TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5

In order to do well on Questions 1-5, you must be able to write sentences that are
grammatical, coherent, and relevant to the photo. Study the following tips to familiarize
yourself with the basic grammar and vocabulary points you will need to know when you write
your sentences.

1 – Tips for Good Sentence Writing

TIP 1 Learn the basics of good sentence-writing in English.

Writing strong sentences in English requires you to follow sentence structure rules. These are
the rules about the order of words in English sentences. The most common sentence structure
in English is the S-V-0 pattern (subject-verb-object). By learning this pattern, you will have a
useful starting point for writing easy-to-understand responses.

Study the chart below for an explanation and examples of each of the sentence parts:

TIP 2 Use correct capitalization and punctuation.

To write a good sentence that is easy to understand, you need to use capitalization and
punctuation correctly.

Capitalization refers to the use of capital letters. These large letters are also called uppercase
letters. All sentences in English begin with a capital letter. The English language also uses
capital letters to begin all proper nouns. Proper nouns include the names of people,
companies, languages, and places. The English language also uses capital letters on months,
days, and titles. Look at these examples.
• Mary Smith
• Tuesday, June 3
• Fox Theater
• IBM
• Dr. Evans (Notice the period after the title)
• Miami, Florida (Notice the comma between the city and state)

Punctuation refers to the symbols, such as periods (.), question marks (?), and commas (,), in
the sentence. These marks are used to make written language easier to understand. All
sentences in English end with some type of punctuation.
 TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5

TIP 3 Know the basic grammar features to use in your sentences.

When you write your responses for Questions 1-5, you must choose the right sentence
structure and verb tense. In most cases, you will be able to use the basic S-V-0 structure with
the present continuous tense. However, in some cases, you will use There is/are + subject.

The verb tense that you use depends on the photo. Other than the present simple and the
present continuous, you will not usually have to use other verb tenses for Questions 1-5. This
chart will help you choose the correct tense for your response.

Using Prepositions and Modifiers to Give Details.

In addition to choosing the correct sentence construction and verb tense, you should also
know how to use prepositions and modifiers in your responses to provide more details about
the photograph.

⇒ Use prepositions to talk about where people or things are. Prepositions are words that
give information about the location of an object. By combining prepositions with
nouns, pronouns, or clauses, you can create prepositional phrases that provide more
information about the person or object.
Example:
• The woman at the desk is busy, (indicates which woman and where she is)
• The table next to the door is empty, (indicates which table and where it is)

⇒ TIP 2 Use modifiers to describe other words and give details. Modifiers are words,
phrases, or clauses that provide more information about words in a sentence.
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and
other adverbs.
For Questions 1-5, you may want to use participles as adjectives in your responses.
Participles are verb forms that serve as adjectives in sentences.
This chart has more information on participles:
 TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5

TIP 4 You may need to use FUNCTION WORDS in your response.

Function words are words that don’t have a lot of meaning on their own, but they express
grammatical connections with other parts of the sentence.

Prepositions, conjunctions, and some adverbs are examples of function words. You may need
to use function words in your responses.

See the chart below for more information about function words.
 TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5

2 - Understanding What You Are Expected To Do

TIP 1 Understand the possible combinations of word pairs that you may see on the test.

On Questions 1-3, you may find any of the following combinations.

Questions 4 and 5 are typically more difficult, and you may find the following combinations.

By familiarizing yourself with types of word pairs you may see, you will be able to figure out
what you need to do in order to write the sentence. Study the chart below for a review of the
parts of speech and how they are typically used in sentences:

TIP 2 Identify the connection between the words provided and the photo.

When you first see the photograph, scan it quickly for its connection to the pair of words
provided. For example, if one of the words is a verb, look for this action in the photo. By doing
this, you will understand the relationship between the words in the pair. For example, you will
know if a word is an adjective describing a noun or a verb showing what is happening.
 TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5
TIP 3 Look for function words.

If the word pair includes a function word, be sure to consider the possible role of the function
word in the sentence first.

Example: Look at this photo and explanation.

Explanation: First, consider the function word although.
It is a subordinating conjunction used to express
contrast. Next, scan the photo for the other word in the
pair (barefoot), and use it to make a sentence: This
person is barefoot. Finally, complete the sentence using
the function word, making sure that you express the
meaning of the function word: This person is barefoot
although there is snow on the ground. The words can be
used in any order, so you can also write: Although there
is snow on the ground, this person is barefoot Notice the
comma when the clause is used first.

PAY ATTENTION TO TWO-CLAUSE RESPONSES (Look for conjunctions).

Word pairs that include conjunctions (typically Questions 4 and 5) will often require you to write
one sentence with two clauses.

A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand
on its own as a complete sentence, while a dependent clause is not a complete sentence and
must be combined with another sentence.

Look at these examples; pay special attention to the negative verbs:

⇒ Independent clauses: They are waiting, but they are

⇒ Dependent clause: They are not talking while they are waiting.

In some cases, both words in the word pair can go in the same clause or in separate clauses.
Look at these examples:

⇒ Word Pair: (read/while)

• While the woman reads the newspaper, she drinks her coffee.
• While the woman drinks her coffee, she reads the newspaper.
 TOEIC WRITING – QUESTIONS 1 - 5
Tip 4 Be sure your response is relevant to the photo (Relevancy).

In addition to your use of correct grammar, raters will be grading you based on whether your
sentence accurately describes the photo. Be sure to only mention objects that are obvious
from the photo. Also, don’t guess about how people in the photo feel or what they think.