TOEFL speaking and writing unity will help you to improve your TOEFL score. To achieve unity, follow three basic steps.
The example response provided is based on the following paired-choice prompt:
Some say that electric bills should be based on your income. Therefore, regardless of your usage, the more money you make, in other words, the higher your bill will be. Others, on the other hand, argue that your electric bill should be based on how much you use. Therefore, if you limit your electricity usage, you will have a lower bill. Conversely, if you do not conserve your usage, you will have a higher bill. Which opinion do you agree with? Give reasons and examples to support your point of view.
Step 1: TOEFL Speaking and Writing Unity: Create a thesis statement.
First of all, you should create a thesis statement to frame the body of your response. Make sure that your thesis statement directly addresses the speaking or writing prompt, that your thesis makes an assertion, and that your thesis sharply focuses on a specific topic.
- Indirect, unarguable, and broad thesis: People use electricity based on their needs and their budget, so they will not like to pay bills based on their income level.
- Direct, arguable, and focused thesis: Making people more for their electricity will lead to excessive usage and inequality among consumers.
To learn more about how to frame thesis statements, read this post.
Step 2: Use clearly marked topic sentences.
Second of all, you should use clearly marked topic sentences, restating the key points mentioned in your thesis.
- Example topic sentence for thesis point one: Making electricity consumers pay based on income will lead to excessive usage since there will no longer be an incentive to conserve.
- Topic sentence example for thesis point two: In addition, having this tw0-tiered electricity billing will lead to inequality among residents.
Learn more here about composing sharply-focused topic sentences.
Step 3: Provide a relevant example to support your argument.
Third of all, once you establish a clear thesis and topic sentences, you need to provide relevant examples. Making sure that your examples illustrate the argument put forth will be the final tool in TOEFL speaking and writing unity.
Making electricity consumers pay based on income will lead to excessive usage since there will no longer be an incentive to conserve. For example, I have a friend in California who pays his electric bill based on his income and not on his usage. Before California implemented the new policy, my friend used approximately 605 kilowatt hours (kWh) monthly. This electricity consumption cost him about $275 each month. Conversely, since my friend had an annual salary of $73,000, about $5,000 lower than the average worker, his electricity bill was lowered to only $225 monthly regardless of his usage. Consequently, he now consumes about 1200 kWh of electricity, roughly double what he used to use, and he saves $50 every month. Sadly, he no longer has any motivation to conserve his utility usage.
In addition, having this tw0-tiered electricity billing will lead to more inequality among residents. I also live in California, but my income is slightly higher than my friend’s. I make about $78,000 a year, which is about $5000 more than what my friend makes. Therefore, unlike my friend, I do not qualify for the electricity savings policy. To illustrate, I use about 700 kWh of electricity each month, and I have to pay $325 for that usage. This new policy that California has implemented leads to gross inequality between my friend and me. We make almost the same amount of money, yet he pays significantly less for his electricity usage than I do.
Michael Buckhoff, mbuckhoff@aol.com
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