Where the pizzeria is located. d. Where they should go for lunch.

T h e T O E F L E x a m W r i t i n g S e c t i o n : W h a t t o E x p e c t On the computer-based TOEFL exam, the Writing Section is part of the test; everyone must complete an essay. The paper-based TOEFL exam, however, doesn’t include an essay section. The writing test is a separate exam called the Test of Written English™ TWE®, which is offered in the United States five times a year. The fact that the new computer-based test requires all test takers to write an essay reflects just how essential good writ- ing skills are to college success. While there are some differences between the computer-based writing test and the TWE exam, the task and the test procedures are essentially the same. You will be asked to write a short essay in response to a prompt—a general topic and question about that topic. A lot of people are intimidated by essay exams. And on the TOEFL exam, you are not only being asked to write well under pressure—you are being asked to write well in another language. But there’s good news about the TOEFL writing exam. First, the essay doesn’t have to be long. In fact, because you only have 30 minutes, you are only expected to write about five paragraphs. In contrast, most of the essays you will be assigned in college will require you to write three to five pages. Sec- ond, if you are taking the computer-based test, you can view in advance all of the possible writing prompts that you may be given on the TOEFL exam see sidebar below. There are too many possible topics for you to practice them all, but you can certainly get a good idea of the kind of questions you will be asked, and you can practice with as many prompts as you like. If you are lucky, when you take the exam, you will get a topic that you have already written about. And here’s more good news: On both the computer-based exam and the TWE exam, you are only given one essay prompt. That means you don’t have to spend any time deciding which question to answer. You only have to decide how you will answer that question. In addition, whatever writing prompt you get on your test, you will be able to answer the question. All of the essay topics are general enough for anyone to write about. None of them will require you to have any kind of specialized knowledge or experience. On both tests, you will have a half an hour to plan, write, and edit your essay. You will be given a sheet of paper to organize your thoughts before you write. This paper will not be graded, and you can use your native language to brainstorm ideas and outline your essay. TO view the TOEFL computer-based test writing prompts online: 1. Go to www.toefl.org. 2. Click on “Test Preparation.” 3. Click on “Writing Topics and Writing Tutorial.” 4. Click on “Writing Topics.” The essay prompts are also listed in the TOEFL Information Bulletin for Computer-Based Testing. Essay Prompts Online – W R I T I N G – 1 0 8 K i n d s o f E s s a y P r o m p t s o n t h e T O E F L E x a m On one level, all of the essay prompts on both the computer-based test and the TWE exam are the same. Nearly every question will present you with a statement, situation, or scenario and ask you to take a position and support it. Here’s an example: AS usual, there are some important differences between the writing section of the computer-based TOEFL exam and the paper-based TWE exam. The types of prompts are the same, but the TWE exam is offered separately from the paper-based exam and at limited times. The computer-based test, on the other hand, requires all test takers to write an essay all on the same day. The table below compares the differences between the two writing tests. Source: Barron’s Passkey to the TOEFL ® , 4th ed., 2001. Computer-Based Test vs. Paper-Based Test – W R I T I N G – 1 0 9 Computer-Based TOEFL Exam The writing section is a mandatory part of the exam. Everyone taking the computer-based test must write an essay. The computer will randomly select an essay prompt for you. Other test-takers may have different topics. All of the possible writing prompts are listed on the TOEFL ® website and in the TOEFL ® Information Bul- letin see sidebar on page 108. You have the option of either handwriting your essay or typing it on the computer. The score for your essay is combined with your score for the Structure section. It counts as 50 of your total StructureWriting score see Chapter 6 for more details. Test of Written English TWE The TWE exam is offered only five times each year. If you need to take the TWE exam, you must to select a TOEFL exam test date when the TWE exam is also offered. There is no additional cost. All test-takers have the same essay prompt. There is no published list of TWE exam writing prompts. You must handwrite your essay. Your TWE exam essay score is reported separately from your TOEFL exam score.