2020-01-09 TOEFL: main idea, int writing

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: finish this and do p. lix-lx (DL3)
part DL1
1 d
2 a c e
3 b - “Here, take a look at this weekly schedule template.” = He has an easily available supply. He doesn’t ask her to wait while he finds one, because he probably gives them to students frequently.
4 c - He thinks she’s exaggerating or joking about her time. “Ah, come on now.”
5 a4 b1 c2 d3
part DL3 - Listen and take notes. Then answer the questions.
1 c
2 b - “These gains do not really add up to much” = the gains are typically not significant
3 d - Reading carefully is more important (for learning vocabulary) than reading a lot. (Quality over quantity.)
4 a (This depends on questions such as whether different forms of a word are counted together or separately.)
5 d
6 a3 b2 c4 d1
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You can find the Academic Word List on p. 621-641
This is a list of word families, so each item on the list represents several words that you should be able to understand if you know the first one.
“analyze” -> analysis, analyst, analytic
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http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/ - Information on a new version of the General Service List and the Academic Word List.
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Main Idea (gist) questions - Wrong answers can be too general, too specific, or include similar words that aren’t the real topic.
Cengage exercise 9.1 - Listen and take notes about the conversations, then answer the main idea questions.
1 C
2 B
3 C
exercise 9.2 - Do the same for lectures/discussions.
1 D
2 B
4 D
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BREAK
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Writing Section: fourth and last section on the test; 2 tasks; about 55 minutes total
1 integrated: 3 minutes to read a text, listen to a lecture on the same topic, 20 minutes to write about how the points from the  lecture relate to the reading
2 independent: read a choice question prompt, 30 minutes to write and revise your answer
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Integrated Writing
Delta 7.2 - Read the text about hydroelectric power.
R0 = main idea = hydropower is good
R1 = convenient and can increase or decrease with demand
R2 = clean and green
R3 = efficient and inexpensive; water cycle naturally replenishes water; there are rivers wherever there’s enough rain
- Remember that you will see this text again while you write, so you don’t need to note or remember all the details.
- The lecture almost always disagrees with the text. While you’re reading, you can sometimes anticipate possible points the lecture will make.
P0 = hydropower is bad / hydropower isn’t that great (there are also problems/disadvantages)
P1 = not convenient
P2 = not so green (maybe mention environmental problems)
P3 = not always efficient and/or more expensive than you think
- When you listen, try to organize your notes with the same structure as the notes from the reading
L0 = there are a number of disadvantages to hydropower
L1 = not convenient for the people who have to relocate for the construction
L2 = long-term environmental issues, like the accumulation of toxic metals above the dam (dangerous and expensive to clean); negative effects on fish and birds
L3 = water supply can change with weather conditions and drought
- If the lecture focuses on different details from the paragraph than you expected, it’s a good idea to go back and add to your reading notes before you start writing.
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A point-by-point response is the most straightforward way to organize it
paragraph 1: Introduce the topic and summarize the main ideas of the reading and the listening, be clear in this paragraph how the two relate to each other (“The lecture opposes the points made…”)
paragraph 2: summarize L1 and explain how it relates to R1
paragraph 3: summarize L2 and explain how it relates to R2
paragraph 4: summarize L3 and explain how it relates to R3
(you don’t need a conclusion for this task; if you have extra time, you should make corrections)

Example:
	The reading and the lecture are about hydroelectic power. The reading explains several advantages of hydropower. The lecture, on the other hand, says that there are a number of problems with hydropower.
	First, the speaker explains that many people have to be relocated when a new hydroelectric dam is built, because their homes will be flooded by the lake the dam creates. This is very inconvenient for residents near a dam, which contradicts the point from the reading about how hydropower is a conveineint source of electricity.
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Sources:
- the reading / the article / the text / the author
- the listening / the lecture / the audio / the speaker / the lecturer
Reporting verbs:
- says / argues / explains / talks about / describes / points out (for more minor details) / states / claims
- thinks / believes / considers (only for the author or the speaker)
Contrast language:
verbs: contradicts / opposes / challenges / refutes / casts doubt on
transitions/connectors: however / on the other hand / in contrast / but / even though
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https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf (and p. 613-614 of your book) describes score levels for the writing tasks
- The person or computer that evaluates your response will first give a score from 0 to 5 (including half-points). Then the scores for both of your responses are converted to a score from 0 to 30.
- If you have no information from the lecture, the best you can get is 1 point.
- If you caught a few words from the lecture, and you mostly understand the text and know that the lecture probably contradicts it, you should be able to make a good guess about the point from the lecture.
- Accuracy (grammar, correct vocabulary, spelling) is mostly important to the extent that it’s easy to understand what you’re trying to say. Errors that don’t hurt understanding probably won’t hurt your score.
- Some mistakes are more unlucky than others.
	If you want to write “niece”:
	“neice” doesn’t hurt understanding; a human reader might not even notice
	“nice” is a problem, because it’s a different word and will hurt understanding
- Integrated writing scores don’t really depend on the variety or complexity of your language. It’s okay to be somewhat repetitive, as long as everything is correct.
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Smart Car example with sample response.
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Tomorrow we’ll first practice two integrated writing tasks and then talk about independent speaking.