I recently took the new TOEFL test, and I want to inform everyone that the new format doesn't have a recess in the middle. While this might seem like a minor issue, it can become significant if you have taken the previous version of the test and are accustomed to having a break. In the new format, there's no designated break time, which can be inconvenient if you need to go to the bathroom or replace your pencil and paper during the test. During my own experience, this lack of break time became a problem. By the time I reached the speaking section, my answer sheet was full, and I needed more paper. While trying to read the question, I also had to raise my hand to request additional materials. I had been anticipating a break to use the bathroom, but there was no opportunity for one. The test was a continuous two-hour session without any pauses

Do you need more detailed feedback than I can give you in the comments? Check out my paid evaluation service over here: www.toeflresources.com/writing-section/toefl-essay-evaluation-and-scoring/

Hi Michael, thanks for your help. Here is my essay The article and the lecture are about the civilizations who collapsed in the Eastern Mediterran. The article shows some possible causes to the collapse, but the lecture disagrees with them. First, the author says that climate changes could affected the food production. However, the lecture says that there isn’t evidences of climate changes and comments that other civilizations had the same problem, but didn’t collapsed. Next, the article talks about the “Sea People”, a group of pirates which could be invaded the land and destroyed trade routes. In the lecture he argues that this group wasn’t strong enough to destroy a entire society. In the end, the author shows other theory, that deffends that the collapse happened because political and economic systems problems. But, he presents that a lot of other civilizations had this kind of problems and weren’t collapsed because of them.

Hi Michael, thanks for your help. Here is my essay: text 2 A lot of people get worried when discovery about targeted advertising, some people considerer targeted is invasion of privacy, others affirm that is ethical and can be beneficial. I agree with Rachel, and I would like to add that to me targeted can be very effective and useful to show us products that we have interest, without the targets we would always have to make a long search to find products or services that we want. Besides saving us time, the targets it’s a very good marketing for stores, making more people know about their services when it’s for they interests, if don’t have targeted would be difficult to the consumers knew new stores or new services. I also think that it is ethical if we know about them and if we could opt-out of target advertising by adjusting our privacy settings. Alice.

Targeted advertising should not be viewed as a personal attack but rather as a way of informing customers that there are other options that might be more suitable. Additionally, it makes it easier for consumers to narrow their choices and saves time and energy from research. Companies like Amazon, KZfaq and Netflix are successful because their ads help people to see items that they are interested in. Hence, advertisers get the chance to sell successfully and consumers receive something of their liking.

For the academic discussion, is it mandatory to refer to the other students opinions? thank you for the videos, huge help!

I have the same opinion with Rachel. The advertisement for specific audiences is a necessary way to be conducted by a company. Since this way of marketing can target their customers more precisely. For example, the use of social media like KZfaq or Facebook, when someone types shoes or shirts, then the related products will appear. Therefore, it will be easier for buyers to survey what they really need to purchase by eliminating the goods that they are not looking for, hence, it will safe much time and energy. Again, as long as it does not hijack someone’s private data like credit card number or complete address, there is no harm of targeted advertising due to its beneficial for more effective and efficient online shopping.

Hi Michael, thanks in advance for checking my essay. While this is a challenging topic, I believe that targeted advertising is ethical. I agree with Rachel's idea that it is a more efficient way to reach consumers. I would add that nowadays, people most of the time use the Internet for shopping more than going to malls and shops. Remember that targeted advertising was not exist twenty years ago, so this kind of advertising emerged only a decade ago with increasing use of the Internet, and fast-paced changes of technology. Since most of peoples' purchases are online, targeted advertising may help them to buy relevant products that coordinating their research. In addition, targeted advertising helps people to save time on research for desired products.

Thank you so much ❤

Hi Michael! That's my very first try of Academic Discussion Task. I'm still struggling with fast typing so it's only 102 words. My exam is in 3 days. Could you evaluate it please? This is a challenging topic but I believe that targeted advertising is a direct violation of our privacy. I strongly agree with Jessica’s point that marketing should not exploit our personal information in order to convince us to purchase something. I would add that it is not only unethical but even illegal in some circumstances. While Mike raised a relevant argument that usage of targeting in sales could decrease prices to their buyers I am still convinced that it does not justify usage of our private data. For instance, most of the apps still taking out info without our consent in many cases.

Thank you.

Hi, Michael. Thanks for this video and giving me an evaluation opportunity. Here's my answer of integrated task: The reading and the lecture are both about the Late Bronze Age Collapse. While the author of the article proposes three reasonable reasons why this happened, the lecturer disputes this idea mentioned in the article. His stance is that none of these theories is substantiated. According to the article, one of the major factors of the Late Bronze Age Collapse was climate change, which caused a loss of agricultural production. The article mentions that natural disasters also damaged this area and made this government weakened. This argument is challenged by the lecturer. He claims that there are not any reliable evidences about this natural disaster. Additionally, he claims that climate in this term was quite stable, and climate change did not cause the collapse simultaneously. Secondly, the author suggests that the sea people offended this region, which was one of the reasons for this collapse. The article notes that they were so strong because of having a lot of knowledge. The lecturer, however, asserts that this theory does not hold water because the sea people at the time were not coordinated. He goes on to say that a small group of the sea people was impossible to defeat these civilizations. Finally, the author puts forth the idea that the instability of politics and economics made this civilization weaken. The article states that inequalities of people led to their collapse. In contrast, the lecturer’s stance is unstable situation is not a unique factor of this civilization. There were other civilizations that held the same problem but did not collapse. He says that this situation is a natural feature.

