Ada yang mau ambil tes TOEFL? Yuk kita kenalan dulu dengan jenis TOEFL nya beserta contoh soal writing TOEFL. Seperti kita ketahui ada 2 jenis TOEFL yaitu ITP dan IBT. Apa sih bedanya? Biasanya TOEFL ITP ada dalam lingkungan belajar guna mengetahui kemampuan anak didiknya dalam kemampuan Bahasa Inggris secara komprehensif.  Selain itu ada juga TOEFL IBT, tes yang dilakukan melalui online.

Untuk mengikuti program tersebut, ada banyak pilihan kelas yang dapat kita ambil. Selain kita belajar beberapa skillnya kita juga akan mengetahui strategi-strategi dalam mengerjakan soal-soalnya. Salah satu skill yang akan dibahas sekarang adalah skill writing. Dalam TOEFL ITP Soal Structure and Written Expression terdiri dari dua bagian, struktur kalimat (structure) dan ekspresi Bahasa Inggris tulis (written expression). Structure and Written Expression terdiri dari 40 soal, terdiri dari 15 soal structure (nomor 1 sampai dengan 15) dan 25 soal untuk written expression (nomor 16 sampai dengan 40).  Waktu untuk mengerjakan 40 soal ini adalah 25 menit. Sedangkan pada TOEFL IBT, dalam sesi ini agak sedikit berbeda karena kita harus lebih melihat pada language performance dan bukan lagi pada strategi mengerjakan soal.

1. Structure and Written Expression pada TOEFL ITP

Soal dari jenis written expression selalu terlihat menjebak, tapi sangat akurat untuk mengetahui pemahaman kamu akan konsep dan struktur bahasa Inggris.

Dalam contoh soal di bawah ini, setiap kalimat memiliki 4 kata atau frasa yang digarisbawahi. Semuanya ditandai dengan huruf (A), (B), (C), dan (D).

Identifikasi satu kata bergaris bawah dan salah hingga perlu berubah untuk memperbaiki keseluruhan kalimat. Berikut contoh soalnya:

1. On Ellesmere Island in the Arctic one fossil forest consist of a nearly hundred

                                             A          B     

 large stumps scattered on an exposed coal bed.

                                C                        D

2. The surface conditions on the planet Mars are the more like the Earth’s than are

                   A                                B                          C

 those of any other planet in the solar system.

                           D

3. The midnight sun is a phenomenon in which the Sun visible remains in the sky

                          A                                                          B               C

      for twenty-four hours or longer.

                                                  D  

4. The Humber River and its valley form a major salmon-fishing, lumbering, hunting,

     A  B C   

       and farmer region in western Newfoundland, Canada.

                   D

Written Expression

1. Jawab         : (B) a nearly

      Keyword   : hundred large stumps

      Pembahasan : a nearly -> nearly

      Kata “a nearly” tidak memerlukan indefinite article/determiner “a”, karena kata benda    stumps adalah plural.

2. Jawab          : (B) The more

      Keyword    : the planet Mars

      Pembahasan : the more -> more

      Pola comparative: more ___ than ___

      Maka seharusnya tidak perlu definite article “the” tapi cukup “more” saja.

3. Jawab         : (B) visible remains

      Keyword    : the sun

      Pembahasan : visible remains -> remains visible

      Kata the sun dalam anak kalimat di atas memerlukan predicate bukan noun phrase (visible remains). Yang tepat seharusnya remains visible.

4. Jawab          : (D) farmer

      Keyword    : and

      Pembahasan : farmer -> farming

      Konjungsi “and” ada untuk menghubungkan kelas kata yang sederajat. Karena sebelum “and” bentuk katanya adalah gerund maka kata farmer seharusnya diubah dalam bentuk gerund juga yaitu farming.

2. Writing test pada TOEFL IBT

Dalam TOEFL IBT writing secara garis besar akan terdiri dari:

1. TOEFL Integrated Task

2. TOEFL Independent Task

Berikut contoh soal writing TOEFL IBT Integrated Task:

Passage, Lecture and Question

Directions: Give yourself 3 minutes to read the passage.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

In an effort to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuing certifications to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by conserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive this certification can attract customers by advertising their products as “eco certified.” Around the world, many wood companies have adopted new, ecologically friendly practices in order to receive eco certification. However, it is unlikely that wood companies in the United States will do the same, for several reasons.

First, American consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the eco certification label. Because so many mediocre products are labeled “new” or “improved,” American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims in general.

Second, eco certified wood will be more expensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn eco certification, a wood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification agency. This additional cost gets passed on to consumers. American consumers tend to be strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaper uncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer to keep their prices low rather than obtain eco certification.

Third, although some people claim that it always makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with the developments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing. Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only if they marketed most of their products abroad. But that is not the case—American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States, catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with the merchandise.

Directions: Read the transcript.

Narrator:  Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

Professor Well, despite what many people say, there’s good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek eco certification for their wood products. First off, consumers in the United States don’t treat all advertising the same. They distinguish between advertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims made by independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence in independent consumer agencies. Thus, ecologically minded Americans are likely to react very favorably to wood products ecologically certified by an independent organization with an international reputation for trustworthiness.

Second point—of course it’s true that American consumers care a lot about price—who doesn’t? But studies of how consumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers’ decisions only when the price of one competing product is much higher or lower than another. When the price difference between two products is small—say, less than five percent, as is the case with certified wood— Americans often do choose on factors other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced of the value of preserving and protecting the environment.

And third, U.S. wood companies should definitely pay attention to what’s going on in the wood business internationally, not because of foreign consumers, but because of foreign competition. As I just told you, there’s a good chance that many American consumers will be interested in eco certified products. And guess what, if American companies are slowly capturing those customers, you can be sure that foreign companies will soon start crowding into the American market, offering eco certified wood that domestic companies don’t.

Directions: Give yourself 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response is judged on the quality of the writing and on how well it presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. You may view the reading passage while you respond.

Response time: 20 minutes

Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.

Selanjutnya adalah contoh soal writing TOEFL IBT Independent Task:  

1. Which way do you think is the most effective way for a school to reduce the phenomenon of cheating on exams? Increase punishment for cheating; Ask parents to monitor their children; Ask teachers to create other exam situations in which students can hardly cheat.

Keywords: school

Type: If / Imaginary

2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Competition among friends usually hurts friendship.

Keywords: friends

Type: Agree & Disagree

3. If your friends want to change their lifestyle to achieve a positive lifestyle, which of the following suggestions would you recommend? 1. Be more disciplined and have a stronger will; 2. Work with people who share the same goals; 3. Consult a professional expert (a doctor, a nutritionist, or psychologist)

Keywords: lifestyle

Type: If / Imaginary

Demikian beberapa contoh soal writing TOEFL yang biasa muncul pada saat kita tes. Ada banyak tips dan strategi untuk mengerjakannya. Jangan khawatir, semua masih bisa mempelajarinya. 

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