Tài liệu The complete guide to the toefl ibt writing part 1 docx

SECTION GUIDE TO WRITING - ABOUT WRITING The fourth section of the TOEFL iBT tests your ability to produce clear, wellorganized academic writing This section contains two writing tasks: an Integrated Writing Task and an Independent Writing Task Task Integrated Writing Task Based on Type of Task Timing Reading passage | Summarize and Reading: and related compare lecture | minutes lecture and passage Lecture: Recommended Length 200 words minutes Writing: 20 minutes Independent Writing Task Your own knowledge and experience Give your opinion of an issue or express your personal preference 30 minutes 300 words INTEGRATED VERSUS INDEPENDENT TASKS For the Integrated Writing Task, you read a short passage, then listen to a short lecture on the same topic You then write an essay summarizing the lecture and the reading passage and showing the relationship between them You may take notes on both the reading passage and the lecture The Integrated Task asks you only to summarize and paraphrase the information that you read and hear You should not express your own opinion of the issues and you should not bring in any information from outside the passage and the lecture (just as in the Integrated Speaking Tasks) The Independent Writing Task requires you to read a prompt (a topic) and express your opinion in your response Your response is based entirely on your own knowledge and experience (just as in the Independent Speaking Tasks) ENTERING AND EDITING THE WRITING TASKS ON THE COMPUTER This is the only part of the test in which you will primarily use the keyboard rather than the mouse You must type your responses on the computer If you not have much typing experience, or you are not used to typing in English, you will need to practice as much as possible You can also download typing lessons from the Internet Type “free typing tutorial” into your browser and take your pick SAN About Writing 561 The program for typing the essay is a simplified version of a standard word processing program For the most part, all you need to is type in the essay Unfortunately, there are no “spell check” or “grammar check” tools! In fact, there are only the simplest editing tools: Cut, Paste, and Undo If you are not familiar with how to use these commands, read the section below Directions: Read the question below You will have thirty minutes to write your essay, This includes the time to plan, write, and revise your essay WordCount Question: CUT AND PASTE You can use Cut and Paste to move part of your essay to another place in the essay To use these two commands, you must first (select something that you have written) To this, use the mouse to position the blinking cursor at the beginning of the text that you want to select and then click once Then, holding down the left-click button on the mouse, slowly move the cursor over the text that you want to select This highlights the text In other words, the selected text will appear in white letters on a black background Cut Paste Undo dhis is sentence sentence This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence This is Now, click Cut What happens? The highlighted text disappears Cut Paste Undo This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence You can stop here if you just want to get rid of Sentence But if you want to move it, use the mouse to position the blinking cursor where you want the text to go, and then click Paste The text now magically reappears in the new location Cut Paste Undo This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence This is sentence 562 Section Guide to Writing UNDO The Undo command will reverse any commands or typing you have just done For example, if you cut and paste a sentence from one paragraph to another and then decide you want the sentence back where you first had it, click on Undo and the sentence will go back to where it was before you did the cut and paste You can also undo the last sentence that you typed If you decide that using the Undo command was a mistake, just click Undo again MOVING AROUND THE ESSAY There are a number of commands you can use to move the cursor from one part of your essay to another > You can use the four arrow keys to move the cursor up, down, left, or right > You can move to the end of the line that you are working on by hitting the End key, or to the beginning of the line by hitting the Home key You can move up and down through the essay quickly (one screen at a time) by hitting the PgUp or PgDn key You can move to a new line (where you have not typed) by hitting the Enter key DELETING TEXT There are a number of ways you can delete (erase) text > You can delete a character to the left by hitting the Backspace key > You can delete one character to the right by hitting the Del (delete) key > You can delete a large piece of text by highlighting it and clicking on the Cut icon It will disappear If you decide you didn’t really want to delete something, you can click on the Undo icon About Writing 563 Asiana e As with all sections of the test, be familiar with the directions When the general directions and the directions for each task appear, click on the Dismiss Directions button and begin working right away ® Give yourself time to think about the question or the prompt and to plan your essay by taking notes and writing a simple outline ¢ Time management is important Keep your eye on the clock as you work on both tasks e Divide both responses into an introduction, body, and conclusion e Use signal words to indicate transitions Signal words can be used to join paragraph to paragraph and sentence to sentence ¢ Give yourself time to check your responses for problems with content, grammar, and mechanics e Don’t exit either task early Keep checking your response for problems until you run out of time THE INTEGRATED WRITING TASK ELA ABOUT THE INTEGRATED WRITING TASK v vvvvyv vvvvvyv Skills that are required