1: The reading and the lecture are both about the Late Bronze Age Collapse. The author of the article feels that there are some versions of why all the Eastern Mediterranean region civilizations collapsed. The lecturer disputes the claims made in thee article. His position is that some facts about the collapse contravene these theories. According to the reading, the most popular theory is based on climate change which caused agricultural problems and natural disasters . This specific argument about civilizations collapse is challenged by the lecturer. He claimed that the recent research proved that the climate in this period was relatively stable and not so different fro the past centuries. Additionally, he claims that these civilizations did not collapse at the same time as it would happen if this theory was true. Secondly, the author of the reading suggests that the «Sea Peoples», groups of strong and smart pirates, attacked these civilizations weakening their militaries and disputing trade routs. The lecturer, however, asserts that the «Sea Peoples» were not so coordinated to destroy whole civilisations, the did not work together. He goes on saying that the local armies were strong enough do defeat the pirates. Finally, the author posits that the Late Bronse Age Collapse might be caused by egoistic government’s policy what was the reason of the political and economical instability. In contrast, the lecturer’s stance is tha a lot of civilizations had such problems, this situation is not unique. He notes that not all of them collapsed cause of government’s bad attitude, they survived for many years after that. 2: I appreciate Matt’s point of view. I think realizing that someone has a lot of information about you and uses it for offering you something that you really want is scary. But I think that Rachel’s opinion is closer to mine one. Targeted advertising helps both customers and companies. First ones get information about products and services they are already interested in, so they have more options to choose from. and companies can faster find their potential customers avoiding long time on advertising their product among people who are not interested in it. Some people may feel uncomfortable that their personal information can be stolen by someone, but companies do everything to protect their clients in out new reality.

Hi Michael, thanks in advance for scoring this task. I Do respect Matt and Rachel opinions but for me I go more with Rachel. In my opinion targeted advertising is ethical, as the company is concentrating on the consumers needs. This is much easier for the company to modify their products and be able to launch new ones that match the market. Also, they will be certain of the profitability of these products cause they know their clients. It’s all about working smart not hard. They targeted their audience and started to market themselves. Moreover, they can reach customer satisfaction easily by fulfilling their needs. And as mentioned in Rachel’s answer they can sell their items with low prices to their customers.

I have pasted my essay below so I hope you could evaluate it for me. Thanks. This is a challenging topic, but I think that targeted advertising is ethical. I strongly agree with Rachel’s idea that targeted advertising is a more efficient way to reach out customers with products and services. I’d add that though ads that pops up while browsing are sometimes annoying, if they are relevant to our interests, I suppose it would not be that annoying. While Matt raised a relevant point that tracking and usage of our personal information for marketing is not fair, he did not mention that we can protect our privacy by ourselves. Just as Rachel has mentioned, targeted advertising can be limited by changing out privacy settings. Overall, I’d say that there is no harm in targeted advertising.

hello michael! please check it out. While I appreciate the points mentioned by the Matt and Rachel, I think that target advertising isn’t invasion of privacy. Actually it is quite helpful because it can reach the persons directly to whom this product for. For instance, a toy company can target the child audience and make him attractive towards the product, and then only they can get benefit; even kid too. So it is a dominant force in our lives. Some people may feel it is risk in privacy, but I strongly believe that the impact of direct advertising is actually benefited.

Hi, Michael. I really appreciate in advance and hope my writings are successful)

Hello there, thank u very much

Hi, Micheal. Thank you in advance for checking my essay. This is my answer to task 1. Both the reading passage and the speaker are arguing why the Late Bronze Age Collapse happened, which destroyed several civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean. The article proposes three theories that might be the cause of the Late Bronze Age Collapse; however, the lecturer finds all the assumptions proposed by the author implausible and provides evidence to refute them all. Firstly, the reading passage states that climate change might be the reason for the Late Bronze Age Collapse. The drought that was followed by famine, several earthquakes, and other natural disasters eventually caused the migration of the residents of this area, besides gradual weakening and finally collapsing the government. On the other hand, the spokesperson contradicts this theory by pointing out the fact that researchers found no signs of drought and famine at that time, in addition to the fact that not all the civilizations in this area collapsed simultaneously. Also, the climate was stable, and not much of a change had happened compared to the last centuries. Furthermore, the article asserts that a group of pirates called "Sea People" might have invaded the Eastern Mediterranean and caused the downfall of the civilizations in this area. In contrast, the professor dismisses this by mentioning that the actions of the Sea People and the Late Bronze Age Collapse did not occur at the same time; moreover, these pirates were a small group whose actions would have been prevented by local militaries and could not cause damage as significant as a collapse at this time. Finally, the article claims that political and economic inequalities in the society caused a rebellion movement against the government and resulted in collapse. Nevertheless, the lecturer counters this by mentioning the fact that not all governments collapsed due to social and economic issues. In fact, many endured even for centuries. The lecturer mentions a specific civilization as a case in point that survived centuries while its social and economic problems existed a long way.

