The TOEFL integrated essay

During the TOEFL iBT, you will have two writing tasks. The second and longer task is the independent essay. The first is the integrated essay.

In my opinion, your writing skills are less important in the integrated essay; of more importance is your listening ability and, to a lesser extent, your reading ability. In the essay, you must make  clear connections between the points in the reading and the points in the lecture. Obviously, if you don’t understand what you hear in the lecture, this will be very difficult, which is why the integrated writing task is truly integrated. Without being able to integrate listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills, you will not obtain a high score.

Neither the reading nor the lecture in the integrated writing task is as difficult as the texts in the Reading section or the lectures in the Listening section. You will have ample time (three minutes) to identify the main points in the reading passage. Also, after the lecture, you will be able to view the reading passage until the end of the writing time. The lecture is short (about 2 to 2 ½ minutes) and clearly structured; in addition, since the content of the lecture relates directly to the reading you’ve just completed, it’s easier to understand.

Nevertheless, until your reading and listening skills are developed well enough for you to understand the three points of connection between the reading and the lecture, there’s little reason to put much effort into practicing the essay itself. It’s better to work on your writing skills by attempting the independent essay and continue practicing reading and listening skills separately. In fact, initially I recommend that rather than trying to write an integrated essay, you simply make tables of the main points (as I’ve described below) to see if you’ve identified them correctly.

A sample writing task

Let’s take a sample integrated writing task to discuss how to approach it.

The reading passage from TPO (TOEFL Practice Online) 33 is as follows. You would have three minutes to read this.

Carved stone balls are a curious type of artifact found at a number of locations in Scotland. They date from the late Neolithic period, around 4,000 years ago. They are round in shape; they were carved from several types of stone; most are about 70 mm in diameter; and many are ornamented to some degree. Archaeologists do not agree about their purpose and meaning, but there are several theories.　　

One theory is that the carved stone balls were weapons used in hunting or fighting. Some of the stone balls have been found with holes in them, and many have grooves on the surface. It is possible that a cord was strung through the holes or laid in the grooves around the ball. Holding the stone balls at the end of the cord would have allowed a person to swing it around or throw it.　

A second theory is that the carved stone balls were used as part of a primitive system of weights and measures. The fact that they are so nearly uniform in size — at 70 mm in diameter — suggests that the balls were interchangeable and represented some standard unit of measure. They could have been used as standard weights to measure quantities of grain or other food, or anything that needed to be measured by weight on a balance or scale for the purpose of trade.　　

A third theory is that the carved stone balls served a social purpose as opposed to a practical or utilitarian one. This view is supported by the fact that many stone balls have elaborate designs. The elaborate carving suggests that the stones may have marked the important social status of their owners.

After the reading, you will hear a lecture from a female professor:

None of the three theories presented in the reading passage are very convincing.

First, the stone balls as hunting weapons. Common Neolithic weapons such as arrowheads and hand axes generally show signs of wear, so we should expect that if the stone balls had been used as weapons for hunting or fighting, they too would show signs of that use. Marry of the stone balls would be cracked or have pieces broken off. However, the surfaces of the balls are generally well preserved, showing little or no wear or damage.

Second, the carved stone balls may be remarkably uniform in size, but their masses vary too considerably to have been used as uniform weights. This is because the stone balls were made of different types of stone including sandstone, green stone and quartzite. Each type of stone has a different density. Some types of stone are heavier than others, just as a handful of feathers weighs less than a handful of rocks. Two balls of the same size are different weights depending on the type of stone they are made of. Therefore, the balls could not have been used as a primitive weighing system.

Third, it’s unlikely that the main purpose of the balls was as some kind of social marker. A couple of facts are inconsistent with this theory. For one thing, while some of the balls are carved with intricate patterns, many others have markings that are extremely simple, too simple to make the balls look like status symbols. Furthermore, we know that in Neolithic Britain, when someone died, particularly a high-ranking person, they were usually buried with their possessions. However, none of the carved stone balls have been actually found in tombs or graves. That makes it unlikely that the balls were personal possessions that marked a person’s status within the community.

Notes on the reading and lecture

I suggest that you take notes using a table like the following:

In the top box, based on information in the introductory paragraph, you’ll make brief notes on the subject of the reading passage … just enough so that you remember what it’s about. You’ll be able to go back to the text after the lecture, so you don’t need to be very detailed here.

On the left-hand side of the table, you’ll write the three main points of the reading. You will find one key point and a few supporting details in each paragraph following the introduction. Remember, you’ll be going back to the text after the lecture. You’ll have another chance to read for details. During this three-minute reading time, what’s most important is that you clearly identify and understand the three main points. If you do this, you’ll be able to understand the lecture much better.

During the lecture, you’ll listen for the lecturer to respond to the three main points. Listen for phrases like first … second … third and first of all … secondly … finally; they will signal when the lecturer transitions from one point to another. You will only have one chance to listen to the lecture, so good notes (or a good memory) are essential here. If you miss any of the three key points in the lecture, you won’t be able to score higher than a 3 out of 5. Usually, the lecture includes at least two supporting details to support each point, and ideally you will include all of them in your notes and then in the essay itself.

