This guide is for low-level students writing their TOEFL that is first independent. Advanced students may wish to skip right to our advanced guide.
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(note, students in a hurry may wish to skip straight to our TOEFL essay templates)
Start by making an overview of your essay. Go through the picture below:
The student starts by writing a “main point” at the top of the chart. It is her “answer” into the relevant question posed by the exam.
The student writes two “reasons” to support the primary point below the main point. These are broad and not too specific. However, they have to be unique. The reasons really should not be much like each other.
Below each one of the reasons, the student writes two “details.” These are more specific. They offer the reasons and explain why they usually have cited the reasons. They might likewise incorporate examples through the student’s life that support the reason why.
Here’s an illustration outline for the question: “What is the gift that is best to provide to a child?” It was compiled by an student that is actual. View it closely:
The student has filled when you look at the outline point-form that is using (not complete sentences). Her main point is gift that is“Best pet.”
Her two reasons are “it is educational” and “it is a great friend.”
The details from the reason that is first “learn responsibility” and “learn stages of life.” The main points through the second reason are “never judgmental” and “children often alone these days.” The student has bigger ideas. this woman is planning to come up with how care that is taking of pet teaches responsibility and she actually is going to write that students are along because their parents tend to be away. nevertheless the outline is just her initial ideas.
The others of the article will show how exactly to turn this outline into a essay that is complete. I’ll use English that is simple throughout article. Higher level students should probably use more advanced vocabulary and sentence structure.
I teach my students to create a four paragraph essay into the independent writing section. This sort of essay is for enough time and will be completed in the right time allowed. Higher level students might try writing a five essay that is paragraph.
The four paragraph structure is:
- Introductory Paragraph
- Body Paragraph 1
- Body Paragraph 2
- Concluding Paragraph
Let’s focus on the paragraph that is introductory
My students use a sentence-by-sentence way to write their introductions. The technique is it:
- Sentence one: A “hook.” That is an interesting sentence that comes before most of your point. It references the relevant question and draws your reader to the essay.
- Sentence two: most of your point. In a single good, clear sentence state your primary point. Don’t be too much time. Get to the idea!
- Sentence three: a sentence that is transitional. Try something like “I feel this real method for two reasons.”
- Sentence four: a single sentence summary of the first reason. Begin this sentence with “first” (you can leave this out if you should be low on time).
- Sentence five: a single sentence summary of one’s second reason. Begin this sentence with “second” (you can leave this out if you’re low on time).
Talking about the question above and making use of the given template, you can write an introduction such as this:
“There are many gifts that are great could be directed at a child. In my opinion that the best gift to provide a kid is a pet. I feel in this way for just two major causes, that I will explore within the essay that is following. First, a pet can be extremely educational. Second, a pet can be a great friend to a young child.
Keep in mind that there are not any references to your details in this paragraph. Save those for the physical body paragraphs.
Next step: Writing a body paragraph
It’s your opportunity to show off your essay writing ability. I don’t teach a model that is strict this an element of the essay.
I actually do however, involve some basic rules. They are:
- Each reason gets its very own paragraph. Do not combine your reasons into one paragraph.
- Start your first paragraph with a transitional word or phrase like “first,” “to start out with,” and your second paragraph with “second” or “secondly.”
- At the start of each body paragraph, clearly state your reason. Avoid using a hook, just get to the point. Next, state your details one after another, expanding every one to three or four sentences. You can easily expand by including a personal example from your life. Including examples that are personal your lifetime in the essay is okay. In fact, i will suggest it.
- Attempt to use transitional phrases in betwixt your details (“moreover,” “furthermore,” “also”).
Listed here is an example body paragraph made using the outline that is above
“To begin with, a pet is a tremendously educational gift. essaywriter Having a pet teaches children responsibility. A pet needs to be fed every and be given a chance to exercise day. The owner of a pet comes with to observe the health of these pet and take action if it becomes sick. Practicing this type or kind of responsibility can certainly make a young child more aged. Moreover, a pet can help teach a child about the stages of life. Animals grow even faster than humans and a young child can learn a whole lot by observing how their pet grows up. I had a pet gecko as a child and watching it grow from a child to a adult that is full-sized me a lot and got me very interested in biology and nature.”
Note that this paragraph followed the outline above quite closely. I stated my reason and then supported it with details. I expanded the information significantly through the point-form found in my outline.
My second body paragraph is written in much the same way:
“Secondly, personally i think that a pet makes friend that is great. It really is advantageous to children to have pets because they’re never judgmental. A child might have a bad day at school or he may be in a fight with his friends, but he will never fight together with his pet. It will love him unconditionally. Furthermore, pets can prevent children from being lonely. These days parents in many cases are too busy to pay time with their children. They often leave their kids home alone. This could leave some kids feeling lonely, but individuals with pets will never feel alone.“
And that is the body that is whole of essay! Look closely at the way I used transitional words (“moreover” and “furthermore”) in the middle the two details in each paragraph.
I’m not a big fan of lengthy concluding paragraphs, due to the fact the essay that is independent pretty short. But i actually do teach a three sentence technique:
- Sentence one: re-state your point that is main and with a phrase like “to sum it up…”
- Sentence two: restate your two reasons, beginning with a transitional phrase like “this is because…”
- Sentence three: once more, restate your point that is main but different words
Here’s a conclusion for the essay we’ve been working with:
“To sum it up, personally i think that a pet is the very best gift to give to a young child. This is because pets are particularly educational, and additionally they make great friends. There really is no better gift that a child can receive than a pet.”