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TOEFL writing sample
4. 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?
People always are learning and practicing through their whole lives.
From reading words in text book such as toy, car, train etc. , people
have the concept and ideas. They further understand the actual meaning
of these words by playing toys and riding or driving cars, trains etc.
Education (books) and experience are the main two channels for People to
gain their knowledge. Each play different roles for people. In my
opinion, knowledge from experience is more important than that from
books.
Experience first can prove if the knowledge form books are true or
false. Textbooks are very wonderful in teaching people essential
principles, how is the world looks like? what is the basic law of change
of people and things? We can learn a lot through primary school,
secondary school until university. However, people can only understand
the really meaning of those form books and justify them if they are
right through practices. A few hundred years ago, people learnt from
text book that the earth was flat. However scientists found that was
wrong through observations and measurement.
The knowledge from experience can improve and advance the world and our
society. As books have limitation, they only teach us the what people
found in the past. The knowledge from the books are constrained to the
certain conditions and environment. For example, mould and tools design
for plastics industry, the university course only taught me very simple
cases, most knowledge are obtained from various different and
complicated cases in my career.
There are a lot new inventions and new products which could not be found
from textbooks. Our society and world are developed through continuous
practices, those knowledge, never found in books, such as internet,
e-business etc. are all developed through new practices.
"The truth comes from practices and experience", people are continually
discovering new things and assessing the creditability of the knowledge
written in books. The knowledge from experience help us much more than
those from books.
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