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I’ve been tutoring TOEFL students for 10 years and in that time, I’ve reviewed hundreds - maybe thousands - of essays and written responses. While it’s true that every student is unique and has their own personal challenges, there are also patterns to the errors that I see in TOEFL writing. And these errors are repeated frequently.
Most of them stem from misunderstandings and are either the result of students’ lack of understanding of what it takes to be successful in the TOEFL writing section, or from relying on dubious advice and resources.
This then is a summary of the biggest problems I’ve seen in students’ writing over the years along with some suggested solutions. It's written by me, not by AI, and is based on my own personal observations. Whether you are a student or a tutor, I hope you'll find them helpful. And if you have any comments, do get in touch. I love to talk about writing!
🟠 It’s true that some sort of structure is helpful to avoid wasting time in TOEFL writing however, relying on a template without fully appreciating that it's just a tool causes more problems than it solves.
Most students who use templates haven't been taught how to adapt them for different essay questions and this of course, leads to a lot of errors. Also many students seem to believe the template phrases are the important content of the essay and don't learn how to add content and flesh them out with explanations and details.
SOLUTION
🌟 I use the term essay structure with my students to indicate that we’re going to follow a pattern but that the additional writing needs to be added.
The structure contains certain standard phrases that may be useful but I emphasize that the quality of the essay comes from content specific to the question.
🟠 This is an issue that also comes from over-reliance on templates. Again, students are taught that connectors are important for clear writing but many online resources contain far too many connectors in their example responses (perhaps to emphasize the point - I'm not sure).
Overuse of connectors doesn’t increase fluency. It makes writing harder to read. Also many of these connectors are over-formal and archaic (see point 4 below).
SOLUTION
🌟 I show students examples of high-scoring responses and we note how connectors are used.
I also explain that connectors - by themselves - don't really add to variety in vocabulary but students have the chance to demonstrate their vocabulary range in the quality of their explanations and the details they add to their writing.
🟠 I've heard from countless students that they "don't have time to learn grammar" which of course leads to a lot of other issues that need to be unpacked.
Good grammar is essential for clear writing but more importantly, confident use of grammar allows students to put their focus into crafting clear explanations which leads to higher scores.
SOLUTION
🌟 We look at high-scoring responses and note any commonly used grammar structures as well as places where perhaps verb tense shifts or conditional structures are required. Where I notice repeated grammar errors in students' writing, we take a step back and revisit those grammar rules and work through practice exercises.
We also create a resource of commonly used phrases, for both writing tasks, noting their grammatical structures. This helps to consolidate the grammar rules with real examples.
🟠 Many students insert overly formal or even archaic words into their writing under the mistaken belief that unusual words are better and will help to raise their scores. This myth is fed by popular posts giving the impression that unusual vocabulary is the only factor that is important in a writing score. It's not. Several components are assessed in writing.
Vocabulary range is important of course, but so is writing style. The exam requirements are quite clear that normal standard English is expected and not overly formal academic vocabulary.
SOLUTION
🌟 I guide my students by explaining the importance of the quality of their explanations. In TOEFL writing, students are asked to explain the author and the professor's arguments in task 1, and their own opinions in task 2.
There aren't many specific exam resources that really demonstrate the vocabulary required to write a good explanation so this is what I focus on. We build up a vocabulary bank of verbs to use for explanations and then practise using these in writing tasks.
🟠 I've come across students who try to memorize whole passages to insert into their responses and so often this is related to a lack of confidence in their writing ability or a fear of making errors.
SOLUTION
🌟 For these students, I use a variety of skill building exercises to help them understand the requirements and then practice writing in a controlled environment. I find it's also helpful to break down each writing task into different parts, and then practice each part separately.
🟠 TOEFL and IELTS writing tasks are very specific and the timing constraints are severe so it's essential to plan to remain focused. However, students are often reluctant to plan before they write because they think it wastes time. It doesn't.
All good writers plan and it's very clear when a response has been written with no planning because it usually lacks focus.
SOLUTION
🌟 I do a lot of planning with my students by talking about ideas together and then making lists using key words and bullet points. A lot of this involves learning about efficient note-taking (for the TOEFL integrated essay) and about focused thinking (for the TOEFL academic discussion response).
Then they write for homework and I encourage them to share their plans with me as well as the completed writing task. I explain that even in a stressful exam situation, planning saves time because it reduces thinking time. If students stop to think in the middle of writing, that slows down the writing time which increases the chance that they won't complete the task.
🟠 It's one of the exam myths in some circles that a higher word count equals a higher score and I frequently see students adding extra unnecessary sentences to "increase the word count". Scoring doesn't work this way.
In fact, as long as you exceed the stipulated word count (and both writing tasks have guidelines for this), it's better to limit the number of words you write. Then you can spend any remaining time editing to make sure you've kept your focus and to remove any typos that may have crept in.
SOLUTION
🌟 In lessons, I show students the requirements for each writing task and a writing structure that fulfils those requirements. Then we look at high-scoring responses and note the word count for each one. Then students practise using the structure to write their own responses.
🟠 This is very specific but some students cling to outdated advice because of popular posts they've read. For example, it's still believed by some that the professor's argument should come first in integrated essays. This is not a requirement, but just a preference expressed in some resources.
SOLUTION
🌟 I think in this kind of situation, it's important for a tutor to build trust with their student.
I explain to my students that there are many ways of writing but that I have chosen the most efficient based on my knowledge and experience of the TOEFL exam. I also explain that trying to combine advice from different resources can be confusing and often detrimental to success.
Then we do lots and lots of writing practice.
Header photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash