Body B
Body C
This 5 paragraph structure approach can be used for 5 out of the 6 essay question types. The “Compare and Contrast” question type is the only essay question that will require a different structure.
Now, let's learn how to write a good introductory, body, and conclusion paragraph for the TOEFL Academic Discussion Writing Task.
How to write a high-scoring introductory paragraph - part 2, how to write a high-scoring body paragraph, how to write a high-scoring conclusion paragraph.
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When you complete your TOEFL test, your writing must be evaluated. This is done by a combination of human readers and a computer program called e-rater®. Each of your essays is given a score from 0 to 5. Your combined essay scores are converted to a section score of 0 to 30.
There are four basic criteria on which your essay is evaluated. These four criteria are:
"Writing conventions" are the special rules of writing in English, including spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
As for the TOEFL Integrated Writing Task, here are four basic criteria on which your essay is evaluated. These four criteria are:
It takes time to develop good writing skills. Chances are a good English writer already has years of experience writing English and using English in their daily life. If you are not a good English writer, do not get frustrated.
The good news is that you only need to be able to write well on TOEFL independent and integrated tasks. Here are a few things we suggest you do in order to complete the TOEFL Writing section in the most effective manner.
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13 toefl writing topics to help you practice for the exam.
On the TOEFL Writing section, you’ll be expected to plan and write two essays. But what are those supposed to be about? What types of TOEFL Writing topics will you see?
In order to be well prepared and confident on test day, you’ll need thorough understanding of the types of TOEFL essay topics you could see on the exam. This guide gives in-depth explanations of every type of TOEFL Writing topic you might see, how to approach different types of prompts, and what your essays are expected to include. We end with a set of 13 unique sample essay prompts, including both TOEFL Independent Writing prompts and Integrated Writing prompts so that you can prepare with high-quality practice problems.
The TOEFL Writing section is 50 minutes long and contains two tasks: Integrated Writing and Independent Writing. It’s the fourth and final section of the exam. After this you’re done! You’ll type both essays on the computer, but you can use scratch paper to jot down notes and plan out your essays.
In the next two sections, we’ll explain the format of the two Writing tasks and give an official sample question, along with an analysis of the common types of topics and strategies for doing well on each task.
The Integrated Writing task requires you to use listening, reading, and writing skills. For this task, you’ll have three minutes to read a short passage, then you will listen to a short (approximately two-minute long) audio clip of a speaker discussing the same topic the written passage covers. You’ll need to write an essay that references both of these sources in order to answer the question. You won’t discuss your own opinion for this essay.
During the writing time, you’ll be able to look at the written passage again, but you won’t be able to re-hear the audio clip. You’ll be able to take notes while you listen to it though.
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Reading Time: 3 minutes
In an effort to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuing certificates to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by conserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive this certification can attract customers by advertising their products as “ecocertified.” However, it is unlikely that wood companies in the United States will do the same, for several reasons.
First, American consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the ecocertification label. Because so many mediocre products are labelled as “new” or “improved,” American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims in general.
Second, ecocertified wood will be more expensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn ecocertification, a wood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification agency. This additional cost gets passed on to consumers. American consumers tend to be strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaper uncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer to keep their prices low rather than obtain ecocertification.
Third, although some people claim that it always makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with the developments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing. Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only if they marketed most of their products abroad. But this is not the case– American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States, catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with the merchandise.
Directions: Below is the transcript.
Narrator: Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
Professor: Well, despite what many people say, there’s good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek ecocertification for their wood products. First off, consumers in the United States don’t treat all advertising the same. They distinguish between advertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims made by independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence in independent consumer agencies. Thus, ecologically minded Americans are likely to react very favorably to wood products ecologically certified by an independent organization with an international reputation for trustworthiness.
Second point–of course it’s true that American consumers care a lot about price– who doesn’t? But studies of how consumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers’ decisions only when the price of one competing product is much higher or lower than another. When the price difference between the two products is small–say, less than five percent, as is the case with certified wood– Americans often do choose on factors other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced of the value of preserving and protecting the environment.
And third, US wood companies should definitely pay attention to what’s going on in the wood business internationally, not because of foreign consumers, but because of foreign competition. As I just told you, there’s a good chance that many American consumers will be interested in ecocertified products. And guess what, if American companies are slow at capturing those customers, you can be sure that foreign companies will soon start crowding into the American market, offering ecocertified wood that domestic companies don’t.
Directions: Give yourself 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response is judged on the quality of the writing and how well it presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. You may view the reading passage while you respond.
RESPONSE TIME: 20 minutes
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.
The written passage and audio recording can be on pretty much any subject, but the good news is that all the prompts for the Integrated Writing Task are pretty similar. They usually ask you to summarize the points made in the lecture and compare/contrast them to points made in the reading passage.
You won’t be discussing your own opinion during this essay, instead you’ll be taking information from both the lecture and reading and analyzing it.
Before you even begin the essay, you should take good notes on the key points of the reading passage and the audio clip. Your notes should be especially good for the audio clip since you won’t be able to hear it again. Using your notes as reference, your essay should recap each of the main points made in the audio clip. For each point you should clearly describe how it contrasts with or challenges points from the reading passage.
Also, remember to use specific examples to strengthen your essay. Refer back to your notes and the reading passage if need be. However, don’t just copy portions of the audio clip or passage into your essay; that doesn’t show your English skills. Always rewrite the main ideas in your own words. Again, remember that you shouldn’t be including your own opinion in this essay. Stick only to what the reading passage and audio clip cover.
For the Independent Writing task, you’ll receive a question on a particular topic or issue. You’ll need to write a response to that topic that explains your opinion, and you’ll also need to give reasons and examples that support your opinion.
Directions: Read the question below. Give yourself 30 minutes to plan, write, and revise your essay. Typically, an effective response will contain a minimum of 300 words.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Television advertising directed toward young children (aged two to five) should not be allowed.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
TOEFL Independent Writing topics generally fit into one of three categories. There are example problems for each of these categories in the next section.
This is the most common prompt type for the Independent Writing Task, and the sample question above is an example of it. For this type of prompt, you’ll be presented with two sides of an argument. You’ll need to pick one side and give specific reasons and examples that support your opinion.
This is similar to the first type of prompt, except you’ll be discussing both sides, rather than choosing one you think is best. Many times these types of prompts will ask you to compare the advantages and disadvantages of an issue and give examples to support your statements.
If the sample question above followed this type of format, the prompt would be something like this: “Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of allowing television advertising to be directed toward young children (aged two to five). Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.”
This category is rarer, but you still may see it on TOEFL Writing. The TOEFL Independent Writing topics give you a broad topic with many possible opinions and ask for your stance on it.
If the sample question followed this type of format, the prompt would be similar to: “Which age group do you believe the majority of television advertising should be directed towards? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.”
Depending on the type of prompt you receive, you’ll either choose an opinion (from two options or many options) or explain both sides of an issue. For this essay, each paragraph should be devoted to making one main point, and each point should be supported with specific reasons and examples to back it up. If you’re being asked to describe your opinion, make it clear within the first paragraph of your essay. There should be no doubt as to how you feel about the topic.
Also, even though ETS states that a 300-word essay is the “recommended minimum” length for this task, don’t feel like you need to write hundreds of words after you reach the 300 mark in order to get a high score. Longer isn’t always better. It’s very possible (and common) for Independent Writing essays that are only 300 words or slightly longer to receive high scores.
Completing practice essays and becoming more familiar with the types of questions you could be asked is a key part of preparing for TOEFL Writing. There numerous practice TOEFL questions available , but you’ll likely want more to practice with.
