iBT Writing Section: Integrated (Troubleshooting) Some common problems plague many students. One problem is during the first three minutes when you’ve got to read the passage before the lecture. How do you find the most important points in the reading within three minutes? If there are more than two paragraphs, then you can scan the first and last line of each paragraph because that is where the topic sentences tend to be. If the passage only has two paragraphs, then it is more challenging because you have to scan the entire paragraph but remember to keep an eye out for reasons, examples, and details and then backtrack to the main point that should come before these items.
Another problem occurs during the lecture when students don’t take enough notes. Remember that you need to try and keep an open ear. This means that you should not think too much while you listen. Do not try and connect any points from the reading during the lecture, for this will cause you to miss parts of the lecture. Just concentrate on the lecture. Then, write everything you can about the lecture when the twenty minute writing portion begins. If you do this, you might be surprised at what you could remember.
Finally, many test takers are confused by vocabulary words in the lecture. When you hear a word that you don’t understand, pay attention to the context. If you can give the definition without the word, then your response will still be heading towards a high score. Omitting a few words that you couldn’t hear shouldn’t damage your score too much. Focus on what you know. Do you have any problems during the integrated writing section? Leave a comment or email us! We like to hear from anyone reading our blog.
POSTED BY TOEFL TIGER AT 7:18 AM LINKS TO THIS POST