TOEFL Independent Writing
Essay Topic: Never, Never Give Up
From TOEFL TWE No. 40/185
Example Answer by Jeenn Lee Hsieh
The expression "Never, never give up" means to keep trying and never stop working for your goals. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your opinion.
Not giving up on your dreams means to be smart enough to identify the right goals and go from where you are to where you want to be. However, if you are taking the wrong set of actions, you are not getting very far unless you decide to quit half-way and change your strategy in the right direction. Be honest to yourself about the issue of success, do you really believe that winners never quit and quitters never win?
On the one hand, it is generally believed that if you never give up, you will be successful. That is because successful people are motivated by a strong desire, as if being capable of "moving mountains" in order to reach their goals. In other words, persistence is the key to success, no matter what. Perhaps, you cannot fail to see that successful people keep moving from one action to another. They make mistakes once in a while but they never quit taking actions. Such vitality shows in the ability to persist without getting lost in the pursuit of happiness and to finally make success happen.
On the other hand, it is better to quit at a certain point when you realize that wrong choices are made and that you need to start over for more realistic objectives. That is exactly what the majority of people do. Therefore, without open eyes, perseverance to aim highly would go nowhere near success in many work fields. For that matter, the basic question is what you like doing and being good at the job. Here is a point to ponder: If at first you don't succeed, try try again, then give up. There is no use being a blind fool about wishing to be successful with the wrong kinds of jobs.
To sum up, for you to win, it is necessary under certain circumstances to find out a new way and to avoid following the wrong dreams. The expression "never, never give up" certainly makes a difference in life if your dreams are not far from being realistic, nor are your goals exceedingly above your weight. On balance, it is certainly important never to quit; however, no less important is to be true to yourself, thinking that those who never quit and never win are probably "idiots". (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh)
