TWE readers will judge your essay based on your
ability to organize ideas around the question and your ability to use good
grammar. It is important to point out that readers generally will grade down
your essay if the grammar significantly obscures meaning, but your essay doesn’t
have to have perfect grammar in order to score a 4.0 or higher. Consider the
following two paragraphs: the first one having some minor grammatical problems,
the second one having significant grammatical problems which obscure meaning.
Minor grammar problems:
Politeness is very important in relationship. You have to
be polite and respect whomever you have the relation with or whomever you
meet. First example, a student has to be polite to his/her instructor. Using
titles of respect, he/she has to respect him in whatever situation, because if
she/he doesn’t, he/she can catch an F or zero on a test or assignment. At
the very least, the student may create a bad impression of himself in front of
his instructor. Furthermore, an impolite student has to leave the school and
go away.
Written by a student who scored a 4.0 on the TWE, this essay
has minor problems with the plural "s" ending (i.e., relationships),
parallel structure (i.e., to respect), and sentence variety. However,
none of these errors is overly distracting from the ideas expressed in the
essay.
Problems which obscure meaning:
People should always be polite no matter what the
situation. Yes, They must have polite to another people to respect him, if
They are not polite nobody gonn respect him and They are miss behavior. If you
have polite every body They will respect you and They will know youi have
eduction and you must have soft with people to like you and respect you, when
you have The polite, everybody They knows you are polite and edcution. but The
polite is very important in the life, it is experment in you life.
Written by a student who scored a 1.0 on the TWE, this essay
has major problems with the basic sentence structure and grammar. Consequently,
these errors distract the reader from the ideas expressed in the essay.
Good basic sentence structure requires that you avoid a
choppy sentence style, which means using too many consecutive short simple
sentences. Instead, it is important to use a variety of sentences, both long and
short, in your writing. Generally, writers uses longer sentences to combine
ideas which are not important enough to stand alone. They use short sentences to
emphasize important ideas that can stand alone.
Choppy sentence style: The house is 2150 square feet. It
has a pool and spa. There are four bedrooms in the house.
Revised: The house which has a pool and spa is 2150
square feet and has four bedrooms in the house.
To avoid a choppy sentence style, it is important that you
get used to different ways of combining sentences using noun clauses,
adjective clauses, and adverb clauses. It also important to reduce these types
of clauses whenever possible. The following exercises simulate the kinds of
TOEFL grammar questions that you might be asked regarding these three kinds of
dependent clauses. Additionally, these exercises exemplify sentence combining
that you should use when writing a TWE. For each question, choose which answer
best completes the sentence. You have successfully completed this exercise
after achieving a 90% accuracy on a noun, adjective, and adverb clause quiz.
Good basic sentence structure requires that you use
appropriate punctuation, have clear sentence boundaries, and write in complete
ideas. Therefore, when you are writing your TWE, you need to avoid comma
splices, run-on sentences, and fragments, all of which are common sentence
structure errors in writing for both native and nonnative speakers of English. A
comma splice is when you join two independent clauses together with a comma.
Comma splice: Jake is washing his car, he is getting ready for a long
vacation.
Revised: Jake is washing his car because he is getting ready for a long
vacation.
Jake is washing his car; he is getting ready for a long vacation.
Jake is washing his car. He is getting ready for a long vacation.
A run-on sentence is when you combine two independent clauses together with
no punctuation.
Run-on sentence: Sociology is the study of social groups it teaches
students about human nature.
Revised: Sociology is the study of social groups. It teaches students
about human nature.
A fragment is when you have an incomplete idea (i.e., dependent clause or
phrase) as its own sentence.
Fragment: Fighting against violence can be accomplished. If the
government spends enough money in educating the public.
Revised: Fighting against violence can be accomplished if the government
spends enough money in educating the public.