Hey Michael, please find my response for the first question and provide your valuable feedback. The article discusses about the sudden disappearance of civilisations around twelfth century. The author mentions three theories that could have been the reason behind this extinction. The lecturer disagrees. He feels that the theories provided were unconvincing and attacks the reasons provided behind these theories. The author begins by stating that climate change could was primary factor behind extinction of these civilizations. He also adds that climate change could have caused long period of drought and famine that could have adversely affected agriculture. The lecturer, however, is not aligned with the author’s claims. He says that there is no reliable evidence regarding such adverse climatic conditions and in fact, research suggests that climate was stable during this period. Additionally, not all of these civilisations collapsed at the same time, which would have been the case if drought or famine were the cause. The author also claims that the extinction could have been cause by the invasion of seafaring pirates who were known for their advanced sailing technology and military tactics. The lecturer doubts the accuracy of this claim. He says that the sea pirates were not a unified group and their actions were not co-ordinated. They were not strong enough to destroy these many civilisations and even local military could have saved them from these attacks. The author believes that collapse happened due to unstable political and economic systems. He adds that power and wealth was within a few individuals and inability of government to handle this could have caused the civilisations collapse. The professor in the reading passage feels differently. He counters this opinion by mentioning that there were many other civilisations which faced the similar issues but didn’t collapse. He even mentioned an example of Asirious civilzation which faced the same problem but survived and continued to thrive.

I highly appreciate your content, and I'd be glad if you could take a look at my essay: The lecture and passage both talk about the Late Bronze Age collapse of the population living in the Eastern Mediterranean region at the end of the twelfth century BCE. While the passage introduces several points for arguing the reasons for the end of civilization in that area, the lecture casts doubt on every theory listed in the passage. The author of the passage mentions that the entire civilization disappeared in that period due to several factors such as climate disasters, pirate invasions and political crises. The lecture casts doubt on each point of the passage for several reasons. According to the passage, climate change was one of the main reasons in the collapse due to a period of drought and famine, it was not relevant in the lecture though, because it points out that the weather was stable at the end of the twelfth century and it's not likely that would affect the collapse of the entire population but it would damage only a portion of it. In addition, the passage claims that the so-called "Sea Peoples" invaded the region and won against the civilization living there due to their sailing technology and weapons. However, the lecture describes the "pirates" as a small group and they could not plan a coordinated attack against the population. Indeed, the local army living in the region would have prevented the invasion from a small group of pirates. Lastly, the passage mentions an unstable political situation going on in the reason that brought social and economic inequalities as a reason for the population collapse, even though the lecture disputes it as an internal and natural situation with the example of political instability in Syria that didn't lead to a collapse. In conclusion, the points of the lectures contrast with the reading. The climate change, the Sea Peoples invasion and the political instability are not big problems resulting in the collapse of an entire population.

Thank you for the evaluation you have given me in your previous videos, I really appreciate that. This is my integrated essay, please evaluate this as well. In the set of the material, the passage and the speaker do not coincide with each other. The passage illustrates, the theories behind the enigma of the collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean civilization, while the speaker challenges the theories presented in the passage. First, the passage portrays that there was severe climate change happened, which causes extreme drought and famine that ultimately affected agriculture and weaken the government. On the other hand, the speaker contends that there is no reliable evidence regarding climate change, instead, the researchers have concluded that there was quite a stable climate. Moreover, other civilizations were intact at the exact time. Furthermore, the passage depicts that sea people who were outsiders invaded the region since they were quite sophisticated with sailing and had military tactics. Hence, the trade route and the local military of the civilization were disturbed. On the contrary, the speaker states that the sea people certainly had attacked the society, but their actions were not coordinated. Therefore, it is not plausible for a small group to destroy the whole civilization. Finally. the passage describes that inequality brings discontentment and rebellion among the elite class and the rest. Due to the instability in the economic and political system that followed the collapse. The speaker argues that it is not unique to have conflicts in a society. There were many other communities that incurred clashes, despite they thrived.

Hi Michael. I just practiced the sample question for academic discussion that provided by ETS. Here is the question following. If governments of some countries want to attract more people to live in the rural areas or villages, what is the best strategy or approach that governments can use? Why? Is there any tips for this type of open question that doesn't want you to choose a position? I thought I was really struggling.

The topic of target advertising has generated significant discussion in past recent years, with individuals holding various opinions on how target advertising has affected people in many ways. My personal belief is that online target advertising is totally unethical and unprofessional. The most obvious points have already been discussed by Matt. However, I would like to add that it invades the privacy of customers, and it is not safe as well. In addition, this type of marketing advertising can misuse personal information at any level. At the same time, you would not be aware of its consequences. Simultaneously, Rachel raises a valid point about effective ways of reaching consumers via target marketing. Nevertheless, while we consider privacy and safety of customers, it should not be the only way of marketing. Therefore, all these reasons support my perspective.

Hello Michael, I appreciate your opinion. Thank you very much for all your help with the materials you make. // I think that all the online advertising that uses personal information is totally unethical. On one side, persons enjoy the uses of social media but at the same time this is the way that companies get access to the person´s information. Most of the times, people don´t know that just doing like on a Facebook post or watching a KZfaq video is enough to give their data to the marketing services. For other side, social media and marketing services, even if they show to the people the information that they are taking, they make it with small letters and long text just causing boringness and pulling the people to accept the cookies instantly.

Thank you for providing me this solid work ! My essay is here: The reading and the lecture are both about some reasons of an event called Late Bronze Age Collapse. The author of the reading argues that there are some clues that indicate it had happened. The lecture, on the other hand, casts doubt on the claim made in the article. He believes that the evidence is not reliable. First, the lecture states that even though a severe drought could lead the civilization to detrimental effects, there is no clear evidence which can demonstrate the situation. Moreover, recent research points out that the climate was relatively stable back then. This refutes the argument of the reading passage that climate change undoubtedly caused the collapse. Secondly, the speaker mentions that Sea Peoples who might be one of the factors of the event are not strong enough to collapse the civilizations. Furthermore, they did not work together but worked individually. This challenges the reading passage’s assertion that Sea Peoples had an advanced sailing skill which makes them easier to collapse. Finally, the professor claims that the instability of the political and economic system has been a problem for almost every civilization in the past. He points out this is just a natural fact and cannot be the crucial factor that shows the possibility of the collapse. This rebuts the reading passage’s point that because of their weakness and imperfection of the society, the government has no ability to tackle the problem.

