Learn TOEFL words to distinguish concepts. As you explain your own ideas or as you explain information from reading and listening passages, you will sometimes need to distinguish ideas and concepts. Making these types of distinctions will help you to show how the main points may be similar or different to the most important points in listening passages.
TOEFL words to distinguish concepts: In a similar case/Unlike the case of
- In a similar case, the professor explains that ant colonies can act in a uniform way to accomplish tasks such as finding food and making sure the queen ant has a mate.
- Unlike the case of the ants cooperating for a common goal, bears, according to the professor, are solitary animals.
In the same way/In a typical situation/In a normal scenario
- In the same way as the campus announcement, the speaker believes that expanding the cafeteria will allow more students to dine so that they will not have to leave campus to buy food in between classes.
- In a typical situation, the speaker believes that most children learn a new language by interacting with their parents and others in their social environments.
- In a normal scenario, argues the speaker, prices go up on hi-demand, scarce commodities.
How do I learn TOEFL Words to distinguish concepts?
Reading these types of TOEFL words will not make them part of your active vocabulary unless you take the following steps to put them into your long-term memory:
- Put each phrase onto a 4 x 6-inch notecard with the phrase on one side and an example sentence on the other side.
- Practice reading your flashcards until you are comfortable seeing them and understanding the contextual meaning of the cohesive transition words.
- Expand your list of the type of words by Googling “Compare and contrast transition words and phrases for academic writing.” Also, put these words onto note-cards for further study.
- As you do your TOEFL speaking and writing practice, use at least two of these TOEFL words to distinguish concepts. Make sure that you do NOT use the same two phrases in your practice tests.
- Get feedback from a TOEFL speaking and writing specialist to make sure you are using the words correctly as your complete your TOEFL practice.