TOEFL Tips for Essay Writing

I. Understanding the TOEFL question: There are different types of TOEFL questions. You never know which question you will receive, so you must be prepared to write on ALL the types of questions. It is very important that you completely understand the question BEFORE you begin to write. Below are some different essay question types.

1. Choose a point of view and support that view. (Sample question)
Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others believe that going to classes should be optional for students. Which point of view do you agree with? Use specific reasons and details to explain your answer.
This type of question asks you to look at only ONE side of the issue - the side you agree with. DON'T write about both sides. You tell which side you agree with and support your ideas with details and examples.

Sample Essay for this question: Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes while others believe that the classes should be optional. I believe that students should absolutely be required to attend classes and I will explain my reasons below.
To attain a university degree, it is necessary to prove oneself in many areas. You must read countless books and attend lectures, labs and discussions. If a student only had to read books to attain a degree, I don’t think that degree would be worth very much. Of course, we all gain much knowledge from books and articles, but to really have the university experience, we must also gain valuable knowledge from the professors and instructors that help guide us through these readings. The professor chooses the readings for his or her course with the intention of discussing and lecturing about the topics in the books. If you only read the books, you are missing half of the education. We can learn how to interpret ideas from the professors who have more education and experience than we do. A professor can stress for us the important educational points in the assigned readings and share his or her knowledge and experience.People go to a university to learn. The experience of a lecture given by a good professor is absolutely a necessary part of learning. Professors can be role models, mentors, teachers of life and education. To say that their lectures and lessons should be optional seems incredible to me. People have been learning from each other at universities for ages. One cannot have a complete education without professors guiding him or her though the educational process. Valuable learning comes though discussions with instructors and professors.

It is my opinion that university students should be required to attend classes and discussions. Professors are valuable resources in a person’s educational experience and to miss the opportunity of learning one’s knowledge directly from the source would be a missed opportunity indeed.

2. Describe something. (Sample question) If you could invent something NEW, what product would you develop? Use specific details to explain why this invention is needed?

In answering this type of question, you must use a number of adjectives in order to effectively describe something. The reader should be able to really "see" what you are describing. In this particular question, you must also be creative as they are asking you about something that doesn't even exist.

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