to write an effective Integrated Response include the abilities to understand and take notes on the spoken lecture and the reading passage find the main idea and key points of both the lecture and the passage understand what the question asks summarize the material in the lecture and the passage paraphrase the material in the lecture and the passage (rewrite it in your own words) synthesize (connect) the material in the lecture and the passage write a clear, well-organized, coherent response to the question use correct written grammar and appropriate vocabulary edit your response for content, grammar, and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.) word-process (type) your response You will first see the general directions for the Writing Section, then the specific directions for the Integrated Task You should dismiss both sets of directions immediately (You will already be familiar with the directions because of your work in The Guide.) Next you will see the reading passage You will then hear the lecture After that, you will see the question and write a response to it EAE 566 Section Guide to Writing | reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write Recently, there have been protests and demonstrations here on our campus, as well as at many other places, about medical research performed on animals— what is sometimes called vivisection It is natural that people are concerned about the ethical treatment of animals However, most of us agree that our top priority must be the reduction of human suffering Of course, it is possible, and absolutely necessary, to keep animal suffering to a minimum Animal researchers use anesthesia whenever possible to reduce pain and keep their animals clean, comfortable, and healthy It is possible to conduct experiments using animals without inflicting cruelty on animals The problem is, there simply is no good substitute for animal experimentation Other techniques can be used to test drugs, but none is as effective as testing them on animals Humans and chim- panzees share about 99% of their genes Other animals also share the same basic life functions as humans, and the reactions of these animals to drugs are a good guide to the reactions of human patients The usefulness of animal testing has been shown over and over For example, the very basis of modern medicine, the germ theory—the idea that diseases are caused by micro-organisms—was proven by the great French scientist Louis Pasteur by experimenting on chickens and pigs and other farm animals The effectiveness of penicillin was tested on rabbits and mice, and insulin, which is used to treat diabetes, was tested on dogs Animal testing remains a crucial tool today It is simply immoral to risk the lives of humans when a drug or procedure can be tested on non-humans ee WordCount be | About the Integrated Writing Task 567 THE PASSAGES AND LECTURES The reading passages in the Writing Section are 200 to 300 words long—about half as long as those in the Reading Section The passage can be about any academic subject—the physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, etc The passage typically describes a theory, a concept, a problem, an issue, a system of classification, or a process You have three minutes in which to read the passage, and you may take notes as you read The lecture lasts about two minutes, and note taking is allowed The lecture is on the same topic as the passage You hear the lecture only once; you may not go back to it However, while you are working on the response to the question, you will be able to reread the passage and look at your notes The most common relationship between the passage and the lecture is one of opposition The lecture refutes (contradicts) the ideas of the passage or takes a different view of the ideas in the passage Typically, the passage presents three positive points, while the lecture presents three corresponding (related) negative points Or the passage may give three negative points, while the lecture presents three corresponding positive points Passage Lecture Statement of the Concept Restatement of the Concept Positive point Corresponding negative point Positive point Corresponding negative point Positive point Corresponding negative point Passage Statement of the Concept Lecture — Restatement of the Concept Negative point Corresponding positive point Negative point Corresponding positive point Negative point Corresponding positive point Here is an example of a typical passage and lecture First read a passage from a textbook in a secondary education class = ae i a 568 Section Guide to Writing Two principal types of tests are used in secondary schools, and, in fact, in all types of schools One type is the objective test Different types of questions can be asked on objective tests: multiple choice, fill in the blanks, true-or-false, matching, and so on The other type of test is the subjective test, or essay test This type of test asks students to write essays on one or more topics Although objective tests continue to be used in many high school classrooms, today the essay test is most often used because it tests a higher level of understanding Objective tests simply test a student’s ability to memorize dates, names, and other facts Essay tests, on the other hand, require students to organize and analyze, to see relationships, and to present information in a clear way This is a much more realistic task than any presented in an objective test In real life, of course, questions will not be presented in a multiple-choice format; instead, they require students to organize and communicate their thoughts in a logical way Essay exams emphasize to high school students the need to express themselves clearly and effectively in writing Everyone agrees this is a necessary skill for all students at all levels and in all disciplines And if teachers in history classes give essay exams, they encourage their students to apply