Laura decided to do some TOEFL integrated practice at my web site, so she took a free practice test.  She watched the following video so that she could read the passage and then listen to a lecture on the same topic.

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice:  You Tube video about bears

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice:  Laura’s sample response

While she watched the video, she dotted down the notes. As part of her TOEFL integrated writing practice, then she wrote the below response.

Introduction:

The reading passage and the lecture discuss whether humans can coexist with bears, and what to do in case of an attack. The professor from the lecture casts doubt on all the points made during the reading. The reading passage holds that humans should avoid living near bears. On the other hand, the professor from the lecture argues that bears are not dangerous.

Body Paragraph 1:

Firstly, the author from the passage argues that bears are more likely to attack humans when they do not fear them. Bears lose their fear towards humans when they are fed by them. In contrast, the lecturer gives two examples in which he denies this idea. In Minnesota and Pennsylvania, bears coexist with humans, and no attacks have been registered.

Body Paragraph 2:

Secondly, the author from the passage describes few signs that a bear gives before it is ready to attack. When a bear huffs, or growls, or stands in both of his legs, it means it is about to attack. Conversely, the lecturer denies these are signs of attacking. Instead, he claims, for example, that when a bear stands on both of his feet, or displays some slapping or salivating, it is warning humans to walk away.

Body Paragraph 3:

Lastly, the author from the passage and the lecturer completely disagree on what to do in case of a bear attack. The reading passage holds that humans should run as fast as they can away from the bear, climb a tree, or shoot the bear with a gun. In contrast, the lecturer claims that it is worthless to run away because the bear can easily outrun even the fastest humans. Then, he states that climbing is not an option either because bears are good climbers as well. Lastly, he suggests that in case of an attack, humans should go on the ground and cover their head and neck with their hands. Humans can also try to raise their arms in the air, so bears can see that they are larger animals. The last option is to fake death or use pepperspray.

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice:  My analysis

After her TOEFL integrated writing practice, Laura sent the essay to me for scoring.  When I read her essay, I noticed several important features:

• Excellent control over her sentence structure, punctuation, and word choice
• Frequent voice markers acknowledging the reading and listening passage
• Consistent use of simple present tense reporting verbs throughout
• Complete and accurate explanation of the most important points in the reading and the listening passages
• Logical compare and contrast chunking organization clearly integrating the reading with the listening passage
• Effective use of contrast transition words in key junctures of the essay

As a result, I was very impressed with her TOEFL integrated writing practice test.  I scored the essay 5.0/5.0 or 30/30 pts.  I sent her results by e-mail. In the email, I asked her what type of preparation she had been doing.

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice: Laura’s writing tips

Below are the tips that Laura wrote me in an e-mail. From her response, you can see that she has done a lot different things to help her TOEFL integrated writing practice.

Laura’s Experience

TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Tips