2020-11-19 TOEFL: W samples, compare/contrast

Look at the sample responses for the writing yesterday. Discuss their strengths and weaknesses with your partner. What score do you think each one should get?
(You can use the scoring descriptions at https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf to help you.)
A - 2 - This answers the question and each sentence is clearly about old or new friendships, but the ideas aren’t developed enough and many of the sentences are hard to understand due to grammar problems. (Each sentence seems to be a completely new point, instead of something that supports the previous point.)
B - 5 - This response does an excellent job with an “it depends” answer. There’s a good explanation of why old friends are important and an equally strong argument for the importance of new friends.
C - 1 - Although substantially longer than the average essay with a score of 1, this response earns the low score because it contains consistent language errors that make the overall essay difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend.
D - 3 - The lack of paragraphs and transition signals makes the organization of this response hard to follow.
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Compare/Contrast language handout 1 - Use the words from the lists at the top of the page to complete the sentences about similarities and differences between painting and photography.
1 similarities between
2 Both...and
3 have in common, both
4 Similarly/Likewise/In the same way, also
5 Like/Similar to
6 are similar to / resemble
7 Neither...nor (After “neither” or “either” we can use “is”. After “both” we must use “are”.)
8 difference between
9 While/Whereas
10 however / on the other hand / in contrast
11 Unlike / In contrast to / Compared to
12 is different from / differs from
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BREAK
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like (v) - I like pizza. I like to watch movies.
like (prep) = similar to - You look like your mom. You sound like your sister.
likewise (adv) = similarly - Marie got all the answers correct. Joe likewise scored 100%.
likely (adj/adv) = probable/probably - Rain is likely tomorrow. It will likely rain tomorrow.
unlike (prep) = not similar to - This tastes unlike anything I’ve ever tried.
unlikely (adj) = improbable - Rain is unlikely tomorrow. It is unlikely to rain tomorrow.
dislike (v) - I dislike tomatoes. I dislike watching TV.
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resemble (v) = be similar to (especially “look similar to”)
	You resemble your mom. = You look like your mom.
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while/whereas - both of these can show that two contrasting things are/were true at the same time
	Whereas Americans usually eat their biggest meal for dinner, Russians’ biggest meal is lunch.
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handout 2 part A - Choose the best word to complete each sentence

medium = the thing by which or through which something is done (often specifically the materials or methods used by an artist)
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Both Picasso and Matisse painted in this style. = Picasso did and Matisse did.
Either Picasso or Matisse painted in this style. = One of them did, but I don’t know which.
Neither Picasso nor Matisse painted in this style. = Picasso didn’t and Matisse didn’t.

(In other cases, “either” can mean “one of them, but it doesn’t matter”.)
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If there are more than two:
None of them can help you.
One of them can help you. = I don’t know which one, but I know there is someone who can help.
Any of them can help you. = It doesn’t matter who you ask, that person can help.
Some of them can help you. = I don’t know which ones, but I know there are a few who can help.
All of them can help you. = They can help you together at the same time (or sometimes this means the same as “any”).
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part B - Complete the paragraph with appropriate words and phrases.
1 both
2 like / similar to
3 however
4 are different / differ
5 difference
6 While / Whereas
7 resemble (or “are often similar to”)
8 on the other hand / in contrast / however
9 in common
10 unlike
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Hemingway conveys emotions with a few lines, unlike Faulkner, who sometimes writes several pages.
- We need a comma after “Faulkner”, because his name identifies him, so the information about writing several pages is extra and doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence.

- In order to use “while” or “whereas”, you’d need to remove the “who” from the second clause:
Hemingway conveys emotions with a few lines while Faulkner sometimes writes several pages.