To help you out, we’ve come up with 13 practice TOEFL Writing topics for both the Integrated and Independent Writing Tasks. Remember that on the real exam the conversations for the Integrated Writing Tasks would be audio recordings that you’d be listening to as opposed to reading.
#1: agree or disagree prompt.
Directions: Read the following passage and the lecture that follows. On the real TOEFL, you’ll have three minutes to read the passage. Then, answer the question below.
Reading Passage
Driverless cars are increasingly being seen as the way of the future. They will eliminate many of the hassles and dangers associated with traditional driving and pave the way for this new technology to become commonplace.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of driverless cars is that they will drastically cut down on human error that results in millions of people being injured or killed every year in car accidents. Driverless cars won’t forget to notice a stop sign, get distracted while texting, not notice the car up ahead has slowed down, or any other of a myriad of driver errors that occur every day. Once driverless cars become commonplace on our roads, thousands of lives will be saved a year.
Another benefit is that driverless cars will cut down on driving time and make commutes shorter. Cars with automated driving will travel at a more consistent and efficient rate than cars with human drivers, who tend to use the brake and gas pedals more often than necessary. Driverless cars know the exact speed to go in order to get to the destination as quickly as possible, based on speed limits, traffic, and other conditions, and the more driverless cars there are on the road, the more travel time will be reduced.
Finally, driverless cars allow people who would normally be driving to focus their attention on a task that’s more interesting and important to them. They may choose to check their emails, get absorbed in an audiobook or podcast, or enjoy a snack, among other possibilities. Having a driverless car will help former drivers make better use of their time.
Lecture Transcript
Professor: Despite the recent attention this subject has gotten in the news and on social media, driverless cars are not the world-changing technology they are being advertised as. They have significant drawbacks, and even if those are ironed out, they will still not offer all the benefits that they are advertising. First and foremost, even if every car on the street became driverless, that does not mean automobile accidents would suddenly end. Automated driving technology, like all technology can and will fail at times. In fact, even though there are few driverless cars currently on the road, they have already been associated with multiple accidents, injuries, and deaths. Automated driving will always be an imperfect technology, and it will also lack the human mind’s ability to analyze a situation and make split-second decisions which are often necessary to avoid accidents.
Another falsehood is the belief that driverless cars will make commutes significantly shorter. Driverless cars may be able to reduce a lot of the speed up/hit the brakes patterns human drivers engage in, however, driverless cars cannot do anything to change speed limits, road conditions, traffic, or other factors that contribute to commute times. As such, any reductions in driving times will be small, at best.
And third, many people believe that, with driverless cars, drivers won’t need to pay attention to the road at all. They’ll be free to watch a movie or read a book while driving! However, this is completely false. The person sitting in the driver’s seat of an automated driving vehicle will still need to pay attention to the road at all times in order to be alert for any situations where they need to override the automated driving technology. This means that, not only will driverless cars mean drivers can do something else while in the car, they’ll have to suffer through the boredom of passively watching their car make all the decisions without taking their eyes off the road.
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Knowing what to expect from the TOEFL essay topics will go a long way towards helping you write high-scoring essays. There are two essays on this section, the Integrated Writing Task and the Independent Writing Task. Integrated Writing topics provide you with an article to read and a lecture or conversation to listen to and then ask you to combine information from the two. TOEFL Independent Writing topics simply give you an idea or theory and ask for your perspective on it.
Completing practice essays will help you become better at understanding and answering TOEFL Writing topics. You should practice writing appropriately long responses that clearly outline your thoughts and support them with specific details.
Looking for more information on the TOEFL Writing section? Learn all the tips you need to know in order to ace TOEFL Writing!
Want more tips on how to prepare for TOEFL Writing questions? Check out our guide to the best ways to practice for TOEFL Writing!
Looking for a great TOEFL prep book? A good prep book can be the most important study tool you use, and we have information on all the best TOEFL prep books you should consider.
Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries. View all posts by Christine Sarikas
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The TOEFL Integrated Writing Task requires you to read a passage that is about 250-300 words long. You then must listen to a lecture that is 2 to 2.5 minutes long. The lecture will challenge or disagree with the ideas in the reading passage for TOEFL Writing Task 1.
Because this task is so test-specific, it’s difficult to find authentic practice with TOEFL Integrated Writing topics, outside of official TOEFL prep materials that take questions from the real test. But you can find reading passages and audio for TOEFL Integrated Writing in the official TOEFL Writing practice sets . Additional free prep for this task can be found in TOEFL Quick Prep (the tasks all come with reading passages, but some of them have transcripts rather than audio).
You can also find practice for this TOEFL Writing task in the official TOEFL books from ETS . Last but not least, you can sharpen your TOEFL Writing skills by practicing a TOEFL Integrated Writing task from Magoosh, free of charge, right here in this post! Near the bottom of this page there is a TOEFL Writing Task 1 practice exercise with a sample answer.
Before we get to that mock test, though, let’s talk about a few basics of TOEFL Integrated Writing. Click the table of contents below to navigate these basics, and hop down to the practice exercise.
Since you’ll still be wearing headphones after the Speaking section, the Writing section begins with the integrated task, for which you’ll need to keep your headphones on.
So what do TOEFL Integrated Writing topics look like? Well, the materials you’ll be using to answer the question are a reading passage and a lecture excerpt. Both of these will be longer than the ones you encountered in the Integrated Speaking questions—the reading passage will give you three minutes to read, and it will go into more detail than the one in the Speaking section did.
Whereas other integrated reading samples have served mainly to define a key concept, the one in the Writing section will describe a process or defend a position. The lecture (actually, it will be a short part of a lecture) will then expand on this information by offering examples, explaining in greater detail, or, most likely, describing conflicting viewpoints on the topic introduced in the reading passage. The author will use reasons that respond directly to the ideas in the reading passage.
The question will follow one of several formulas. The question you answer will probably be almost identical to one of these:
The first two are by far the most common; usually, you will hear a lecture that contrasts with the reading.
Altogether you will have 20 minutes to plan and write your TOEFL Integrated Writing essay. The essay will not be long—most responses are between 150 and 225 words—but there’s still no time to waste, and you’ll want to keep your writing skills sharp. Remember that your organization and content are just as important as your language use. Your essay needs to have a clear structure with separate points and specific examples that transition smoothly. Most of all, it’s very important to draw from both the reading passage and the listening passage. If you only reference the written passage, the very best score your essay can get is a 1. In many ways, the integrated essay is a summary of the lecture that you heard, but be sure to mention both sources.
You can take notes as you read and listen. With enough practice you will be able to identify the important points in the reading passage that will most likely be discussed in the lecture, and your notes should reflect that. Then, when you listen, it will be easy to take notes that relate to the ones that are already on your paper. Make as many connections between the two as possible while listening. If you have trouble with this, it’s okay—you can take a minute to connect information before you start writing, after the lecture is finished.
Typical TOEFL Writing Task 1 topics will be scholarly, the kinds of things that you’d read about or hear lectures about in an academic setting. Typical topics include things such as the spending habits of American consumers, lectures on history or classic literature, scientific debates, and so on. Topics will seldom be contemporary. For example, you are unlikely to see TOEFL Integrated Writing topics that focus on social media, cell phone use, contemporary popular culture, etc. These more modern topics are far more common in the TOEFL Independent Writing task that follows this one.
