As a TOEFL instructor, the first question I ask each new TOEFL class on the first day is: "Okay, so what is an essay?"
From twenty students from twenty different countries I get twenty different answers.
Then I ask, "Okay, so what is a thesis?"
Twenty different answers.
Then I ask, "Okay, so what are rhetorical strategies?"
Nothing. Silence.
This is typical of each new TOEFL class. Conclusion? Most non native, English-speaking students are not familiar with western-style, argument development (remember an essay is an argument, be it verbal or written).
Why is the TOEFL iBT all arguments? Because argument development is the foundation of the English-speaking educational system. Students at U.S., U.K., Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand universities listen to lectures (verbal essays), write essays (written arguments), read text books (written arguments), and express opinions in seminars and give presentations (verbal arguments).
As you can see, argument development is the foundation of the western-educational system. Where did it come from? TOEFL? No. It came from the Greeks about 2,000 years ago. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato. That gang.
How does argument development connect with the TOEFL iBT? Simple. Like I said, the TOEFL iBT is all arguments. That means if you (the test-taker) want the highest-TOEFL iBT score possible, you must understand basic argument development.
Do standardized TOEFL texts (Longman, Delta, Cambridge, Princeton, Compass, Thompson) teach basic argument development starting on page one? Do they teach the difference between induction and deduction? No. The above-standardized texts all start with an analysis of reading section questions and strategies, such as skimming and scanning. Yes, skimming is important. Yes, scanning is important. But if you do not understand basic rhetoric (the tools of argument development), you will not get the highest TOEFL iBT score possible. It's that simple. Yes, a good vocabulary is important, but it will only get you so far. Many of the reading section questions are rhetoric-based questions, so you must know basic rhetoric.
Remember: A good vocabulary is part of language use, and language use (the word choices and sentence types you use when developing an argument) is part of argument development
As a TOEFL instructor and TOEFL author, I have identified the disconnect between what test-takers need and what standardized TOEFL text books teach (or don't teach). What test-takers need is a foundation in basic rhetoric before they learn test strategies specific to each task.
But how, you ask, is learning argument development strategies possible in a three-month (or shorter) TOEFL course, or by self-study? The solution is to start with the independent essay, the last task on the TOEFL iBT.
Why start with the independent essay? Because the independent essay is the foundation essay. By learning how to write a proficient independent essay, you (the test-taker) will quickly acquire basic and essential argument strategies needed for the TOEFL iBT. If a test-taker can write a proficient independent essay, he/she will answer reading and listening section questions proficiently; they will also answer speaking tasks proficiently and write integrated essays proficiently.
As a TOEFL instructor, I focus on the needs of my students first. What do my TOEFL students need? An introduction to basic argument development. As a TOEFL author, that is what I teach in my books Scoring Strategies for the TOEFL iBT A Complete Guide and Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL iBT.
Standardized TOEFL texts, however, do not focus on test-taker needs. Instead, they "teach to the test." Teach-to-the-test means they teach strategies as the appear in order on the TOEFL iBT: reading, listening, speaking, writing. TOEFL text books have taught TOEFL this way for years! Why? Because they are focused on the test and not on the test-taker. What is more important? The test or the needs of the test-taker? You do the math.
What do test-takers need to get the highest possible TOEFL score? Argument development strategies. That is what my TOEFL books teach.
