TOEFL iBT Integrated Writing Task
Alexandrian
library sample essay
In this set of materials, the reading passage describes the ancient
library at Alexandria, and the listening passage discusses how and when
it was destroyed.
The reading passage informs us that the library at Alexandria was the
greatest in the ancient world, with the largest collection of books
existing at that time. It was founded by Ptolemy I and expanded under
Ptolemy II. Ptolemy wished to gather not only a copy of every book ever
written in Greek, but also works from other countries. As a result the
library was said to contain hundreds of thousands of books. The books
were acquired in various ways. Some were bought, some were obtained
through trade, some taken from citizens in debt to the state, and
otheres from ships in Alexandria harbour.
In the listening passage, we are informed that the library no longer
exists and that there is debate about its fate. Traditionally, Julius
Caesar was blamed for the destruction of the library. He attacked
Alexandria in 44 BCE and it was thought the library was burned down
during the assault. However, scholars now feel that this was not so.
The library was mentioned in works written hundreds of years after
Caesar’s death, and these references continued up to the 4th century
CE. It seems that around this time the people of Alexandria started to
destroy non-Christian temples and books, and it is considered likely
that the library was destroyed at this time. (241)
Please
do not write a conclusion in the real test , you will not have time to
do this.
However, if I had to write a
conclusion, I might write something like this -
Again we can see evidence that the study of history is not a rigid
discipline and that accepted ‘truths’ are often challenged in later
years.
Click here
for reading passage
Click here
for listening transcript
Click here
for sample notes
Click here
for sample essay
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