Getting to Know the TOEFL iBT Test

The Writing Section

Integrated Writing Task

In this module we're going to look at?iBT Integrated writing task,?specifically the structure of the task.

For the integrated writing task,?you read a short passage.?

You'll have three minutes to read this passage.?

Then you'll listen to a short lecture on the same topic.?

You then write an essay summarizing?the lecture and the reading passage?and showing the relationship between them.?You'll have 20 minutes to write your essay and it?should be about 200-250 words.?

It's called integrated task because it includes?reading of a passage and listening to a lecture.?

You need to type your answers.

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Now you're going to see the best way?to start writing your essay.?

Number 1, read the passage very carefully.?

Number 2, take note of?the main points presented in the reading passage.?

Number 3, listen to the lecture and take notes.?

Number 4, compare or?contrast your notes from the passage and the lecture.?

Finally, plan your response.

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The reading passage in the writing section is?about 200-300 words long,?about half as long as those in the reading section.?

The passage can be about any academic subject,?like the physical sciences, life sciences,?social sciences, arts, humanities, etc.?

The passage typically describes a theory, or a concept,?or a problem, an issue,?

a system of classification, or a process.?

You'll have three minutes to read the passage.?

You're allowed to take notes.?

The passage will be back on?your screen once a lecture is over.?

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The fact that can help you with your note-taking is?that the passage is usually about?a general concept and focuses?on no more than two or three main points.?

You need to find and?extract those points from the reading.

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A lecture lasts about two minutes.?

It will be on the same topic as the passage.?

You will hear the lecture only once.?

Note-taking is allowed.

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Once a lecture is over,?you need to look at your notes and find?a relationship between the passage and the lecture.?

The most common form of relationship is opposition.?

In this kind, the lecture contradicts?or disagrees with the points presented in the passage.?

However, the passage may present a generalization and?the lecture may give examples?that support this generalization.?

The passage may present?a problem and the lecture a solution?that successfully or unsuccessfully?deals with the problem.?

Still another possibility is the passage may?describe a cause and the lecture may describe the effect.

Then there will be time to plan your response.?

As you remember, you'll have only 20 minutes in?which to prepare the response?for the integrated writing task.

You may divide your time more or less like this.?

You'll have two to three minutes for pre-writing,?which includes: reading the question,?looking over your notes,?and thinking about the passage and the lecture.?

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Then it'll be the writing section.?

You can have about 15 minutes to write your essay.?

Finally, you will have?2-3 minutes to look for incorrect problems,?the content, grammar, and mechanics.

This is the first part of this presentation.?

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Independent Writing Task

In the second part, we're going to look at some templates that can save you some time?

as you type your response.

Your essay should include these essential parts.?

Number one, you need to have an introduction.?

Number two, write body paragraph number one.?

Next, write body paragraph number two.?

Depending on the topic and your time,?

you might choose to have body paragraph number three.?

And finally, you will need to write the conclusion.

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The first paragraph your essay will be the introduction.?

You can start with a hook, which will be your first sentence.?

Hook is an interesting sentence that introduces the general topic of the essay.

Try something like, it is critically important that we, and?then add a verb, and then your idea related to the topic of the essay.

The second sentence is the main point, which is your main argument.?

Start with personally, I believe, and?complete that with your idea or your opinion about the topic.

You may choose to have a third sentence with a transition.

You can say, I feel this way for two reasons,?which I will explore in the following essay.

This third sentence is optional.

Paragraph number two, right after the introduction,?is your first body paragraph.?

You can start with a topic sentence.?

This sentence summarizes your first supporting reason.?

Try something like, to begin with, and?then mention your first reason or your idea.?

Sentences two and three can be about the same idea with more explanation.?

Explain what you mean without talking directly about a personal experience.?

Finally, you can have sentence four, the transition.?

Just use, my personal experience is a compelling illustration of this.?

Again, this sentence is optional.?

And you may choose to have sentence six to end this paragraph,?including your personal example or your personal story.

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Body paragraphs two and three are very similar to body paragraph number one.

The first sentence will be a topic sentence.?

This sentence summarizes your second supporting reason.?

You can begin with a transition word like furthermore.?

Sentences two and three are the explanation sentences.?

They explain what you mean.?

You can shorten to one sentence if necessary.

Sentence four is the transition.

You can use a transition word like for instance in order to go on and?present more information.

Finally, sentences five to the end of?the paragraph are the personal example and story.

This can be an example from your life that illustrates this argument.?

Again, it should make up about 60% of the whole paragraph.

In the previous module about the integrated writing task,?we learned that the conclusion is optional.?

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However, for the independent task, we need to have a conclusion if you have time.?

You can have a short paragraph with two sentences only.?

The first sentence can restate the thesis.

Simply paraphrase your thesis.?

Begin with, in conclusion, I strongly feel that, and?state your opinion about the question.?

And the second sentence can be the restatement of the two reasons that you?mentioned in the body paragraph.?

For example, you can say, this is because reason one and reason two.

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