To master these editing skills go to the hyperlink below:
Part of being a good writer is using a variety of sentence
structures in your writing. Too many of the same sounding sentences can be
monotonous. Consider the following paragraph:
No Sentence Variety:
I paced the room. I waited for my drama team to join me. I smiled as the
events of the past four days flashed through my mind. We had arrived a day
ahead of the other students attending Junior/ Senior Bible Camp. We arrived
along with the student praise band and the family group leaders. We were the
elite. We were student leaders. We were hand picked from the various church
schools to guide others into worship. I had grown quite close to these
strangers over the last few days. I had become incredibly fond of my drama
companions. I absolutely loved drama. I never hesitated at the chance to
illustrate God’s love through presentation. There was something about our
team that made our talents blend like a tropical smoothie. We were good. The
drama ministry had been a bountiful blessing to the retreat. It was a
blessing for those in the audience. It was a blessing for us on stage. We
had all bonded through the experience. The exercises, the endless practices,
the late nights practicing until the drama sketches were immaculate. It was
like the intimate fellowship that helps build that irreplaceable bond which
develops between people when extreme pressure is put on them to accomplish a
task. Indeed, we were under immense pressure. My daydream was suddenly
interrupted as a white light refracted by the snow rolled in from the opened
door. They were here.
This paragraph has too many sentences with the simple sentence subject verb
pattern.
Sentence Variety:
Pacing the room, waiting for my drama team to join me, I smiled as the
events of the past four days flashed through my mind. We had arrived a day
ahead of the other students attending Junior/ Senior Bible Camp–that is
we, along with the student praise band and the family group leaders. We were
the elite, student leaders hand picked from the various church schools to
guide others into worship. I had grown quite close to these strangers over
the last few days but had become incredibly fond of my drama companions.
Never having loved drama more, I didn’t hesitate at the chance to
illustrate God’s love through presentation. There was something about our
team that made our talents blend like a tropical smoothie. We were good, and
the drama ministry had been a bountiful blessing to the retreat, not only
for those in the audience, but for us on stage as well. We had all bonded
through the experience. The exercises, the endless practices, the late
nights practicing until the drama sketches were immaculate as well as the
intimate fellowship that helps build that irreplaceable bond which develops
between people when extreme pressure is put on them to accomplish a task.
Indeed, we were under immense pressure. My daydream was suddenly interrupted
as a white light refracted by the snow rolled in from the opened door. They
were here.
In contrast to the previous paragraph, this paragraph uses a variety of
sentence structures.
To understand sentence variety requires that you
understand four types of sentence structures and reasons for their respective
uses.
1. Simple Sentence: Consists of an independent clause, which has one subject
and one verb.
Example: We had all bonded through the experience.
Use: To emphasize important information.
2. Compound: Consists of two independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction (i.e., and, or, yet, so, for, but).
Example: I had grown quite close to these strangers over the last few
days, but I had become incredibly fond of my drama companions.
Use: To join two equally important ideas that are not important enough to
stand as their own separate sentences.
3. Complex: Consists of an independent clause and a dependent clause (i.e.,
adjective , adverb, or noun clause).
Example: We were the elite, the student leaders who were hand picked from
the various church schools to guide others into worship.
Use: To join an independent idea (i.e., "the elite") with a
supporting idea that isn’t important enough to stand as its own sentence
(i.e., "who were handpicked...").
4. Compound-complex: Consists of a compound and a complex sentence
combination.
Example: I saw the man who was riding the bicycle, and he told me that
his watch had been stolen.
Use: To join two equally important ideas (i.e., "I saw the man, he
told me..." that are not important enough to stand as their own
separate sentences with a supporting idea (i.e., "who was
riding...") that isn’t important enough to stand as its own sentence.
To further understand sentence variety requires that you
understand subject-verb inversions (i.e., prepositional phrases of location,
adverbs of negation and time, and adverb clauses when "if" has been
omitted). It is also important to understand how to use fronted present and past
participle phrases.
1. P.P. of location: Consists of a preposition and a noun, a verb, and a subject.
Example: Beside the dead man was a suicidal note explaining his plight.
Use: Emphasis.
2. Adverbs of negations and frequency:
Consists of an adverb of frequency, an auxiliary verb, a subject, and a
main verb.
Example: Seldom does the student come to class late.
Use: Emphasis.
Common lists of adverbs that cause subject verb inversions
Frequency
Negation
Hardly ever
No sooner
Not since
Not until
Not often
Rarely
Scarcely ever
Seldom
At no time
In no way
In no case
Little (implied negation)
Neither
Never
Nor
Not for all the money in the world
Not once
Not for anything
Not once
Not only
Nowhere
On no account
Only then
Under no circumstances
3. Conditional clauses: Consists of a verb, a subject, a comma, a main
subject, and a main verb or consists of a main subject, a main verb, a verb,
and a subject.
