2016-10-04 TOEFL: int. and ind. writing

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Review/Overview
TOEFL has four parts:
- reading: 3-4 passages, 60-80 minutes (20 minutes each)
- listening: 6 or 9 passages (2-3 sets), about 60-90 minutes
10 minute break
- speaking: 6 tasks (about 20 minutes total)
	1-2: independent speaking (about your own thoughts) - 15s to prepare, 45s to speak
	3: reading/listening/speaking about a campus announcement - 45s read, listen, 30s prep, 60s speak
	4: read/listen/speak about an academic text and lecture - 45, listen, 30, 60
	5: listening/speaking - conversation about a problem and solution, 20s prep, 60s speaking
	6: listening/speaking - academic lecture or discussion, 20s prep, 60s speaking
- writing: 2 tasks, about 60 minutes (50 minutes of writing)
	1: integrated - 3 minutes to read, listen to a lecture about the same topic, 20 min to write
	2: independent - 30 minutes to write about your own opinion about a prompt
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integrated writing: summarize the points from the reading, and explain the points from the listing as well as how they support or contradict the reading’s points
independent writing: choose a position that you can think of at least 2 good reasons to support
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organization of independent writing
Introduction: information from the prompt and other background, then a thesis statement explaining your own position
Body paragraphs: 2-4 paragraphs, 1 for each main reason, together with details and examples
Conclusion: Summarize your reasons and opinion (“for these three reasons, I think…” / “Because of __, __, and ___, I think…”), generalization or prediction for the future or advice for the reader

DELTA p. 400-401 - advice for writing each part of the independent essay
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You have 30 minutes between reading the prompt and the computer screen going dark. You can type the whole time, but you should hope to use some of your time to prepare and revise your essay
First 5 minutes: read and understand the prompt, brainstorm some ideas about it, choose a position, make an outline of how you will organize your essay
Middle 20 minutes: write your essay
Final 5 minutes: proofread and revise your essay
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Sample independent prompt:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Teachers are responsible for motivating students to learn.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
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Take 5 minutes to get ideas and write an outline for this prompt. If you finish before 5 minutes, begin writing your introduction paragraph.
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A teacher needs to motivate their students. (singular “they” is common for indefinite referents, especially in speaking, but is not always seen as correct)
or: Teachers need to motivate their students.
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What could the introduction to this response look like?
	Many people believe that teachers are responsible for keeping their students motivated in class. They say that being motivational is simply part of what it means to be a good teacher. However, if a student is not motivated to begin with, it’s very difficult for even the best teacher to change that. I believe that it is students’ own responsibility to be motivated to learn. I have three reasons for this position.
	First of all, when students are…. For example, ...
	Secondly,
	Finally,
	In conclusion,
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p. 396 - sample brainstorming, outline, and thesis statement for this prompt
p. 397 - other examples of prompts
3 “You should not believe everything that you read in the newspaper.”
	- If you agree, you need examples of unreliable articles or newspapers, lies in newspapers.
	- If you disagree, you need to show that everything in the newspaper is believable and accurate.
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Outline a response to this:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
The best things in life do not cost money.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
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Integrated writing - Two basic formats for the response:
point-by-point:
	1 Introduction - state the topic and summarize the main position of reading and lecture
	2 first point of reading, point in listening, how it contradicts or supports the reading
	3 second point
	4 third point
	(5 conclusion - if you have time)
block:
	1 introduction (same as before)
	2 summarize the main points from the reading
	3 summarize the points from the lecture and explain how they contradict or support the reading
	(4 conclusion - if you have time)
(If you choose block format, you should write the third paragraph first, because it includes the necessary ideas to get a good score.)
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p. 386 - scoring the integrated writing
p. 419 - scoring the independent writing
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BREAK
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Simulated integrated and independent writing tasks - email me your documents after each section.
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The integrated task was a bit different this time.
- The reading was about characteristics of language. (made up of smaller pieces which fit together according to rules of syntax, it changes over time, and the vocabulary can expand)
- The lecture was about these same characteristics in music. (small pieces go together according to rules, musical styles and sounds can change over time, and music’s “vocabulary” can expand)
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Homework: Type without stopping for 15 minutes about a topic of your choice. Note how many words you typed.