themselves with more enthusiasm in their composition classes Besides, as a bonus for the busy teacher, essay exams take far less time to construct than objective tests Now listen to a lecture in a secondary education class You may read along with this lecture as you listen, but on actual tests, the lecture will not be written out » Now start the Audio Program @ About the Integrated Writing Task 569 Professor “Now, as your textbook points out, there are two types of tests: objective and essay Your textbook author takes a pretty strong stand in favor of essay tests, doesn't he? Well, I happen to agree with some of his ideas I have nothing against essay tests, and they get at different things than, uh, objective tests They test students’ ability to think critically, to uh, solve problems That's whyI generally include a couple of essay questions in every test I give But I also use multiple-choice items Sure, objective tests check your memorization skills—but what's wrong with that? Sometimes, in some classes at least, you need to memorize basic facts and information! And it’s also true that that essay tests emphasize writing skills It’s ttue—and it’s part of the problem! Good writers can get good grades on essay tests even if they don’t know very much about the topic And as far as saving time—yeah, it may take less time to write essay tests But it takes a Jot more time to grade them Not only that, but you really should grade all the essays at the same time, because well, studies show that the same teacher will grade the same essay differently at different times To be fair, you should grade all the tests at one sitting Now, with a small class, this isn't a big problem, but if you have a large class well, it’s a lot easier to grade objective tests, and lots of times, you can have them machine graded So when you start teaching, and giving tests yourself by all means, use essay tests, but for some classes, for some material, for some situations objective tests, or combinations of objective and essay tests, may be best.” Here’s an outline of the sample passage and lecture: Passage Lecture Statement of the Concept: There are two main types of tests, objective and essay Essay tests are preferable Restatement of the Concept: There are two types of tests, objective and essay Essay tests are useful, but so are objective Positive point: Essay tests test a higher type of understanding (objective tests assess only memorization skills.) Corresponding negative point: Sometimes it is necessary to test memorization Positive point: Essay tests develop writing skills Corresponding negative point: Good writers can well on essay tests without knowing content Positive point: Essay tests are easy to write Corresponding negative point: Essay tests take a long time to grade tests = x = lộ 570 Section Guide to Writing Although the relationship between the lecture and the passage is generally one of opposition, you may sometimes see other relationships The passage may present a generalization and the lecture may give examples that support this generalization or counter-examples that weaken the generalization Another possibility: The passage may present a problem and the lecture a solution that successfully (or unsuccessfully) deals with the problem Still another possibility: The passage may describe a cause and the lecture may describe the effects (either expected or unexpected) of that cause NOTE TAKING You are allowed to take notes on both the reading passage and the lecture Since you will hear the lecture only once, it is important to take good notes on the lecture You need to identify the main idea of the lecture and the three to four key points that support this main idea in order to compare and contrast these with the main idea and corresponding key points that are made in the reading passage For more information about note taking, see the Listening Tutorial on Note Taking (pp 381-393) THE QUESTIONS The questions ask you to write about the relationship between the passage and the lecture Because the most common relationship between the passage and the lecture is one of opposition, most questions ask you to show how the points in the lecture refute (contradict) those in the passage Question: Summarize the main points made in the lecture that you just heard, discussing how they cast doubt on points made in the reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write Note: Cast doubt on means “show the weakness of” or “contradict.” Question: Summarize the main points made in the lecture that you just heard, explaining how they differ from the points made in the reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write When the relationship between the passage and lecture is not one of opposition, you will see other types of questions Question: Summarize the main points made in the lecture that you just heard, explaining how they illustrate the points made in the reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write About the Integrated Writing Task 571 Question: Summarize the main points made in the lecture that you just heard, explaining how they may solve the problem described in the reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write Question: Summarize the main points made in the lecture that you just heard, explaining how they are the results of the event described in the reading You can refer to the reading passage as you write THE RESPONSE Your response should be at least 200 words long The Integrated Writing Task does not ask you to give your opinion It asks you only to report on the information in the passage and the lecture and to connect the information from the two sources When you write your response, you must summarize the information in both the reading passage and the lecture The most important information to include is the main ideas and the key points of both passage and lecture Sometimes you may want to include important examples that illustrate the key