TOEFL Writing: ¿Qué es una buena puntuación?, dificultad, ejemplos prácticos y temas.
SpeakingathomeLa escritura es una de las piezas fundamentales a la hora de aprender inglés, porque nos permite organizar las capacidades de escucha y habla en una estructura que nos prepara para utilizarlo en el día a día.
La sección Writing del TOEFL iBT mide tu capacidad de escribir en inglés en un ambiente académico, y que seas capaz de presentar tus ideas y conceptos de una manera tanto limpia como organizada.
Desde Speakingathome podemos ayudarte para lidiar con esta parte del examen TOEFL
TOEFL Writing: ¿Cómo se realiza la evaluación?
El exámen de Writing en TOEFL se divide en 2 partes: una parte de escritura integrada (Integrated Writing) que dura 20 minutos en el cual se lee un pasaje corto y se escucha un breve audio para luego escribir y responder lo que se leyó. En esta parte tienes permitido tomar notas de lo leído.
La otra sección del examen dura media hora y consiste en la producción de un escrito independiente (Independent Writing), el cúal debe ser un ensayo basado en la experiencia u opinión personal en respuesta a un tema particular. Estas 2 partes en conjunto no durarán más de 50 minutos.
TOEFL Writing: ¿Cómo es el sistema de puntaje?
El sistema de puntaje del TOEFL Writing utiliza un sistema de medición de 1 al 30. 24-30 es avanzado, 17-23 es intermedio alto, 13-16 es intermedio bajo, 7-12 es básico y 0-6 es inferior a básico. Sin embargo esta parte del examen al estar dividida en 2 partes se usa 2 formas a la hora de categorizar las respuestas.
TOEFL Writing: Dificultad
Como se ha mencionado anteriormente, la dificultad en la sección de Writing del exámen TOEFL dependerá de cómo esté organizado el texto académico escrito. La coherencia, la variedad de vocabulario, y la conexión de las ideas que en su conjunto conforman un ensayo con un buen hilo conductor y respuestas claras.
Sin embargo, esto no es binario, tanto como en el Speaking y el Writing, hay grados que determinan qué tan correcto se puede ser.
TOEFL Writing: Ejemplo
Writing Practice Set 1 (Integrated): Passage, Lecture, and Question Directions: Give yourself 3 minutes to read the passage.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
In an effort to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuing certifications to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by conserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive this certification can attract customers by advertising their products as “ecocertified.” Around the world, many wood companies have adopted new, ecologically friendly practices in order to receive ecocertification. However, it is unlikely that wood companies in the United States will do the same, for several reasons.
First, American consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the ecocertification label. Because so many mediocre products are labeled “new” or “improved,” American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims in general.
Second, ecocertified wood will be more expensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn ecocertification, a wood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification agency. This additional cost gets passed on to consumers. American consumers tend to be strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaper uncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer to keep their prices low rather than obtain ecocertification.
Third, although some people claim that it always makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with the developments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing. Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only if they marketed most of their products abroad. But that is not the case—American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States, catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with the merchandise
Directions: Read the transcript
Narrator: Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
Professor: Well, despite what many people say, there’s good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek ecocertification for their wood products. First off, consumers in the United States don’t treat all advertising the same. They distinguish between advertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims made by independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence in independent consumer agencies. Thus, ecologically minded Americans are likely to react very favorably to wood products ecologically certified by an independent organization with an international reputation for trustworthiness.
Second point—of course it’s true that American consumers care a lot about price—who doesn’t? But studies of how consumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers’ decisions only when the price of one competing product is much higher or lower than another. When the price difference between two products is small—say, less than five percent, as is the case with certified wood— Americans often do choose on factors other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced of the value of preserving and protecting the environment.
And third, U.S. wood companies should definitely pay attention to what’s going on in the wood business internationally, not because of foreign consumers, but because of foreign competition. As I just told you, there’s a good chance that many American consumers will be interested in ecocertified products. And guess what, if American companies are slow capturing those customers, you can be sure that foreign companies will soon start crowding into the American market, offering ecocertified wood that domestic companies don’t.
Directions: Give yourself 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response is judged on the quality of the writing and on how well it presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. You may view the reading passage while you respond.
Response time: 20 minutes
Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.
Writing Practice Set 2 (Independent): Question
Directions: Read the question below. Give yourself 30 minutes to plan, write, and revise your essay. Typically, an effective response will contain a minimum of 300 words. Reading Time: 30 minutes
Question: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Television advertising directed toward young children (aged two to five) should not be allowed.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer
TOEFL Writing: Tópicos y Asignaturas frecuentes
La mayoría de los tópicos utilizados para los exámenes TOEFL son temas de actualidad relacionados a la economía, sociedad, política, tecnologías y cosas del día a día; como reciclado o urbanística.
Asimismo, es por eso estar siempre informado con respecto a la cultura general con el fin de crear respuestas variadas cuando se deba dar el exámen TOEFL y de esa forma se puede realizar un escrito rico en escritura.