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Build Vocabulary in English Effectively for TOEFL

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Keep a reading journal and a vocabulary notebook to advance your progress in English

Have you ever gotten stuck on words on part of a TOEFL section because you fail to understand those vocabulary words?

In the integrated sections of the speaking and writing sections, are you sometimes at a loss over difficult word choice?

If you do not understand some words, you most likely may be unable to successfully speak or write responses in the integrated tasks of these TOEFL sections.

The key to success is to understand the essential information in the source even if you may not comprehend a challenging word.

In the case of the integrated task, how would you filter through unknown words to answer the integrated task prompt?

The wise approach to learn how to tackle the various integrated tasks is first to understand the task, then accomplish the task as required by the prompt. Think about if you were able to read the information and take organized notes focusing on the information requested by the prompt. Let’s say you read the passage and took notes on the main idea and three key points. However, whether or not a word that appeared is difficult is not critical since you can imagine what that word may mean in context. Don’t let coming across a hard word in the passage cause you to lose focus on the main purpose and important points. Of course, the TOEFL will have words that you might not recognize. Those words are present to confuse you. The test also puts those advanced words in a text to stall you, so that you waste time. Yet, don’t let those words distract you from the overall goal of getting the main idea and answering your response more quickly and effectively.

Remember that if you can read, take notes, paraphrase, summarize, report, and synthesize the crucial information precisely, you will see a difference of a higher test score. Start by reading the prompt very carefully. Then, begin by identifying the organization of the passage. When you read, read with a particular purpose in mind: to answer the prompt. In the summary, you will analyze and describe the reading and lecture (citing the sources) in the integrated writing task number one. Be sure to identify and refer to accurate points as well as draw precise conclusions from the information provided in the source. Produce academic writing that summarizes the sources, leaving time to revise so that the end result leaves an impression of an advanced level of English proficiency. For timing your writing, refer to your written notes and practice writing from actual prompts under the same time constraints as on the exam day for simulation. What will be a valuable practice is to summary and paraphrase the content of short academic lectures such as TedX and readings online like on NatGeo.

Not only will reading, listening, and writing skill advancement help to prepare you for future academic life in English, but you will advance quickly in the language through the practice routine of collecting reliable and valid sources of information, particularly when you need to support a thesis in your integrated writing. You can also related readings to other related passages to analyze the content or relate a reading and a lecture that have a similar topic. During your integrated writing process, write a unified, well-developed, cohesive, and coherent essay being sure to include a clear thesis in your introduction, body, and conclusion while using accurate grammar. Whenever you see words that you do not know in a reading or hear words you are unfamiliar with in a lecture, take notes on those word chunks in a vocabulary notebook with definitions, examples in real context, and synonyms. If you review them daily or each study session, you will see your retention rate soar and your proficiency go up.

To aid your learning of vocabulary, read extensively daily. Read for at least 30 minutes 5x/week and keep a reading notebook with the date, amount of time spent, length of passage/article (word count) or pages read, a short written summary of what was read, and a vocabulary journal with a few new word choice to actively learn. Online, you can look up at dictionary.com for those words. Take note on word form, definition/meaning, and an example in a sentence to write in your vocabulary notebook. The goal of the reading notebook is track if you are reading more quickly, while the objective of the vocabulary journal is for increasing your knowledge of English words. With these tools, you are sure to transform into a self-learner and master reader.

When you come across a hard vocabulary word in a reading passage, you can use it in your integrated writing. Remember to spell it correctly by looking at the right spelling in the source and to use the word in correct context. Use the chunking strategy wherever possible to decode challenge words. With more exposure to words in reading, you will expand your vocabulary in the language. Develop a game plan—a plan of attack for overcoming vocabulary barriers and progressing your level of English:

  • Note taking on readings and lectures
  • Keep a vocabulary study notebook
  • Use internet tools for accessing more vocabulary
  • Understand a reading for the main purpose and key support rather than get lost in an unknown word choice
  • Use vocabulary in context in writing

Use these techniques to learn more successfully.

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Steps to TOEFL Integrated Writing High Score

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The first task on the writing section of the TOEFL—the integrated summary—requires that you integrate three skills. It is a difficult task because it engages you in having to draw information from a reading passage and a lecture, two different sources on the same topic, and synthesize it in your own words. In this respect, it may be more challenging than the independent essay sole topic. Since the integrated tasks on the TOEFL give you multiple sources to work with, you have more information to deal with; consequently, the topic becomes slightly more complicated.

 

Step 1

Do not give your opinion. In the second writing task, the independent essay, you will be asked to give your opinion on an issue. However, that is not what is asked in the first writing task, the integrated summary. In fact, the question requires you to synthesize information from two sources–a reading and a lecture–and put that into writing, answering the particular question. So, concentrate on the information in the sources, citing them, and avoid wasting time thinking about your opinion on whatever academic topic is given.

 

Step 2

Know exactly where to look for the main idea and key points of both the reading passage and the lecture. Prior to writing your integrated essay in 20 minutes, you will be asked to read a passage on an academic topic and listen to a lecture on that topic. Though each deals with a similar topic, they give different perspectives of the topic. To read the passage, you will have approximately three minutes to read, and the lecture transcript will take about two minutes. You will need to use a practiced skill of knowing where to look for the main idea and three key points in the passage and how to predict and hear the lecture main idea and three key counterpoints. The main idea of the passage may be found after the topic, usually in the last sentence of the first paragraph. The key points are often in the first sentences of each following body paragraph. For the listening part, the main idea will be signaled at the start of the lecture, usually after the topic. It will often be the contrary to the reading point, so you can predict beforehand what you might hear. The lecture three key points to support the main idea will often follow a signal or transition word to indicate an important point is coming. You will need to take notes on those key points on a paper. No doubt, if you are not taking effective, organized notes that you can use to write from, it is difficult to construct a sound essay to answer the task and get a top score on this part of the writing section. Even though you can see the reading passage on the screen while you are writing your summary, during the three-minute reading time, it is wise to jot down the main purpose and key points underneath so that you can refer to them more easily. It will save you time and keep your writing logical and organized.

 

Step 3

Use a clear structure to accurately present the content points in the essay. Once you have taken notes on the key points in both the sources, you will have 20 minutes to write the essay. You need to answer the question, so read it carefully. Organize your essay with an orderly structure to answer the question. Be sure to relate the sources and give all the key points. Being precise with the ideas does not mean copying the exact words you read in the passage; paraphrasing in your own words is a sound strategy.

 

Step 4

Be familiar with what writing style you will use before you go into the exam. It is better to be prepared with the structure you will write in and the style of writing you will convey to answer the question concisely. A smooth, varied writing style connects ideas with transitions or introductory phrases, cites sources (refer to the author and lecturer) with effective reporting verbs, and employs sentence variety.

Use these four steps and you will be ahead of the game in the integrated task.