planning the integrated writing

1. TOEFL Integrated Writing
Plan Before You Write

2. Planning to Write
As we’ve discussed, the Integrated Writing requires you to read a passage,
listen to a lecture, and then compare the two in your essay.
Now that you’ve read and listened and you have your notes, you will need
to think about how the main points from the listening compare to the
reading.

3. Planning to Write
Start with the Main Ideas.
The reading claimed that the decline in otters was due to pollution. The lecturer said though that
predation was most likely the cause. So, we can see that the two passages are in disagreement with each
other.
Notice that each other point in the lecture will support this main idea.

4. Planning to Write
Next let’s relate the supporting points.
First, while the book cited the presence of oil rigs and chemicals in the water, the lecturer notes that there
has been a lack of otter bodies found, as you would expect if they had died from pollution. Instead, he
points out, the lack of bodies suggests that they had been eaten.

5. Planning to Write
Second, the reading mentions that there has been a similar decline in other animal species, which could
also be explained by pollution.
But the lecturer explains that though orcas prefer to eat whales, humans have hunted most of them, so
the orcas have had to start eating smaller animals, which would explain the decline cited in the reading.

6. Planning to Write
Third, both passages discuss and uneven pattern of decline, meaning that in some areas there was a large
decline, while in other areas there was not.
The reading says the uneven pattern of decline could be explained by the pollution moving on ocean
currents, but the lecture says that predation would provide a better explanation, as orcas tend not to
hunt in the shallower areas, which had not experienced as much of a decline.

7. Planning to Write
Once you have have logically connected the main points
of both passages, you’ll be ready to start writing!