Many TOEFL students feel confident in their ability to speak English, but express much less confidence in their ability to write Essays. They aren’t alone! Writing an essay can be a difficult experience in your native language, never mind your second or third. Below are some simple tips to help you score your best on the independent writing section of the TOEFL exam.
- Without structure, you are lost. Plan your writing before you start – a 4 to 5 paragraph essay is best. Remember to keep the introduction and conclusion free from your arguments and only share 1 idea per paragraph
- Never argue both sides. You aren’t debating life on mars, you are showing your ability to write in English. Pick the side that you can make the strongest, clearest argument for to highlight your writing skill.
- Favor clarity over creativity. Now is not the time for poetry. Short, simple sentences that are grammatically perfect will score you more points than imaginative, yet error filled essays.
- Do not include questions. The point of an essay is to firmly argue a position. At no point should you be asking the reader questions – you must answer them all!
- Format is important! Remember to properly space and indent your writing so that the markers will not have to strain and struggle to read it. Your writing may be flawless, but if it’s difficult to read you will lose marks.
Are you confident you know what it takes to ace the TOEFL writing task? Take this test to find out.
Related Articles
- » EdTech Blogs We Love: TeachPaperless, Clint Lalonde, TipLine
- » Why We Created a Pattern Library for Our Marketing Site
- » GMAT ToolKit App for Apple iPhone from GMAT Club is #1 in India’s Education Ranking
- » EdTech News Roundup: Missouri Bans Student-Teacher ‘Friendships’; Universities Join Together to Promote Broadband; Apollo Group Acquires Carnegie Learning
- » GMAT Question of the Day (Jun 15): Probability and Sentence Correction