As you can see, success in TOEFL Integrated Writing is not just a matter of writing, but also comes down to reading and listening. For additional tips on these two skills in TOEFL Writing Task 1, read the following blog posts:
Even though the 20 minutes you have to write the integrated essay will fly by, it’s still worth taking a minute or two to write an outline of your own prior to beginning your response (the test proctor will provide as much scratch paper as you need). Even jotting just a few lines that connect parts of your notes and circling the main examples you want to cover will give you the guidance you need to stay on task when writing your response.
Below I’ve written an outline that demonstrates an effective structure to use on the exam when responding to TOEFL Integrated Writing topics. I highly recommend that you practice writing with this outline as your guide, at least at first. Once you’ve gotten some feedback and have some good practice under your belt, you can deviate from it. At first, though, it’s good to know the rules before you break them, and to have a structure you can rely on when test day comes.
Note that this outline template involves a lot of paraphrasing. Before you get started on making a practice outline of your own, be sure to check out Magoosh’s tutorial on paraphrasing in TOEFL Integrated writing .
A. General statement about the relationship between the resources you heard and read.
B. Short description of the structure of the lecture
A. Paragraph on first point
1. Paraphrase the professor’s point
2. Contrast/compare with the reading
3. Give extra detail and additional specific examples on the professor’s point (optional)
B. Paragraph on second point
C. Paragraph on third point
III. Conclusion
Note that you don’t have a conventional essay structure here. There is no thesis statement, and the difference between a body paragraph and introductory paragraph is less pronounced. When responding to TOEFL Integrated Writing topics, you also don’t have a concluding paragraph per se. If you’re having trouble picturing exactly what this looks like, you can see an example task and model answer at the bottom of this post. You can also see some sample essays for this task in the official TOEFL Writing practice set PDF from ETS . (And this PDF contains TOEFL Writing samples for task 1 as well!)
Above all, remember that the key to a good essay here is simply to take good notes on what you read and hear, and translate those notes into a full essay. For more info on the best ways to do that, see my post on note-taking and organizing your answer in TOEFL Integrated writing . Those tips can help you even when you encounter a particularly challenging Independent Writing task. And for more advice to help you through harder prompts, see the section immediately below.
In all of the years that I’ve been tutoring the TOEFL, the part of the test that seems to inspire the most extreme reactions in students is the TOEFL Integrated Writing task. Students either happily breeze right through it or get very stressed out. Why? Because the difficulty levels on this task can vary so much! This, combined with the general complexity of the task, makes TOEFL Integrated Writing challenging for the average TOEFL test taker.
Ultimately, the TOEFL Integrated Writing task may be the hardest part of the TOEFL. This task requires not only keen English language skills, but also good analytical abilities. You need to bring together different, opposing ideas from the lecture and passage. This is a complicated job. And to make things even harder, the task comes almost at the very end of the test, when most test-takers are exhausted.
Some TOEFL Integrated Writing topics are harder than others. And if you get a hard Integrated Writing Task, you could be in danger of “blowing” your whole TOEFL IBT Writing section—doing badly on both tasks! An unusually difficult Integrated Writing task can leave you so tired and frustrated that you aren’t able to focus on the easier second TOEFL Writing Task.
So if you come across a harder-than-usual Integrated Writing Task on test day, make sure you handle it carefully. With the right strategies, a really tough TOEFL Writing Task 1 doesn’t need to hurt your TOEFL score at all.
The worst thing you can do is not notice how hard an Integrated Writing Task is. If you mistakenly think an Integrated Writing task is relatively easy, you won’t plan for it correctly.
So try to immediately notice how complicated a task is. You should be able to tell just by looking at the reading passage, since the passage is the basis for the lecture. If the passage seems unusually complex, make note of this and proceed carefully. Don’t miss anything important, and don’t lose track of time. It’s really easy to leave out key facts or run down the clock in TOEFL Integrated Writing.
When you come across a potentially hard Integrated Writing Passage, start trying to mentally paraphrase the passage right away. Figure out whether you are able to paraphrase the passage effectively. Paraphrases should be shorter than their source, and should change the original wording significantly. If you are having a lot of trouble doing this, the passage may be too difficult for you to paraphrase.
If the ideas in the passage are really hard to paraphrase and shorten, don’t panic. For these more difficult Integrated Writing passages, there’s a simple solution: put less of the passage information into your essay. If necessary, put nothing directly from the passage into your essay.
This advice may sound strange. After all, the official TOEFL Writing Rubrics , which are used for scoring on the real test, say it’s important to include all the big ideas from the passage and the reading. But for a harder Integrated Writing Task, it really does pay to adjust your approach in this way.
Think about it. If the passage is really complex, then the lecture that follows will also be complex. And if the passage and the lecture are both very complicated, it can become almost impossible to correctly summarize them both. You won’t have enough time, and it’ll be too hard to focus on absolutely everything in the prompt. The lecture will need to be the main focus, since the task itself asks you to focus on the way that the lecture challenges the passage.
The lecture will of course contain ideas from the passage, since the lecturer is challenging the key points from the reading. So paying attention to what the lecturer says will allow you to indirectly use parts of the passage. And with this approach, you run less of a risk writing an unfocused or incomplete essay.
Also remember how the TOEFL scoring system works . If you get a task that is harder-than-average, the TOEFL will adjust your task score upwards at least a little. Relying only on lecture content might hurt your score a bit. But you have a good chance of recovering those lost points when ETS adjusts your score. On the other hand, if you try to take on all of the complicated content in the task and fail, your score could really suffer, even with ETS’s score adjustments for difficulty. Ultimately, getting a high score on TOEFL Integrated Writing is a matter of balancing your priorities and focus, regardless of the difficulty level of a given individual task.
I have written and recorded a task for you that closely follows the real TOEFL Integrated Writing Task in length, content, and format. Read the passage, listen to my lecture and follow the instructions for an (almost) authentic TOEFL writing practice experience. To prepare, you may want to read some of Magoosh’s advice on this task. The official TOEFL Integrated Writing Rubric (page 2 of the linked document) may also be useful. And at the bottom of this post, you’ll be able to view a sample response to this task.
Directions: Give yourself 3 minutes to read the passage.
The “comics medium” includes newspaper comic strips such as Dennis the Menace and comic books such as Spider-Man. Scholars around the world agree that comics are a uniquely American art form.
The first commercially successful comic strip was Hogan’s Alley , a comic strip from the 1890s. Hogan’s Alley featured the Yellow Kid, the world’s first popular cartoon character. This strip and its character marked the beginning of comics and was American in every respect. Set in a low-income neighborhood in New York City, Hogan’s Alley dealt with the lives of ordinary Americans. It was written and drawn by American cartoonist R.F. Outcault. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, two famous and influential American publishers, printed the comic strip in their newspapers.
The first popular comic book in the world was also American. Action Comics , a series that is still in print today, was initially released in 1938. It featured Superman, the world’s first superhero. Like Hogan’s Alley , Superman was American-created.
Americans invented comic strips, and Americans have exported their unique art form to the rest of the world. Japanese comics, called manga , were inspired by the comics that Americans brought to Japan after World War II. Popular European comics series such as Smurfs and Asterix are influenced by Disney comic books. Today, American-created Disney comic characters are more popular in Europe than ever.
The comics medium started in America. While it has spread around the world, even comics that aren’t created by Americans have an undeniable American influence. This is why so many art and literature scholars recognize the comic strip as a truly American art form.
Directions: Summarize the main points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge the specific points made in the reading passage. You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the basis of the quality of your writing and how well your response presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage.
Listen to the lecture here:
Once you’ve completed the practice task, you can assess the quality of your answer by comparing it to this sample answer . Good luck!
