stator Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) Mr.Joseph said in this video: @ 5:08 relation between word count & score 250-350 words: 17~21 350-450 words: 22-26 450+ words: 27-30 This can be done in second essay, but it is impossible in the 1st essay to arrange your ideas, make relations & write 450+ words in only 20 minutes :disgust: , isn't it? In the 1st essay I wrote about 250 words in the practice test & if I improved myself it will be 300 not more. please reply me. Edited October 25, 2011 by stator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tino Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 This information is incorrect. We have many students who wrote less than 350 words and got 24 or higher. A few moaths ago one of our teachers took the test and wrote 312 words, she got 30. The instructions from TOEFL on the test specifically state you do not need to write more than 300 words. People believe this word count logic because it is something easy to quantify and explain: "the more I write, the higher my score." But, appealing as the idea is, it is not true. You need at answer the essay question using logical organization, developed vocabulary, some complex grammar and sentence structure, concisely and clearly, with few mistakes and no mistakes that confuse meaning. If you do that in 270 words, 330 words or 500 words, you will get a very high writing score.Tino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stator Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks Tino very much you calm me down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manishme Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 @stator: you've got the wrong info mate. Mr Joseph, in those videos, has clearly mentioned that the relation between word count and score(like you mentioned in your post) is for the 2nd task specifically, and not the 1st task. The ideal word count for the 1st task is 150-225 words, and the same thing is mentioned in the ETS guidelines also. In fact, there won't be anything much in the 1st task to write about beyond 250 words, Mr Joseph also mentioned in his comments(below the video) that the ideal word count for 1st task is 250 words max. Anyway, I just took my TOEFL few days back, my word count in 1st task was 230 and 2nd task was 486, I got 29 in writing. Anyway, for the 2nd task, there's no need to curtail yourself to a specific limit(say under 400), but if you do write an essay of about 500 words, you have to ensure that your essay is not verbose, and is clear, cohesive and coherent. Hope this clarifies your doubts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisword87 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Thanks for this thread, really, I was actually looking for the same information... my problem is that I love writing, so when I have a lot to say it is quite difficult for me not to be extremely verbose. Plus, I took the GRE this week, so I'm used to writing essays that are quite longer (I've read that a top GRE essay, for the independent task, should be 400-700 words long) in the same amount of time, so I'm having not such an easy time in trying to be more concise. Anyway, thanks again! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAndrew Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Regarding the second Writing task on the TOEFL iBT, the independent task, the ETS Complete TOEFL Guide (3rd ed., p.206) states, "An effective response is typically about 300 words long. If you write fewer than 300 words, you may still receive a top score, but experience has shown that shorter responses typically do not demonstrate the development on ideas needed..." They also suggest 150-225 words for an effective response to the first task, the integrated Writing task. (pp.197, 199) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoteFull Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Stator, I'm happy that you wrote in and that everything was clarified in later posts. Good luck with the test and if you have any other questions, I'll do my best to keep an eye on this thread. Also, manishme, wow. Congratulations on your score and on knowing your material so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajaxsurya Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 guys today i took the test . for the first essay my word count was 300 and for second essay it was arond 493. would i be in trouble or is it ok . i had no idea about the word count thing . i just wrote what i knew and what i could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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