On the TOEFL, according to ETS, an essay receiving a score of 5 has the following characteristics: ¢ It effectively addresses the topic and the task.. For example; practice speaking alou
Trang 1The second option, and certainly the more appealing one, involves raising the land level along the shore This approach, although certainly a far costlier one, offers several
advantages
First, it does not require the removal or demolition of buildings instead,
the entire land mass is raised to protect it from the ocean Second, the federal government does not have to intervene
in the form of land buys or flood insurance Despite these benefits, many communities
choose not to raise the land due to the great cost and large amount of labor involved
To raise the land, sand must be pumped onto the beach (including the underwater part of
the beach) until the land level gradually rises in addition, roads, houses, and other structures
must be gradually raised again The size of this undertaking prevents many communities from
considering it
One of the major hurdles facing policy makers is the lack of urgency surrounding
the onset of global warming and rising sea levels Many communities do not see the
need for taking action
in response to a situation that will not materialize for another 100 years
However, considering the possible consequences of inaction, community leaders would be advised
to begin serious discussions as to their preferred strategy
Purpose:
How is the passage structured?
Paragraph 3:
Paragraph 6:
70 Mi CRACKING THE TOEFL
Trang 2
RS TO FINAL EXAM
= The purpose of this passage is to provide a possible solution to a problem The first paragraph ees a situation that would cause Earth’s temperature to rise The next two paragraphs reveal sences of the warming After that, the author discusses two possible solutions Finally, the
states that leaders need to act soon
ris the passage structured? Because the purpose of the passage is to provide a solution to a the passage predictably contains information on the problem and the solutions The first agraphs all deal with the nature of the problem, and the next three deal with the possible zaph 1: This paragraph indicates that a doubling of carbon dioxide leads to an increase in ure The “although” near the end of the passage should be noted The sentence states that
ming seems inevitable
raph 2: The author gives information on the consequence: a rise in sea levels
ber, you don’t need to pay too much attention to the details
sraph 3: This paragraph continues the discussion of results of the rise in sea level Note the
ex: this is a direction word
raph 4: Now the author introduces two major approaches to solving the problem The first solution is the no-protection approach Did you find the direction word at the end of the ph? Note that this approach places a financial burden on the government
sraph 5: This is the second option, and it is important to note that the author favors it (“more
=") The second option involves raising the land level There are quite a few direction mark-
&S paragraph
aph 6: The author ends with a “hurdle,” or obstacle, to solving the problem The author
‘ple should decide soon on the best solution and act on it
‘is the main idea?
§ are two main approaches to dealing with rising sea levele caused by global warming, and Jes should give thought to which strategy they will use
Worp oN READING
sent a lot of time working with passages, but the time has been well spent The elements of which we've looked form the core of the skills required to do well on the TOEFL
_we’re going to see how our reading skills aid us in two other areas of the TOEFL: writing aking
CORE CONCEPT #1: THE READING SECTION M@ 71
Trang 3
Core Concept #2:
Writing and Speaking
on the TOEFL
Trang 4The TOEFL is an integrated exam, meaning that each task may measure more than one ability But
the TOEFL is also a standardized test, which means that it consists of definite patterns Your goal
when taking the TOEFL is to make sure your written and spoken responses conform to the patterns present on the test
The reading selections in Chapter 2 will form the foundation of your writing and speaking goals The more your writing and speech mirrors the reading selections, the better your scores will be
In the “real” world, writing and speaking are two very different skills But on the TOEFL, the basic skills on which you will be graded are very similar Thus, we've combined the writing and speaking core concepts into one chapter Many of the constructions that you use in your writing can easily be transferred to your speaking Similarly, many of the forms you use when speaking can also be used when writing As you work through this chapter, practice speaking aloud the words you write and writing down the words you speak
SCORING ON THE WRITING SECTION
By examining the scoring guidelines for the Writing and Speaking sections, we can gain a better un- derstanding of what our goals should be for this section We'll start with the writing guidelines The writing responses will be graded on a scale of 0 to 5 On the TOEFL, according to ETS, an essay receiving a score of 5 has the following characteristics:
¢ It effectively addresses the topic and the task
¢ It is well organized and well developed, using clearly appropriate explanations,
exemplifications, and/or details
¢ It displays unity, progression, and coherence
¢ It displays consistent facility in the use of language, demonstrating syntactic variety, appropriate word choice, and idiomaticness, although it may have minor lexical or grammatical errors
At the other end of the scoring scale, an essay receiving a score of 1 suffers from
* serious disorganization or underdevelopment
e little or no detail, irrelevant specifics, or questionable responsiveness to the task
e serious or frequent errors in sentence structure or usage
Essays receiving a score of 0 are blank, are written in a foreign language, merely copy sentences from the prompt, or consist of random keystrokes
Wuat THE Writinc Scorinc Guipevines Mean
