Whether you are brand new to the TOEFL or you have taken the test before, the best place to start when it comes to preparing for the writing section of the exam is from ETS itself. They have two very informative videos on the format and grading of both the independent and integrated essays. Knowing the criteria before writing the essay is essential. Teachers and tutors might want to consider watching this with students during class or session time because the information is so valuable. Click here to view the video on integrated essay and here to see the one on the independent essay.
ETS also has previously released many independent essay topics, which can also be found in their Official Guide to the TOEFL book. It is easy to replicate and anticipate new independent essay questions because they follow certain clear patterns.
One of the most common problems students, teachers, and tutors run into is a lack of quality integrated essay practice. There is a finite amount of practice and for students who are taking a little longer to prepare for the test, they might run out of practice integrated essay questions in the test prep books.
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The Writing Section
The writing section of the TOEFL is made up of two short essay questions. There are no multiple choice grammar questions that you must answer, but strong grammar knowledge is important for getting top scores on your essays.
Like the Speaking section, the Writing section has both independent and integrated questions. Though many students feel that the integrated essay is more difficult, both the independent and integrated essays are given the same amount of weight when ETS, the creators of the test, score the Writing section. Each essay is given a score of 0-5, averaged, and then put on a scale to produce a final score out of 30 points.
You will always see the essay questions in the same order.
For the integrated essay, you will begin by reading a short passage (about 250-300 words) in 3 minutes. At the end of that time, the reading passage will disappear from the screen, and you will hear a professor speak about a similar topic for roughly two and a half minutes. Typically the reading passage and the professor will disagree about the topic. When the professor is done speaking, the reading passage returns and a question appears asking you to summarize the main points from the reading and the lecture, showing the relationship between the two. Most commonly, ETS asks you to show how "the lecture casts doubt on the points made in the reading." You have 20 minutes to respond to the essay prompt.
For the independent essay, you will write about your opinions on a familiar topic which requires no outside knowledge. You will have 30 minutes to brainstorm and write your essay. (Remember, the writing that you do on the TOEFL iBT is all technically typing).