Example: Were I not tired, I would go swimming right now.
If I were not tired, I would go swimming right now.
I would go swimming right now were I not tired.
I would go swimming right now if I were not tired.
Use: Variety, conciseness.
4. Participles: Consists of a verb + ed, en (i.e., passive meaning) or a verb
+ing (i.e., active meaning), a comma, a subject, and a verb.
Example: Standing next to the professor’s office, the student anxiously
awaited his grade.
Example: Worn from many years of reading, the book had sentimental value.
Use: Variety, conciseness.
To master these editing skills go to the hyperlink below:
In writing, it is important to be as
concise as possible, which means you should eliminate any redundancies, avoid
unnecessary repetition of words, eliminate empty or inflated phrases, and reduce
clauses to phrases and phrases to single words.
Eliminate any redundances:
Since there is no need to say
something twice, it is important to get rid of any redundancies.
Redundant: John was employed and now works for the
company Levis Strauss.
Revised: John now works for the company Levis Strauss.
("Now works for" implies that he was hired)
Redundant: Helen is a smart and intelligent woman.
Revised: Helen is a smart woman. ("Smart" and
"intelligent" have the same meaning)
Avoid Unnecessary Repetition of Words
Repeating something twice may bore and
seem awkward to a reader. Only in special cases of emphasis should a word be
repeated again. If there is a more concise way to express the idea, choose it:
Repetitious: Our student is a physically ill student
today.
Revised: Our student is physically ill today.
Repetitious: Teachers have a responsibility to help
students achieve better grades academically.
Revised: Teachers should help students improve
academically.
Get Rid of Empty or Inflated Phrases:
Many phrases can be taken out with
little or no loss of meaning. This is especially true with introductory word
groups:
Empty phrase: It is my opinion that
abortion should be outlawed.
Revised: Abortion should be outlawed.
Inflated phrase: In the event that
there is an earthquake, you should hide underneath your desk until the
shaking stops.
Revised: If there is an earthquake, you should hide
underneath your desk until the shaking stops.
Checklist of wordy phrases
Wordy phrase
Concise form
a period of a week
a week
a large number of
many
adequate enough
adequate
along the lines of
like
approximately
about
area of, field of
[omit]
arrive at an agreement, conclude an agreement
agree
as you are already aware
as you know
as a result of
because
as a matter of fact
in fact
as far as...is concerned
about
as to whether
whether
at this point in time
now, currently
at a later moment
after, later
at an earlier point in time
before, earlier
at the present time
now, currently
at all times
always
because of the fact that
because
by means of
by
due to the fact that
because
for the purpose of
for
for the reason that
because
have the ability to
can, be able to
in the event that
if
in the nature of
like
in spite of the fact that
although, though
in order to
to
in the neighborhood
about
in the final analysis
finally
join together
join
kind of, sort of, type of
[omit]
large in size, large-sized
large
lend assistance
assist, aid, help
members of the opposition
opponents
merge together
merge
numerous
many
on the occasion of
on
on a daily basis
daily
other alternatives
alternatives
past experience, past history
experience, history
persons of the female gender
women
plan ahead for the future
plan
prior to
before
put an end to, terminate
end
rarely ever, seldom ever
rarely, seldom
refer to the name of
call, name
refer back to
refer to
remarks of a humorous nature
humorous remarks
repeat again
repeat
resemble in appearance
look like
respective, respectively
[omit]
returning back
returning
similar to
like
strongly urge
urge
subsequent to
after
subsequently
later, then
sufficient amount of
enough
sufficient number
enough
the reason why
the reason
true facts
facts, truth
until such time as
until
until such time
until
utilize, make use of
use
very
[omit]
way in which
way
whether or not
whether
Reduce Clauses to Phrases, and Phrases to Single Words:
To reduce wordiness, it is good to remember the
following advice:
Do not use a dependent clause if a phrase will do.
Do not use a phrase if a word will do.
