toefl writing task 1 - shandong university

TOEFL WritingTask 1

Dianfang Lin

林殿芳

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – Reading

• The reading passage is a 4-paragraph persuasive essay. The passage consists of an introduction and 3 main arguments. The structure is as follows:

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – Listening

• Next, listen to a 2-minute lecture. In the lecture, the professor will disagree with the reading. The professor opposes each point in the reading moving in the same order as the arguments were presented.

• For example, if the reading describes the benefits of high taxes, the professor would discuss reasons to lower taxes.

• You can only listen once, so make sure you take notes. Listen for transitional words to warn you when the professor has moved to a new argument.

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – Question

• The question asks you to summarize the points made in the listening while showing how they oppose the arguments in the reading. You have 20 minutes to write a 150-225 word summary.

• Here is the question:

• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they oppose specific points in the reading passage.

• The question is always the same. You don’t need to study different question types.

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – The Process

1. Reading and Listening

• It is important to take notes on the reading and the lecture. Before you begin, set up your notes like this table:

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2. Writing

• Your summary should have a specific structure. It should be 4-5 paragraphs and directly follow the format of the reading and lecture. Here is the template for the summary:

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Begin by introducing the reading and lecture. Make sure you mention that the professor disagrees.

The reading states that _____________________ and provides three reasons. However, the professor opposes this argument and refutes each of the points made in the reading.

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2. Writing

Paragraph 2: Argument 1

Your first body paragraph should discuss the first point made in the reading.

• First, the reading claims that _____________________. It shows how _________________. The professor disagrees with this argument by explaining that _____________________.


Introduce the second point and show how the professor opposes this idea.

• Second, the reading argues that _____________________. The professor opposes this idea. He believes that _____________________.

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2. Writing


The final body paragraph outlines the final point from the reading and the professor’s arguments against it.

• Third, the reading states that _____________________. The professor refutes this idea. He argues that _____________________.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion （Not obligatory）

Your final paragraph is a conclusion summarizing all your ideas.

• In conclusion, the reading describes how the professor opposes these arguments and suggests _____________________.

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – Writing Strategies

Do not worry about copying the listening.

• In your summary you are starting with “the professor says” so writing exactly what was said is fine. You should try to paraphrase the reading. This means do not copy exactly what the reading says.

Think about logical oppositions to the ideas in the reading.

• Expect to hear about them in the lecture.

Do not state your own opinion.

• The task is to summarize, not give your opinion.

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TOEFL Writing Task 1 – Writing Strategies

Pay attention to transitional words in the lecture.

• They warn you when the professor is moving to another point.

Use the reading to help you with spelling and vocabulary.

• The reading is always available, so you can use the passage to help you spell key words correctly. It also helps you use the right terms.

Focus more on the lecture than the reading.

• The question asks you to summarize the lecture, so only use points from the reading when relevant or necessary.

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TOEFL Task 1 Writing-Tips

1. Counter/ Support

Takes Notes

Read Listen

Point 1 Point 1

Point 2 Point 2

Point 3 Point 3

• Skim the passage (Do not read word by word)

• Don’t worry about details

• Read the topic sentences, and Write down key words (familiar ones)

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TOEFL Task 1 Writing

• Two key examples at least

• Picking out details• Take note of repetitions• Don’t try to include everything• Follow the order lecturer did• Focus on key terms from reading• Use a lot of synonyms (a lot of bonus on

vocabulary use)

• Don’t use personal pronoun• Use the author / the lecturer / the passage…

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TOEFL Task 1 Writing

• Structure• Introduction: The reading passage states that…,

the professor/lecturer counters this by saying…• Body: Point 1 example 1

Point 2 example 2Point 3 example 3

• Conclusion: NO conclusion… or summary statement.

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A Reflective Task

Why TOEFL Writing Task 1？

• 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’ll listen to a short (approximately two-minute long) audio clip of a speaker discussing the same topic the written passage covers.

• Reading list

• Lectures

• Assignment

Summary

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What is a summary?

A summary is a brief restatement of the essential thought of a longer composition.

It reproduces the theme of the original with as few words as possible.

A summary is a short version of a longer message, which provides readers with a concise and accurate view of the entire original.

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What is a summary?

A summary gives the essence of an author’s meaning.