If you’re ready to try the independent and integrated tasks together under test-like conditions, check out our full-length video Writing Test!
And if you want more writing practice, download the FREE TOEFL Practice Test PDF .
Plus, Magoosh TOEFL online prep has six practice tests with sample answers, video explanations, strategies and tips for the every TOEFL speaking question!
I have written a level 5 answer, which you can read below. This answer is followed by some commentary on why this response would earn the full five points.
In the passage, the author argues that comics are an art form that is very unique to the United States, but has been borrowed by other countries. The speaker corrects many things the author wrote about comics being an American art form. Although the writing says all scholars agree that comics are uniquely American, the lecturer says that in modern times, very few scholars agree with that.
The speaker then points out that, contrary to the writing, the first popular comic strips were not American. According to the speaker, 100 years before the first American comic strip, there were popular comic strips in Europe. The lecture also states that Hogan’s Alley , the 1890s comic strip described as American in the article, is not completely American because the comic characters were not Americans. Moreover, the publisher and creator of the comic were immigrants from other countries.
Additionally, the speaker disagrees with the article’s claim that American comic book Superman was the first popular comic book. Instead, the lecturer says the Belgian comic book Tintin was popular before Superman. Also, the author points out that Superman’s creator is Canadian, not American as the article says.
Finally, the speaker disagrees that American cartoon art influenced international comics, as claimed in the writing. He says that popular European comics have a uniquely European style. He also argues that Japanese comics are influenced more by traditional Asian art. Finally, the speaker notes that even American Disney comics characters are drawn by European artists.
Per the official TOEFL Integrated Writing rubric , this answer would get a score of 5. It outlines all the main points from the lecture. It explains how each main point contradicts or challenges the main ideas from the reading. It is organized well, with good transition words for each paragraph. It has no major errors, using correct grammar and vocabulary . Look at this model answer and the rubric linked above as you write your own answer to the sample task . If you need some extra help, you can find a writing template for your own response here .
I also have some resources specific to this essay prompt. For a guide on how to paraphrase as you respond to this specific prompt, see my article “ How to Paraphrase in TOEFL Integrated Writing .” And for advice on how to reise your TOEFL writing, using this model Integrated task as a specific example, see “ How to Revise TOEFL Writing .” All of this advice is applicable to other TOEFL Integrated Writing essays as well! (And it can also be applied to Task 2!)
For more TOEFL Integrated Writing tasks from Magoosh, check our the additional free TOEFL Integrated writing practice task found in Magoosh’s complete guide to TOEFL Writing samples . You may also want to consider signing up for Magoosh TOEFL (you can try a free trial of Magoosh TOEFL prep without entering any payment info, and then “go premium” if you like what you see).
You can also go to “the source”—official TOEFL Integrated Writing practice from ETS. This free TOEFL Integrated Writing task , which focuses on the ecological practices of American companies (a typical Integrated Writing topic) is a good place to start if you’re looking for some quick official practice that you don’t have to pay for. Unfortunately, this readily accessible official practice task is flawed: it has a transcript of a lecture, rather than lecture audio. The only free official TOEFL Integrated Writing task with an actual sound clip for the lecture is the one in the official online TOEFL mock test .
David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he’s helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in many scholarly articles , his Master’s Thesis is featured on the Reading with Pictures website, and he’s presented at the WITESOL (link to PDF) and NAFSA conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru. Come join David and the Magoosh team on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram , or connect with him via LinkedIn !
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u shud have atleast given a sample answer for us to compare our answers to.
Really that you are complaining? This is a great exercises. Just be grateful!
They have given it under the audio. Can’t you see that?
Hello Rabia,
That’s a good point and an excellent request. To meet your request, I’ll write up an example answer ASAP and make a blog post about it. My post will include an explanation of my writing approach, and reference to the TOEFL Integrated writing rubric. As soon as my example is up and posted, I’ll link it to the comments here.
Have a great day, David
Still waiting for the example answer.
You can find the sample answer here: https://magoosh.com/toefl/2015/toefl-integrated-writing-practice-task-model-answer/ 🙂
thanks for share.it helps me.
Thank you so much, I found a PDF file that was so useful.
You’re welcome! 😀
This is a very helpful integrated writing practice, especially with the sample answer. However, I can’t seem to figure out what question the essay should answer. The directions just say to write a response, but they don’t give any direction as to what is expected in this response. Is this typical of TOEFL integrated writing questions?
Hi K.C. The essay question is in this post, but I think I know why you can’t see it— I’ve just realized it’s kind of oddly placed. Or rather, the lecture track is oddly placed in this post. The lecture audio link appears right below the directions and right above the question, so that the question itself is easy to miss. But look carefully below the audio and you’ll see:
“Summarize the main points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge the specific points made in the reading passage.”
This specific task is typical of the TOEFL, but the confusing screen layout is not. The layout was likely my mistake when I wrote and uploaded this. I’ll check with my editor about fixing that. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Hmm…And now I do not see an audio link. Thank you for making the task more visible, though.
Hmm, indeed. I seemed to be having some issue with the external link. I just hosted the file locally, and the sound file should be playable now.
hello sir/Mam I have a question regarding the integrated writing task….will the passage reappear even after the listening part?
Yes, the passage reappears on the screen after you listen to the audio track, and the passage remains available the whole time that you write your response.
Hello Can you please introduce a good source for practicing integrated writing task.
Sadly, there aren’t a lot of good materials out there for TOEFL Integrated Writing tasks, compared to Independent Writing. This is because it’s a lot harder to create an Integrated Writing Task— it requires writing a complete passage and recording a lecture. Still, you get one Integrated Writing Practice task in each and every exam in ETS’s official TOEFL books and materials. And Magoosh TOEFL subscribers get access to quite a few of these practice tasks too.
I’m also happy to tell you that I’ll be putting up a few more Integrated Writing Practice tasks in the next few weeks! Watch this space, Mazdak. 🙂
how to download the given audio? I need to download and copy it in the pen drive so as i can practice when internet connection is not available.
There’s a version of this track on Soundcloud that’s available for download. You can find the link to the track here: https://soundcloud.com/david-recine-1/comics . You’ll need to create a SoundCloud account if you don’t already have one. ( Registering for SoundCloud is fast, easy and free.)
i m not good listening practice and also i have problem in matching and choosing the correct point to reading passage how can i improve score
OK, if I understand correctly, you’re having trouble with the questions that come at the very end of a reading passage question set? The text insertion and prose summary ones? I recommend checking out our blog’s tutorials on those two question types. Here is our guide to TOEFL Reading prose summary strategy , and here’s our tutorial on TOEFL Reading text insertion . 🙂
The reading and the lecture are both about comic medium, which includes newspaper comic strips. The author of the reading believes that the comics are of unique American art form and that scholars all over the globe agree on this. The lecturer casts doubts on the claim made in the article. He thinks that when more study was done, scholars realized that the comic mediums were not uniquely American.
First of all, the author of the reading claims Hogan’s Alley to be the first commercially successful comic strip having first popular cartoon character. He believes that Hogan’s alley focused mainly on the lives of ordinary Americans and that the people involved in making it were all Americans. This point is challenged by the lecturer. He says that Hogan’s Alley was not the first successful comic strip with first famous cartoon character. He adds that during 1790’s many popular comic strips and popular comic character were from Europe, especially from Britain and Switzerland. He adds that the characters and publisher were not uniquely American but were immigrants as well. The publisher of Hogan’s Alley, Joseph Pulitzer was himself an immigrant from Hungary.
