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How Responses Are Scored

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Mymy Lopez
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9 views

How Responses Are Scored

Uploaded by

Mymy Lopez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tips for Wri ng Your Response

 Read carefully what the professor is asking the students to write about, as
well as the points made in the other posts. This should guide you in coming
up with ideas to contribute to the discussion. You can spend a few seconds
brainstorming what you want to write about, but do not spend too much
me planning your response. Decide what you want to write about and start
wri ng.
 In your response, clearly state your viewpoint on the professor’s ques on.
You can agree with the ideas in the other posts, disagree with them, or
develop en rely new ideas that are relevant to the topic of the discussion,
but always make sure to use your own words and your own voice as much as
you can. Copying a lot of words and phrases from the other posts will not
help you get a good score.
 Use precise words, not words that are too general. Also, do not use examples
or reasons that you memorized word for word previously (at school, for
example). Raters will not consider examples or reasons expressed in a
completely memorized language to represent your own wri ng and your
response will receive a lower score.
 Save a li le me to proofread your work.

How Responses Are Scored


Raters will judge the quality of your wri ng. They will consider whether the
response is a relevant and very clearly expressed contribu on to the online
discussion and whether it demonstrates consistent facility in the use of language,
both in terms of the variety of gramma cal structure and vocabulary and of how
correctly and accurately you use language.
Contribu on to the discussion is a very important criterion used to evaluate
your response. Remember that the discussion includes the professor’s ques on
as well as the posts by other students. You do not have to respond to the posts by
the other students, but your response should not ignore what the other posts say.

Source: The O icial Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test Seventh Edition
For example, if you want to use ideas that the other students have already
men oned, do not make it seem as though you are the first person in the discussion
to raise them. At the same me, contribu ng to a discussion does not necessarily
mean coming up with a lot of new ideas. One can also contribute to a discussion by
agreeing with what someone else has already wri en. In that case, however, make
sure that you don’t just repeat what someone else has wri en—use your own
words and your own voice, and elaborate on the ideas in your own way. Of course,
other very effec ve ways of making your own contribu on to the discussion are
disagreeing with what the other posts say or introducing en rely new ideas as long
as they are relevant to the topic of the discussion.

Raters are looking for ideas that are clear and well supported by reasons and
examples. Since your response represents an online post, it does not need to be
organized into separate paragraphs. However, your ideas need to be well
connected, coherent, and clear. If you use a lot of words and sentences that are not
well connected and do not support each other or that do not add up to a clear point
of view or if you develop empty ideas, you’ll receive a low score.
Another important criterion used by raters is variety in the use of language.
The raters are looking for evidence that you can use a variety of structures and
varied vocabulary. If you use very simple sentences and very basic vocabulary, you
will probably not be able to express very complex or precise ideas. However, the
variety of gramma cal structures and vocabulary should be natural and support
your ideas. If you try to use varied structures or vocabulary without a good reason,
that will not help you get a high score. The final criterion is the correct use of
language. It is important that your use of grammar is strong and consistent, that
your word choices are correct and appropriate, and that your spelling, punctua on,
and capitaliza on are correct. Your wri ng doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect to
get a top score, but the few small mistakes you may leave behind have to be typical
of competent writers wri ng under med condi ons. If you make a lot of
gramma cal errors and if those errors make it hard to understand your meaning,
you will get a lower score. In general, if your language is hard to follow, your
sentences are overly simple, and your vocabulary is limited, you may score no
higher than a 3 no ma er how impressive your ideas may be.

Source: The O icial Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test Seventh Edition
Lastly, a few words of cau on about using memorized or formulaic language
or other strategies that are not helpful in composing successful responses. Do not
try to add words to your response by using long memorized introductory or
concluding phrases and sentences. They represent neither authen c wri ng nor the
type of wri ng used in online discussions. Raters will not look favorably on wordy
introduc ons or conclusions such as the following:
The importance of the issue raised by the posed statement, namely crea ng a new holiday for
people, cannot be underes mated, as it concerns the very fabric of society. As it stands, the issue
of crea ng a new holiday raises profound implica ons for the future. However, although the
subject ma er in general cannot be dismissed lightheartedly, the perspec ve of the issue as
presented by the statement raises certain qualms regarding prac cal applica on.
In conclusion, although I have to accept that it is impera ve that something be done about
crea ng a new holiday for people and find the underlying thrust of the implied proposal u erly
convincing, I cannot help but feel wary of taking such irrevocable steps and personally feel that a
more measured approach would be more rewarding.

Similarly, do not use other memorized sentences and examples in your


response. Extended stretches of memorized text do not represent the writer’s true
academic wri ng skills. Responses that include memorized examples, arguments,
or formulaic references to sources will receive considerably lower scores than
responses containing the writer’s own words. Here is an example of an extensive
use of memorized text:
Professor’s ques on in brief: Is honesty an important quality for a leader? By taking in mind the
honesty, we can learn proper social behavior. in addi on to my personal experience, there is a
research that confirms my opinion. A poll, conducted by the New York mes, stated an
overwheming 72% who did not think the honesty lack the code of conduct in society. however,
people who did regularly comtemplate the importance of not lying were be er regula ng
themselves in the socie es. the major characteris c were that they do not lie in their daily life
and seve honesty is the most important value in the socie es because there is a order for people’s
lives. therefore it helps one abil y to be successful either in business or in academia. it helps
people to strive and achieve their goal and making them successful in life.

All the wri ng in this example has been memorized from a prepared text and
repeated in the essay. This includes a formulaic reference to a poll in The New York
Times. This is not genuine development and will not be credited by raters.
Responses with this type of wri ng o en receive a low score.

Source: The O icial Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test Seventh Edition
Likewise, raters will not look favorably on paragraphs like the following one,
which uses a lot of words but fails to develop any real ideas:
At the heart of any discussion regarding an issue pertaining to crea ng a new holiday, it has to be
borne in mind that a delicate line has to be trod when dealing with such ma ers. The human
resources involved in such ma ers cannot be guaranteed regardless of all the good inten ons
that may be lavished. While it is true that crea ng a new holiday might be a viable and laudable
remedy, it is transparently clear that applied wrongly such a course of ac on could be calamitous
and compound the problem rather than provide a solu on.

In your wri ng, make sure you develop some solid ideas about the given topic. Do
not just use a lot of words saying that a certain issue exists. Your response may be
100 or even 200 words long, but if it consists largely of the sorts of empty or
content-free expressions shown, you will probably earn a score of just 1 or 2.

Source: The O icial Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test Seventh Edition

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