La sección de Writing es la cuarta y última sección del examen TOEFL iBT®.
Descubre los consejos para planificar la respuesta y administrar el tiempo en la sección de Writing del examen TOEFL®.
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The Writing section is the fourth and last section of the TOEFL iBT® test.
It tests your ability to produce clear, well-organized and fairly flawless academic writing.
As you have learned from previous posts, there are two types of writing:
- Independent writing task:
You read a prompt (a set of instructions to write about a topic) and express your opinion on this topic.
Your response is based on your own experience, knowledge and ideas. - Integrated writing task:
You read a short reading passage, and then listen to a lecture on the same topic.
After that, you write a text summarizing the points made in the reading passage and the lecture, and showing the relationship between them.
The prompt for the Independent Writing task
The prompt provides a topic about which you must write. The topic is given to you, so you cannot choose it.
Contexts for the prompts include areas such as education, art, technology, business, sports and games, travel, communication, and language.
The prompts are general, will not require any special knowledge, and will never be about controversial topics.
There are three common types of prompts:
- Defense of an opinion
You are provided with two different opinions and asked to choose one side to support.
Example:
“Some people believe that children should begin school at a very early age. Other people think that parents should wait until children are mature enough to enroll them in school.
Tell which point of view you agree with and explain why, using specific details and reasons.” - Agreement/Disagreement
A general statement is presented and you must agree or disagree with it.
Example:
“Do you agree or disagree with this statement: If you want to have a great vacation, you should go to the mountains.
Use specific examples and reasons to support your answer.” - Importance or relevance
You are asked to explain the importance or relevance of a development, invention, phenomenon, or situation.
Example:
“The telephone has revolutionized the world in many ways.
Choose another invention that you think is of great importance.
Use specific examples and reasons for your choice.”
Planning your response
The Independent Writing task should be about 300 words, but this is an approximate number.
The response can be as short as 280 words and not longer than 330 words (otherwise, you may run out of time).
You will see the time on the screen, which you should check as often as possible to keep track of your progress.
1. Read the prompt and analyze it
The first thing you should do is read the prompt carefully and understand what type of prompt from the classification above you are presented with.
Then you have to express your opinion about the issue. There are no right answers, so choose the side with more ideas.
Example brainstorming table:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| You do not need a car | It is boring |
| You live closer to your neighbors | You may not have public transport |
| You can walk to places or use your bike | |
| Life is less hectic | |
| You know more people |
In this example, you have more pros, so you might choose to agree with the statement.
Another advantage of brainstorming is that it helps you identify ideas to use in your writing.
2. Think of an outline to develop your ideas
A typical structure includes three parts and five paragraphs:
| Essay part | Paragraph | Content of the paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 1 | – Statement of your opinion or preference – Brief presentation of the three reasons |
| Body | 2 | – First reason to support your opinion – Examples and details |
| 3 | – Second reason – Examples and details |
|
| 4 | – Third reason – Examples and details |
|
| Conclusion | 5 | – Summary of your opinion and reasons |
3. Manage the time effectively
You have 30 minutes to complete your writing. Distribute your time as follows:
Pre-writing: 2 to 5 minutes
- Read and analyze the prompt
- Brainstorm
- Make an outline
Writing: 20 to 25 minutes
Checking: 2 to 5 minutes
- Identify and correct problems with content, grammar, and mechanics
(punctuation, capitalization, etc.)