Secondly, the author states that the first popular action book comic was American which involved Superman – The first Superhero. He argues that the first popular action comic was American. The lecturer rebuts this argument. He suggests that 16 years before action comic was prevalent, Adventure of Tintin comic from Belgium was popular and it predates superman. He elaborates on this by mentioning that the artist of Superman was not from America but from Canada.
Finally, the author mentions that Americans devised and transferred the art form all around the world. He is of the opinion that Japanese comic strips were influenced by comic from America and that Americans created Disney character that was popular in Europe. The lecturer, on the other hand, feels that Japan and Europe were influenced by various other art forms. He says that Japan was highly influenced by the traditional Asian art and that the Disney characters popular in Europe were drawn in European style and art. He puts forth the idea that the comic strip is from all around the world and not only America.
Normally I don’t approve comments like this, since there isn’t time to review every sample essay that students try to post here. However, in this case, I’ve decided to approve this essay and give some feedback. Sanjay, I think this essay of yours can help other students who read the comments, for two reasons: First, it’s fairly well-written overall. Second, the mistakes you make are common ones. So let’s look at your strengths and weaknesses of this essay.
This essay is incredibly well organized! Sanjay, you did a great job of moving through both the lecture and the essay point-by-point. Also, the grammar and spelling is quite good— you do have a few mistakes in these errors, but the mistakes are so minimal, they’d have little or no impact on your TOEFL score.
WEAKNESSES Your biggest weakness is paraphrasing. Sometimes your wording was way too close to the original source material, so much so that your writing might be judged as plagiarism. This is especially noticeable in the second paragraph. (For more info, see my post on avoiding plagiarism on the TOEFL .) At other times, you misinterpreted information from the sources. For example, Superman was not the first successful action comic; “Action Comics” is the name of a publication, not a description of a kind of comic book.
Your transitions are a bit weak as well. Ideally, TOEFL scorers want to see transitions that are more descriptive— not just numerical words like “first” and “second.” For examples of more varied transitions, see the Magoosh TOEFL Writing Templates ebook, and check out Kate’s tutorial on TOEFL Writing transitions , and mine .
All in all, I’d put this essay in the 3.5-4 point range, per the official TOEFL Writing rubrics . Address those weak points, and you could get your score all the way up to a 5.
how many words should this part have?
The TOEFL doesn’t set any strict, official rules for word count in the TOEFL Integrated Writing Essay. However, ETS reports that most top-scoring Integrated Writing responses are between 150 and 225 words long.
Hey there David or Rachel….I don’t know with who am I talking with …:-) 🙂 But I wanted to ask you about the listening and reading sections. Do paragraphs appear while attending the question ?
Yes, you should be able to see the text (or a relevant portion of the text) when answering questions. 🙂
The passage claims the idea that the comic medium is popularly American, However professor refutes each of the claims by saying that comic medium is not popularly American it is influenced by the whole world.
The passage claims that Hogan Alley the most popular comic of 1890’s was the first successful comic and was developed by Americans, However professor refutes this claim by saying that Hogan Alley was not the first successful comic , In 1970 many comic strips were originated in Europe which were popular and successful.
The passage states that Action comic series which introduced superman as a character was the first popular comic series developed by Americans in 1938, However professor refutes the claim by saying that in 1922 Tin-Tin published in Belgium was the most popular comic ever.
The passage posits that The Japanese comics which are popular throughout Europe are influenced by American art and literature, however professor refutes the claim of the passage by stating that Asterics the most popular Japanese comic was influenced by Canada not from US.
Thus the professor refutes the reading by illustrating some facts and states that the Comic medium is influenced by al over the world it is not popularly American.
Can you please rate this answer
Hi Aakash! Unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t offer a TOEFL essay review service. However, to help you evaluate your response, I recommend the following. First, check out David’s sample essay here . You can compare your structure and the points you make with what David wrote in his essay 🙂 Also, I highly recommend that you check out this page , where we provide some guidelines on how to evaluate your own essays. I hope this helps, at least a little!
One question regarding scoring: although the TOEFL OG recommends essays of 150-225 words for the Integrated Essay, do you think that length correlates with score?
My point is all things being equal (coherency, grammar, vocabulary), would a longer essay tend to score higher than an average one?
In other words, do you think it is worth it to push it to the 250+ words in order to try to get a higher score?
Thank you so much!
Hi Sebastian,
Once again, my statements regarding your identical question for the independent essay apply. In addition, on the integrated essay, including too much (say writing 350 words and covering 6 main points) can demonstrate a lack of concision and an inability to distill the most important points from many. As this test is aimed at demonstrating your ability to handle academic-style writing, you want to showcase this in addition to grammar, argumentation and organization.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Great! I will follow your piece of advice! Apologies for repeating the question. I jut thought that since they were two different tasks, they could yield two different tactics and maybe scoring system. I just wanted to post each question in the appropriate post.
Have a great week and thank you as usual!
No worries, Sebastian! I’m sure these comments will be useful for future students 🙂
Best of luck as you continue studying!
Call me petty, but I would just appreciate Americans like you being totally accurate with facts that you feel you can confidently, expertly provide as subject matter for something that should feel as authoritative as a “lecture”. Joe Shuster was Canadian half by birth and grew up in Canada right into his teens. This time also included his first exploits as a writer for a publication. So it would be nice not to see folks like you casually whitewashing Superman as a wholly American creation. If I tried to claim conversely that Superman was actually just a Canadian creation in basically the exact same way, I’m sure there’d be no end to the uproar. We also helped to give the world the phone and basketball, just in case you planned on overAmericanizing those facts in other tasks too…
Jeffrey, I definitely hear you on that, and I tried to touch on that in the lecture. FYI, although I wrote both the passage and the lecture script, the lecture– which refutes the idea that comics are a purely American art form– reflects my own personal opinions a bit more. On an additional personal note, many of my favorite comic books– and many comics I feel have had some of the greatest influence on the medium worldwide– are made by creators from Canada and other places not in the USA. 🙂
This example has made my day, I’ve spent all evening trying to understand the difference between the lecture and the reading and it has made it more clear than all materials i consulted . Thank you so much, Very helpful.
So glad this tutorial and sample lecture helped, Denis. I had fun putting it all together too. 🙂
Thank you so much Mr. Recine! This example was spot-on! 🙂
Thanks for this sample test. Where can i get more task 1 practice test for my students?
TOEFL Writing Task 1 practice can be a little hard to come by, since it takes a lot of time to put together a proper Writing Task 1 (a passage and a recorded audio lecture). For fast, free TOEFL Writing Task 1 prompts, I recommend TOEFL Quick Prep . The first volume of TOEFL Quick Prep has a Writing Task 1s that come with transcript only, and no actual audio. Fortunately, Magoosh has made unofficial audio for all of the transcript-only lectures in both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Quick Prep. (See our unofficial audio for TOEFL Quick Prep Vol. 1 and TOEFL Quick Prep Vol. 2 .) You can also get access to some additional free Task 1s if you enroll in ETS’s free official online TOEFL course .
Beyond those resources, there are some good paid resources out there, such as ETS’s official TOEFL books: Official TOEFL iBT Tests Vol. 1 , Official TOEFL iBT Tests Vol. 2 , and The Official Guide to the TOEFL . TOEFL Preparation Online (TPO) is another potential source of high quality official ETS Writing Task 1 practice, although it’s a bit expensive.
Last but certainly not least, consider a subscription to Magoosh TOEFL , if you haven’t already. 🙂 We offer six practice TOEFL Writing Task 1s to our Premium students, as well as many other practice questions and video lessons for the test as a whole.