points, but you should not include unimportant details Even when you are reporting the key points in the passage, you should shorten and simplify the information from the passage and lecture in your response You must paraphrase (rewrite in your own words) the information in the passage Whenever possible, you need to use different vocabulary and different grammatical structures in your response You must cite information that you use in your response In other words, you must indicate whether the information comes from the passage or the lecture (According to the lecture, ; The passage says that ) You must synthesize (connect) the information from the passage and the lecture The best way to this is to first determine which key point from the passage corresponds to which key point in the lecture Then explain the relationship between the key points You will probably want to use one short paragraph to explain each point in the passage and contrast it with the corresponding point from the lecture You'll need to use transitions and special language that shows comparison and contrast or other relationships Remember: It is important that you balance information from the passage and the lecture more or less equally =5 = a @ 572 Section Guide to Writing An outline of a typical Integrated Writing Task might look like this: Introduction Paragraph Main topic of the passage and the lecture Main idea of the passage Main idea of the lecture, and how it relates to that of the passage Body Paragraph Key point of the passage Important example or supporting information Corresponding key point of the lecture, and how it relates to that of the passage Important example or supporting information Paragraph Key point of the passage Important example or supporting information Corresponding key point of the lecture, and how it relates to that of the passage Important example or supporting information Paragraph Key point of the passage Important example or supporting information Corresponding key point of the lecture, and how it relates to that of the pansage Important example or supporting information Conclusion Paragraph Brief summarizing sentence or two THE WRITING PROCESS You have twenty minutes in which to prepare the response for the Integrated Writing Task You should divide your time more or less like this: Pre-Writing (two to three minutes) Read the question Look over your notes and think about the passage and the lecture Write notes Make an informal outline Writing the Integrated Task (about fifteen minutes) Checking Your Writing (two to three minutes) Look for and correct problems with content, grammar, and mechanics About the Integrated Writing Task 573 SCORING THE INTEGRATED WRITING TASK Both writing tasks are scored by two human (not computer) raters who score them holistically In other words, your responses are not judged according to individual mistakes that you make but by the overall effectiveness of your writing Your score on the Integrated Task depends not just on the quality of your writing but also on how well your essay demonstrates your understanding of the passage and the lecture and the relationship between the two Scores on the Integrated Writing Task range from to Each rater will give you a “whole number” score (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Your score will be the mean of the two ratings If one rater gives you a 4, for example, and another rater gives you a 5, you will receive a score of 4.5 If the two raters give you scores that are quite different, a third rater will score the response The following rubric (set of guidelines or standards) is similar to the one used by ETS to score the Integrated Writing Task Score Explanation of Score Includes all of the important information from the passage and accurately relates it to the important information in the lecture The response is clearly organized A variety of sentence structures is used and a sophisticated vocabulary is employed There may be infrequent grammatical and mechanical errors These mistakes will not make it difficult to understand the ideas and relationships that the writer describes Includes most of the important information in the passage and relates it to the most important information in the lecture Some information may be presented somewhat inaccurately or imprecisely There may be some problems with vocabulary, grammar, or mechanics, but these problems generally not interfere with an understanding of the writer’s ideas or the relationships he or she describes Includes important information from the passage and relates it to information in the lecture However, the response has one or more of the following problems: e The relationship between key points in the passage and the lecture is not accurate or complete or is stated in very general terms © One of the key points is not mentioned in the response e Language mistakes may sometimes make it difficult to understand the writer’s ideas or the relationships he or she describes The essay attempts to include some relevant information from the passage and the lecture but has one or both of the following problems: ¢ Omits or shows a complete misunderstanding of the points in the lecture or passage or the relationship between them e Language mistakes make the writer’s ideas or the relationships he or she describes generally difficult to understand continued ... select and then click once Then, holding down the left-click button on the mouse, slowly move the cursor over the text that you want to select This highlights the text In other words, the selected... from the passage and the lecture The best way to this is to first determine which key point from the passage corresponds to which key point in the lecture Then explain the relationship between the. ..- ABOUT WRITING The fourth section of the TOEFL iBT tests your ability to produce clear, wellorganized academic writing This section contains two writing tasks: an Integrated Writing Task