Mastering the TOEFL: Speaking and Writing Sections

Posted on Feb 12, 2025 in English Studies

TOEFL Speaking Section

  • Personal Choice: For this part, you have to state your opinion and provide two reasons (cases 1-3) or an advantage, a disadvantage, and your opinion (case 4).
  1. Paired Choice
  2. Multiple Choice
  3. Agree/Disagree
  4. Advantages/Disadvantages

Case 1-3

State your point:

  • I agree/disagree with the idea… (3)
  • While some may disagree, I believe that… (1, 2)

Transition to reasons: I feel this way for several reasons.

First reason: First, + example

Second reason: Second, + example

This is why I think so.

Case 4

Intro: There are certainly both pros and cons of…

Advantage: First of all, one advantage is…

Disadvantage: However, a major disadvantage is…

Opinion: Overall, I guess it is better to…

  • Campus Announcement (More importance to listening than reading)

Statement: According to the announcement…

Two reasons: This is held by the idea that… and the idea that…

Transition: There are two reasons why the man opposes/supports it.

First reason: First, + reason

Second reason: Second, + reason

  • General to Specific

State the topic: The article addresses…

Reading detail: The reading states that…

Transition to examples: In addition, the professor provides an example (or two examples).

Examples in the audio: First of all, he mentions… Besides, he says…

Conclusion: And so, these examples clearly illustrate…

  • Academic Lecture

State the lecture: The lecture is about (subject) which is (detail).

First example: First, the professor notes that… For example,…

Second example: Secondly, he says that… For instance,…

TOEFL Writing Section

1. Integrated Task

Intro + Argument 1/Counterargument 1 + Argument 2/Counterargument 2 + Argument 3/Counterargument 3 Structure

Intro: The article and the lecture both deal with (topic). Whilst the author thinks that… for three specific reasons, the lecturer opposes the author’s claims. In his opinion, these reasons do not hold water as…

Body 1: First, the author claims that… (topic) are (Argument 1). Furthermore, it is stated in the article that (more details). In contrast, the lecturer argues that since… (Counterargument 1). Additionally, he maintains that… (more details)

Body 2: Second, the author asserts that… (topic) are (Argument 2). On top of that, he adds that (more details). Conversely, the lecturer discusses that… (Counterargument 2). Besides, he reckons that… (more details)

Body 3: Lastly, the author declares that… (topic) are (Argument 3). Moreover, it is clearly exposed in the article that (more details). However, the professor refutes this statement by providing… (Counterargument 3). Apart from this, he believes… (more details)

Extra: It is stated in the article that this is exemplified by a recent experiment where…

2. Independent Writing

Intro:

  1. Hook: Rephrase the prompt.
  2. Thesis:
    1. Personally, I prefer…
    2. I totally agree/disagree…
    3. I think that… is the best…
  3. Transition: I feel this way for two reasons which I will examine in this essay.

Body 1: Reason 1 – Explanation – Example Structure

First of all… (reason 1). Obviously, (more details). In other words, (explanation). In contrast… Consequently… This is best demonstrated by my personal experience. When I was… (story). Furthermore, (continue explaining). As a result, (end the story). If I had (not)…, I would (not) have…

Body 2: Reason 2 – Explanation – Example Structure

Second… (reason 2). Evidently, (more details). In short, (explanation). As opposed to… Hence… For instance, I once did/took (story). Additionally, (continue explaining). Thus, (end the story). If I had (not)…, I would (not) have…

Conclusion:

In conclusion, (thesis). This is because (first reason) and because (second reason).