Writing

10 Crucial Tips to Boost Your TOEFL Writing Score

Master the writing section with these expert strategies for both integrated and independent tasks.

March 10, 2024

9 min read

Demystifying the TOEFL Writing Section

The writing section of the TOEFL can seem like a nightmare if you don't know how to approach it. Think about it: in one task, you're asked to read a long academic text about, say, the migration of humpback whales, then you listen to a lecture on the same topic. After that, you're given 20 minutes to write a 200-word essay summarizing both sources.

For the second assignment, you'll write a short piece (at least 100 words long) answering a question posed by a professor, and you'll only have 10 minutes to do it!

But don't worry—it's not as hard as it seems once you know the right tips and tricks, which we'll cover in this article. My name is Anastasia, I scored 119 on the TOEFL test, and I'm about to share 10 crucial tips that will help you increase your writing score.

Let's dive in!

Tip 1: Avoid Unnecessary Repetition

Many students get so excited when writing that they tend to repeat the same idea or word a few times. While it's okay to use the same word two or even three times in an essay, repeating it more than that will result in a lower score.

Example of Repetitive Writing

"I firmly believe that homework is one of the most effective ways to help students improve their academic skills. Although students usually attend class and pay attention to the professor's explanations, studies in the field of education show that they truly absorb the knowledge they get in the classroom only when they practice."

As you can see, the word "students" is repeated twice in two subsequent sentences. We don't want that. You can use the same word a few times in the essay, but not too close to each other.

Think of possible synonyms or structure your sentence to avoid using the same word altogether. For example, instead of repeating "students," you could use:

Learners
Pupils
Individuals
Young people
Class members
They (pronoun)

Pro Tip: There is a great website that you can use to eliminate repetitive words in your essays. It's called WordCounter.net. Just paste your essay there and go to the "Keyword Density" feature. It'll show you which words are repeated the most in your essay. 2% repetition is fine, but anything over 3-4% should be replaced with synonyms or paraphrases.

Tip 2: Vary Your Sentence Structure

Student writing with different sentence structures

This doesn't mean that your sentences should be long and hard to understand. In fact, I don't recommend writing overly long or complex sentences—Americans don't do that. Instead, aim for medium-length, easy-to-understand sentences, but be sure to mix simple, compound, and complex sentences. This adds variety and demonstrates a good command of English, and it will make your essay score much higher.

Simple Sentence

Contains one independent clause (subject + verb).

Example: "Homework reinforces learning."

Compound Sentence

Contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, etc.).

Example: "Homework reinforces learning, and it develops time management skills."

Complex Sentence

Contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Example: "Although some students dislike homework, it remains an essential part of education."

Knowing the different types of sentences will also help you avoid punctuation errors, so it's a double win. In our TOEFL course, we have a lecture dedicated to fixing typical mistakes students make, and punctuation and sentence types are a big part of that lecture.

Tip 3: Use Formal Language

While you shouldn't be overly formal, especially in the Writing for an Academic Discussion task, remember to avoid slang and informal language in your writing. Stick to an academic tone to align with TOEFL expectations. This will also allow you to get a higher score for your vocabulary.

I suggest creating lines with synonyms to help you prepare. For example:

Verbs

to buy → to purchase
to get → to obtain
to decrease → to decline
to say → to state
to think → to consider

Adjectives

good → beneficial, advantageous
bad → detrimental, unfavorable
big → substantial, significant
small → minimal, negligible
important → crucial, essential

I'm not saying you shouldn't use the simpler alternatives—in fact, all of them are very welcome on the TOEFL writing section. Just make sure you have the more sophisticated options ready as well.

Context Matters

Also, study the differences in meaning. For example, "to obtain" cannot always be used instead of "to get." If I'm giving an example in the Writing for an Academic Discussion task and want to write:

Unnatural Usage

"I obtained a coffee on my way to work."

This would sound overly formal and unnatural in everyday contexts like buying coffee.