By finding opportunities to reduce clauses to phrases and
phrases to single words, you will make your sentences more concise:
Wordy: We visited Washington D.C., which is the capital
of the United States.
Concise: We visited Washington D.C., the capital of the
United States. (Adjective clause has been reduced to an appositive phrase.)
Wordy: John’s stylish boots, made of crocodile skin,
cost him an arm and a leg.
Concise: John’s stylish crocodile skin boots cost him
an arm and a leg. (Participle phrase has been reduced to two words.)
Using Active Verbs:
In some cases, using a "be" verb is important in
introducing an adjective or noun at the end of the sentence:
John was responsible for soliciting
donations to the Chemistry Club.
Mark Jones is a History professor at the
University of Southern California.
In other cases, using the "be" makes the sentence
dull or wordy. In these cases, it is better if you use a more active verb which
more descriptively states the action of the subject:
Wordy: Not listening to my father’s pleas to attend
class, I was rebellious.
Concise: Not listening to my father’s pleas to attend
class, I rebelled.
Wordy: The football game was electrifying to the
spectators.
Concise: The football game electrified the spectators.
To master these editing skills go to the hyperlink below:
You should use appropriate words in formal writing. Be careful not to confuse
words (i.e., accept and except) and do not use nonstandard words (i.e., hisself,
might of, alot). In this exercise, you will see a list of commonly confused
words. Afterwards, you will complete some word choice practice exercises.
Commonly Confused Words
Word
Part of
Speech
Meaning
Sentence
accept
verb
to receive
Since marrying Sheila, I have been accepted as part of her
family.
except
verb
to exclude
Could you except that player from being a part of the
team?
a
determiner
use before singular count nouns beginning with a consonant
sound
She has a bicycle.
an
determiner
use before singular count nouns beginning with a vowel
sound
She ate an apple.
alike
adverb
adjective
in the same manner
possessing the same or almost the same characteristics
They did their homework alike.
John and Steve are alike.
unlike
preposition
not characteristic of or similar to
John is unlike Steve.
unlikely
adjective
improbable
In the unlikely event that there is an earthquake, you
should get underneath your desk.
another
determiner
another + singular count noun
I want to read another book.
others
pronoun
There are others at the school who feel the same way you
do.
the others
pronoun
the rest of the people of a particular group
You can go with Tom, Jane, and Mark. I will go to the
party with the others.
other
adjective
being an addition
Are their other students who are also failing this class?
make
verb
create, construct
I made dinner yesterday.
do
verb
complete, perform
I have to do my homework today before going to the movies.
come
verb
to have as one’s home or place of origin
A son who lives in the United States calls his mother in
Japan and says, "I am coming home."
go
verb
to proceed to move away from a place
A friend who lives in the United States says to another
friend who lives in the United States: " I am going to Japan."
because
adverb clause connector
by reason of
Because I am hungry, I am going to the store.
because of
preposition
by reason of
Because of my hunger, I am going to the store.
due to
preposition
by reason of
Due to my hunger, I am going to the store.
say
intransitive verb
to put into words
What did you say to your friend?
tell
transitive verb
to put into words
I will tell you how to lose weight over a five week
period.
speak
intransitive verb
to express oneself in speech
I spoke to John on the phone yesterday.
too
adverb
to a degree that is unreasonable and inappropriate
The music is too loud.
enough
adverb
adjective
in or to a sufficient degree
being what is needed without being in excess
It is cold enough outside to snow.
There is enough snow on the slopes to ski.
so
adverb
in the manner or to the degree indicated
It is so hot today.
many
adjective + plural count noun
consisting of a large, indefinite number
There were many car accidents after it rained.
much
adjective + uncount noun
consisting of a large, indefinite number
Psychology class gives much homework each week.
few
adjective + plural count noun
a small number of persons or things
Few students were sick from class today.
little
adjective + uncount noun
small in amount or size
There is little pollution in coastal cities.
able
adjective
having the ability to perform well
Helen is a very able doctor.
enable
verb
to give the means, ability, or opportunity to do
something; to give authority to
The commander enabled his soldiers to fire at the enemy.
separate
verb
to set apart (one kind or type) from others
Inside this bag, you will find a lot of change. Could you
separate the coins in terms of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters?
