How long should a TOEFL Essay Be - The Best TOEFL Essay Length

How long should a TOEFL Essay Be - The Best TOEFL Essay Length January 8, 2020I am often asked howlong the two TOEFL essays should be. The quick answer to this is that an independent essayshould be between 380 and 400 words, while anintegrated essayshould be between 280 and 300 words.Let me explain where these numbers come from, and my general ideas about TOEFL essay length.It is true that when you are looking at the screen at the test center, the TOEFL software will suggest that a typical essay is much shorter than what I have suggested above. I caution you that a typical essay should not be your target. A typical TOEFL score is in the low twenties. If you want a higher score than that, you probably need to write more. Furthermore, I caution you that the suggestion given by the software is not a limitor arequirement. Youwill not be penalized for writing more than the suggestion.For the independent TOEFL essay, I feel that 380 to 400 words is long enough to use a varied vocabulary and fairly advanced grammatical structures. Moreover, it gives st udents a better chance of hitting some of the high scoring vocabulary specificto the given question. It also allows for a good mix of long and short sentences. Trying to fit all of the features required for a high score into a short essay is possible but it can be very difficult.Regarding the integrated essay, I feel that 280 to 300 words is enough to write one or two sentences about the reading, and two good sentences about the lecture in each body paragraph. Your comprehension of the lecture is critical to your score, so you need to show off how much you heard. Writing a typical essay usually leads to very short lecture summaries. This length will also allow you to follow the templatescontained in my guide to the task. How long should a TOEFL Essay Be - The Best TOEFL Essay Length Students often struggle to use recently and nowadays properly in their writing. Heres a quick guide to the proper usage.The BasicsUse nowadays to talk about the state of the world, as in: Nowadays, a lot of people choose to attend university.Use recently to talk about a specific event which happened in the recent past, as in: My husband recently decided to study Spanish.Word PlacementBoth are adverbs. Recently looks fine at the beginning or end of a sentence. It can also be used in the middle (right beside the verb). As in:Recently, my husband decided to study Spanish.My husbandrecentlydecided to study Spanish.My husband decided to study Spanishrecently.Note the comma in the first sentence.Nowadays is usually best at the beginning or end of a sentence. As in:Nowadays, a lot of people choose to attend university.A lot of people choose to attend universitynowadays.Using it in the middle of a sentence is a bit trickier, but it is possible if you use parenthetical commas before and after it, as in:A lot people,nowadays, choose to attend university. How long should a TOEFL Essay Be - The Best TOEFL Essay Length To score well on theTOEFL Independent essay you must writea mix of both simple and compound sentences. If you aren’t familiar with these terms, you should check outthis detailed explanation. Basically, though, a simple sentence contains just one clause (Michael ate ice cream today), while a compound sentence contains two clauses (Michael ate ice cream, but he really wanted pizza) joined with a conjunction.In your TOEFL essay you need to useboth types. This will increase your grammatical complexity (which is rewarded) and will help you avoid writing too many short sentences (sentences of less than seven words are punished by the e-rater).Examples of Compound Sentences using Coordinating ConjunctionsThe key to writing good compound sentences is masteringcoordinating conjunctions. These are sentences that use a conjunction likefor, and, nor, but, or, yetandsoto join two clauses. Some examples include:I bought my tickets early,andI got a really good deal.My boyfriend had to work late,s oI went to the movie alone.I will need to ask my professor for help,orspend a lot of time researching the topic in the library.I was unable to find a job,forall of the businesses in my town had closed down.Saving for the future can be difficult,butit will ensure a comfortable retirement.I spent several hours every evening studying for the test,yetI still got a low score.Young students don’t have much self-control,sothey should be required to attend all of their classes.More examples can be found right here.More Samples From Real TOEFL EssaysThere are also many examples in mycollection of sample TOEFL essays,including:“I was required to listen to the opinions of others,so I was a more open-minded person after the class finished.”“Discussions in class teach students how to communicate effectively,andthey can use this skill to excel in their future careers”Books are much longer than online articles,sothey are much more useful to students.I based my research on the book rathe r than the articles,soI was able to write an insightful essay.The assignment made up about half of my total grade in the class,so I approached my work with diligence and care.No one was injured,but we suffered a lot of emotional trauma.People back then had neither safe working conditions,nor effective safety equipment.ConclusionNote that you can also create compound sentences using semicolons (as demonstrated here), but I strongly recommend that TOEFL test-takers do not do this. It will often lead to mistakes, as even native speakers struggle to use semicolons properly.