faster than someone
who has never read a book.
Another important point is that in some fields its not easy or even impossible to gain experience

  • this may especialy be true in scientific fields like chemistry, biotechnology or physics. Physics
    stutents for example are often forced to get all their knowledge through books
    cause the university doesnt have the money for an expensive laboratory.

All in all i think both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. While gaining knowledge
through experience may often be funnier and is often necessary to solve real problems but in
my opinion getting knowledge through books is much more important because of the reasons mentioned
above. I think the best method to learn something new is to get a basis knowledge through reading
books and then gaining experience based upon that theoretical knowledge.

TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a student and a registration clerk during registration week

2

Hi Abbildung,

Please find some suggestions in brackets (). These brackets [] indicate I have removed some of your words I found redundant:

Obviously the best sources to increase ones (one’s) knowledge are books and practical experience. In this
essay i (I) want to contrast these two sources and point out which one is better.

Gaining knowledge by practical work is definitely the most effective method in many fields.
Without experience its (it’s) almost impossible to solve certain problems even if the person has a solid theoretical expertise. (solid exerptise - ‘expertise’ is uncountalbe)

On the other hand a broad theoretical knowledge (a broad knowledge base) is needed if difficult problems have to be solved.
Such knowledge can be gained by reading books or similar mediums (resources) like magazines or articles.
A person who has read a lot of books may be able to understand the core of a certain complex subject and [] to develop new techniques or methods in this field. Moreover, someone with a solid knowledge (base) gained from books is likely able to gain (capable of gaining) experience much faster than someone who has never read a book.

Another important point is that in some fields its not easy or even impossible to gain experience - this may especial(l)y be true in scientific fields like chemistry, biotechnology or physics. Physics stutents for example are often forced to get all their knowledge through books (be)cause the university doesn’t have the money for an expensive laboratory.

All in all i (I) think both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. While gaining knowledge through experience may often be funnier and is often necessary (in order) to solve real problems [], getting knowledge through books is much more important because of the reasons mentioned
above. I think the best method to learn (of learning) something new is to get a basis knowledge (some basic knowledge) through reading books and then gaining experience based upon that theoretical knowledge.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, talks: Requesting a quote on a service package[YSaerTTEW443543]