Each of the first three scoring guidelines relates to one of the topics on which we worked in Chapter
2 Here’s how
1 The essay effectively addresses the topic and the task This guideline corresponds
to the work we've done on finding the purpose An effective written response ac- complishes a specific purpose On the TOEFL, this means responding to one of their prompts A weak essay has no clear purpose or doesn’t achieve its purpose
74 MH CRACKING THE TOEFL
Trang 52 The essay is well organized and well developed, using clearly appropriate expla-
nations, exemplifications, and/or details This guideline matches with the exercises
we completed on understanding the structure As you'll recall, each reading passage
we worked on contained details and examples relevant to the purpose Good essays
demonstrate strong structure, whereas weak essays frequently lack well-developed
examples
The essay displays unity, progression, and coherence This guideline corresponds
to the work we've done on finding the main idea of a passage Each paragraph
should be connected to the main theme of the passage and contribute to the devel-
opment of the passage’s ideas or argument An essay receiving a score of 5 stays on
topic, whereas an essay receiving a lower score goes off the topic
fourth and final guideline will be addressed later in this chapter However, it is worth noting the TOEFL, you don’t have to write perfect English to get a top score It’s acceptable to have pelling and grammar mistakes in your essay
ugh the Speaking section is different from the Writing section in some ways, many of the mes for scoring it are similar
G GUIDELINES FOR THE SPEAKING SECTION
ing section is graded on a scale of 0 to 4 As with writing, a score of 0 is reserved for a
= that simply repeats the prompt, is in a foreign language, or is left blank A score of 4 on the section is judged to have accomplished the following:
The response fulfills the demands of the task
| The response presents a clear progression of ideas
| The response includes appropriate details
¢ again, these standards conform to our three basic skills: purpose, main idea, and structure
main difference on the Speaking section is that the graders will also consider the quality of sech While they don’t expect perfect English, they expect a top response to
use speech that is clear, fluid, and sustained, although it may contain minor lapses
in pronunciation or intonation Pace may vary at times, but overall intelligibility
remains high
_ demonstrate good control of basic and complex grammatical structures and contain
generally effective word choice Minor errors or imprecise use may be noticeable,
but they do not require listener effort nor do they obscure meaning
st way to make sure you meet these guidelines is to practice We'll give you suggestions and
w to achieve these goals, but there’s no substitute for continued repetition
CORE CONCEPT #2: WRITING AND SPEAKING ON THE TOEFL Mf 75
Trang 6SIMILARITIES IN THE WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDELINES
As you may have noticed, there are some similarities in what the TOEFL graders are looking for in
your written and spoken responses Both tasks require you to clearly address the topic given Both tasks ask that your response be orgamzed and coherent And both tasks expect you to use specific
details and examples to support your position As we said earlier, many of the strategies you'll learn
in this book will work for both the Writing and the Speaking sections You can practice these strate
zie’ in both written and spoken form For example; practice speaking aloud what you've written, Or
make a tape of your-speech and then write it down |
PART 1: EXPRESSING PURPOSE
Our first goal is to make sure your essays and spoken responses have a clear purpose, To do that, we need to look at the types of tasks the TOEFL will feature
Purpose AND THE Writinc Section
Most writing tasks on the TOEFL ask you to do one ‘of the following;
* Present your opinion en an Issue (a vali essay),
* Evaluate the information on-a topic (a fart essay)
You need to clearly express your purpose in your introductory paragraph lf you recall our earlier discussion of introduction paragraphs (in Chapter 2, on the stricture of passages), you may already have a good idea of how to express purpose In general, your introduction needs to accomplish the following tasks;
1 Introdtuce the topic of your discussion
2 Present your thesis statement
The thesis is basically a statement of your position or belief on a topic or your main dea ft will
be slightly different based on what you are trying to accomplish in the essay
Writing an Errective ÏNYRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
Here’s an example of a writing task similar to one you may encounter on the TOEFL—you would be asked to write.an essay on the following topic:
Parents should select thelr children’s friends carefully to make sure those friends reflect proper values
Although there are many ways of writing an introduction paragraph, the following strategy will help you write an effective introduction regardless of the topic Following this strategy will help you
to write quickii
76 WM CRACKING THE TOLFL
Trang 7Step 1: Pick a Side
If your writing is to have a clear purpose, you must know what that purpose is before you start writ-
ing Otherwise, your essay will lack focus and coherence On value questions, there is no right or
wrong answer You will be evaluated only on how well you defend your position For a value essay,
your purpose as an author is to convince the reader that your position is correct
Step 2: State Your Position
Once you've chosen your position, your first job is to state it Here’s an example of a typical first sentence for this type of response
| do not believe that parents should select their children’s friends,
On the TOEFL, it’s best to make a clear, direct statement of your position Try using some of the following phrases:
= ee
In my view T thứnk that “
Edo not feel that _ “ Ttis my belief that =O
a
Step 3: State the Reason for Your Opinion
Once you've stated your position, you've established for the reader what you believe Now, you must