The writing task

After you finish the lecture, you’ll have 20 minutes to write your essay of around 150 to 225 words. Although TOEFL study guides say that some lectures support or strengthen the information in the reading passage, this is highly unlikely. The TPOs, which are “retired” actual TOEFL tests, contain only tasks in which the lecturer challenges or disagrees with the reading passage.

Although the rater will definitely evaluate the quality of your writing, your ability to successfully describe the relationship between the ideas in the reading and the lecture for each of the three main points is key to getting a top score. Even William Shakespeare himself would not get a 5 unless he understood what he heard in the lecture. 🙂

In your essay, your emphasis should always be on the material that is in the lecture. The rater knows that the material in the reading is available to you while you’re writing; therefore, merely rephrasing what the text says will gain you little advantage.

Because the writing task is so standardized, test-takers tend to follow certain templates or formulaic language that they’ve encountered at test-preparation websites or courses. This is acceptable to a certain degree, but remember that if you’ve been taught to write in a certain way, thousands of other students have probably been taught the same way. Your rater will recognize these formulas instantly, and will be more impressed if you can avoid such a monotonous approach and write your essay with slightly more creativity and originality.

The first paragraph

Your first paragraph must contain three essential points, which you should be able to state in no more than two or possibly even just one sentence. The key information includes:

1) enough information about the topic so that a reader unfamiliar with it will understand it — you will identify the REAL thesis and restate it without using the exact same wording as the reading

2) what the author of the reading is doing (for example: offering some theories, suggesting some reasons, discussing some beliefs)

3) what the lecturer is doing (almost always refuting, disagreeing, or contradicting, but if you can be more specific, you should be)

Here are some examples of introductory paragraphs:

The salinity of California’s Salton Sea has been rising steadily in recent years. While the author suggests several solutions to reverse this trend, the lecturer believes these are unrealistic and impractical. (TPO 54)

The reading passage cites a number of social benefits resulting from high taxes placed on cigarettes and unhealthy foods. However, the lecturer challenges the arguments in favor of such taxes. (TPO 53)

Although the text suggests that colonizing asteroids might be a better option than sending people to the moon or to Mars, the lecturer disagrees. (TPO 52)

The reading discusses several beliefs that humans have developed about elephants. However, the lecturer believes that these ideas are misguided and reflect our misunderstandings about elephant behavior. (TPO 51)

When writing your essay, you’ll want to use a variety of reporting verbs to describe what the reading and the lecturer say. Avoid using the same verbs over and over again; also, try to make them precise and specific. Is the author claiming or merely suggesting? Is the lecturer pointing out or contradicting? My article on reporting verbs should provide you with lots of information to make these distinctions clearly.

However, rather than using variety, I think you should be consistent in how you refer to the reading and the lecture. If you choose to call it the reading, stay with that. Or call it the text or the author. In the same way, call the person giving the lecture either the speaker, the lecturer, or the professor and stick with that. You can also use the pronouns he or she; just make sure you get the gender correct.

Suggestions for the subsequent paragraphs

Some of my students tend to follow a very repetitious and monotonous structure: variations of The reading says this, but the lecture says this … The reading says this, but the lecture says this … The reading says this … and so on and so forth. I recommend that you vary this structure a little bit if you can. Here are three ways that you can do this. Some alternative word choices are included, but consult my article on reporting verbs for a more extensive list.

Although (while) the author states (believes, notes, suggests) that [a point from the text that you restate in your own words], the lecturer disagrees. She (he) points out that … [try to include two ideas from the lecture]

The lecturer refutes (disputes, rejects) the idea (theory, belief, suggestion) that [another point in the text]. She (he) claims (suggests, points out) that …. [try to include two points from the lecture].

The author asserts (contends, argues) that [another point from the text]. However (in contrast), the lecturer (disputes, contradicts, disagrees with) this (statement, idea, opinion). He (she) maintains (affirms, observes) that [two ideas from the lecture].

A sample essay

Finally, what does an integrated essay look like? Here’s my attempt at answering TPO 33.

Archaeologists have found round, carved stone balls dating from the late Neolithic period at several sites in Scotland. Although several theories about the meaning and purpose of these balls are discussed in the reading, the lecturer strongly disagrees with their validity.

First, although the reading states that the presence of holes and grooves in the balls indicates that they might have been used as some type of weapon, the lecturer refutes this idea. She points out that common weapons such as arrowheads found at these sites show signs of wear. If used as weapons, these balls would likely be cracked or broken. Their well-preserved surfaces contradict the theory that they were used as a weapon.

Second, the lecturer refutes the theory that the stones, which are uniform in size, could have been used in a primitive system of weights to measure grain or food. She notes that although interchangeable in size, the masses of the stones vary considerably. Because the balls are made from different types of stones, the balls have different densities, and thus different weights. So it would not have been possible to use them as a device for common measurement.

Third, the reading proposes that, due to their elaborately carved designs,  the stones might have had a social purpose and been used to mark the social status of their owners. The lecturer disagrees. She observes that although some stones have intricate patterns, others are quite plain. Furthermore, she points out that, in the Neolithic period, those people of higher status were buried with all their possessions. Yet no graves have been found with balls in them, making it unlikely that the balls were a marker of social status.