The lecture challenges the points made in reading passage that comics strips and comics books are original art form from America, they started in America and comics created around the world are influenced by American comics.The lecture disputes the following claims made in the passage. First claim made in the passage is that the first famous comics strip was Hogan Alley and was published in 1890, however the lecture claims that it was not the first and further gives example for a comics published in 1790 in Europe. The characters in the Hogan Alley were immigrants and cartoonist RF Outcalt himself was an immigrant which means that the origin of the comics comes from another country. Second claim in the passage is that the first adventure comics published was in 1938 and was about Superman, lecture refutes the argument by giving example of comic book “Adventures of Tin Tin” which as Belgium origin and it predates Superman. Third claim made in the reading passage is that Japanese comics manga was influence by American, but the lecture contradicts it by claiming that it was influenced traditional Asian comics The last claim made in the passage is that European comics is also influenced by American comics, the lecture clarifies that by the example that even though the disney characters are famous in Europe but these characters are written as European disney characters by the Europeans. In conclusion, the lecture says that comics art were not first originated in America but they did exist in the world much before the comics became famous in America and that the comics around the globe is not influenced by American comics.
The passage and the lecture are both about the originality of comics. The author of the text states that all comics have been influenced by early American art forms. The lecturer, however, strongly disagrees with this idea. To begin, the text points out that the Japanese version of comics, called ‘manga’ were derived from the American comics. They had been taken to Japan after World War two. The lecturer contradicts this claim. He says that the manga relates more to Asian arts than American . Secondly, the author details how Disney inspired the many famous European comic series. He gives examples of Smurfs and Asterix, and how they are very popular. To this, the lecturer differs explaining how the writings, like hash-tag are European styled. Finally, detailing the studies made by scholars on America’s role in early comic industry, the author stamps comics as America’s undeniable creations. Despite this, the professor shuts down these data as rubbish. He explores the history of comics, and how there were many European comics before the start of American ones. In addition, he says that many original American comics were created by immigrants.
Both the reading and the lecture discuss the real origin of comic books and their history. The auther of the reading suggests that comics originally are an amercican art. However the proffesor explains that comics medea is an art actually shared by the whole world. First of all, according to the reading hongn’s aley is the fist popular strip figure disigned by an american. But the lecture opposes to this statement and explains that in fact alley was not the firt influencial strip caracter know world wild but actually lots of caracters made by imigrants from switserland had been there befoor him Secondly, the reading states that popular action comics books were invented by americans. Though the lecture points out that exion comics such as tintin, written in 1922 predated befoor the outcomming of for example spiderman. Finally, the author suggests that american comic strips as for example disney inspiered the creation of mangas on the other side of the world. Oposing to this, the speaker explains that disney had american caracters but the comics are actually made by europeens and traditional asian art developd on its own
Hi, would like to have some feedback. Here’s my response: The reading and the lecture are about comics. The reading as well as the lecture have specific mentions and opposing views about the origin and spread in popularity of comics The writer of the passage puts forth the point that comics are a purely American art form. In contrast, the lecture provides proofs against this idea. Firstly, the passage mentions the first commercially successful comic strip Hogan’s Alley. According to the passage, it dealt with ordinary Americans, was set in New York and published by American publishers. However, the lecture mentions that it was not the first commercially popular comic strip and that its publisher was an immigrant from Hungary. Second, the passage refers to “Action comics”, which featured Superman, as the first popular comic book in the world. The lecture refutes this point by saying that “Action comics” was not the first popular comic book. Tintin was published in Belgium 16 years before it and it is still popular. Also, even the artist of Superman was from Canada. Lastly, the passage mentions that comics were invented in America and then exported to the rest of the world. But the lecture opposes this idea by saying that traditional Asian art has more influence on comics than any other art has. Moreover, though the Disney characters were written in America, they were written and drawn by European creators. Thus, they were not truly American. This is how the lecture refutes the key points in the passage.
Hi Rk! Unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t offer a TOEFL essay review service. However, to help you evaluate your response, I recommend the following. First, check out David’s sample essay here . You can compare your structure and the points you make with what David wrote in his essay 🙂 Also, I highly recommend that you check out this page , where we provide some guidelines on how to evaluate your own essays. I hope this helps, at least a little!
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TOEFL IBT > Practice Tests > TOEFL Writing Samples: Practice Essay Topic And Questions
Are you looking for an efficient TOEFL test preparation guide ? Then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we will be addressing the following key points:
Ready to maximize your chances to successfully pass the TOEFL IBT exam ? Then keep reading!
The writing part of the official TOEFL test will allow you to assess the level of your written English in an academic context as well as your ability to structure writing in a fluid and synthetic way. You will have to answer questions related to essays talking about various topics for the Integrated Writing Question part of the test. The second part of the test, the Independent Writing Questions, will ask you to give your opinion on a particular subject.
We will be addressing the writing section in this article, however if you wish to get access to more resources, be sure to take a look at our article on TOEFL practice tests and questions for all the sections .
We will be going over some exercises for both types of essays for the TOEFL Writing section. If you wish to train for the other sections, please refer to these articles :
You will find various sample essays for the TOEFL integrated writing task. If you wish to train more in-depth, make sure you take TOEFL mock tests regularly to practice for the exam in real conditions.
Sample Text 1: Stonehenge – Glacial Erratics
Several of the rocks which make up Stonehenge, one of England’s most famous historical sites, have been found to come from a nearby quarry in Salisbury, around 25 miles away from the site. These could have been transported by men using sleds or other rudimentary tools. Others, however, have been traced to another location in Wales, almost 200 miles away.
So, how did those rocks, called bluestones, make the long and arduous journey? It is unlikely that the prevailing theory is true; namely, that these bluestones were transported from one location to the other. The technology of the time would have made this back-breaking work, and it is unlikely that they would have gone to so much trouble, when they could simply have used rocks of a different type found closer to the site.
A new and exciting theory is called glacial erratics. This theory states that the rocks were, in fact, transported to the area far earlier by glacial movements during an icier interval in the Earth’s climate, and not instead by a phantom brigade of men.
Such erratics are widely known; we tend to think of the Earth’s climate as calm and tranquil, but on a historical basis, there have been several hundred thousand years where half of the planet was covered in glaciers. These tend to be slow but violent in nature; calmly and methodically carving their way through rock and earth.
Over many thousand years, it’s entirely possible that these glacial erratics transported the requisite materials to the site, thus solving the conundrum of how they came to be used in a field near Salisbury. It might also explain the unfinished-looking nature of Stonehenge itself; the interior part of it looks as though it’s missing a few pieces. Perhaps there were no more bluestones to use.
Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.
Sample Text 2:
Supply side economics is an economic theory which states that the best way to run an economy is by lowering taxes and cutting regulations, thereby removing barriers to business and stimulating growth by putting more money into the hands of both businesses and consumers.
While the theory has its detractors, they cannot deny the benefits of this approach. During the 1980s, both Great Britain and the United States pursued this approach with great success. The economies of both countries grew exponentially during this period, and unemployment fell to near record levels.
In the United States, taxes were cut from a high of 50% in the early eighties to nearly 30% in the late eighties, something which caused the GDP of the country to shoot up, and also created the conditions for the economic boom in the nineties. In the UK, too, the cut in taxes stimulated the British economy a great deal. Indeed, in the seventies, the British economy was known as the ‘sick man of Europe’, due to anaemic growth rates and high unemployment.
Many at the time theorised that the United Kingdom was in permanent and possibly terminal decline. With the reduction in taxes, the removal of burdensome regulations on businesses and the corresponding growth caused by these actions, it is fair to say that the country recovered its erstwhile reputation as a good place to do business.
