NOTABLE WORDS (WORDS # 40)

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Here's my new list of words, starting with N.

NADIR

Noun, formal – The worst time in someone’s life or in a situation

The company’s earnings reached their nadir in 2003

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NEBULOUS

Adjective – Not developed or clear enough to describe

The project group thought the instructions were rather nebulous

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NEGLIGENT

Adjective – Failing to give care or attention, especially when this causes harm or damage

Some doctors have been considered criminally negligent.

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NONCHALANT

Adjective – Relaxed and not worried about anything

That student is very nonchalant about his graduation.

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

An interesting list of words! These are not words that used every day, so maybe they are not too well known. 

“Nadir” is not commonly used, I fear. I have seen it written in various works of fiction, in scientific writings and sometimes in news reports, but I have never used it myself or had occasion to do so. So this may be a new one for lots of readers!

“Nebulous” is slightly more well-known than “nadir” but I haven’t seen it used much either. I have very rarely used it in spoken English and I have certainly not heard it used very frequently. I have read it in fiction, but that’s about it. I think I would rather use “vague” although “nebulous” certainly seems to have more flair.

“Negligent” is definitely more familiar! I would say this word is used quite frequently at all levels. We can read reports in the newspaper about functionaries who are considered to be “negligent” in their work. Company managers also refer to their employees in these terms. Teachers refer to their students as being “negligent” in their homework, and so on. It’s not a very pleasant word, I’m afraid, but it certainly is used!

“Nonchalant” has such a lovely sound! That’s probably because it comes from the French language. Does anybody really use it, I wonder? I have read it in fiction, and I have heard it used in spoken English on occasion. I have even used it myself, but very infrequently. Maybe this will be a new word for some readers!

There is some good news for Spanish speakers. The words “nadir”, “nebuloso” and “negligente” all exist, sound similar and mean the same! That should be of some help, I think! 

Well, there they are, four more words taken from the lists provided for the graduate entry tests. So study them and improve your knowledge of English and your score as well!

See you on the next post!

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A FAREWELL GIFT OF TWO LOVELY PEONIES!

 

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

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ESSAY WRITING FOR THE TOEFL - THE INDEPENDENT WRITING TASK (TOEFL WRITING 4)

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In my second post on the TOEFL Independent Writing Task, I wrote that an essay had a definite structure.

Furthermore, I also mentioned the three main elements of an essay, which are:

• Introduction  - This includes the topic or thesis statement

• Development – This refers to the supporting ideas of the main topic, each with their own topic or thesis statement

• Conclusion – a paraphrase of the introduction

 

When you define these elements during the “brainstorming” period, you are basically creating the essay plan.

A SIMPLE METHOD FOR PLANNING THE ESSAY

According to my experience, the secret is to use an “idea map” like the one included in this post.

You will see a center circle at the top of the map. In this you briefly write your main idea or topic, or you describe your position on an issue.

Then you define your supporting ideas, which go in the second row of circles on the map.

Going back to the same example I used on a previous post, let’s plan to write about why people like to visit museums when they visit a town for the first time.

Your position or thesis statement would be that – “yes indeed, people do visit museums when spending time in a town for the first time”

Your supporting ideas would be the reasons you have “brainstormed”. These could be:

• Know about the history and culture of the place (Idea 1)

• Find out about the hand crafts that have been developed through time in that place (Idea 2)

• Spend an interesting, enjoyable and inexpensive family afternoon (Idea 3)

 

You would then think about details related to each of these “ideas”, to be included in the respective paragraphs.

These details will be sketched in using the rectangles at the bottom of the map.

THE IDEA MAP

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NUMBER OF PARAGRAPHS DERIVED FROM THIS PLAN

Paragraph 1 is the introduction, which is based on your thesis statement and which also announces the 3 supporting ideas. This tells the reader what you will include in the development of your essay.

 Paragraph 2. Here you would develop your supporting idea 1, which in turn is supported by the details you have sketched on the map

Paragraph 3 corresponds to the same treatment for the supporting idea 2.