The topic of targeted advertising has generated much debate in recent times. My personal belief is that targeted advertising is not ethical and should be made illegal. I totally agree with Matt's point about targeted advertising being an invasion of consumers' privacy and I would like to add that our personal information may be used to cause us harm in ways still unimaginable to the mass public. I understand Rachel's concern about marketing efficiency and the cost-effectiveness of the process, but I believe she is missing a vital point in the argument. Corporations should not be allowed to be benefited at the expense of consumer safety. Overall I think that targeted advertising should be banned.

Hi thanks for providing resources for us studying for toefl. 108 word, ran out of time Personally speaking I think this a controvercial topic, but I think it can be ethical in some ways and unethical in other porspects. I disagree with Matt about advertisers shouldn’t be able to use our personal information to suggest us products and it’s not a violation of our rights, unless we refuse to give them that right, which we can just as Rachel mentions. However I don’t think targeted marketing would reduce pricing of companies, more likely it would increase companies profits. Nevertheless, I believe that the type of information companies use to sell us product could be an important factor in deciding the ethicality of targeted marketing.

Hello Michael. Here is my writing for the summary part 1 The reading suggests that for hundreds of decades, many civilizations developed in the Eastern Mediterranean and, then , disappeared around twelfth century. This explanation is supported by theories that explain the cause of such an fact, , but , the lecture considers them incorrect. While the first theory proposes that the disappearance was due to climate change, the lecture opposes such an explanation and support the idea that climate at the time was relatively stable. Climate change, the reading explains, would have caused famine, drought and earthquakes making civilizations collapse, but , the lecture proposes that not all civilizations disappeared at the same time. The second theory presents the existence of seafaring pirates who came from outside the Mediterranean to destroy the civilizations in it. However, the lecture does not support this theory and considers that pirate groups did not work together and were small in number. They could not have been able to exterminate Mediterranean civilizations because their military forces could have been enough to stop the different pirates groups. The third theory proposes that political instability was the cause of collapse. However, the lecture proposes that many civilizations had political upheavals but not all disappeared.

While a lot of people support the idea that targeted advertising is unethical, to my way of thinking, I personally believe that targeted advertising is not an invasion of one's privacy. I strongly agree with Rachel's point of view that targeted advertising is a more efficient method to reach out to more consumers with products and services. I'd add to that the fact that what targeted advertising offers are personalized options for the customers. For instance, when I personally look into a specific product online, I find later sponsored Ads with not only various alternatives to the product in need, but also sometimes possible offers and discounts. On the other hand, Matt mentioned the relevant point that the algorithms behind these targeted Ads usually rely on some personal information. However, he did not mention that we as users of such online platforms have agreed upon their terms and conditions in the first place. To illustrate, before signing up, we agree on sharing our personal information to have a better experience using these platforms. And if we are not okay with sharing, we can simply adjust our privacy settings.

Hello, Michael I have a test on 5th of August, I watched all the videos any specific tips for me ?

Can you please evaluate the following essay, My Toefl is in 6 days. thank you! "Eventhough targetted advertisements may be an efficient means for companies to get their data to reach us, I strongly believe it is an unethical practice. Although Rachel makes a point about being able to toggle our preferences, to receive or not receive targetted ads, I would like to add that the data that is sold to companies for safe advertising can quickly turn into a safety concern for us if that personal information is sold to a secondary and thus a tertiary client, reaching a domain that could be completely unregulated. Furthermore, I believe that people are aware and mature enough about their choices about and do not need to be flooded with adverstisments that suggest them to buy things they do not necessarily even need. Overall targetted advertisments would not just hurt privacy, but also wallets of customers." I have left my errors in their since the time ran out and i wasn't able to review them so that you may mark my honest performance

Hi Michael, here is my essay: The article and the lecture both describe the causes of what historians have called the Late Bronze Collapse. The Bronze Age, as the article mentions, was characterized by prosperous societies located for hundreds of years in the Mediterranean region. The paper proposes three potential reasons for the decline of these societies. In contrast, the lecturer offers three counterarguments. First, the author introduces the climate change theory. He says that radical changes may have impacted agriculture and brought famine and drought. However, the lecturer points out the lack of evidence to support that claim. In contrast, he argues that the climate seemed quite stable. Second, the author talks about the idea of pirates, whose military and technological power could have allowed them to destroy the Late Bronze Age civilizations. The lecturer refutes this idea by saying that although pirates were dangerous, they did not work together, and thus, different groups of these people would not have been enough to end these Mediterranean societies. Furthermore, these societies also had militaries that would have fought and stopped the pirates. The last reason that the author mentions is related to internal crises. He argues that because the power was centralized among a few members of the elite, the rest of society protested and rebelled. In contrast, the professor argues that every society had internal crises that did not end for this reason. He goes on by saying that the Assyrians, an example of a glorious civilization, had internal issues that did not limit them from continuing to flourish.

