ACADSOC TOEFL

Test of English as Foreign Language

Section 4 Writing

Trial Lesson 3 Technique on Writing Task 1 ③

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 Contents
No class time allocated here

1. Technique on 3. Build up your

2. Grammar in use 4. Guided practice
Writing Task 1 ③ vocabulary

Paraphrasing Topic: through the

Classifying verbs Question
technique 3 ages

Sample essay

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PART

Technique on Writing Task 1 ③

1 Class time: ≤ 6 min

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 Paraphrasing
Teaching point: explain how to paraphrase in TOEFL Integrated Writing

Paraphrasing techniques
These are the three main ways to paraphrase and by combining all of these methods, you can achieve clear and accurate paraphrased
sentences.

① Use Different Vocabulary ② Change the Order of

③ Use Different Grammar
of the Same Meaning Words

Technique 3 - Use Different Grammar

Here are two ways on how to change the grammar without making errors:

a. Change some of the words in the original sentence into different parts of speech (You will often need to change
the word order and some other words, too.)
Original Sentence: "The most effective way to build your English skill is to study regularly."
Paraphrase: "The most effective way of building your English skill is to do studying on a regular basis.“

b. If the original sentence is in active voice, change it to passive or vice versa

Original Sentence: "To improve English, you should learn new vocabulary on a daily basis."
Paraphrase: “To improve English, new vocabulary should be learned on a daily basis."

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PART

Grammar in use
2 Class time: ≤ 5 min

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 Sentence structure
Teaching point: explain different types of verbs and guide the student to identify them in the corresponding sentences

Classifying verbs (动词的种类)

Remember, main verbs can be action or linking verbs. Action verbs can be transitive or intransitive.

• Intransitive action:
e.g. We packed for the trip.
e.g. We slept all day.
Intransitive verbs do not have a direct object in the sentence.

• Transitive action:
e.g. The ferret stole the dog's toy.
e.g. The baseball broke my neighbor's window.
Action verbs that are transitive have a direct object.

• Linking:
e.g. The weather was beautiful that day.
e.g. My sister is a lawyer.
Linking verbs link the subject to the subject complement. (All linking verbs are intransitive.)

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PART

Vocabulary note
3 Class time: ≤ 6 min

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Topic: through the ages
Teaching point: discuss with the student the key words for talking about a time in the history

Key words
Words in common use：
Words closest in meaning to before Words closest in meaning to after

prior to subsequently
previously in succession
preceding imminent
formerly following
in advance next

Error warning! Error warning!

BC is used in the Christian calendar to refer to the
time before the birth of Jesus Christ. AD is used to
refer to the time after Christ was born. Circa is used
to mean doubt about or approximately and is
sometimes written simply c.
NB We do not use an apostrophe to talk about
decades: the 1960s NOT the 1960’s.
Age=a particular period of history: the Victorian
age, the digital age. Era=a period of time that is
remembered for particular events: The arrival of
moving pictures marked the end of an era for live
theatres. Middle-aged=people in their middle
years of life: most companies are run by middle-
age men. The Middle Ages=a period od European
history between 1000 and 1500 AD.

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PART

Guided practice
4 Class time: ≤ 8 min

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 Guided practice
Teaching point: guide the student to complete the writing question

Sample Question
• Reading:
As early as the twelfth century A.D., the settlements of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico in the American Southwest were notable for their
"great houses," massive stone buildings that contain hundreds of rooms and often stand three or four stories high. Archaeologists have
been trying to determine how the buildings were used. While there is still no universally agreed upon explanation, there are three
competing theories. One theory holds that the Chaco structures were purely residential, with each housing hundreds of people.
Supporters of this theory have interpreted Chaco great houses as earlier versions of the architecture seen in more recent Southwest
societies. In particular, the Chaco houses appear strikingly similar to the large, well-known "apartment buildings" at Taos, New Mexico, in
which many people have been living for centuries. A second theory contends that the Chaco structures were used to store food supplies.
One of the main crops of the Chaco people was grain maize, which could be stored for long periods of time without spoiling and could
serve as a long-lasting supply of food. The supplies of maize had to be stored somewhere, and the size of the great houses would make
them very suitable for the purpose. A third theory proposes that houses were used as ceremonial centers. Close to one house, called
Pueblo Alto, archaeologists identified an enormous mound formed by a pile of old material. Excavations of the mound revealed deposits
containing a surprisingly large number of broken pots. This finding has been interpreted as evidence that people gathered at Pueblo Alto
for special ceremonies. At the ceremonies, they ate festive meals and then discarded the pots in which the meals had been prepared or
served. Such ceremonies have been documented for other Native American cultures.

