Writing

　　I think it’s true that with the Writing Tests, IELTS and TOEFL are quite similar.

　　The obvious similarity is that both exams have two writing questions and they are both similar in length although TOEFL answers need to be slightly longer.

　　Again, it must be said that these are language tests and they are testing your ability to produce good quality written English.

　　Many students seem to focus too much attention on the “whole answer” and forget that what is really being marked is your ability to produce written sentences.

　　A detailed analysis of the marking system does reveal some differences. TOEFL scores in writing are more focused on your ability to write in relation to the task, so again we see that TOEFL is more academically inclined. IELTS writing scores are focused less on the task and more on the quality of the language produced.

　　One important thing to remember for both IELTS and TOEFL is that there is never one “correct way” to answer a question.

　　Look at the following example questions.

　　The increase in the use of technology in our lives is having a negative effect on society. Do you agree or disagree? (IELTS Academic Task 2)

　　Technology is having a negative effect on our ability to communicate. Do you agree or disagree? (TOEFL Independent Writing Question)

　　Students often come to me with questions like; “Should I take one side or discuss both sides?” “Should I write two main ideas or more?”

　　You must understand that in both tests the actual format of your answer of your answer is not being marked.

　　For both questions there is actually a lot of freedom in the way that you write your answer. It would be perfectly acceptable in both IELTS and TOEFL to produce the following styles of answer.

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