Tips for getting a high score on the TOEFL essay

Author: Educational Testing Service (ETS), USA
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Learning English and taking the TOEFL exam is no different from engaging in a grueling battle. Only those who master the secret weapon can achieve the ultimate victory! Welcome to read and use this book. The TOEFL exam is a highly challenging test, and this book will provide you with the most direct help. In this book, you will receive the best techniques from experts for the exam. The purpose of this book is to effectively tackle the TOEFL Writing exam, helping you to stay calm, work efficiently, and conquer the TOEFL Writing exam in the shortest possible time. The goal of this book is to teach you the knowledge and skills required for TOEFL Writing that you can apply. Beyond that, there is nothing extra or useless for the exam. If you are looking for quick and easy guidance on the TOEFL Writing section, you have chosen the right book. The Writing section of the TOEFL exam requires you to write essays that many people dread. The TOEFL exam asks you to write an essay in 30 minutes. This essay tests your writing ability, not just your knowledge. With this book, you will surely impress the grader with your essay and earn their admiration. The author has long been engaged in training and research on TOEFL, IELTS, and other overseas English exams, continuously exploring methods to quickly improve candidates' strength and break through the writing barrier in a short period. This book can be summarized in two sentences: "Writing materials truly derived from practical experience, a truly TOEFL writing book." This book has the following distinctive features:
1. Strong Practicality
All the content in this book is derived from TOEFL Writing exam questions (most of them are the latest questions and some that have not yet been released in China). Whether in terms of content or writing style, this book reflects the latest developments in the TOEFL exam in a timely manner, meeting the practical needs of Chinese candidates.
2. Chinese Exam Preparation Focus
Through years of TOEFL exam preparation training and research, the author has systematically summarized the weaknesses of Chinese candidates and identified the root causes of the problems. This book is entirely focused on "exam preparation," and nothing unrelated to the exam is included. Like other international language proficiency tests, the TOEFL exam has a scientifically designed question bank. The writing materials, vocabulary, arguments, topics, reading materials, and exercises in this book are all based on TOEFL Writing test questions. The strong sense of practicality immerses candidates in the exam environment. This is also what distinguishes this book from the many other TOEFL Writing books published in the past.
3. Emphasis on Foundational Skills
Currently, most TOEFL preparation books published domestically and internationally focus on teaching exam techniques while neglecting foundational practice, which is actually the most basic need of Chinese candidates. Many high school and junior college students take the TOEFL exam, and their vocabulary and grammar skills need improvement. Therefore, this book places great emphasis on grammar review and organization. The foundational section of this book helps candidates organize their English grammar knowledge, but it should be noted that this section is not a dedicated grammar exercise. Based on years of TOEFL training experience, the author has summarized an effective method for more efficient TOEFL Writing preparation. The grammar exercises in the foundational section are closely related to writing topics, skillfully integrating TOEFL Writing arguments, supporting points, and high-frequency vocabulary with grammar exercises. This allows candidates to review grammar knowledge while familiarizing themselves with writing topics, mastering common arguments and supporting points, memorizing high-frequency writing vocabulary (in bold), and practicing writing sentences.
4. Detailed Arguments and Supporting Points
For most Chinese candidates, the TOEFL Writing section is an arduous task. Due to the broad range of TOEFL writing topics, many candidates admit that they don’t even know how to start writing in Chinese for some topics. For them, the key is not language but the lack of relevant arguments and supporting points! For non-English majors, whose English foundation is already weaker than that of English majors, the lack of relevant arguments and supporting points during writing makes the problem even more pronounced. Over the years, the author has focused on collecting, organizing, and categorizing various arguments and supporting points. The book includes common arguments and high-frequency vocabulary for TOEFL Writing topics.
5. Strong Imitation Potential
The arguments, model essays, and exercises in this book are designed based on the author’s thorough understanding of the actual situation of Chinese candidates, making them highly targeted and uniquely Chinese. Some hastily published TOEFL books in China either plagiarize model essays from foreign books or ask native speakers to write them, a practice the author does not endorse. Such model essays may be authentic and natural, but they are not suitable for candidates. Candidates admit that even understanding these model essays is difficult, let alone imitating them to write good essays. The model essays in this book are written by top university English majors in China, revised and polished by the author, and are the closest to the actual situation of Chinese candidates, aligning with their knowledge structure and way of thinking, making them highly reference-worthy.
6. High Applicability and Fast Results
Based on TOEFL writing questions over the years, this book summarizes the patterns and scope of question setting. In the practical section, the topics are categorized into several major groups: ① Science and Environment; ② Education; ③ Family and Health; ④ Culture and Entertainment. The arguments and vocabulary for these topics not only greatly help improve writing expression and broaden thinking but also benefit reading, listening, and even speaking skills. The materials in this book are derived from practice and used in practice. After years of classroom teaching in training courses, the effectiveness of these materials has been proven. Many candidates initially lack confidence in the writing section, believing that writing skills cannot be improved in a short time. However, after the author’s targeted training, candidates are amazed to say: "There is nothing that cannot be done, only things that have not been thought of!" Due to limited expertise, there may be shortcomings in this book. The author welcomes criticism and corrections from fellow professionals and readers.