Natural Usage

However, if I'm writing about formal or official acquisitions, I can substitute "get" for "obtain":

"You must obtain a permit before you can begin construction."
"Researchers obtained data from multiple sources."
"The company obtained the necessary funding for the project."

Tip 4: Paraphrase Effectively

Speaking of synonyms, another important factor to consider is learning to paraphrase. When you're writing an integrated essay, you need to combine information from both the reading and the lecture and organize it naturally in your essay. However, when you refer to points from the reading or a lecture, you should avoid direct quotations. This is especially true for the text—if you simply copy and paste parts of the text, they won't be considered your own words, and you'll lose points.

Instead, you should paraphrase to show that you understand the information well and can put it into your own words. To paraphrase successfully, you can:

Use synonyms

way → method
increase → go up
decrease → decline, go down
make less severe → mitigate, alleviate

Change the sentence structure

Original: "It's good to do sports."

Paraphrased: "Doing sports is good."

Change active voice to passive voice (and vice versa)

Active: "The government should ban violence and bad language on television."

Passive: "Violence and bad language should be banned from television."

Add extra information or take away some information

Original: "Being friendly is important in business."

Paraphrased: "Being outgoing and friendly is important in business."

Use a combination of several strategies

Original: "It's good to exercise regularly."

Paraphrased: "Doing physical activity on a regular basis is beneficial."

Tip 5: Use Transition Words

Again, don't get me wrong—I don't want you to start every sentence with a new transition word. In fact, I strongly discourage it. But sprinkling your writing with words like "in addition," "however," "for example," "as a result," or "therefore" will definitely improve the flow of your essay and make it easier to follow. Just be careful not to overuse them. And another important thing to keep in mind is to avoid too formal connectors. Using transitions like "hence" or "thus" is a bit too much. They work well in academic articles and research, but they definitely won't look natural in a classroom discussion post.

Useful Transition Words by Category

To add information:

In addition
Furthermore
Moreover
Also

To show contrast:

However
Nevertheless
On the other hand
In contrast

To provide examples:

For example
For instance
Specifically
To illustrate

To show cause and effect:

Therefore
As a result
Consequently
For this reason

Tip 6: Make a Plan Before You Start Writing

Before you start writing either essay, take two to three minutes to outline what you're going to write. For the integrated essay, think about how you're going to present the information from the reading and listening in a way that's clear for someone who has never read the text nor listened to the lecture.

For the Writing for an Academic Discussion paper, focus on planning your response and finding a relevant reason or reasons supported by detailed examples. This will help you organize your ideas and structure your response effectively, because when you start writing, it will be much harder to keep the structure in mind.

Pro Tip: In my one-on-one sessions, I proofread and grade tons of essays, and truth be told, many of them start with one idea and end up with a completely different one. Taking a few minutes to plan can prevent this common issue.

Integrated Essay Plan

Introduction: Briefly mention the topic and that the reading and lecture discuss it
Point 1 from reading + corresponding point from lecture
Point 2 from reading + corresponding point from lecture
Point 3 from reading + corresponding point from lecture
Brief conclusion (optional)

Academic Discussion Plan

Introduction: State your position on the question
Reason 1 for your position
Specific example supporting reason 1
Reason 2 for your position (if time allows)
Specific example supporting reason 2 (if time allows)
Brief conclusion restating your position

Tip 7: Use a Clear Structure (Templates)

Part of the TOEFL writing rubric criteria says that your essays should be well organized. This means that each of them should follow a certain structure. The best way to have the structure and maintain it under pressure is to use a template.

Templates can work wonders! I've seen them raise student scores from 23 to 26 and higher. They also make sure that some parts of your essay do not contain any mistakes.

An example I always like to give is that the template for an integrated essay in our TOEFL course is 119 words long, which means that if your essay is 200 words, the template will be about 60% of your answer. While if you write 250 words, the template will make up 47%.

So, first, templates help with the structure because all you have to do is fill in the blanks with the information you've learned. And second, they reduce the number of mistakes in your essay and allow you to produce error-free sentences.

