Writing Study Guide for the TOEFL Test

Enhancing Writing

Beyond the basics discussed above, there are ways to develop your writing that will be noted by scorers. Here are a few of them.

Organization

One of the most important points in the scorers’ evaluation of your writing is organization. In other words, how you put your thoughts together. The scorers will look for signs that you really understand how to explain your response.

Additionally, did you do what the task asked of you? Did you summarize, link ideas, compare and contrast, and did you develop them according to the task? Be careful not to repeat ideas as you write.

Transitions

Transitions are essential in connecting sentences and paragraphs. Good use of transitions will ensure a smoothly executed essay and lock in a higher score. Think of transitions as road signs. They help the reader understand the direction of your thought.

Know which transition words are appropriate for use in various situations. Make a list of transition words that signal the coming of additional information, contrasting information, sequence of events or procedures, causes and conditions, examples and support, effects, and concluding arguments.

Word Usage

Try to use varied language structures and a wide vocabulary. Just be sure you understand what you are writing. If you misuse words just to appear smart, the effect will be the opposite, and your score will reflect that.

TOEFL scorers are trained to look for how the test taker uses words. Are the word choices appropriate, rich, colorful, accurate, and precise? To make sure that you cover all these areas in your responses, practice writing sentences and then expanding them by including adjectives and adverbs to make your statements clearer. For example, look at these two sentences and choose which sentence would receive a higher score:

The horse eats grass in the meadow.

The young black stallion slowly eats the tall, soft grass in the large meadow nestled between the two regal mountains of the Northwest.

To get a higher score, you should also know words that are commonly confused and make sure that you know how to use them correctly, such as affect/effect. Affect is a verb, while effect is a noun. You can find many examples online.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is another important area that the scorers will look at when evaluating your response, and includes:

• word choice—You should choose words that are appropriate and accurate. Practice looking up synonyms for key words you know so that you can use those words in your writing.

• variety—Use a variety of words in your response. Don’t use the same words over and over again. Again, using synonyms is a good way to improve your writing and, thus, your score.

• idiomaticity—Idiomaticity involves how natural-sounding your writing is. Are you writing in the same manner as a native speaker? Are you using expressions that are associated with native speakers? For example, “Happy New Year” is preferred over “Merry New Year.”

The best ways to build your vocabulary are to study idiomatic expressions, read sample responses, and look up synonyms for keywords.

Sentence Variety

Scorers are trained to evaluate the variety of sentences that you use. So ensure your responses include complete, simple, compound, and complex sentences. Get to know these types of sentences and practice using them while you prepare for the test.

Writing Practice Strategies

There are lots of things to consider before taking the TOEFL Writing section. Here are a few strategies to help you improve your score.

Keyboarding

The Writing section of the TOEFL test is done electronically, so you will need to have good keyboarding skills. TOEFL testing centers use the traditional QWERTY keyboard, so familiarity with it is essential for success in the Writing section. A keyboarding speed of 35 words per minute is necessary to finish the tasks in time. If you are not quite there, practice keyboarding drills online before test day.

Time Limits

Practice answering sample TOEFL tasks within a time limit and the correct word count that you will encounter on test day. There are many sources of practice. It may be difficult at first, but with practice and the use of specific techniques, you’ll be able to write under the time limit, giving you time to proofread and modify your responses if needed.

Planning

Since the current writing tasks are short, you probably won’t have much time for notetaking, but your pen and paper or whiteboard could still be useful. Remember, though, that this is not the time to form those complete sentences. Just jot down one- or two-word ideas or points you want to remember as you think of them. Try experimenting with this as you practice.

Proofreading

If you can type 35 words per minute, then you should be able to finish each task relatively early. This provides the opportunity to re-read your response, proofreading for spelling, grammar, and mechanical mistakes (punctuation and capitalization). It’s also a good time to check that your content is complete, concise, has good transitions, and that you have done what the task has asked of you. Use this skill as you practice to become comfortable with it.

Reading Professional Material

Look at professional writing and TOEFL examples, especially emails and discussions. You can find these in professional journals and online. Notice the structure, the use of transitions, and how the writer uses supporting statements and details to relay an opinion or argument. You can also find email-writing guidance online, including the type of email structure that would be used in formal and semi-formal situations.

Active Analysis

Actively analyze your practice responses. What does this mean? Before, during, and after you write your response, you should analyze or look out for the elements that we have mentioned in this study guide to make certain that you have fulfilled all the requirements needed for a higher score.

Synonym Search

Your word choice paints a picture for the reader, so what you write is critical to how the reader visualizes what you wrote. You need to use a variety of words. Sometimes we get “stuck” on a word, and then we find that we’ve used that word several times in our writing. Broadening your vocabulary with synonym searches will help you paint a more vibrant picture for the reader/scorer.

While you won’t have time to do these searches during the test, you can get ahead of the game by conducting a variety of them during practice writing. For example, you can do a synonym search for a word such as important. Upon searching, we find that we can use the synonyms essential, key, main, critical, and principal. We also find synonyms for the transitional word, and. They are moreover, furthermore, additionally, in addition to, and along with. Using these tools, you’re ready to write!