Paragraph 4 corresponds to the same treatment for the supporting idea 3.

Paragraph 5 is the conclusion. Here you repeat the introduction, but you don’t “copy and paste”. You tell the reader that you have now finished a convincing exposition as to why people visit museums when they are spending time in a city for the first time.  They do this because… and you repeat the ideas again.

COMMENTS ON THIS METHOD

My first comment is to say that it really works! I’ve watched numerous candidates working with this map, and the essay flows along quite easily.

Another comment refers to the “rule of three”. Do you have to base the essay on three of everything? No, you don’t! But it’s a good idea to stick to the “magic number three”. 

This will give you a well balanced essay and fits in quite well with the time constraints of the TOEFL and also with the minimum amount of words that are needed to complete the essay task: 300 words.

According to my experience, this is definitely a road to success!

CONCLUDING WORDS

The next posts will refer to some details about the style of writing that is expected on the TOEFL, and we will also be developing some examples of essay plans.

So be sure and visit these future posts, they will include important ideas!

A LOVELY FLOWER TO RAISE YOUR SPIRITS!

 

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THE ESSAY - THE INDEPENDENT WRITING TASK (TOEFL WRITING 3)

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In my previous post on the topic of the Independent Writing task for the TOEFL, I was discussing the difficulties I had observed when working with my ESL students who were attempting to write essays.

In this post I want to refer to the “brainstorming for ideas”, to be continued in the next post with a simple guide to planning the structure of the essay.

THE BRAINSTORMING

This is the moment when you read the proposed topic for the essay that has been provided on the test screen, and you start to collect your ideas for actually writing the essay. 

As I’ve pointed out in the previous post, you have only about 2 minutes available for this step.

Unfortunately, many students discover that they HAVE NO IDEAS! What I mean is that they have no experiences, they have never discussed the topic, they have never read about it or they simply have never thought about the issue.

When this has happened during one of my classes, I have provided my own ideas, trying to offer a model of how to think round the topic. 

I have found that after about two or three weeks in which I have been the sole provider of “bright ideas” my student begins to pick up the thread and finally takes over the class. 

It seems obvious to me that it is necessary to do all this before taking the test. You don’t want to arrive at the test and then just stare blankly at the screen!

Another simple conclusion is that the designers of the test are looking for candidates who read newspapers and magazines, and who participate in insightful discussions with their friends. 

In other words, the candidates are supposed to have ideas and opinions stored away in their brain about any amount of topics. 

This is something that cannot be improvised in a short period of time.

One solution is to search on the Internet for lists with proposed topics for the TOEFL essay; there are lots of these lists available. 

The next step is to “brainstorm” right through the list! So get started, the quicker the better.

And don’t forget that this is a test of English! That’s what the E in TOEFL stands for, so all this must be done in English.

DO YOU NEED TO PRODUCE AN ESSAY IN PERFECT ENGLISH?

This is another issue connected to the Independent Writing Task. The answer to the above question is that you don’t have to have a perfect command of the English language!

However, you do need to write your essay in the best possible way, otherwise you will lose points that could make all the difference to your overall results.

Again, this is something that can’t be improvised; you need to achieve a medium to high level of English before you start your TOEFL preparation.

As I said in my first post on the TOEFL, this is a demanding test! But it CAN be done if you set your mind to it.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

I hope you haven’t found this post too depressing! That has not been my intention by any means.

My aim here is to relate what I have seen and done with my students, who have all been ESL students. 

What I want to avoid is the false feeling of security with which a candidate could possibly venture into the exam room, only to find that he or she doesn’t really have a clue!

So on to the next post, which will definitely be about the elements that form the main structure of the essay. 

See you on that next post. It will be an important one, so don’t miss it!

FOR MY READERS, A PRESENT OF A CHEERFUL FLOWER!

 

SO KEEP UP YOUR SPIRITS!

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

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