2017-10-25 TOEFL: reading fact, writing overview

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: Handout (Cengage) p. 35-42 - Answer the fact and negative fact questions about the passages.
Check your homework answers with your partner. Try to convince your partner that your answer is correct if you disagree.
1 B
2 A
3 C
4 B “In the next 300 years” (or maybe C - given years are 550 and 1100 AD)
5 C
6 B
7 D
8 C
9 A
10 B
11 C
12 D
13 D (2, 3, 4 strings = course, each course = 1 note, 12-22 courses = 12-22 notes)
14 C
15 A (Negative fact questions often require scanning the whole passage.)
16 B
17 A
18 C
19 A
20 C
21 D
22 B
23 A
24 C
25 C
26 D
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Go back to p. 51 (Lake Baikal) - Take 2 minutes to answer questions 3-5.
3 D
4 C “the lowest known point”
5 B
p. 52 - Take 2.5 minutes to answer these questions.
6 C (the 19th century is the 1800s, because the first century was the years 1 to 100.)
7 A
8 D (The drawing was of Queen Victoria. It was called the “penny black”.)
9 B
10 C
p. 53 - Take 2.5 minutes to scan quickly for the answers.
11 A
12 D
13 C
14 B
15 D
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about 12,000 years ago = about 10,000 BC, because now is about 2000 AD
AD = Anno Domini = year of the Lord
BC (Before Christ) = BCE (Before the Common Era)
AD (Anno Domini) = CE (Common Era)
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p. 32-33 - Read the questions on p. 33 and underline where you can find the answers on p. 32
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BREAK
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Writing Section: fourth and final section (after speaking)
- Two tasks, about 60 minutes total (20 + 30 minutes of writing)
1 integrated: 3 minutes to read a text, time to listen to a lecture, 20 minutes to summarize the points in the lecture and explain how they relate to points from the reading (typically 150-225 words)
2 independent: read a prompt (a choice question), 30 minutes to prepare and write an essay in response (typically at least 300 words)
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Integrated Writing
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DELTA p. 369 - Take 3 minutes to (re)read the text.
R0 = main idea = new development will be good
R1 = make the city attractive for new people
R2 = solve the problem of residential space
R3 = economic benefit for the city
Listen to the talk and take notes.
L0 = new development will not be good
L1 = destroy the view of the lake, which is the current main attraction of the town
L2 = new housing will be expensive so only rich people can live there, which won’t solve the residential problem (people who work in the shops won’t be able to live there)
L3 = most benefits will be for a few construction companies, and there will be an environmental cost for the development (for animals and plants around the lake)
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- Here the lecture takes the opposite position. Often, the lecture only challenges the specific points in the reading and doesn’t necessarily make the opposite conclusion.
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“Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they oppose specific points made in the reading passage.”
(The prompt is almost always something like this, possibly with a different verb than “oppose”.)
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Your response should have four paragraphs:
1 R0/L0 - Introduction: explain the topic and summarize the main ideas of the lecture and text, and be clear how the lecture relates to the text (The relationship is more or less your thesis statement.)
2 R1, L1/R1 - Summarize the first point from the text. Then explain the first point from the lecture and how it relates to the point from the text.
3 R2, L2/R2 - Summarize the second point from the text. Then explain the second point from the lecture and how it relates to the point from the text.
4 R3, L3/R3 - Summarize the third point from the text. Then explain the third point from the lecture and how it relates to the point from the text.
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Useful Language for Integrated Writing:
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contrast language:
	on the other hand, in contrast, however, opposing, even though
	oppose, challenge, contradict, refute, cast doubt on (these can also be the verb in the prompt)
support language (if the lecture supports the reading):
	at the same time, similarly, likewise
	support, illustrate, exemplify, demonstrate
citation language:
	According to (the lecture/the reading/the professor/the author)
	(The lecture/The reading/The professor/The author) says/claims/argues/explains/states
	(The professor/The author) thinks/believes/doubts
general transition signals (which you also use in independent writing):
	first, second, third/finally
	the first/second/third/final point is that…
	for example, for instance
	this means
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Independent Writing:
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The prompt is a choice question, which can be of two forms:
- agree/disagree: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? [statement]”
- some people / other people: “Some people prefer ___. Others think ___. In your opinion, which is better?”
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Your response should be a five-paragraph essay:
1 Introduction (explain the options you’re choosing between and state the choice you’re making)
2 First supporting point (explain the point, then give details and examples to show me the point is true and that it supports your main opinion)
3 Second supporting point
4 Third supporting point
5 Conclusion (restate your opinion and summarize your supporting points, advice/prediction/plan for the future)
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DELTA p. 396 - Examples of an agree/disagree and a some people/other people prompt
For prompt 4, you can use personal examples but the thesis should be a general statement (third person)
For prompt 5, you’re asked which you personally prefer, so the thesis and examples can be first person