General Strategies for the TOEFL Independent Writing Section

You have only 30 minutes to complete the essay. Divide your time into three parts.

Plan the essay – 5 minutes

Write the essay – 20 minutes

Revise the essay – 5 minutes

Try to follow the steps below when writing your essay.

Plan your essay

1) Write your thesis statement.

2) Write down your general ideas.

3) Expand your general ideas by adding specific details for each idea

Write your essay

4) Write a topic sentence for each of your body paragraphs.

5) Write the introduction of your essay.

6) Write the body paragraphs of your essay.

7) Write the conclusion of your essay.

Revise your essay

8) Check the content.

(Are the sentences you write relevant to the topic of the essay?)

9) Check the clarity.

(Can the reader understand what you are trying to say?)

10) Check the grammar.

(e.g. Do all the sentences have a subject and a verb? Are all subjects and verbs in agreement? Do all pronouns clearly indicate their antecedent and do they both agree in number, gender and grammar function?)

11) Check the spelling and punctuation.

(Are there any typing errors or silly spelling mistakes? Do all sentences start with a capital letter and end with a full stop?)