apart
adverb
into separate parts or pieces
John stands apart from other students since he got a
perfect score on the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT).
alive
adjective
having existence or life
The animals were still alive after the forest fire.
lively
adjective
possessing, exerting, or displaying energy
She is a lively person.
live
adjective
marked by or exhibiting life
It was a live deer even though it had been shot.
what
noun clause connector
I know what he said to Sally.
somewhat
adverb
to a considerable extent
She is somewhat lazy when it comes to turning in her
writing assignments.
person
noun
a member of the human race (singular)
Only one person was absent from class last week.
people
noun
persons as an organized body
The people in the company want raises next month.
number
number (used with count nouns)
quantity
A number of businesses are shutting down due to the
worsening economy
amount
noun (used with uncount nouns)
a number of quantity obtained as a result of addition
The amount of pollution in the air is staggering.
quantity
noun ( used with uncount nouns)
an indefinite amount or extent
The quality is more important than the quantity of your
writing.
aside
adverb
on to or to one side
Please put your bag aside for a moment. We need to check
it for security precautions.
beside
preposition
at the side of
The book was placed beside the table.
besides
preposition
except for
Besides Tom, no one can eat the ice cream in the
refrigerator.
bad
adjective
not pleasant or agreeable
They felt bad about their business going bankrupt.
badly
adverb
in an unexpected or undesirable fashion
Her head hurt badly after bumping it against the door.
between
preposition
used with two entities
The pizza was divided between the two students.
among
preposition
used with three or more entities
The pizza as divided among the students.
bring
verb
to transport an object toward you
Could you bring me a glass of water?
take
verb
to move an object away from you
Please take these financial reports to Mrs. Smith’s
desk.
can
verb
ability
Can you ride a unicycle?
may
verb
permission
May I borrow your motorcycle?
cite
verb
to quote as an authority or example
You should cite at least five articles to support ideas in
your research paper.
site
noun
a particular place
There are many ESL Web Sites on the Internet.
climactic
adjective
of or constituting a climax, the point of greatest
intensity in a series or progression of events
The climactic 1960s were defined by the assassinations of
two great leaders: John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
climatic
adjective
referring to climate; meteorological conditions
The mountaineers suffered severe climatic conditions as
they attempted to summit Mount Everest.
compare to
verb phrase
to represent as similar
She compared him to a wild tiger.
compare with
verb phrase
to examine how two things are similar
The study compared students learning English in the
classroom with students learning English in a conversational setting.
council
noun
a deliberative body
The tribal council met yesterday.
counsel
noun
advice
Offering counsel to his client, the lawyer recommended
that they plea bargain the case.
different from
adjective phrase
not characteristic of or similar to (use this form
usually)
Your sense of humor is vastly different from Susan’s.
different than
adjective phrase
not characteristic of or similar to (use this form to
avoid an awkward construction)
Please let me know if your educational goals are different
than (to avoid using from what) they were last year.
effect
noun
result
The earthquake had devastating effects on Kobe, Japan.
affect
verb
to influence
That John had the flu affected his ability to compete in
the tennis match.
everyone
indefinite pronoun
each and every person of a group
Everyone has finished the race.
every one
adjective and pronoun
each individual or thing in a particular group
Every one of the stolen backpacks was found.
farther
adverb
to a considerable extent; usually used to describe
distances
His house is located a little farther down this street.
further
adverb
suggests quantity or degree
The professor extended the exam time further than he
should have.
good
adjective
having pleasant, desirable qualities
He felt good about his soccer game last night.
well
adverb
in a manner appropriate to expectation or custom
She did well on her TOEFL test this morning.
hanged
verb
having been executed
Convicted of three murders, he was hanged until he was
dead.
hung
verb
having fastened or suspended something
She hung her clothes out to dry.
imply
verb
to convey an idea by indirect, subtle means
Through his frowns and crossed arms, Steven implied that
he was upset about something.
infer
verb
to draw a conclusion from evidence or reasoning
Susan inferred that Steven was upset because of his frowns
and crossed arms.
lead
noun
a type of metal
A lead baseball bat would be too heavy to swing.
led
verb
past tense form of the verb lead: to show the way
She led them on an expedition up the mountain.