Question: Summarise the main points in the lecture. Be sure to talk about how they cast doubt on the points raised in the text.
Sample Text 3:
In response to rising concerns over the global obesity epidemic, an international health body is lobbying for additional taxation on unhealthy food. Under such a policy, the producers of these junk foods, which typically are nutritionally-low with high fat and sugar content, would have to pay extra in order to sell them in supermarkets or serve them in restaurants. However, opponents believe it will not succeed in making the population healthier for a number of reasons.
Firstly, people should be allowed to eat whatever they like without being punished for their decisions. When people choose to eat unhealthy things, they are aware that these foods are unhealthy but feel that the enjoyment they get from eating it outweighs the long-term health costs. Additional taxation would therefore only prevent people from eating what they enjoy.
Secondly, taxation would increase the price of certain types of food, but this increase would not be enough to affect purchasing behaviour. If a meal or an item at the supermarket were only one or two percent higher in price, it would be unlikely that consumers would even notice the tax. Ultimately it would simply mean these consumers would have less disposable income to spend on a more varied diet.
Lastly, it is not entirely evident that taxing junk food would result in people eating more healthy food. In this view, the problem is not the low price of less healthy food but the high price of healthier options. These would remain the same as before and these are what generally prevent consumers from purchasing them regularly. As a result, this policy does nothing to promote healthier food or cultivate more wholesome eating habits among the population.
Here are some more essay sample questions for the second part of the TOEFL iBT test. However, be sure to practice with TOEFL sample tests on top of these examples to be fully prepared for the test day.
Question 1: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A mother is more essential to a child’s upbringing than a father. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 2: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The internet has been a good thing for society. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 3: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People who work in public services, such as doctors, nurses and teachers, should earn more money than people who are paid to entertain, like actors and sports stars. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 4: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Countries are becoming increasingly similar because people are able to buy the same products anywhere in the world. Use reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 5: Some people prefer going to live music events like festivals to listen to music. Other people prefer to listen to music at home. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Question 6: Some people prefer to learn a second language using blending learning which combines online lessons with exercises on a digital platform. Do you think this is a good idea? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 7: A large advertising company is looking for a new location for one of their billboards. They have identified an ideal position, which is clearly visible from a highly frequented central area of town. It happens to be on the side of one of the city’s high-school buildings. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. Question 8: Some people prefer reading news and magazine content online. Other people prefer to read the news in print. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Question 9: Some people prefer living in the countryside while others disagree and prefer to live in modern areas of the city. Which option do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Question 10: Some people prefer living in the countryside while others disagree and prefer to live in modern areas of the city. Which option do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
The TOEFL certifies your academic level and your ability to follow the lessons given in an English-speaking university course. GlobalExam allows you to support you in your language learning via our online learning platform. An ergonomic and intuitive solution thanks to which you can train by accessing our extensive online resources:
Easy online preparation, useful tools to gain confidence and optimize your TOEIC score in general and TOEFL Writing in particular! We will be sure to polish your writing skills to ensure that you get a high score at the TOEFL writing tasks.
To go further, you can read our summary of recommendations for the TOEFL test. You can also read our tip sheets on the other sections of the exam.
TOEFL Speaking Practice: Questions And Free Sample Tests
TOEFL Reading Practice Test: Sample Exercises With Questions
TOEFL Listening Practice: Sample Questions and Exercises
Learning to write well is a skill, like any other. This skill is important not only on your TOEFL exam, but also in your academic and professional career. The TOEFL Writing section consists of two parts:
The following free sample TOEFL essays illustrate how to get a high score on the independent writing section of the iBT. By reading through the essays, you can learn how to:
Try to write an essay each day. The added practice will enable you to complete a strong essay, with ease, confidence, and speed, on the day of your TOEFL exam and throughout your life.
Toefl overview.
2. toefl skills, primary skills.
Toefl books, in-class training.
Studying toefl abroad, 4. attitude, test anxiety.
6. toefl blog.
Prospective students must be a graduate of materials science and engineering or a related discipline at a recognized university with better than a B average. Admission is based on overall academic performance and potential.
A completed application will include the following:
The Graduate Admissions Committee thoroughly reviews each complete application and considers each applicant exclusively for the degree program to which they have applied.
The Graduate Admissions Office does not prescreen any application materials prior to the submission of your application. Also, the office will not advise applicants as to whether they should or should not submit an application.
This distinctive and transformative program is dedicated to developing a diverse community of exceptionally talented national STEM leaders from underrepresented or underresourced backgrounds by eliminating cost as a barrier to graduate education.
All required materials should be uploaded into the application form . You should request English proficiency exam score reports be sent electronically to the department. It is acceptable for letters of recommendation to arrive after the application submission deadline.
Transcripts will be marked “unofficial” even if you have uploaded an official copy of your transcripts directly into the application. The Admissions Committee will review the unofficial transcripts that have been uploaded directly. It is not necessary to submit an official transcript until you have been requested to do so.
The most informative recommendations are written by those for whom you have done technical work or research similar to the type you will do as a graduate student in our program. Most often, this will be a professor in engineering or science with whom you have taken a course with a significant project component, or an undergraduate (or master’s) thesis advisor. Depending on how long it has been since you have been out of school, some combination of one or two professors and one or two work supervisors is the most common choice.
As an applicant, an English proficiency exam is required for non-native English speakers. The department accepts TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo scores (must be sent electronically to the university from the company). Applicants who are non-native English speakers can receive a requirement waiver if they have or will complete a four-year undergraduate program at a university within the United States before the start of the first term they are enrolled.
22 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 84 | 6.5 | 105 |
IELTS + DUOLINGO send your scores to: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering, 431 Hamerschlag Drive, Ansys Hall Suite 250, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
The essay section is important and application reviewers read every word of it during the review process. It should be thoughtful, informative, and written in crisp, clear English. It should show that you have thought about your research interests and motivations, future professional goals, and interest in outreach, as well as diversity equity, and inclusion. The essay field on the application will allow for 500 words. Do not copy whole sections of our catalogue or faculty bios, web pages, etc. into your statement of purpose. Suggest a few possible projects that might interest you, but do not limit yourself to a single, narrowly-defined project.
Check out CMU’s schedule of classes
Doctoral students generally receive financial support for their tuition and stipend from fellowships, traineeships, government grants, graduate assistantships, or scholarships. The vast majority of graduate assistantships that cover a stipend and tuition are paid for by competitive external research grants. Hence, continued financial assistance for doctoral students is contingent upon both satisfactory research progress and academic performance.
Please sign into your graduate application to check the status. This site is updated when material is received and decisions are made, so please feel free to check your status frequently during peak admission season.
Your completed application may be reconsidered for the next concurrent semester after your original application semester. If you would like your application to be reconsidered, send an email to [email protected] stating your intentions.
Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic information. Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and is required not to discriminate in violation of federal, state or local laws or executive orders.
Inquiries concerning the application of and compliance with this statement should be directed to the university ombudsman, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, telephone 412.268.1018.
Obtain general information about Carnegie Mellon University by calling 412.268.2000.
Carnegie Mellon University publishes an annual campus security and fire safety report describing the university’s security, alcohol and drug, sexual assault and fire safety policies, and containing statistics about the number and type of crimes committed on the campus, and the number and cause of fires in campus residence facilities during the preceding three years. You can obtain a copy by contacting the Carnegie Mellon Police Department at 412-268-2323. The annual security and fire safety report also is available online at www.cmu.edu/police/annualreports .