Hi Micheal, I'd appreciate your evaluation... I am personally of the opinion that nowadays influencers have an unbelievable impact on consumers' behaviors. In this respect, I think that influencers are becoming a major trend in societies and this could bring about many dire consequences. In my viewpoint, no one can deny the fact that influencers especially affect young people and this is why I am on same page as Jack. I want to emphasize that influencers have taken away our critical thinking ability from us and unfortunately we no longer doubt about the originality of their endorsements. In this vein, influencers can affect a society and they can endorse fake products in the favor of companies. Actually, companies can pay influencers to talk about their products. Although these products may not be original, or even healthy, when they are promoted by influencers, people tend to buy them because people no longer can use their thinking and cannot identify good from bad. Overall, although I appreciate the points mentioned by Emily, my stance is different. I think that influencers have brought about many negative impacts on societies.

CAn you give some news about who really took the new toefl ibt, how it looks alike ?

@Michael, once again thank for your time and efforts. Here is my essay and i'd appreciate if you comment on While the author of the article asserts that there are few suggestions about the likely causes of the Late Bronze Age collapse, the speaker challenges the article's statements. Furthermore, the author says that three ideas contribute to the quick collapse of civilization, including climate change, invaders, and political and economic instability, which were contrasted by the lecture and explored in the following. First and foremost, the author argues that a combination of climate change, earthquakes, and other natural disasters resulted in extended periods of drought and famine, which he feels weakened the administration of the time; however, this argument is challenged by the lecturer. He claims that there is no reliable evidence and that there is no way for this civilization to have collapsed all at once. Second, the article claims that the collapse occurred when a group of seafaring pirates entered the region. Furthermore, because sea peoples are known for their sophisticated sailing technology and military tactics, they may readily attack, disrupting commerce routes and gradually weakening the militaries of nearby civilizations. In contrast, the lecture emphasizes that the actions of a small handful of pirates have been retaliated against by the local military. Finally, the author argues that political and economic instability is a contributing factor to the collapse of Late Bronze Age civilizations. To be more explicit, the highly centralized system has fostered social and economic inequities, leading to considerable discontent and insurrection. The example given in the lecture, on the other hand, is that economic and political volatility is an inherent element of many countries. For example, he is emphasizing the situation of Syria.

Hi! I have my exam on the 23rd in the morning. Could you please give me some feedback, thanks The article focuses on the possible reasons and different theories in regard to the collapse of the Late Bronze Age of the flourishing Eastern European civilizations of the 12th century BCE. On the other hand, the lecture highlights the reasons why these theories are unconvincing. The article argues that one reason could be a period of drought and famine but the lecturer states that though famines could be a valid reason, there is no trusted evidence of such events taking place. Secondly, the article also suggests a change in climate being a reason. The theory is contended in the lecture by the fact that the climate was quite stable back then in the area, on the contrary. Another interesting hypothesis in the text is the possible disruption caused by seafaring pirates, the Sea Peoples, through their advanced sailing technology and military tactics. However, listening to the lecture we find out that that would have not been possible since the Sea Poreples’ actions were not coordinated as they were not unified nor strong enough to be capable of having such an impact. The article’s last potential reason has to do with the political instability of the countries of that region and how these may have negatively affected the socio-economic aspect. While the lecturer states that a political imbalance would have been possible since it was indeed very common back then, he argues that is also the reason why it could have not been the reason, hence multiple civilizations have survived for centuries, therefore not resulting in an obvious collapse.

The reading and the lecture are both about the collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean region in the twelfth century BCE. While the author of the article argues that climate change, violent pirates, or the instability of the economic and political systems could have caused the decline of these civilizations, the lecturer disputes the claims mentioned in the article. His position is that there must be other reasons for it. According to the reading raise in temperature induced more difficulties in the living conditions for residents. The article mentions that less food was available due to long drought periods, earthquakes, or other natural catastrophes. This argument is challenged by the lecturer. He claims that the climate was relatively stable at this time. Additionally, he points out that there was no widespread and abrupt decline. Secondly, the author suggests that violent and fearful pirates weakened the Medeteranioans. Due to raids and the plunger of cities, sea people destroyed not only parts of their militaries, but although disrupted their trade routes. The lecturer, however, asserts that these attackers were not even strong enough, nor united groups to have such a vast impact. He goes on to say that the local military would have been able to protect their citizens against such offensives. Finally, the author puts forth the idea that the government could not handle the dissatisfaction and rebellion of its inhabitants. The author contends that an extraordinary inequality of wealth was present during this period, which triggered instability that leads to the collapse of the whole system. In contrast, the lecturer`s stance is that conflicts and inequality were common for these societies, and other nations, like the Asinas, continued to thrive with troubles like that.

