TOEFL Writing Sample Questions

TOEFL writing sample questions aids in developing an effective communication in Standard English, with vital tools known as language and organization of thoughts. Those sample questions are detailed under respective parts in the following.

Sample Questions and Essays for TOEFL Writing Section

Writing section in TOEFL tests the writing skills of individual in the form of essay writing. Sample questions for TOEFL writing section are divided into two parts for internet based writing and as one part for a paper based writing. A Paper based (PBT) writing section is comprised of one independent task; while an internet based (iBT) writing consists of:

A. One Integrated task

B. One Independent task

Below the sample questions are given in detail along with tips on how to write an essay in Standard English.

Reading Passage on Academic Topic (Integrated)

In many organizations, perhaps the best way to approach certain new projects is to assemble a group of people into a team. Having a team of people attack a project offers several advantages. First of all, a group of people has a wider range of knowledge, expertise, and skills than any single individual is likely to possess. Also, because of the numbers of people involved and the greater resources they possess, a group can work more quickly in response to the task assigned to it and can come up with highly creative solutions to problems and issues. Sometimes these creative solutions come about because a group is more likely to make risky decisions that an individual might not undertake. This is because the group spreads responsibility for a decision to all the members and thus no single individual can be held accountable if the decision turns out to be wrong.

Taking part in a group process can be very rewarding for members of the team. Team members who have a voice in making the decision will no doubt feel better about carrying out the work out the work that is entailed by that decision than they might doing work that is imposed on them by others. Also, the individual team member has a much better chance to “shine,” to get his or her contributions and ideas not only recognized but recognized as highly significant, because a team’s overall results can be more far-reaching and have greater impact than what might have otherwise been possible for the person to accomplish or contribute working alone.

 A narrator then says, “Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.”

Then examinees listen to and can take notes on the following lecture, the script of which is given below.

Audio Lecture on Academic Material (Integrated)

(Professor) Now I want to tell you about what one company found when it decided that it would turn over some of its new projects to teams of people, and make the team responsible for planning the projects and getting the work done. After about six months, the company took a look at how well the teams performed.

On virtually every team, some members got almost a “free ride” ... they didn’t contribute much at all, but if their team did a good job, they nevertheless benefited from the recognition the team got. And what about group members who worked especially well and who provided a lot of insight on problems and issues? Well...the recognition for a job well done went to the group as a whole, no names were named. So it won’t surprise you to learn that when the real contributors were asked how they felt about the group process, their attitude was just the opposite of what the reading predicts.

Another finding was that some projects just didn’t move very quickly. Why? Because it took so long to reach consensus...it took many, many meetings to build the agreement among group members about how they would move the project along. On the other hand, there were other instances where one or two people managed to become very influential over what their group did. Sometimes when those influencers said “That will never work” about an idea the group was developing, the idea was quickly dropped instead of being further discussed. And then there was another occasion when a couple influencers convinced the group that a plan of theirs was “highly creative.” And even though some members tried to warn the rest of the group that the project was moving in directions that might not work, they were basically ignored by other group members. Can you guess the ending to *this* story? When the project failed, the blame was placed on all the members of the group.

Sample Essay Response

The lecture that followed the paragraph on the team work in organizations, gave some negative views of the team work itself.

Firstly, though it was said in the paragraph that the whole team idea would probably be faster than the individual work, it was said in the lecture just the opposite: it could actually be a lot slower. That is because team members would sometimes take more time than needed just to reach the same conclusions, or just even to simply decide where to go from certain point to the next on.

Secondly, paragraph suggests that by doing work as a team might give you an “edge”, the lecture suggests that that might also be a negative thing as well. The people who made themselves leaders in the group may just be wrong in certain decisions, or just simple thing something is so creative, when in reality it is not and it would not work, but the rest of the people would nevertheless still follow them, and end up not doing well at all.

And lastly, paragraph says that everyone feels responsible for their own part, and all together they are all more effective as a team. The lecture suggests quite the opposite in this case as well. It suggests that some team members are there only for the “free ride”, and they don’t do much of anything to contribute, but still get the credit as a whole.

The essay which is written for integrated part will explain the relation between the audio and the reading material and would show how the relevant details in both are connected with each other. These samples for integrated task will help an individual to process information from two different sources. The guidelines to combine two different sources are to find the main idea, relating facts, progression of ideas, chronological order of events and conclusion.

Question on a General Issue and its Essay Response (Independent)

Question:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Only people who earn a lot of money are successful.

Essay Response:

 It is said that money makes the world go round. We spend the majority of our waking hours at work - earning a living, providing for our families and saving for our retirement. Although money no doubt plays a critical role in determining the quality and nature of our lifestyles, in my opinion, the size of one’s pay cheque is not a measure of one’s success in life. The bases of my views are philosophical, social and personal.

Philosophically, success can be defined in myriad ways. For some, success is an external concept to be measured in terms of high income, huge bank balances, fancy cars, expensive mansions, and luxurious holidays and so on. However, in my view, success is a reflection of internal human qualities, such as compassion, kindness, honesty, understanding and more. By this definition, the mere fact of earning a high income does not determine or define success.

Socially, success depends on how we treat other human beings. Do we regard others with respect or do we impose our will on them? Are we mindful of their needs and desires or do we behave selfishly? Do we encourage and support our friends, family and communities or do we insist they only follow the path we think best? It is clear that a critical aspect of success lies in the answers to such questions for they reveal the quality of relationships we share with our fellow human beings.

Personally, success can only be self-defined. My idea of success may not be the same as another person’s vision. This is as it should be. Each of us is a product of diverse social, cultural, economic, political, religious and ideological influences. When we add to that mix the free will that each of us exercises, we can understand clearly how each of us fashions his / her own aspirations for what we consider to be success in our own lives.

In an independent essay student will express their personal views on the given general issue or experience.

In conclusion, success is a concept which can be interpreted in a million different ways. Each individual’s version adds to the richness of our world and makes our planet a more delightful, amazing and colourful place to live.

This sample essay for independent part of writing section explains the personal views of the test taker. It also shows how the individual does supports his/her views on the issue presented to them. And the tips to write an essay on one’s personal views include , developing a topic on the issue, organizing the ideas in an order, and to deliver it with a new style.

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