As a TOEFL instructor, you must be able to explain to Maria why her independent essay scored 4/5 and not 5/5. And you must do it with Maria standing before you wanting an explanation because she is taking the TOEFL test tomorrow morning at eight a.m. How can you quickly and proficiently explain to Maria how to revise her essay (or verbal response) for a higher score when practicing and on test day? That is the number one challenge facing TOEFL iBT instructors.
TOEFL texts, however, do not tell instructors (or students) how to rate written and verbal responses. Instead, they give sample responses and say, "This integrated essay is a 5, this is a 4, this is a 3, this is a 2", etc. In other words, TOEFL texts provide no rhetorical analysis explaining why an independent essay scored 4 and not 5, or why a verbal response score 2.5/4 and not 3.5/4. This pedagogy is called "telling." It's like a car dealer telling you, "This is a fast car. Believe me. Really fast. The fastest in the world!" Great. But you need more information - detailed information before you buy. What you want is to get into the car and discover for yourself why it is a fast car mechanically. For TOEFL, what you need is a text that shows you how to analyze written and verbal responses rhetorically so that your students will be able to revise their responses for higher scores. My text Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL iBT does just that by teaching you how rate written and verbal responses using the argument analyzer OPDUL=C (op-dull-see).
Organization
Progression
Development = Coherence
Unity
Language Use
OPDUL=C is easy to use. For example, if an essay (or verbal response) demonstrates proficiency (skill and knowledge) in all areas of OPDUL, then it will demonstrate Coherence. Coherence will result in a higher a score.
OPDUL=C is so effective, you can isolate the scoring difference between a 3 and a 3.5/5, then tell Miguel, "To get a 3.5, you must demonstrate greater language-use proficiency," etc. After you analyze responses using OPDUL=C, you will then rate them using easy-to-understand rating guides, guides which explain the rhetorical theory behind ETS's writing and speaking rubrics specific to OPDUL=C.
Of course, OPDUL=C is much more detailed than what you see above. For example, deduction and induction are sub-categories of Organization. Suffice it to say, OPDUL=C, in combination with my rating guides and my argument map, is so effective, I use it not only for TOEFL but also when grading essays in my composition classes and when grading emails, letters, and presentations in my business classes.
Want to know more about OPDUL=C? It's all in the book.
The Pro
