2017-06-28 TOEFL: independent writing practice

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: Two handouts p. 91-97 - Answer the questions about passages 1, 2, and 3
	(Optionally, you can also do passage 4.)
1 B
2 A
3 A
4 B
5 C
6 A
7 D
8 A
9 B
10 D
11 A
12 C
13 D
14 B
15 C
16 A
17 D
18 A
19 C
20 C
21 B
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Writing Section: last section of the test, after speaking
- two tasks
1 integrated: 3 minutes to read a text, time to listen to a lecture on the same topic, 20 minutes to write about how the lecture relates to the text
2 independent: read a prompt, 30 minutes to write about it with your own ideas
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The prompt for independent writing is almost always a choice question
- agree/disagree: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
- some people/other people: Some people think ___. Others believe ___. What do you think?
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A “standard” response will be a five-paragraph essay
1 Introduction: background and a description of the options you’re choosing between, thesis statement with your opinion clearly stated
2 Body 1: First reason for your opinion, supported with details and examples
3 Body 2: Sedond reason for your opinion, supported with details and examples
4 Body 3: Third reason for your opinion, supported with details and examples
5 Conclusion: Summarize the reasons and restate your opinion, recommendation or prediction to generalize your idea
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In a body paragraph:
- Main idea of the paragraph (one of your three main reasons for your opinion)
- Details to make me understand this idea and believe that it’s true
- Details to explain how it supports your thesis
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Take 5 minutes with your partners to brainstorm and outline a response to the prompt on the board (DELTA 7 - test 1).
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Tomorrow: university fair with 8 universities, 12:10-12:40
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You might write a “skeleton” or framework first, before you add any details:

For many people
Others believe
In my opinion
I have three reasons for this opinion.

First,
For example

Second,
For example

Finally,
For example

To sum up, because of
	I believe
If you want to
	you should
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Change the wording as needed when you start to add details (for example you might want to end with a prediction instead of a recommendation). This is just a basic framework to remind you of the different things you’ll need when writing your essay.
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BREAK
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Independent writing practice - Delta 7 (test 6) and ETS guide (test 3)
When you are finished, email your responses to me at [email protected]