A summary does not interpret or comment on the composition.

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Why writing a summary？

Writing a summary is a good exercise for improving reading – a reader is forced to try to understand what he has read.

A summary has practical uses in profession fields such as science, engineering, law, government and business.

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The ability to write an effective summary might be the most important writing skill a graduate student can possess.

You need to be able to summarize before you can be successful at most of the other kinds of writing that will be demanded of you in graduate school, and it is an important part of note taking, too.

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Taking notes does not include writing the lecture’s every word; instead, they summarize the main points in a way one will understand later.

Whether relating an anecdote, describing your progress on a project, or a research, you might include summaries and abstracts with your long reports. The job is to represent the full scope and detail of the important material accurately in the fewest words.

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Summary writing is an exercise in compression

Omit the unnecessary details

Reduce the number of examples

Simplify the descriptions

Eliminate all repetitions

Compress wordy sentences

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Length of a Summary

A summary should be about one-third to one-forth as long as the original composition. For example: an article of 1000 words should be 250 to 300 words.

The length of a summary is largely determined by instructors, who will often ask for a one-page summary of an article (or may be a two-page summary of a book). They may also ask for a paragraph-length abstract or even a mini-summary of 1 to 2 sentences.

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Elements of a Good Summary

Most good writing has an introduction, a body and a conclusion, so should your summary. A summary essay should be organized so that others can understand the source or evaluate your comprehension of it.

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

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The Introduction

The introduction contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source. This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source.

Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source text. It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes.

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The Introduction

The introduction also introduces the text to be summarized: it gives the title of the source; it provides the name of the author of the source; sometimes it also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized.

The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing.

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The Body of a Summary Essay

The body of a summary essay paraphrases and condenses the original piece.

Try to follow the logical order of the original.

Consider yourself as a summarizing machine; you are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words. But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas.

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In your summary, be sure that you…

include important data but omit minor points;

include one or more of the author’s examples or illustrations (These will bring your summary to life. ) ;

do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations.

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Characteristics of a Good Summary

A good summary is characterized by the following features:

Conciseness

Clarity

Essential Message

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Conciseness

The key word in summary writing is conciseness; that is, the summary must be brief but also clear and comprehensive. Better to make it a bit longer than to omit some key points and distort the original.

A summary, above all, is concise. To summarize is to condense a text to its main points and to do so in your own words.

To include every detail is neither necessary nor desirable.

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Conciseness

you should extract only those elements which you think are most important---the main idea (or thesis) and its essential supporting points, which in the original passage may have been interwoven with less important material.

Eliminate repetitions in your summary, even if the author restates the same points. Your summary should be considerably shorter than the source.

You are hoping to create an overview; therefore, you need not include every repetition of a point or every supporting detail.

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Clarity

A summary should present the author’s points in a straightforward structure.

In order to write a good summary, you may have to gather main points or components of an argument from different places in the text in order to summarize the text in an organized way.

A point made in the beginning of an essay and then one made toward the end may need to be grouped together in your summary to concisely convey the argument that the author is making. In the end, you will have read, digested, and reconstructed the text in a shorter, more concise form.

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Essential Message

The essential message is the minimum needed for thereader to understand the shorter version. The essentialmessage is the sum of the significant points ----and onlythe significant points----in the original.

Significant points include:

a) controlling ideas (thesis statements and topic sentences); b) major findings and interpretations; c) important names, dates, statistics, and measurements, and d) major conclusions or recommendations.

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No New Data

Your job is to represent the original faithfully and avoid personal comments or judgment.

Add nothing to the original. It should present the source material in a neutral fashion.

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How to Proceed

A. Read the composition at least twice.

B. Give a title to your summary that sums up the main idea.

C. Decide what parts of the summary are essential, what parts are not necessary and can be eliminated.

D. Write down in short notes the main points – the subject and the details you consider to be important.

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Review of Writing a Summary

The goal of writing a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book is to offer as accurately as possible the full sense of the original, but in a more condensed form. A summary restates the author’s main point, purpose, intent, and supporting details in your own words.

The process of summarizing enables you to better grasp the original, and the result shows the reader that you understand it as well. In addition, the knowledge gained allows you to better analyze and critique the original.

toefl writing task 1 - shandong university

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