KI UNIQUE TOEFL IBT WRITING TIPS

KI UNIQUE TOEFL IBT WRITING TIPS

The Academic Writing section tests the examinee skills to present their ideas clearly and in a well organized manner.

• The writing section has 2 tasks and 2 questions as already mentioned.
• The time permitted for this section is 50 minutes.

The scoring range is 0-5, which is then convertible to 0-30 scale for calculating the individual per section score and the overall score of exam.

BASIC TIPS:

1. Enhance your vocabulary and particularly improve your knowledge in synonyms.
2. Avoid grammatical errors and use appropriate punctuations.
3. Be good at rephrasing sentences. For that:
   • Identify nouns, adjective, adverb and verbs in the sentence and then whenever possible, choose synonyms of those words (i.e., using different parts of speech if necessary)
   • Change the grammar from passive to active or vice versa; somehow change the word order of the sentence so that human raters do not accuse you of stealing the grammar structure in the reading passage.
4. Practice writing in English on a computer keyboard.
5. Learn to use transition (linking) words to switch between different ideas, add information, provide examples, compare points, etc. Such words are: furthermore, in addition, for example, for instance, on the other hand, to sum up, first, second, etc.
6. Use signal words and phrases, such as “on the one hand” or “in conclusion,” to create a clear structure for your response.

SPECIFIC TIPS:

INDEPENDENT WRITING SECTION:

1. Create a list of familiar topics and practice writing about them.
For example: Describe your favourite vacation destination.

2. Practice “state your opinion” or preference based topics and then “presenting reasons” clearly in detail.
3. Practice, planning and writing an essay for each topic and even practice revising that.
4. Practice pre-writing techniques before writing your essay.
   • In this identify one main idea and supporting points in the essay.
   • Give sufficient explanation or detail in the supporting points.
5. Write minimum 300-350 words for Independent Writing.

INTEGRATED WRITING SECTION:

1. 1. Practice discussion questions. For that:
   • Find a college text book that includes discussion questions.
   • Read the chapters in it.
   • Take notes and practice.
2. Understand how to write an effective summary.
3. Distinguish recording, paraphrasing and summarizing.
4. Locate reading and listening materials of same topic in library etc. for practice.
5. Express information in an organized manner, displaying unity of thought and coherence.
6. Find listening and reading material on a single topic on the Internet or in the library. The material can provide similar or different views. Take notes on the written and spoken portions, and do the following:
   • Summarize the information and ideas in both the written and spoken portions.
   • Synthesize the information and discuss how the reading and listening materials relate.
   Explain how the ideas expressed are similar, how one idea expands upon another, or how the ideas are different or contradict each other.

SAMPLE QUESTION TYPE:

INTEGRATED GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY BASED SAMPLE:

1. John is so shy.
   I know. Very rarely ____________ to me.

   • a. he speaks
   • b. does he speak
   • c. he is speaking
   • d. he does speak

2. Did you go to the mall today?
   Yes, I bought one of those __________ books.

   • a. good $5 paperback
   • b. $5 good paperback
   • c. paperback good $5
   • d. good paperback $5

3. Mary's business is really a success.
   Yes, it's grown __________ leaps and bounds.

   • a. under
   • b. through
   • c. in
   • d. by

4. Where are the compact disks?
   In the cabinet __________ we keep the CD player.

   • a. that
   • b. where
   • c. which
   • d. in that

5. Do you see Rachel much these days?
   No. __________ her only once since last summer.

   • a. I have seen
   • b. Have I seen
   • c. Did I see
   • d. I see

INDEPENDENT TASK TOPICS SAMPLE:

1. Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
2. If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.