TOEFL independent writing tests the candidate’s writing skills through an essay of around 300 to 400 words. The candidates need to provide their thoughts, ideas, relevant examples, and also personal experiences to form the essay. This TOEFL independent writing sample talks about the need for a new shopping center in the neighborhood. Candidates will come across more topics in TOEFL writing practice papers.

Topic: Does the neighborhood need a new shopping center?

Model Answer 1:

Every place needs to be developed in terms of technology, works, hospitality, real estate, and more. My neighborhood is no exception, and building a shopping center definitely indicates advancement. Building a shopping center has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage being the rise in traffic congestion and communication issues. Though, the construction of a shopping center will result in a high volume of employment offers and advancement in the culture as well. I am personally in favor of the building of a shopping center.

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Among the few things I am concerned about are traffic congestion and parking space issues. Our neighborhood is already a cramped place with very little space for parking. The construction of a shopping center will make the place a cluster of people. There will be little or no space for vehicles, which will lead to traffic congestion, and eventually a fuss among people. There are very limited availability of garages for parking. This makes people go haywire in finding a parking space for their vehicles. Since there is not much parking space provided, most residents park their vehicles on the street itself. With the construction of a shopping center, there will be a fight for space. And if the center offers valet parking then it will instantly turn the scene even worse. Valet parking means space will be reserved for those who can grab it earlier. Valet parking means it will take most of the available space on the road again.

Coming to the advantages, the construction of the shopping center will result in the boost of employment opportunities. There are many people in our neighborhood who have been unemployed for a prolonged period. They will have the chance to earn their livelihood and lead a better life. With the income from working at the shopping center, they can spend it on entertainment, education, and more. This will lead to the continuity of the other important businesses as well. This will result in a rise in inter-community businesses and people will witness a rise in fortune. In fact, the local businesses will also see an improvement in their business. People will know about the wide variety of products sold by the local businesses.

In conclusion, it can be said that the advantages surpass the disadvantages in many ways. Employment and income are both very important factors in a person’s livelihood.

Model Answer 2:

The construction of a shopping center in my neighborhood seems to be a good option for many. But personally, I think it will not be fruitful to build the same as it will cause certain problems. The following factors will elaborate on the reasons for my thinking of the construction to cause issues.

The construction of the shopping center would lead to the unemployment of many local business owners. It is true that the shopping center will offer a certain amount of jobs to the locals. But the number of local business owners being forced out of their businesses will impact society. Their earnings will be highly affected. When our neighborhood witnessed the construction of a shopping center, it made one of my favorite stationery stores run out of business. The shopping center had many stationery stores but none of them comprised products similar to the quality of the previous local store. The local stores employed experts with high pay but the shopping centers mainly hire teenagers with low pay and make them overwork.

The second factor is the distance from the neighborhood. Though the shopping center is constructed in our neighborhood, the locality is quite far away from the main point. Previously, the local stores used to be located right at the center of the town, enabling everyone to purchase things just by walking for a few minutes. This shopping center would make people either avail themselves of public transportation or drive their car to reach. This will affect their health as well.

In the long run, it will be detrimental to people’s health as well as the local businesses. In conclusion, it can therefore be said that the construction of the shopping center may seem glamorous but will affect the livelihood of the local business owners.