2016-12-19 TOEFL: ind writing, listening test

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: Respond to this prompt - See how much you can type in 30 minutes but spend extra time if you need to complete your essay.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
	In twenty years there will be fewer cars in use than there are today.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Email your responses to me at [email protected].
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http://ed.ted.com/lessons/music-and-math-the-genius-of-beethoven-natalya-st-clair
2^n = 2n
Each note on a piano is 21/12 the frequency of the note directly below it.
Notice that consonance has different meanings in music and poetry. (Last week, you learned that consonance is a pattern of repeated consonant sounds in a poem.)
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These pairs sound the same in normal pronunciation:
patients / patience
consonants / consonance
residents / residence
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Skip essay 1 for now - It was the integrated writing from a week ago.
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DELTA p. 419 has a description of the score levels for independent writing.
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Essay 2 - What’s good about it? What could be improved?
- Overall structure is good. The introduction and thesis statement are clear, as are the two supporting points.
- Some grammar problems, though they don’t hurt understanding too much.
	(However, sometimes one missing letter can hurt: “people still refer cars using gas” is confusing, and I have to think about it for a couple seconds before I realize it should be “prefer”, not “refer”.)
- It’s a bit too short. (It’s only about 250 words and you should try to get at least 300 for independent writing.)
	- The conclusion paragraph is only one sentence. There could be an additional recommendation or related prediction to help fill out the last paragraph.
	- The second reason could be split into two: price and convenience. This gives space for more details and examples.
This would receive a score of 3 or 3.5, but if it were made a bit longer and had some mistakes corrected, it could be 4 or 4.5.
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Essay 3 - What’s good about it? What could be improved?
- Main supporting points should get one paragraph each. Examples and details for each point should be within the same paragraph.
- There are a number of small grammar mistakes, as well as many run-on sentences that are too long.
	- Prepositions are used incorrectly, transitions at the beginning of sentences should be followed by commas, etc.
- The bigger problem is that the points about technological changes aren’t explicitly connected back to the main answer, which is that there will be more cars in 20 years.
	- After writing about disability and accessibility, make the point that with technological improvements in these areas, more disabled people will be able to use cars, so it will lead to an increase in the number of cars.
This would also probably receive a 3 or so, because the supporting points lack a clear connection back to the answer to the main question.
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BREAK
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http://testden.com/challenge/free-toefl.asp - Free practice similar to the TOEFL.
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ETS past test 4 - Listening section - Listen and take notes, and then answer the questions for each passage.
Total = 36 points