Hi Michael! What is the final score of these two tasks? Task1 The article and the lecture both deal with a few theories which reflect the possible causes of the Late Bronze Age Collapse. While the author of the reading offers three specific theories and provide some evidence to support them, the lecturer opposes the writer’s concerns. In his opinion, these theories are not likely to be true. First, the writer claims that one of the theories suggests that climate change was the main cause of the collapse; there could be a period of drought and famine in the area. Furthermore, it is stated in the reading that there could be earthquakes and other natural disasters which could lead to widespread food shortages and people’s migration. In contrast, the professor argues that there is no evidence that can be used to support the idea of the drought and famine. In addition, he highlights that no other civilization collapsed in that time, therefore these suggestions are irrelevant. Second, the author asserts that there could be pirate inversion. The “Sea People” had advanced sailing technology and military tactics. Moreover, he maintains that the pirate attacks could have disrupted trade routs and therefore weakened the military of local civilizations. However, the lecturer calls this argument into question by saying that the civilizations’ armies were strong enough to reflect the pirates’ attacks. On top of that he points out that the local military would prevent the invasion. Finally, the writer mentions that there could be political and economical instability in the area. The power was concentrated in the hands of a few elites, and as a result it could lead to dissatisfaction and rebellions. He adds that the government couldn’t deal with these factors. As opposed to the author, the professor holds that many ancient civilizations had such problems, nevertheless not all of them collapsed. Moreover, many of these civilizations continued to thrive next centuries. To conclude, the writer of the text believes that the mentioned theories are actually grounded, whereas the lecturer thinks the opposite. Task2 This topic is a bit challenging one, but I think that targeted advertising is actually invasion of privacy. I strongly agree with Matt’s idea that instead of monitoring and analyzing our actions advertisers can concentrate on the developing the ads’ quality. While Rachel raised a relevant point that the advertised products and services are relevant to peoples’ interests, she didn’t mentioned that some people don’t want to waste their money on additional things that are actually not that important for them, however the targeted advertising forces them to make instant purchases which they originally wouldn’t have made. Take for example my experience, I sometimes can be influenced by ads for a particular product and buy it without thinking but some time later I realize that I actually didn’t need it at all!

The passage and the lecture are both about Late Bronze Age Collapsing. The author of the reading puts forth several reasons for collapsing of the civilizations. However, the lecturer points out that author's claims are not convinced and unclear. First and foremost, the author of the reading claims that climate change was a significant factor to collapse of this civilizations. He believes that climate change caused drought and famine, including natural disasters such as earthquakes. In contrast, the lecturer states that evidence that is related to climate change is not reliable. Furthermore, he points out that recent research has shown that at that time climate change seemed stable. Secondly, the author of the reading asserts that the collapse of this civilizations happened because of invading pirates. He argues that pirates were known for their advanced sailing technology and military tactics and these allowed them to raid and plunder settlements and cities. However, the lecturer rebuts this argument. He puts forth the idea that pirates at that time did not work together and they were just in small groups. He suggests that the local policy of this civilization was strong enough to fight against them. Finally, the author of the reading mentions that the collapse occurred due to the instability of the political and economic systems. Wealth and power were handled by fewer elites. This may create social and economic inequalities. This point is challenged by the lecturer. He notes that all civilization has experienced political and economic instability and not all of them collapsed. The lecturer provides an example of Assyrians to illustrate this.

Hi, here is my response. Do let me know the places where I can improve Both the reading passage and lecture talk about the Late Bronze Age Collapse. Late Bronze Age Collapse is the period when all Eastern Mediterranean region civilizations collapsed. While the passage provides three theories that may have been the cause for the said phenomenon, the lecturer refutes each one of them and calls them unconvincing. Firstly, the passage elaborates on how droughts and famines, caused by climate change and natural disasters, could have been the reason for collapse of the civilizations. On the other hand, the speaker tells us that there are no reliable evidences to prove this point. The professor mentions a recent research stating that the climate at that time was stable. Further, the civilizations did not collapse at the same time, which implies that natural disaster was not the cause. Secondly, the passage describes, disruption of trade routes and weakening of the army by pirates or "Sea People", responsible for the collapse of civilizations. In contrast, the lecturer asserts that the actions of these pirates were not co-ordinated and they did not work togeather. The speaker goes on to add that these pirates were not strong enough to take down an entire civilization and that the military were capable to fight these pirates. Lastly, the passage blames instable political and economic system, and the inability of the government to deal with these problems, as one of the reasons for the collapse. However, the professor maintains that political instability was common during that time. Although, most of the governments was characterized by internal conflicts and unrest, many survived without undergoing a collapse. The speaker provides an example of Asirians and how they had all such problems, but went on to live and thrive for years. Thank you!

I agree with matt in some things and disagree the same goes to Rachel. I think that targeted advertising is a little bit of an invasion of privacy but not unethical at all because we need this to happen to be more simple to buy what we want and more efficient to all of the buyers, if this didn’t exist we would have difficulty to find something that we like and here to find with the advertising is more easier to provide this information on what we need to buy or not buy if its good or not , is a invasion of privacy but a beneficial one not a bad one.

I will be taking it tomorrow insha'allah pray for me

Targeted advertisement is definitely an invasion of privacy. Despite changing the privacy settings, we might be victims of a company that violates boundaries. Some websites can sneakily collect data from consumers. Additionally, I wonder how long the company keeps the collected data after privacy settings are adjusted to one’s preferences. Underage teens who recklessly surf the internet could be victims of this system. They do not pay heed to privacy and their information may be stored for a certain period of time without consent by companies. Ultimately, one should not trust any stranger online with their information. Unethical collection and storage of information makes these companies seem like a predator looking for victims. Thank you for your time and guidance.

The topic of targeting advertising has ignited much discussion in recent times. My personal belief is that holding targeted advertising is ethical is an example of muddled thinking. I understand Rachel's concern over the convenient way of reaching customer's, but i believe she misses another critical dimension. Many irrevelent ads are shown to the people's electronic devices- computer, mobile, ipad, etc. Consequently, these ads makes our electronic device get hanged and frustrates people with mood being fuzzy. Its certainly clear to see why those outnumbered ads problem us and forces us up the wall. Drawing from own experience, i have personally witnessed and frustrated from the ads number of targeted advertising company since my childhood. In nutshell, because of those most irritable advertisements; which is why i believe it is crucial to avoid targeted advertising.

