Preparing for TOEFL – Tips for the Integrated Writing Task, Part 2
Submitted by: Kimi
In Part 1 of the Integrated Writing Task article for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, I explained what is expected from you to complete the test. The requirements are heavy and can be frustrating and difficult to abide by. But before you even consider going to take the TOEFL exam, you must do some preparation on your own. These preparations require you to practice your writing skills on your own. The key element of the Integrated Writing Task is to be able to summarize a text and then link the passage to a university professor’s lecture. But when you prepare, you don’t need to go to an English university and sit in on a real lecture; you can practice at home just as easily. Here I will explain how to prepare for the Integrated Writing Task on your own.
Practice practice practice
The key to success in anything you do is to practice. And then, practice some more. According to some, to effectively master anything, it requires 10,000 hours of practice. Well, you don’t have 10,000 hours to prepare, so you will have to settle for a few less hours! There are several ways you can practice, but there isn’t a BEST way. Studying and preparing for the writing component of the TOEFL test is the same as studying for any other academic course; therefore, use the studying techniques you are used to.
Use newspapers, internet, or even television to help you prepare.
As you are now aware of, the Integrated Writing Task requires you to read a short academic passage followed by listening to a university professor’s lecture on the same subject. If you do not want to buy an iBT (internet-Based Test) study guide, you can still prepare with the use of the internet, newspapers, or even your television. If you want to use the internet, find an academic lecture on video, such as on Youtube.com. Before you watch the video, find a reading passage from another site that pertains to the same subject as the video. Give yourself three minutes to read a short passage, and then take notes on what you have read. Once you are finished taking short, accurate notes, watch the video on the subject. Then, take some notes on what you watched, and then try to link the two together in a practice essay. Try to link the lecture to the reading passage and how they work together. Then, you can give your own opinion on the subject. Remember to be concise, using proper grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.
The same process can be done with television shows, movies, or news stories. For the latter, find a newspaper article that interests you in your local paper and then turn on your TV and find a news program that deals with the issue you read in the paper. Practice linking the two and summarizing the text/video. It is not enough to just summarize the reading and then summarize the video in two distinct sections. You need to show that you understand how the video is related to the reading passage. In other words, you need to show how the reading is similar to the video, or on the other hand you have to explain how they differ. This understanding is mandatory.
But you don’t necessarily need to have a video in order to practice; the Writing Tasks are designed to test your writing ability, not your video-watching ability. As a result, find an academic article that is less than 500 words. Do your best to actually take notes on the major issues of the article and examples. Then, try to write a summary of the article within 225 words. Summarize all of the important issues explained; the summary doesn’t have to be long but it does require you to write briefly yet clearly communicate only what is important.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the most important part of the Integrated Writing Task. Paraphrasing means explaining something you have read heard or saw in YOUR OWN WORDS. Never copy sentences from the reading passage into your own answer; if you do so you will automatically receive a zero for the question.
One easy way to practice paraphrasing is to learn synonyms, or words that have the same meaning. Here’s a good way to learn synonyms: choose a word at random and then try to think of two or three synonyms for it as quickly as you can. Remember, you have a limited amount of time to answer the question; you don’t want to waste time thinking about a synonym. Practice 10 to 15 words and their synonyms each day.
Another way to practice paraphrasing is to read any article – whether online, in a newspaper or magazine, or even a novel – and take notes on the major facts and ideas. Then, try to summarize the entire article with only your notes. DO NOT refer back to the article/story to find out what to say. This way, you will be relying only on your writing ability and your ability to organize thoughts. Once you are done, go back to the article to ensure that you have paraphrased the article accurately and that you actually used your own ideas to complete it. Go over your summary, checking for grammatical errors or problems with sentence structure.
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