Information regarding the application of Title IX, including to admission and employment decisions, the sexual misconduct grievance procedures and process, including how to file a report or a complaint of sex discrimination, how to file a report of sexual harassment, and how the university responds to such reports is available at www.cmu.edu/title-ix . The Title IX coordinator may be reached at 5000 Forbes Ave., 140 Cyert Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; 412-268-7125; or [email protected] .
For more information regarding the statement of assurance please visit www.cmu.edu/policies/administrative-and-governance/statement-of-assurance.html .
Test Resources
Toefl writing for an academic discussion questions – samples and guide and templates, sample questions and answers.
The “Writing for an Academic Discussion” task is the second TOEFL writing question.
You will see a question written by a professor and responses written by two students. Your job is to read everything and then answer the question. You will have ten minutes to do everything. You should write about 120 words.
Each link below includes a complete sample question and response. I also have a guide to answering this question .
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The first TOEFL writing question is the Integrated Writing Task. You will first read an article, then listen to a lecture, and finally write an essay using details from both. Your essay should be about 280 words. You will have 20 minutes to write. Below are some practice questions you can use to get ready for the test.
Directions: Give yourself 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response is judged on the quality of the writing and on how well it presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words.
TOEFL Writing Practice Tests: Online Discussion Writing Practice Test 8. Instructions: Your professor is teaching a class in environmental science. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response, please make sure that you do the following: express and support your personal opinion; meaningfully contribute to the discussion
TOEFL iBT Reading: Answering Vocabulary Questions April 6, 2011; TOEFL iBT Independent essay sample topic + how to outline your response April 6, 2011; Toefl IBT Speaking: Independent Task: The Paired-Choice Response April 6, 2011; TOEFL iBT Writing: "The best way to travel is in a group led by a tour guide." April 6, 2011
TOEFL iBT® Writing Practice Questions This document may contain some question types that would not appear on a test that has been adapted for various accessibility purposes. On test day, you will receive an accessible assessment that is consistent with any ... essay. Typically, an effective response will contain a minimum of 300 words. Reading ...
Question. Directions: Read the question below. Give . yourself 30 minutes to plan, write, and revise your essay. Typically, an effective response will contain a minimum of 300 words. Reading Time: 30 minutes. Question: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Television advertising directed toward . young children (aged two to five)
In addition to other TOEFL sections, it includes a complete TOEFL iBT Writing practice section (two tasks). Sample answers for both tasks are included so you can get an idea of what a good essay looks like. Unfortunately, the Sampler only works with Windows; you can't download it with a Mac. TOEFL iBT Sample Questions. This PDF is another ...
Here's an expert TOEFL teacher's sample essay to this particular TOEFL Writing topic. The article introduces the topic of corn-based ethanol. More specifically, the writer discusses the advantages of switching from fossil fuels to this alternative energy source. The lecturer in the listening passage disagrees.
Questions can be about any topics, but they are most often about education, work and society in general. There is no minimum or maximum word count, but I think you should write between 380 and 400 words. Styles of Questions. There are four main styles of TOEFL independent essay questions in 2022. They look like this: Agree/Disagree Style (most ...
After you complete the exam, your essays will be graded by several (typically four) graders. Each essay will receive a score from 0-5. The sum of those two scores will then be scaled to a score from 0-30, which is your official Writing score. The Writing section makes of 25% of your total TOEFL score (from 0-120).
TOEFL Writing Introduction. The writing section is the fourth section of the TOEFL iBT test and takes about 50 minutes to complete. It consists of two separate tasks: an Integrated Writing task and an Academic Discussion Writing task.The Independent task requires you to write an opinionated essay based on your own knowledge and experience, whereas the Integrated task requires you to write a ...
Below is an official TOEFL Integrated Writing sample question and as well as an essay response that received a score of 5. It includes a written passage, the transcript of a conversation (which would be an audio recording on the actual TOEFL, and the essay prompt. After the prompt is an example of a top-scoring essay.
The writing section is the final part of the TOEFL® test. You'll have about 30 minutes to answer two writing questions. They are known as the TOEFL Integrated essay, and the TOEFL Writing for an Academic Discussion Task. You'll be graded based on your content, organization, grammar and language use. Below are links to my best stuff, or ...
TOEFL essay templates can help you answer both of the TOEFL writing questions. To write a strong TOEFL essay just fill in the blanks with the required information from your notes (in the integrated essay) or from your ideas (the writing for an academic discussion task). Note that I also have a set of TOEFL speaking templates.
For the Independent Writing task, you'll receive a question on a particular topic or issue. You'll need to write a response to that topic that explains your opinion, and you'll also need to give reasons and examples that support your opinion. Writing Time: 30 minutes. Suggested Essay Length: At least 300 words.
This first task in TOEFL Writing really is all about note-taking, paraphrasing, and reporting. Read on to learn all about TOEFL Writing Task 1! The TOEFL Integrated Writing Task requires you to read a passage that is about 250-300 words long. You then must listen to a lecture that is 2 to 2.5 minutes long. The lecture will challenge or disagree ...
TOEFL Essay Sample 1 - Integrated Writing Question. You will find various sample essays for the TOEFL integrated writing task. If you wish to train more in-depth, make sure you take TOEFL mock tests regularly to practice for the exam in real conditions. Sample Text 1: Stonehenge - Glacial Erratics. Several of the rocks which make up ...
For a simulation of the real TOEFL iBT® testing experience, try TOEFL® Practice Online. TOEFL Practice Online is the only official practice test that gives you the experience of taking the real TOEFL iBT test with real past test questions from all four sections. You will be able to review and answer authentic test questions and receive scores ...
The lists of TOEFL Independent Writing topics below can help you gain a better understanding of the type of essay you could be asked to write on your exam. Rather than give you one long confusing list of topics, the essay topics have been divided into five categories. This is not an exhaustive list, but only a representative sample of essay topics.
The TOEFL iBT test Writing section measures your ability to write in English in an academic setting, and to present your ideas in a clear, well-organized way. There are two writing tasks. Integrated writing task (20 minutes) — read a short passage and listen to a short lecture, then write in response to what you read and listened to.
end with a memorable conclusion. Try to write an essay each day. The added practice will enable you to complete a strong essay, with ease, confidence, and speed, on the day of your TOEFL exam and throughout your life. Free Sample TOEFL Essay #1. "Doing Unenjoyable Things". Free Sample TOEFL Essay #2. "Money & Success". Free Sample TOEFL Essay ...
General Test Information. This free practice test will familiarize you with most of the question types found on the TOEFL iBT® test. This test is not a simulation of the TOEFL iBT® test. You will not receive scores and your answers will not be saved. • In the Reading section, you will answer questions about reading passages.
Start your TOEFL iBT journey with this 40-minute experience where you will become more familiar with the content and structure found in the full-length, just-under-2 hour-test. Key features of the sample test include: Self-paced approach. Authentic past test questions from all 4 skills (Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing)
Essay questions; CV/resume; English proficiency exam (for non-native English speakers; see requirements below) ... TOEFL iBT Listening: TOEFL iBT Speaking: TOEFL iBT Writing: TOEFL iBT Total: IELTS Band Score: DuoLingo: 22: 22: 18: 22: 84: 6.5: 105: Submitting your scores. TOEFL Institution code is ...
Sample Questions and Answers. The "Writing for an Academic Discussion" task is the second TOEFL writing question. You will see a question written by a professor and responses written by two students. Your job is to read everything and then answer the question. You will have ten minutes to do everything. You should write about 120 words.