• Now listen to a lecture on the topic you just read about:

Summarize the points made in the lecture, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in
the reading passage.

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 Guided practice
Teaching point: check the student’s answer with the transcript of lecture

Check-up
Transcript of lecture:
Professor:
Unfortunately none of the arguments about what the Chaco great houses were used for is convincing. First, sure, from the outside, the great houses
look like later and Native American apartment buildings but the inside of the great houses casts serious doubt on the idea that many people lived
there. I'll explain. If hundreds of people were living in the great houses, then there would have to be many fireplaces, where each family did its daily
cooking, but there are very few fireplaces. In one of the largest great houses, there were fireplaces for only around ten families. Yet there were
enough rooms in the great house for more than a hundred families, so the primary function of the houses couldn't have been residential. Second, the
idea that the great houses were used to store grain maize; It’s unsupported by evidence. It may sound plausible that large empty rooms were used for
storage, but excavations of the great houses have not uncovered many traces of maize or maize containers. If the great houses were used for storage,
why isn't there more spilled maize on the floor? Why aren't there more remains of big containers? Third, the idea that the great houses were
ceremonial centers isn't well supported either. You know that mound at Pueblo Alto? It contains lots of other materials besides broken pots, stuff you
wouldn't expect from ceremonies. For example, there are large quantities of building materials, sands, stones, even construction tools. This suggests
that the mound is just a trash heap of construction material, stuff that was thrown away or not used up when a house was being built. The pots in the
pile could be regular trash too, leftover from the meals of the construction workers. So the Pueblo Alto mound is not good evidence that the great
houses were used for special ceremonies.

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 Guided practice
Teaching point: guide the student to complete his/her answer by using the instructive template

Useful template

The author of the reading passage proposes three theories as likely explanations of _________________. The lecturer, however,
points to the inaccuracies in each of these theories.

The lecturer argues that _________________. The reading, however, _________________ in support of the _________________
theory.

The second theory, that _________________, is also rejected by the lecturer. He explains that _________________. This proves
that the “_________________ theory” is unlikely.

Finally, regarding the third theory, the “_________________ theory”, the lecturer contends that _________________. He argues
that _________________.

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 Guided practice
Teaching point: check if the student applied the strategies provided in this lesson with the sample below

Sample response
The author of the reading passage proposes three theories as likely explanations of the primary function of Chaco Canyon houses, giant
structures built in the 12th century. The lecturer, however, points to the inaccuracies in each of these theories.

The lecturer argues that the modest number of fireplaces in these structures is in contradiction with the huge size of these houses,
indicating that these structures could not have been used for residential purposes. The reading, however, draws comparisons between the
Chaco houses and other similar large residential structures in support of the “residential” theory.

The second theory, that the houses were used for food storage, is also rejected by the lecturer. He explains that a place that had been used
for storing maize would have many traces of scattered maize, which is not the case in the area of the Chaco Canyon houses. This proves that
the “food storage theory” is unlikely.

Finally, regarding the third theory, the “ceremony theory”, the lecturer contends that the presence of broken pots close to the great houses
does not offer sufficient proof that this was a place for ceremonial activities. He argues that there are other materials such as pieces of
construction trash found along with the broken pots, which suggests that these pots were probably not used for ceremonial purposes but
instead were discarded by construction workers upon completion of the great houses.

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 The end
Self-analysis checklist

I know how to use different

grammar to paraphrase.

I know how to classify verbs

in a sentence.

How well have you done this practice? You will be given
question types and language points in TOEFL Writing in the I know the differences between
next lesson. BC, AD, Circa, era and age.

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