2019-02-28 TOEFL: writing practice

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-through-the-eyes-of-a-chicken-chris-a-kniesly
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Writing Section: fourth and final section of the test, two tasks, 20+30 minutes of writing time
1 integrated: read a passage, listen to a lecture about the same topic, 20 minutes to write about the points from the lecture and how they relate to the points from the reading
2 independent: read a choice question prompt, 30 minutes to write and support your answer to it
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ETS 1.4 - Take 3 minutes to read about franchises.
main idea = R0 = buying a franchise is better than starting your own independent business
R1 = more reliable suppliers (already chosen by the parent company)
R2 = franchises are advertised by the (well-known) parent company; don’t have to advertise yourself
R3 = lower risk of failure than starting an independent business
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The main point of the lecture will probably be that franchises are really not so great.
Can you predict specific points the lecture might make?
P1 (prediction of the first point) = suppliers too far away; expensive; bad quality
P2 = not specific to local conditions
P3 = less possibility to grow; can’t be sure of return on (or recovery of) investment
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Listen and note what the actual points from the listening are.
L0 = there are some downsides to franchises; they’re not necessarily better than an independent business
L1 = suppliers, which you can’t change, might not be the cheapest option
L2 = you do have to pay for advertising (6% of sales), and it’s not specific to your business; could spend half as much to advertise your own business and get more benefit
L3 = less risky than starting independent, but it’s even better to buy an existing independent business, which is twice as likely to succeed as a franchise
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“Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words.”
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A point-by-point response will be organized like this:
Paragraph 1 - Introduction: introduce the topic, explain R0 and L0 and be clear how they relate
Paragraph 2 - First Point: summarize R1 and L1 and explain how they are related
Paragraph 3 - Second Point: summarize R2 and L2 and explain how they are related
Paragraph 4 - Third Point: summarize R3 and L3 and explain how they are related
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	First, the reading explains that franchise owners already have established suppliers for what they need. This is usually part of the franchise agreement. The lecture, on the other hand, points out that these suppliers may not be the cheapest available, and a franchise owner can’t choose the suppliers with the best prices.
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Citation Language
sources:
the reading / the passage / the text / the article // the author / the writer
the listening / the lecture / the audio // the speaker / the professor
reporting verbs:
says / states / argues / explains / points out / mentions

Contrast Language
connectors:
however / on the other hand / nevertheless / in contrast / even though / but
verbs:
challenges / refutes / opposes / contradicts / casts doubt on / questions
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Independent writing:
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a typical response can be a (four or) five paragraph essay
1 Introduction: state the topic, summarize the options you chose between, state your choice
2-4 Body: state your reasons, show the reasons are true (with examples), show that they support your choice
5 Conclusion: restate your opinion, summarize your reasons, generalize with advice or predictions
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BREAK
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Practice both tasks from the ETS Guide test 3.
Email your responses to me when you’re finished.
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Homework: read the sample responses to today’s tasks and decide what score each one should get (using the official ETS score level descriptions from https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf)