TOEFL independent speaking: tackling hard “attitude” and “purpose” questions

This post is dense, all logic. If you want to answer TOEFL speaking questions (and English interview questions) with logic, instead of memorizing or making up answers, read on～

Hi everyone, I'm David, co-founder of the SK2 TOEFL intensive course (TOEFL iBT 119/120). Summer break is here, and many students are working hard on the TOEFL, hoping to get a high score by September or October so they can then focus on their application documents. That's a smart plan.

In the current TOEFL speaking section, some hard questions involve what we call “purpose” and “attitude.” In this post, let's discuss: how do you answer “purpose” and “attitude” questions logically?

Core idea

I want to give you a clear idea of how to answer these hard questions so you stay on topic. While everyone else is rambling, you'll have something real to say.

What are “purpose” and “attitude” questions?

Whether it's a TOEFL speaking question or an English interview, many questions actually carry an implied “purpose” or “attitude.” When you analyze the question and brainstorm points, besides identifying WHO (who makes the decision in this question, and who is affected), you also need to identify the “purpose” and “attitude” first and deal with them first.

• “Purpose” usually appears as in order to V. or to V.

• “Attitude” usually shows up as an adjective in the prompt, such as efficient, important, easier, and so on

(Note: better is only a matter of “degree,” not an attitude, so you don't need to define it.)

Example 1: an “attitude” question

“Agree or disagree? For students, studying in groups is more efficient than studying alone.”

The key word here is “efficient.”

So your reason sentence should first define what “efficient” means, then explain which option (group vs. alone) better fits that definition.

Sample reason sentence + link sentence:

Because to study more efficiently, students need to get their questions answered quickly, and studying in groups usually allow them to receive answers immediately.

Why define “purpose” and “attitude” first?

Compare these two questions:

1. Agree or disagree? Students should study in groups rather than study alone.

2. Agree or disagree? Students can get better grades by studying in groups than studying alone.

What's the difference? The second one explicitly sets the “purpose”: get better grades. So first you need to think:

“What do students need in order to get better grades?”

For example:

• completely understand the material

• solve all the problems

• review regularly

Then deal with WHO.

If you ignore the “purpose” and say:

Because students are lazy, and if they study in groups, they can save a lot of efforts.

you'll go off topic, because the question's “purpose” is get better grades, not “what's better for students.”

How to fix it: if you still want to start from WHO, you can add:

“…and at the same time, get better grades.”

That brings you back to the prompt and its main point.

Example 2: a “purpose” question

Agree or disagree? Parents should not allow their children to participate in any forms of sports (football, basketball, ice hockey, etc.) in order to protect them from injuries.

The core of this question is in order to protect them from injuries. First think: what does it take to achieve this purpose?

If your idea is:

“To understand their bodies well” is the key to avoiding injuries

then you can build the sentence like this:

Because, in order to protect children from injuries, parents should make sure children understand their bodies well, BUT if parents don’t allow children to participate in sports, children will not learn how their bodies work.

If that sentence feels too long (the reason + link sentence should ideally take no more than 20 seconds), you can change it to:

Because children are naive, and if parents allow their children to participate in sports, children will make stupid mistakes, and therefore get injured.

Summary

I hope you practice these questions a lot, so you won't panic when you meet one on the test.

• Because you know your answer is on topic

• Because you understand what answering logically means

OK, I hope this helps. If there's a type of article you'd like to see, let me know. Good luck, everyone～～ SK2 TOEFL David