the misuse of articles<\/a>). Now, let\u2019s take a look at a common structural error that many test-takers make: the failure to include a conclusion to your speaking and writing responses.<\/p>\nHow big a deal can it be? You\u2019ve already said or written your main ideas on the topic, so why would putting an extra sentence or two at the end of your response make any difference? The answers to those questions are: moderately big; and, for a variety of reasons we\u2019ll talk about in just a second.<\/p>\n
Of course, fully answering the prompt is the most important thing you need to do on test day. When the speaking section asks you to explain Tony\u2019s problem, what options he has, and which option you think he should choose, you\u2019re already looking at around six sentences in a minute, which is pretty quick, and you do need to address each one of those points. However, you should also put in a conclusion.<\/p>\n
A conclusion demonstrates a couple of really valuable things to your graders (yes, they\u2019re real people!). First, it shows that you\u2019re taking the test seriously, because being able to save just enough time (6-10 seconds) for a conclusion is something that takes practice. Second, it shows that you\u2019ve structured your response, using your planning time well. Third–and most importantly–it shows that you were thinking ahead and making a plan in a foreign language<\/em>. That\u2019s a pretty big deal. It would be hard enough for most of us to remember to conclude elegantly in our first languages, let alone our second.<\/p>\nIn the speaking section, by composing yourself long enough to restate your argument–or simply to tell the grader that those are the reasons you chose X option–you\u2019re demonstrating that ability to plan ahead, as well as the fact that you have the vocabulary skills needed to reflect on your own argument. Because the TOEFL is often used by educational institutions, that\u2019s an important skill. In the writing section, adding a conclusion demonstrates that you are familiar with the conventions of writing in English and that you are comfortable enough with the language to compose a full essay with different component parts.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re struggling to push your score to the next level, take a look at your speaking and writing responses. Are you concluding well? Remember, this is the last thing the grader\u2019s going to hear you say, or see you write, on this topic–so make it good!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s start with the good news: Unlike exams in your English class, the speaking and writing sections of the TOEFL won\u2019t automatically take points away from you if you make a little mistake, or even a handful of them. The bad news, though, is that while these sections of the TOEFL are graded holistically, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13602],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13642],"class_list":["post-2274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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The bad news, though, is that while these sections of the TOEFL are graded holistically, or […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-17T18:45:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:45:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel Kapelke-Dale\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel Kapelke-Dale\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/\",\"name\":\"Little Things That Make a Big Difference to Your Score: Speaking and Writing Conclusions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-17T18:45:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/e8bb674fd0d6a6accfb4fb3d336f366a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/little-things-that-make-a-big-difference-to-your-score-speaking-and-writing-conclusions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Little Things That Make a Big Difference to Your Score: Speaking and Writing Conclusions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/e8bb674fd0d6a6accfb4fb3d336f366a\",\"name\":\"Rachel Kapelke-Dale\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fedecaf346e78298af44bfd2b51a668b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41228fc7acd2d2f0b74acf2ec7c4cb5bd541898142796d216cbf467d77f3801d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41228fc7acd2d2f0b74acf2ec7c4cb5bd541898142796d216cbf467d77f3801d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rachel Kapelke-Dale\"},\"description\":\"Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book. 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Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Universit\u00e9 de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London.","honorificSuffix":"PhD","knowsAbout":["SAT","ACT","TOEFL","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","French"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/rachelkd\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13642,"user_id":228,"is_guest":0,"slug":"rachelkd","display_name":"Rachel Kapelke-Dale","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41228fc7acd2d2f0b74acf2ec7c4cb5bd541898142796d216cbf467d77f3801d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Kapelke-Dale","first_name":"Rachel","description":"Rachel is one of Magoosh\u2019s Content Creators. She writes and updates content on our <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/hs\/\">High School <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/\">GRE Blogs<\/a> to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/ACT-Prep-Magoosh-Schedules-Strategies\/dp\/1610660692\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Magoosh ACT Prep Book<\/a>. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Universit\u00e9 de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel,<a href=\"https:\/\/read.macmillan.com\/lp\/the-ballerinas\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> THE BALLERINAS<\/a>, is forthcoming in December 2021 from<a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/author\/rachelkapelkedale\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> St. Martin's Press<\/a>, while her memoir,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/315080\/graduates-in-wonderland-by-jessica-pan\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND<\/a>, co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her <a href=\"http:\/\/rachelkapelkedale.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">work<\/a> has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn't strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RKapelkeDale\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Twitter<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rachelkapelkedale\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Instagram<\/a>, or<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rkapelkedale\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Facebook<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2274"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}