The article and lecture are both about the collapse of civilized Eastern Mediterranean region called Late Bronze Age Collapse. The author of the article refers to some theories directing the causes of these abrupt disruption while the lecturer disputes the claims presented in the article by challenging the validity of theories as the reasons are unconvincing to historian. According to the reading, the climate change followed by drought and famine has adversely affected their farming productions. Besides, natural disasters, including earthquake, has ruined the region. This specific argument is challenged by the lecturer. He claims that there is no reliable evidence showing unstable climate change as the earlier centuries. Additionally, he claims that in the case of natural disaster, all the regions would have been collapsed at once which is not the case. Secondly, the author suggests that the invasion of seafaring pirates, called sea people, is the reason for the ruin of these areas. In the article it is said that using their advanced sailing technology and military tactics, they invaded the coastal cities and weakened their military power. The lecturer, however, asserts that although the Pirates were dangerous, they were not coordinated and unique to be able to penetrate the regions and loot them. Finally, the author puts forth the idea that the weakness of political and economic systems has undermined the civilization. the author contends that the centralized emperors looted all the wealth and power of the region leading to a widespread dissatisfaction in the society which ended up with collapse of the society. In contrast, the lecturer’s stance is that such an approach had been always dominate in all ancient civilizations. She notes that all the nations had experienced this as a natural feature of most government for hundreds of years.

Hello sir, which tense is better to use while writing integrated Essay ?

From my perspective, targeted advertising is an ethical issue that indeed invades our privacy. I strongly agree with Jessica's viewpoint that advertisers should not exploit our personal information to sell us products. Furthermore, I would like to add that targeted advertising lacks creativity since advertisers overly rely on customers' online behaviors. Consequently, they fail to concentrate on creating high-quality ads that can appeal to a broader audience. Mike raised a relevant point that we can always opt out of targeted advertising by adjusting our privacy settings. However, he failed to mention the often elusive nature of this option, buried within complex settings menus. Moreover, once users agree to a privacy policy, their information is typically recorded, and even if they later revoke their consent, the collected data may have already been amassed and cannot be automatically erased.

The reading and the lecture are about the collapse of the late old bronze age. The author of the reading presented three arguments that may cause the collapse: climate change, invasion of pirates, and instability of the political system. The lecturer challenges the author and questioned the arguments expressed by the author. Firstly, the reading says that climate change could be one reason of the collapse. According to the reading, the climate change caused dry and arid which destroyed the agriculture, so the people suffered under a shortage of food production. However, the lecturer challenges this idea. He notes that there is no realible evidence for this claim. Furthermore, he says that at the same time other civilizations were stable and that they did not collapse at the same time, so it can be assumed that they were rather stable. Second, the athor argues that sea people, to be specific, pirates invaded the terrain and plundered and were responsible for riots and that this demolished the trade routes. The lecturer has a different idea about this as well. He says that the pirates consist of a small groups which cannot attacked and defeated a whole society and that their actions were not cordinated. Finally, the author claims that the entirely political system were controlled by few, the elite, and that may cause inequality and distributed dissatisfaction that triggered a rebellion. In contrast, the lecturer argues that the society suffered both internal and external inequality and that may other governments surivied and withstanded hundred of years and that this cannot be a reason for the collapse of the bronze age.

In my opinion, I strongly believe that targeted advertising has a negative impact on people due to ethical concerns. Advertisers often raise concerns about privacy violations, as they use personal information without explicit consent. Users may feel uncomfortable when they see their personal data being used in this manner. For instance, I recall a famous company that used their customer's personal data and found themselves in trouble when the customer complained and pursued legal action. After this issue, the company's reputation suffered, and customers had a negative experience with targeted advertising. I believe this process is unethical, and companies should explore alternative ways to engage their users.

In my opinion, targeted advertising is not morally acceptable and should not use people's personal information, which aligns with Matt's idea. In this regard, I want to add that people's personal information should be kept secure and away from businesspeople because this information can be used in advertising to encourage people to buy products based on their interests, which can end up costing people money. In fact, when business owners have access to this data, they design their advertisements in a way to attract the attention of people, leading them to gain a lot of financial profits. Although Rachel mentioned an important point that targeted advertising can help people buy products they need and reduce the price of products, she overlooked the fact that companies tend to use advertising to make their goods appealing to increase the sales rate of their products. In this situation, they will be less likely to provide customers with lower prices.

Thanks you so much for your response. Please review my answer to this question and kindly give an estimate score: 1) The given passage succinctly introduces us to the topic of the sudden collapse of East Mediterranean civilisations during the Late Bronze Age. The author of the article proposes three possible hypothesises for the same. On the contrary, the speaker in the listening passage outrightly refuses all the hypothesises. He very intellectually gives a brief explanation about why he believes so. The first theory elicits that changing climatic conditions played a very notable role in the collapse. To add weight to this theory, it is predicted that the there were long periods of droughts, famine and earthquakes in the region. The summation of such events may have lead to agricultural insufficiency and weakening of the government. The counter given by the speaker for climate change is that recent research has suggested that a stable environment existed during the Late Bronze Age. If it were to be a catastrophic calamity, then all civilisations existing in the region should have been wiped off. But it wasn’t so. The second possibility guesses a possible invasion from the “Sea Peoples.” They basically were a group of sea pirates who possessed an organised military and were responsible for raiding the cities along the coastline. It is believed that they blocked the trading routes and conquered over the local military. But the speaker thinks differently. He narrates that the “Sea People” weren’t a cohesive unit who were fighting for a common cause. They were just a bunch of pirates who came there to loot. The local army, in such a scenario would have easily been able to control this scattered group. The third belief forecasts a situation of a failed state. There existed a stark divide amongst the elite and the working class, so much so that they revolted against the government. The speaker refutes this claim by saying that instability was not a novel thing for governments back then. There have been historical instances of government surviving for hundreds of years despite been grossly mismanaged. Thus, in conclusion I have been introduced to this unique period in world history which has been quite a mystery for many and continues to be so.

