[TOEFL/Writing] Question 1 : Jane Austen's portrait

 The writer and the lecturer argued about whether a portrait is Austen's or not. The writer stated that the portrait's subject was her, and the lecturer insisted on the opposite.

 

First, the writer mentioned Austen's family permitted her portrait to be used as an illustration. It suggests that they knew this portrait was of her. However the lecturer argued that the illustration was authorized more than 70 years after her death. The family could not have seen her real appearance.

 

 Second, the writer argued that the reason why the portrait looked like a teenager is Cassandra's amateurish sketch. On the other hand, the lecturer argued that Austen's family was huge, and she had a vast number of female cousins who resembled Austen. Moreover, many experts believed that the woman in the portrait was her relative.

 

 Lastly, The writer pointed out that the Austen family hired a professional painter who was active between the 1780s and 1790s to draw a society portrait. In the society portrait, Austen's appearance was the same in the portrait. In contrast, the lecturer pinpointed that the canvas had a dated stamp, and the stamp meant that a seller who sold the canvas didn't sell this canvas in London while Austen lived in London. When the seller sold the canvas, she was older than the girl in the society portrait.