By: Nguyen Hong Hoa – English Department – College of Foreign Languages – VNU, Hanoi

TOEFL iBT
Writing Section
Independent Task Templates
A. General Template
1. Introductory paragraph

Introductory
paragraph

Lead-in Thesis statement Summary of main

- general statement
- great fact or statistic
-telling an anecdote
-quotation
- must paraphrase the
question
- indicate personal opinion
ideas/reasons/argu
ments
- should be in 01 sentence
- can be specific or general

2. Body paragraph

Body
paragraph

the topic sentence then must NO

be supported by concluding sentence
Must start with a
SPECIFIC is needed for each
topic sentence
body paragraph
reasons/examples/details

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 By: Nguyen Hong Hoa – English Department – College of Foreign Languages – VNU, Hanoi

3. Concluding paragraph

Concluding
paragraph

Must start with a Open ending

- general statement
summary of main points
- prediction
which have been discussed - recommendation

B. Templates for different types of essay prompts

1. Preference topics
Essay prompt: Choice A and choice B – which one do you prefer and why?
Your answer: prefer choice A
a. Introduction
- introduce choice B first, then choice A
- indicate the choice you prefer
- summarize the reasons for your preference
b. Body paragraphs
¾ Body paragraph 1
o The 1st reason why you choose choice A
o specific example
o contrast with choice B, which does not have that benefit
¾ Body paragraph 2
o The 2nd reason why you choose choice A

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 By: Nguyen Hong Hoa – English Department – College of Foreign Languages – VNU, Hanoi
o specific example
o contrast with choice B, which does not have that benefit
¾ Note: must not mention the good side of choice B
c. Conclusion
- summarize the reasons why choice A is better than choice B
- open ending (recommendation/prediction/generalization)
2. Preference and comparison topics
Essay prompt: Choice A and choice B – compare the benefits of A and B, indicate
which one you prefer and why?
Your answer: prefer choice A
a. Introduction
- introduce choice B first, then choice A

- indicate that both B and A have advantages

- indicate that you, however, prefer choice A
- summarize the reasons for your preference
b1. Body paragraphs (1st way)
¾ Body paragraph 1
o One benefit of B
o Indicate that A, however, have more benefits
¾ Body paragraph 2
o The 1st reason why you choose choice A
o specific example
o contrast with choice B, which does not have that benefit
¾ Body paragraph 3
o The 2nd reason why you choose choice A
o specific example
o contrast with choice B, which does not have that benefit
b2. Body paragraphs (2nd way)
¾ Body paragraph 1:
o One benefit of A

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 By: Nguyen Hong Hoa – English Department – College of Foreign Languages – VNU, Hanoi
o The corresponding benefit of B
¾ Body paragraph 2:
o The 2nd benefit of A
o The corresponding benefit of B
¾ Body paragraph 3:
o Indicate that you prefer choice A because it suits your conditions/liking,
although you believe a lot of other people prefer choice B
c. Conclusion
- summarize the benefits of both A and B
- restate that you prefer A
- open ending
3. Agree/Disagree topics
Essay prompt: “.......” Do you agree of disagree with this statement and why?
Your answer: Agree
a. Introduction
- Paraphrase the statement, indicate that some people disagree with it
- Indicate that you, however, agree with it
- Summarize the reasons why you agree
b. Body paragraphs
¾ Body paragraph 1
o The 1st reason why you agree
o specific example
¾ Body paragraph 2
o The 2nd reason why you agree
o specific example
c. Conclusion
- summarize the reasons why you agree with the statement
- open ending
4. Explanation topics
Essay prompt: “A is good” Explain why. Give specific reasons and examples
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 By: Nguyen Hong Hoa – English Department – College of Foreign Languages – VNU, Hanoi
Your answer: Because of reason 1 and reason 2
a. Introduction
- Paraphrase the question, indicate that it is a generally acknowledged truth in different
places or at different times
- specify your 2 reasons that can explain this fact
b. Body paragraphs
¾ Body paragraph 1
o The 1st reason
o specific example
¾ Body paragraph 2
o The 2nd reason
o specific example
c. Conclusion
- summarize the reasons that can explain the fact in the question
- open ending