explain why you believe your position is correct Here’s an example
| do not believe that parents should select their children’s friends It would be harmful to children If they were not allowed to choose their own friends, Parents should be interested in their children’s friends, but they should let their children pick their own friends,
When stating why you believe your position, it may be helpful to use some of the following phrases:
~ T believe this becans [ feel this way because _ The renson T think this is
- SH „
YouR TURN: DRiLL #Ï—WRITE an ÏNTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
Write an introduction paragraph for each of the following prompts Remember to follow the three steps described above
1, Itis the teacher's responsibility to make a student learn the material
CORE CONCEPT #2: WRITING AND SPEAKING ON THE TOEFL Mi 77
Trang 82 Material on the Internet should be censored or controlled to protect the public
3 Colleges and universities should offer more distance learning courses to accommo- date the needs of students
4 When choosing a career, financial gain should be the most important consideration
5 Schools should have mandatory testing each year to prove they are meeting
minimum educational standards
78 BM CRACKING THE TOEFL
Trang 9SAMPLE REsPONSES T0 DRILL #1
The following are sample introduction paragraphs for the prompts Compare your paragraphs with the ones below, and see how well yours match up Phrases in bold are useful transitions that you can use in your writing
| 1, | believe that it is a teacher's responsibility to make a student learn the material Many students
are of a young age and do not realize the value of education Therefore, it is up to the teacher to
F help them learn the lessons and realize the value of the material
E 2 In my opinion, material on the Internet should not be censored The Internet is a free zone and it
ị would be wrong for this area to be controlled Plus, what government or agency would be responsible
for censoring the Internet, which ig available worldwide?
5 In my view, colleges and universities should offer more distance learning courses | believe this
because in today’s world, many people havea lot of demands on their time Some students are
parents or hold part-time jobs This means that they don't have ao much time for school Distance
learning courses would be a good solution to this problem | ˆ
4 | do not feel that financial considerations should be the most important ones when choosing a
career If a person is not happy in his or her job, then the money will not be important A person's
happiness should be the number-one consideration when choosing a career
5 | feel that it would be wrong for schools to have mandatory testing each year | think that each
school should be allowed to decide how best to educate its students Some schools do not focus as
much on testing as other schools and use other ways of grading their students, such as projects
ahd final papers These schools should not be forced to have tests
| These examples are not perfect, and that’s acceptable on the TOEFL But each one is simple, direct, and clearly states the purpose That's all that is required of an introductory paragraph
PURPOSE AND THE SPEAKING SECTION
e best way to succeed on the Speaking section of the TOEFL is to use the skills you ve learned in
p reading and writing exercises For example, in some of the speaking tasks, you can express your pose in exactly the same way you did for your written responses
However, sometimes your purpose will differ from what we've already seen The speaking tasks fin the TOEFL usually require you to do one of the following:
* Present your opinion on an issue (similar to the writing task)
e Explain facts presented in a lecture or reading
¢ Summarize someone else’s position
“© Describe something of importance to you
$ Your speech on the TOEFL will need an introduction, just as on your written responses Let’s look
f some ways to come up with effective introductions
EARLY EXPRESSING PURPOSE ON THE SPEAKING SECTION
Ms look at a sample speaking task
ì Describe a job that you’ve held, and explain why it was important
: Now, here are the steps to follow
CORE CONCEPT #2: WRITING AND SPEAKING ON THE TOEFL MM 79
Trang 10Step 1: Decide What Your Purpose Is sa
Make sure you take a moment to decide what your purpose is; otherwise, you will not be able to
communicate it effectively As you have seen, there are four different types of tasks that you may
encounter on the Speaking section of the TOEFL
Step 2: State the Topic
For speaking tasks that ask you to present your opinion or to describe something personal to you,
use the following introductory phrases:
After each of these statements, you'll need to mention the topic and whatever example you're
going to use For the sample task at the bottom of page 79, your first sentence could be
| think that the most important job I've had was working at a library
(introductory statement) (topic) (specific example)
For speaking tasks that require you to summarize someone else’s opinion or to explain facts, the
following introductions are appropriate:
After each statement, fill in what the topic or position is For example, a TOEFL task may ask you
to summarize facts from a reading Your introduction may sound like this
The reading presented facts on (topic)
Step 3: State What or Why
For speaking tasks that ask your opinion, you will have to state why you believe something For speak-
ing tasks that require you to summarize facts or someone else’s position, you'll have to say what their
reasons are Use the following words to indicate what and why:
Once you put it all together, your speech may look as follows:
| think that the most important job I've had was working at a library, The reagon | believe this is the number
of interesting people | met at this job :
Speaking tasks on the TOEFL last only 45 or 60 seconds, so most of your time will be used present-
ing details or examples Therefore, your introduction should be brief and to the point
ME CRACKING THE TOEFL