learn
verb
to gain knowledge or mastery of by study
Finally, I learned how to speak English.
teach
verb
to impart knowledge and skill to
The instructor taught the students how to speak English.
leave
verb
to exit
Leave the building immediately.
let
verb
to permit
Let me drive you to the airport.
lie
(lie, lay, lain)
intransitive verb
to rest by sleeping, lying quietly, or the like
Because I am so tired, I will lie down for a nap.
lay
(lay, laid, laid)
transitive verb
to put or place
You can lay your jacket on the sofa.
like
preposition
similar to
Like Tom, Susan is from New Jersey.
maybe
adverb
possibly
Maybe I will pass the TOEFL test next week.
may be
verb phrase
of a possible but not certain occurrence
Next week may be the time we go on vacation.
passed
past tense of the verb pass
to move along a particular course
She passed her friend’s house on her way to work.
past
preposition
on or to the farther or opposite side of
I live past the church on the right side of Pemberton
Avenue.
precede
verb
to come before
My brother preceded me in getting his Bachelor’s Degree
at Syracuse University.
proceed
verb
to go in a forward direction
We proceeded up the trail head until we saw Whitney Portal
campground.
principal
noun
head of a school or a large sum of money
The George Washington Elementary School principal has
hired three more teachers.
principle
noun
basic truth or law
I have one principle by which I live my life: honesty.
raise
transitive verb
to move or cause to move upward
I raised the blinds in the living room.
rise
intransitive verb
to go up
Heat rises.
real
adjective
having actual reality
That was a real machine gun I just shot.
really
adverb
to a high degree
It was really hot when I went to Death Valley.
relation
noun
a connection between things
There is a relation between eating sugary foods and
becoming fat.
relationship
noun
a connection between people
I have always had a good relationship with a father.
respectfully
adverb
with kindly regard and deference for others
Tommy always acts
respectfully to his parents.
respectively
adverb
each in the order given
Susan and Bob are doctors, and Pat and Tom are lawyers,
respectively.
set
transitive verb
set, set, and set
to put or to place
She set the flowers on the table.
sit
intransitive verb
sit, sat, and sat
to be seated
Please sit down.
than
conjunction used with comparisons
comparison
He is taller than his friend.
then
adverb
time
We laughed at first, and then we cried.
wait for
verb phrase
to be in readiness for or await
We are waiting for Jake to finish his shift, so we can all
go to the movies together.
wait on
verb phrase
to serve
Currently, the waitress has three tables she is waiting
on.
who
adjective clause connector
people
The man who is at the game used to play professional
baseball.
which
adjective clause connector (often used in nonrestrictive
clauses)
things
The Hewlett Packard computer, which is not working
anymore, is still under warranty.
that
adjective clause connector (often used in restrictive
clauses)
refers to things or a group or a class of people
I finally found the book that I lost last week.
who’s
contraction
who is
Who’s going to the party?
whose
possessive pronoun
possession
Whose bike is that?
your
possessive pronoun
possession
Are you going to wash your car?
you’re
contraction
you are
You’re going to get sick if they do not cook your meat
throughly.
To master these editing skills go to the hyperlink below:
As you edit your TWE, there are some grammatical problems that may interfere
in the reader being able to understand your ideas, some of which are
subject-verb agreement, pronouns, differentiating between adjectives and adverbs, and verb tenses. It is
important to give yourself some time to look for these errors in your TWE.
Rule: The verb agrees with the subject, not the object of the sentence.
Incorrect: Each of the girls are going to the movies.
Revised: Each of the girls is going to the movies.
Rule: There are a few isolated cases where the verb agrees with the object.
This occurs after expressions of quantity (i.e., all, most, some, half, and
part.)
Incorrect: All of the book are interesting to me.
Revised: All of the book is interesting to me.
Incorrect: Some of the students is sick today.
Revised: Some of the students are sick today.
Rule: After question words, comparisons, negative expressions, place
expressions, and conditions without "if," the verb agrees with the
subject, which may come after the verb.
Incorrect: On the table is the ungraded final exams.
Revised: On the table are the ungraded final exams.
Rule: Verbs are singular after certain kinds of words:
All of the these words or expressions are singular.
Consequently, they require singular verbs.
