TOEFL Essay Writing Tips: Your Guide to a Higher Score

We have mentioned before the importance of learning English both at university and in business life many times. We believe that we now agree on this issue. Then, you are now sure that you have taken your English knowledge to a good level in the last years of school or right after that period. Well, if you are wondering what is the way to convince the institutions or companies about your level of English, the answer is actually simple. In this regard, we recommend that you get one of English proficiency certificates. We have previously prepared an article on this subject titled TOEFL vs IELTS.

At this stage, if you are not sure which exam you should take, we recommend that you read that article first. We will continue our article after this step, assuming that you will take the TOEFL and write a TOEFL Essay.

Understanding the TOEFL Writing Section

• What to Expect in the Integrated Task

• What to Expect in the Independent Task

In the next process, you will be asked to measure your proficiency in four basic skills in this exam. In other words, your reading and listening skills, which we call input, and your speaking and writing skills, which we call output, will be evaluated separately in this exam. Let’s leave other competencies aside for now and continue with the writing part. Yes, TOEFL essay writing is a very important issue. However, writing an academic article and writing an article about daily events are very different from each other. By the way you can use online teachers for this aim also.

Create a Quick Outline Before Writing

Here, we will mainly talk about the logic of writing articles and give tips on this subject. After learning this logic, it will be easier for you to write general and academic essays on very different topics. 😊 Well, if you ask which one is easier, we would say that they are both equal if you understand the logic. Basically, it should be noted that; Whether it is integrated writing, that is, task 1, or independent writing, that is, task 2, if you create a logical integrity in your mind and support the subject you defend with correct examples without contradicting yourself, you will have written a successful essay.

How to Improve Your Writing Skills for TOEFL Essay Integrated!

Yes friends, if you are taking TOEFL, you already know that you will be doing writing sections. 😊 On the other hand, there are two different sections in the TOEFL essay writing section, which is evaluated out of 30 points. These two sections are not electives, meaning you have to write for both separately. Additionally, more than one person and artificial intelligence read what you write and score you. So, don’t think about the possibility of getting a low score as a result of someone’s subjective comment.

In line with these explanations, we should emphasize that ETS does this job very professionally and TOEFL is an exam with a very high reputation all over the world. Furthermore, we would like to point out that its validity is high globally. So, if you get a good score on TOEFL, be sure that this is a sign that your English ability is really high.

Now let’s come to the integrated or synthesis TOEFL essay writing stage, which we call Task 1. As you can understand from the name here, it is important that you evaluate two different opinions or issues from a holistic perspective. In this section, we are given a text between 2 and 5 paragraphs long to read first. Afterwards, you will listen to a speech on the same topic that will last between 2 and 5 minutes. The important point here is that there may be contradictions and opposing views between the content you read and listen to. Here we recommend that you take notes while listening.

After all, you have the chance to look back at the reading text from time to time. After these two processes, you will be asked to write an essay of 200-250 words containing your thoughts on the subject.

Use Different Words in Your Essay

Here, it is possible to gather the views of both sides under one roof with your own style and words, or to make a comparison. It is very important at this stage that you identify and show the differences between the two. Although we will collect general tips below, do not forget to use good grammar in this task 1 phase and use different adjectives such as “crucial or vital” instead of “important” when choosing words. In this way, you will show your English vocabulary to the other party.

How to Boost Your Writing for Independent TOEFL Essay

In TOEFL, the independent essay writing section is called Task 2. The word independent here actually represents that you write a TOEFL essay independently on the contrary to Task 1 which you depended what you read and listened. This part, which is expected to last 300-350 words, is a little more challenging than first stage. Firstly, you will be given a comparative topic. For example; It is a good task 2 topic for you to analyse “which is better by stating the differences between city life and village life“.

Another example; “Whether countries should allocate higher budgets to education or health and explain which view you support and why” is also a good essay topic. Please note that we are only giving examples here and “academic topics” will appear in the TOEFL essay section.

As you can see from these two examples, there is no correct answer here. In other words, the important thing in writing an independent TOEFL essay, which we call an argumentative essay, is that you comment on both topics and choose the one you defend more strongly. Being consistent is important.

If we look at it from this perspective, for example, it would be inconsistent to talk about the importance of education throughout your article and then state that governments should spend more money on health when you reach the conclusion. At this point, no matter how good grammatical patterns you use and how different English words you choose, this will cause you to get low scores because you cannot use a holistic reasoning ability in the essay. In this context, it is generally recommended that you defend an idea for two paragraphs, talk about the opposing view in just one paragraph and finish the article by supporting your main opinion in the conclusion.

Use Examples in Writing Essays

Another important point is that; It is critical that you create such an outline in your head or by taking notes before you start writing the article. In this regard, reaching a consistent conclusion by using a holistic perspective and a specific draft while writing a TOEFL essay will increase your score.

What is very important in Task 2, that is, the independent essay writing part, is that you support your claim or the opinion you support with at least one example from real life. For example, when talking about the importance of education, it will attract attention if you give examples of the problems faced by uneducated communities or what educated people could contribute to society.

6 Essential TOEFL Essay Writing Tips

Writing an academic article is a little more difficult than the general essay writing stage. However, as we mentioned before, there are some common rules for writing articles. When we follow these rules, it is not very difficult to write a TOEFL essay or get a score close to 30 full points in the writing section (why not get a full score!). Ultimately, even though artificial intelligence is used in the evaluation, at least two real people will read and score these articles. If you write a beautiful and high-quality essay, be sure that it is not impossible to get full marks.

Now, finally, we will briefly touch upon some common issues that you should pay attention to in both task 1 and task 2 during the TOEFL essay writing phase.

• Be careful to use conjunctions. So, before advocating an opposing view, start the sentence with conjunctions that imply the opposite view, such as “on the other hand, contrarily or on the contrary.”
• Show off your English vocabulary by using different adjectives and words such as “vital, perfect, unbelievable” instead of simple words such as “good, bad, important”.
• Use different grammatical patterns. For example, it would be nice to use the phrase in if conditional 2 when talking about a hypothetical situation. For example, if you use different phrases in the “right” places, such as “If I were you, I would go there” or “if I hadn’t been there, I would not have been sick” as in conditional 3, you are likely to get a good score for the TOEFL essay.
• Giving good examples that support your claim and opinion, especially in the task 2 independent essay, will increase your score.

Logic is Crucial in Essay Writing Section

• The general topic and conclusion of your article should be consistent with each other. So, evaluate the issue from a holistic perspective. Supporting one view with examples throughout your article and then mentioning the opposite view in the final paragraph will destroy the integrity of logic.
• When the essay writing phase is completed, be sure to read what you have written at least once again. Since you are writing on the computer anyway, you will have the chance to change incorrect words or sentences if necessary. When reading your own writing, look at it critically and do not hesitate to change it when necessary.