TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS

Sample 4 Score
The summer I was fourteen, I learned something about my dad.
He never talked much and I didn’t really know that much about
him. When I turned fourteen, he thought I was old enough to
hear more. He decided it was time to tell me about the Hungarian Revolution.
My dad was a toolmaker in Hungary. Because he didn’t like
the Communist government, he decided to join the protests led
by students angry at the government. That’s how the rebellion
started. The Communists wouldn’t let anyone talk bad about the
government, and the protesters were attacked. That started the
fighting. My dad was only 22 years old then.
I wanted to know why he decided to fight. He told me that
because of the communist government, he couldn’t make enough
money to buy food and clothes. The most important thing,
though, was freedom of speech. He couldn’t say what he wanted.
You could go to jail for criticizing the government.
My dad escaped with the other refugees, and he has lived in
France since 1956. He complains about France a lot, especially
the politicians. But he knows that here, no one is going to put
him in jail for that.
Sample 1 Score
I was surprised by my dad when he told me about the Hungarian revelution he fought. I knew before that he fought but I didn’t
no anything else about it. It was a short war and the communistsWRITING 137
one. He was in the army. He didn’t like to talk much so that’s part
of why I was so surprized. One question I had, was, why did he
fight. He said he didn’t like the government and they’d take you
away for just saying that. I can’t imagine such a thing. I would
want to fight to. That’s not the way it is in France or America.
This is a really grate country and I’m glad to live here.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
■ Review the list of TOEFL exam writing prompts at
www.toefl.org.
■ Time yourself and practice writing essays about several
prompts.
■ Familiarize yourself with the scoring system and the
criteria for a top-rated essay.
■ Do not write about a topic other than the one assigned
to you. If you write about a different topic, you will
receive a score of 0.
■ Plan on writing five paragraphs: an introduction, three
supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.
■ Aim to write about three to four sentences in each
paragraph.
■ Give yourself about 5–10 minutes to plan, 15–20
minutes to write, and 5 minutes to proofread your essay.
■ The prewriting process includes stating your thesis,
brainstorming, and outlining.
■ Use your outline to organize your essay and fill in gaps
where supporting details are needed.
■ Proofread for grammatical errors and word choice; do
not revise or rewrite.