In the following chart, you can compare total scores on the TOEFL iBT with scores that are approximately equivalent to scores on the computer-based test {TOEFL CBT) and the paper-based test (TOEFL PBT}. | Lesson 26 Giving Opinions and Connecting Ideas in the Independent Response 681 There are many types of television shows comedies news programs dramas reality series and so on. What is your favorite type of television show Why do you prefer this type of show Give some examples from your own experiences watching television. 5. You have received a full scholarship to a good university in your country. You have also been offered a full scholarship to a top university in another country. Which of these two scholarships would you accept Why Lesson 27 Writing the Independent Response After spending about five minutes on pre-writing you are now ready to get down to the real task writing the response. You have only about twenty minutes in which to write it and you need to produce a 200- to 300-word response. That s about ten to fifteen words a minute. You can do this if you concentrate and keep working steadily. According to ETS quality is more important than quantity in the response but typically only longer responses get top scores. Along response does not guarantee a good score on this section but a short response almost guarantees a low one. This lesson will discuss writing all three parts of a typical response. A Writing the Introduction The introduction for an Independent Response can be fairly simple. It does not need to be more than two or three sentences long. There are a number of functions that a good introduction can serve but no introduction will serve all of these functions . To get the reader s attention To restate the ideas of the prompt To present some general background information about the topic To preview the main points that will appear in the response To present a clear statement of the main idea of the response. This is called the thesis statement it typically is the last sentence of the introduction but sometimes it appears in the conclusion. Here are three sample introductory paragraphs written in response to the three prompts presented in the .
