TOEFL sample essay 1.

Topic: Some people like to eat in restaurants and at foodstands, others like to eat at home. Which do you prefer? Give reasons and examples to support your choice.

 

Eating out can be a very pleasurable experience. Having dinner with a friend, eating a romantic meal while on a date or celebrating some special event with a party at a restaurant are all things we enjoy doing. Even so, there are few people who eat out all the time and eating at home has many points in its favor. It is cheaper to eat at home. It is healthier to eat at home and it is usually much more comfortable. For me, there is no doubt that I prefer eating at home.

Firstly, eating at home is much less expensive than eating in a restaurant. Obviously, when we eat at home we do the preparation, cooking and serving of the food ourselves and, therefore, do not need to pay the labor costs of cook, waiter and other restaurant staff. Similarly, we have no other overheads to pay for such as restaurant rent and high utilities�Ebills. A further cost saving is that we shop for the ingredients of our home-cooked meals ourselves and can choose those which are cheaper in price.

Secondly, eating at home is much better for our health and general wellbeing than dining outside. At home, when cooking for ourselves, we can ensure that what goes into our meals is not bad for us. We can control the amount of oil we use. We can control the amount of salt we use and we can balance our diet to suit our own individual needs. When we eat at a restaurant, none of these things are possible. At home we can also cook just enough food to satisfy us. In a restaurant we are often given too much or too little food on our plate.

Finally, eating at home is much more comfortable than having dinner or lunch in a public place. At home, we can be more relaxed than in a restaurant. We can wear comfortable, casual clothes; even pyjamas. We can sit in a comfortable position on our favorite chair, on the sofa or on the floor. If we wish, we can watch TV or a video, or listen to a radio program. None of these can be done at a restaurant. Furthermore, at home we do not have to worry about disturbing other diners and can talk and laugh as loudly as we want without fear of upsetting people sitting nearby us.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that for reasons of comfort, cost and health, eating at home is preferable to eating in a restaurant or at a foodstand. Although I enjoy eating out now and again and usually do so about once a week, it is not something I could do every day. Sitting in my comfortable clothes, in front of the TV and with a good, home-cooked meal in front of me, I am happy and that is why I like eating at home more than eating at a foodstand or in restaurant. (492 words)

 

No see how the essay can be broken down into the kind of structure that is usually required in the TOEFL test independent writing section.

 

Background info

Thesis statement

How essay will develop

Topic sentence

Support sentence

Restatement in conclusion

Transition words

 

Eating out can be a very pleasurable experience. Having dinner with a friend, eating a romantic meal while on a date or celebrating some special event with a party at a restaurant are all things we enjoy doing. Even so, there are few people who eat out all the time and eating at home has many points in its favor. It is cheaper to eat at home. It is healthier to eat at home and it is usually much more comfortable. For me, there is no doubt that I prefer eating at home.

Firstly, eating at home is much less expensive than eating in a restaurant. Obviously, when we eat at home we do the preparation, cooking and serving of the food ourselves and, therefore, do not need to pay the labor costs of cook, waiter and other restaurant staff. Similarly, we have no other overheads to pay for such as restaurant rent and high utilities�Ebills. A further cost saving is that we shop for the ingredients of our home-cooked meals ourselves and can choose those which are cheaper in price.

Secondly, eating at home is much better for our health and general wellbeing than dining outside. At home, when cooking for ourselves, we can ensure that what goes into our meals is not bad for us. We can control the amount of oil we use. We can control the amount of salt we use and we can balance our diet to suit our own individual needs. When we eat at a restaurant, none of these things are possible. At home we can also cook just enough food to satisfy us. In a restaurant we are often given too much or too little food on our plate.

Finally, eating at home is much more comfortable than having dinner or lunch in a public place. At home, we can be more relaxed than in a restaurant. We can wear comfortable, casual clothes; even pyjamas. We can sit in a comfortable position on our favorite chair, on the sofa or on the floor. If we wish, we can watch TV or a video, or listen to a radio program. None of these can be done at a restaurant. Furthermore, at home we do not have to worry about disturbing other diners and can talk and laugh as loudly as we want without fear of upsetting people sitting nearby us.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that for reasons of comfort, cost and health, eating at home is preferable to eating in a restaurant or at a foodstand. Although I enjoy eating out now and again and usually do so about once a week, it is not something I could do every day. Sitting in my comfortable clothes, in front of the TV and with a good, home-cooked meal in front of me, I am happy and that is why I like eating at home more than eating at a foodstand or in restaurant.