The last task in the TOEFL Writing section is an Independent Essay Task, which gives you a chance to show your ability to persuade an audience using the language. This challenges you to think of a prompt, select a position, and present arguments and examples crystal clear. This often inspires fear among many students, but everything depends on preparation and practice.

This blog will help you understand the task, give you some TOEFL essay tips, and outline the good strategies to assist you in composing an essay that is quite unique.

The TOEFL Independent Essay requires you to express and justify your opinion about a topic. The topics tend to be related to common issues or everyday preferences, such as:

“Do you agree or disagree with the statement that technology has made life better?”

“What matters more: success in work or good relations with your family?”

You will write a well-supported essay of approximately 300 words, clearly staking a position and supported by logical inference and specific examples.

In the TOEFL Reading section, you are provided with 54 to 72 minutes, depending on the number of passages provided, which are usually three to four passages. In that time, you will have approximately 18 minutes per passage. Thus, you need to make effective use of your time. The score range in the reading section is 0 to 30. Each right answer carries equal points in determining your final score.

The only way to be efficient is by successfully implementing time management strategies. Take a few minutes to glance down through the reading passage to look for the major ideas before you begin to do the questions. Take your time carefully on difficult questions but rush through easy ones.

Your essay is graded according to four key criteria:

Relevance of Content: Does your essay rightly answer the prompt? Are your arguments logically and relevantly made in terms of the topic?

Structure: Is your essay composed of outlined paragraphs with logical flow?

Development and Support: Are your arguments developed well with specified details or evidence?

Language Use: Is your grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure varied and correct?

Proper planning and execution must be done for a good score in each of the categories.

• Be Decisive on the Topic:

The most common fault of TOEFL essay writers is vagueness. This can be best avoided by taking one side of the argument and supporting it on each page of your essay. For instance, if the question is whether technology has made life better, introduce yourself clearly in the introduction and repeat it in the conclusion.

• Clear Essay Planning:

A solid essay needs an obvious outline. Follow this structure:

Introduction: Introduce the topic, state your side, and introduce your main arguments.

Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should deal with one argument. Open with a topic sentence, use supporting evidence or examples, and conclude the paragraph by linking it to your overall argument

Conclusion: Summarize your points and solidify your side.

• Support Your Argument with Specific Examples:

For example, in place of nonspecific declarations like “Education is important” use concrete examples as below:

“Education empowers the members of society by giving them entitlement about a given skill set. for example, having one or two master’s degrees can thus offer an elite entry to high-wage jobs. 

• Be Ingenious with Vocab and Sentence Structures:

Demonstrate your mastery over language by illustrating, vocabulary, synonyms and idiomatic expressions, as well as the diversity of sentence types. Here’s an example: 

Simple: “Technology saves people a lot of time.”

Advanced: “Modern technology has advanced efficiency. Saves individuals hours doing the most mundane of tasks.”

• Wasting Less Time:

Use your 30 minutes well:

3-5 minutes: Plan your response and the gist of what you will write about.

20 minutes: Write your essay.

5 minutes: Review and revise for mistakes.

Brainstorming and Outlining Before Writing

Spend a few minutes brainstorming ideas and organizing them into a logical outline, which will organize thoughts and flow in a logical order.

If the topic chosen is about social media, then the outline will be like this:

Introduction: State that social media has both positive as well as negative impacts

Body Paragraph 1: Positive impact-connecting friends and family all over the globe.

Body Paragraph 2: Negative impacts such as distraction and reduced productivity.

Conclusion: Restate both ideas and make a firm stance.

Apply Transition Words for Flow

Transition words connect your thoughts well to allow an essay to flow. Examples include:

To add points: “Moreover, “Furthermore, “In addition.

To contrast: “However,” “On the other hand,” “Although.”

To conclude: “Therefore,” “In conclusion, “To sum it all.”

Write Under Time Constraint

Simulating exam conditions is the best TOEFL writing tip. Use official prompts, set a timer for 30 minutes, practice filling out essays and look at your work afterward to see what you need to improve on.

• Colloquialism or Slang

Using colloquialisms and slang terms such as “kids” and “gonna” should be avoided. Instead, use formal words like “children” and “going to.”

• Focusing on Vocabulary and Neglecting the Content

While word-rich vocabulary does add up to a great essay, one should focus keenly on writing a coherent and clear essay. A simple and coherent essay scores much more than a very complicated essay full of few meaningful words.

• Disregarding Conclusion

A weak conclusion is sure to give a pathetic impression. Restate the main argument and close powerfully. Example,
“At the end of everything, despite the benefits that come with social media, its impact on productivity and mental health cannot be overlooked. Moderation is, thus, key.”

Professional TOEFL coaching can provide you with individualized coaching, tried-and-tested techniques to write essays for TOEFL, and focused practice. This is extremely beneficial if you have some elements of the writing that you specifically find really tough, such as grammar or even structure.

Best TOEFL Coaching center in Kerala

For quality essay coaching in TOEFL, Neethu’s Academy in Kerala stands out. The institution has faculty members known for their years of experience and individualized attention toward the students. Therefore, courses are prepared on an individualized scale so that every student can attain high scores.

Mastery in the TOEFL Independent Essay Writing develops over a combination of strategy, practice, and precision. It starts with knowing the task, applying high-scoring TOEFL essay tips, and avoiding common pitfalls.

Coaches can really come through for those who are looking to hone their skills and build up their confidence. Use these strategies discussed in this blog, and you will be ready to nail the TOEFL Independent Essay!