The main idea discussed in the reading and lecture was about the theories behind the collapse of civilizations that flourished in the Eastern Mediterranean region. While the reading passage provides three theories to substantiate the cause of collapse the lecturer demurs the theories. Firstly, the passage posits climate change to be a major cause of the collapse. The passage corroborates the idea by stating the possibility of having a lengthy period of drought and famine. However, the lecturer is against this theory and states that extensive research conducted in this area points out the stability in climate over the past century and did not vary from the previous prevailing climatic condition. Secondly, the passage puts forth seafaring pirates called the Sea Peoples evasion as another theory for the collapse of civilization. The militaries of the local civilizations might have been weakened by the invasion and raid conducted by the pirates. The lecturer, however, defies this theory as pirates were not coordinated in their actions and the militaries of the local civilizations weren't weak enough to be exploited by the sporadic attack of the pirates. Finally, the passage suggests the instability in political and economic systems is the cause of the collapse of civilization. The inability of the government to deal with social and economic inequality might have caused the collapse. The lecturer argues against this theory by providing supporting evidence. He defends his stance by stating that many civilizations have thrived and have also avoided collapse. He further adds that the internal and external conflicts weren't challenging to manage. The lecturer, therefore, opposes every theory stated in the passage.

The article and the letter are both about the collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean civilization. While the author of the reading thinks that this happened for three specific reasons, the lecture disputes the claim presented in the article. His position is that those theories about the late bronze collapse are unconvinced. According to the reading, the first main reason for the flourishing was climate change. The article mentions that long periods of drought have happened. As a result, agriculture was affected and the people began to be hungry. Moreover, natural disasters have led the population vulnerable. However, the speaker opposes the reading and argues that there is no reliable evidence of this climate issue. Meanwhile, researchers have shown that the climate was stable and the collapse happened at different times. Secondly, the author suggests that seafaring, known as sea people, could be another reason for the collapse. Furthermore, the presence of those invasions may have disrupted trade routes and also weakened military forces. On the other hand, the lecture contrasts this argument and argues that there was no coordinated action in those attacks. Therefore, the sea people were not strong enough to destroy the entire civilization. Finally, the author puts forth the idea that not only political instability but also economic issue had happened before the vanish of this population. In addition, there was financial instability because of the concentration of power and wealth on the elite. As a result, the people started a revolution because there have been dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the lecturer’s stance is that the political instability was spread out over surrounded regions, not only in the late bronze. Despite of this problem, other civilizations have survived many years and continued to thrive.

Both the article and the lecture delve into the realm of the theories on collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean civilization. Whilst the author of the reading vehemently contends that this happened for three specific reasons, the lecture reprimands the author's claim with his own eyes giving involved rationale. His position is that those theories about the late bronze collapse are unconvinced. First and foremost, the author contends that main reason for the flourishing was "climate change". The article mentions that long periods of drought have happened, as a result, agriculture was affected. For these reasons, people began to suffered from famine. Moreover, natural disasters have led the population vulnerable. However, the speaker opposes the reading and argues that there is no reliable evidence of this climate issue. Meanwhile, researchers have shown that the climate was stable, and the collapse happened at different times. Secondly, the author suggests that seafaring, known as sea people, could be another reason for the collapse. Furthermore, the presence of those invasions may have disrupted trade routes and also weakened military forces. On the other hand, the lecture contrasts this argument and argues that there was no coordinated action in those attacks. Therefore, the sea people were not strong enough to destroy the entire civilization. Finally, the author puts forth the idea that not only political instability, but also economic issue had happened before the vanish of this population. In addition, there was financial instability; the concentration of power and wealth on the elite. As a result, the people started a revolution: there have been dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the lecturer's stance is that the political instability was spread out over surrounded regions (not only in the late bronze). Despite of these problem, other civilizations have survived many years- and continued to thrive, then. To recapitulate, both the author and professor maintain disparate perspectives on the theories of sudden collapse of civilizations. While, the author presents several theories as key solutions, the lecturer raises valid concerns about challenges and setbacks in those theories.

Hi Micheal, thank you for the video and thank you beforehand if you find time for checking my integrated writing The article and lecture are both about the reasons for the historical fact known as the Bronze Age Collapse, the collapse of all the civilizations in the end of thirteenth century BCE. Three theories are described in the article and the lecturer disagrees with these theories by bringing his arguments. Firstly the lecturer opposes the hypothesis of climate change and natural disasters supported by the author of the article. He claims that there is no evidence for this theory and that the climate change occured in a stable way. Furthermore he adds that the disasters mentioned in the article happened in different timeframes. Hence these could not be the reason for the collapse, as it happened at the same time for all the civilizations. Secondly the lecturer finds the theory of Sea People invasion, an attack from the people who came from the sea. He disagrees with the author’s statement that the new military techniques used by the Sea People weakened the country’s armies. His reasoning is that the attack was not an organized act and could not cause the fall of organized military forces of the civilizations. Finally the lecturer talks against the theory of politics being a reason for the collapse. He mentions that the corrupted, monopolistic and authoritarian governments were not the unique qualities of the Late Bronze age civilizations. According to him this type of political culture existed before that time and afterwards, so he disagrees with this view claimed by author as well.