Sample Template for Integrated Essay Introduction

"The reading passage discusses [TOPIC]. The lecturer, however, challenges the claims made in the article. According to the reading, [MAIN POINT FROM READING]. The lecturer disputes this by arguing that [MAIN POINT FROM LECTURE]."

Tip 8: Avoid Giving Your Personal Opinion in the Integrated Essay

Just as we started talking about the integrated essay, here's another super important tip: avoid giving your personal opinion. This essay is not about your opinion at all. You shouldn't make any judgments about the information presented. Instead, simply summarize the information from the reading and listening materials.

Be neutral and don't take sides. Personal opinions are not required for this assignment and may lower your score.

Avoid phrases like:

"I think..."
"In my opinion..."
"I agree with..."
"I believe that..."
"The reading/lecture is wrong about..."

Instead, use phrases like:

"According to the reading..."
"The author states that..."
"The lecturer points out that..."
"The reading passage mentions..."
"In the lecture, the professor explains..."

Tip 9: Use Specific Examples in the Writing for an Academic Discussion Task

Now, for the Writing for an Academic Discussion task, you should be prepared not only to share your opinion but also to support your points with specific examples. You can use a personal story or an example of your friend or a family member.

If you use English at work or at school, consider using examples from those areas. This will allow you to use more topic-specific vocabulary and demonstrate your level.

Remember that using specific examples in this task will strengthen your arguments, make your response more convincing, and even allow you to use a better variety of tenses. Actually, the reason I love personal stories so much in the Writing for an Academic Discussion task (and in the first question of the speaking section) is that they allow us to use a variety of tenses, such as the past simple, the past continuous, the present perfect, and more.

Example of Using a Specific Example

Question: "Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Technology has made communication between people less personal."

Vague Example

"Technology makes communication less personal because people text instead of meeting in person."

Specific Example

"Last year, my friend moved to another country for work. Initially, we communicated only through text messages, which felt impersonal and distant. However, we started having weekly video calls, where we could see each other's facial expressions and hear the tone of voice. This made our communication much more personal, despite the physical distance between us."

Tip 10: Learn Common Essay Topics

While you'll be confronted with a lot of academic vocabulary for the integrated essay (which you can review by watching videos on our channel), the Writing for an Academic Discussion task usually asks questions on fairly similar topics. So, familiarize yourself with these topics and think of words and collocations you can use when discussing each one.

What I always do with my students is make phrase lists. For example:

Education

learning outcomes
critical thinking
lifelong learning
retain information
strive for excellence
absorb new material
get students engaged in the process

Technology

with the advent of
transform beyond all recognition
cutting-edge technologies
to be on the rise
data security
user-friendly interface
technological advancements

Environment

renewable energy
carbon footprint
sustainable development
biodiversity conservation
environmental degradation
climate change mitigation
eco-friendly alternatives

These lists don't have to be long. In fact, having at least 10 phrases or collocations for each topic is great. Doing so will help you prepare some examples and lexical items in advance, which will help you write an effective essay more quickly on the day of the test.

Bonus Tip: Practice Both Tasks Together

Finally, a small bonus tip from me: write the integrated essay and the Writing for an Academic Discussion essay back-to-back at least a few times before the test. This can be tiring, so be sure to prepare yourself for this. Regular practice under timed conditions will help you build stamina for the test day.

Remember: Scoring 100+ on the TOEFL isn't rocket science—it's the little things you do that make all the difference. With these tips and consistent practice, you'll be well on your way to mastering the TOEFL writing section.

Final Thoughts

Now you have my top 10 TOEFL writing tips to help you boost your score. Let's recap:

Avoid unnecessary repetition
Vary your sentence structure
Use formal language
Paraphrase effectively
Use transition words
Make a plan before you start writing
Use a clear structure (templates)
Avoid giving your personal opinion in the integrated essay
Use specific examples in the Writing for an Academic Discussion task
Learn common essay topics

If you're currently preparing for the test and you're struggling with the writing section, consider scheduling a consultation where I can analyze your essays and find out exactly what you need to do differently to get a higher score.

As always, I wish you all a stellar TOEFL score!