Writing+Skill+2

listen here Writing Skill 2: NOTE THE MAIN POINTS AS YOU LISTEN In the integrated task in the Writing section of the TOEFL iBT, you will have to listen to an academic passage as part of the task. In this part of the integrated task, it is important for you to be able to listen to an academic passage of 1-2 minutes and take notes on the main points of the listening passage as you listen. Look at the following example of a listening passage that is part of the integrated writing task on hindcasting.

Listening Passage 1 (professor) Now let me talk about how hindcasting was used in one particular situation. This situation has to do with the weather in seventeenth-century Holland. It appears, from proxies in paintings from the time by numerous artists, that the weather

in Holland in the seventeenth century was much colder than it is today..Seventeenth-century paintings show really cold winter landscapes with huge snow drifts and ice skaters skating on frozen canals. Since it's unusual today for snow to drift as high as it is in the paintings and for the canals to freeze over so that

skaters can skate across them as they are in the paintings, these paintings appear to serve as proxies that demonstrate

. that the weather when the paintings were created in the

. seventeenth century was much colder than it is today..

As you listen to the passage, you should take notes on the topic and main points of the listen­ing passage. Look at these notes on the topic and main points of the listening passage on hindcasting.

TOPIC OF LISTENING PASSAGE:paintings that are proxies showing weather in 17th-century Holland colder than today main points about the topic:

• huge snow drifts higher than today's drifts

• skaters on canals that are not frozen today

These notes show that the topic of the listening passage is paintings that are proxies showing ": that the weather in seventeenth-century Holland was colder than it is today. The details in seven­teenth-century paintings that show that the weather was colder are huge snow drifts that are higher than today's drifts and skaters skating on canals that do not freeze today.

Now look at another example of a listening passage that is part of the integrated writing task on emotions. Listening Passage 2 (professor) I'd like to talk now about the conclusion drawn in the reading passage, the conclusion that the expression of emotions seems to be natural, or Innate, and is the same throughout all cultures. It is true, as the reading passage states, that certain aspects of emotion seem to be natural, or intrinsic, things like the kinds

of emotions people express and the facial expressions people use to convey these emotions. But not all aspects of emotion are natural, or tnttinsic, because some aspects of emotion differ from culture to culture. Let me talk about a few aspects of emotion that differ trom culture to culture and are therefore

learned, or acquired, rather than natural, or intrinsic. One aspect of emotion that differs from culture to culture is the trigger for specific kinds of emotion. By trigger, I mean the event or act that causes emotion. In various cultures, the

triggers for emotions differ. Let me give you an example I think you can all identify with..Let's talk about humor, abou.t what's funny. I'm sure you can understand that something that is funny in one culture just isn't funny in another culture. So, we see

from this that what triggers emotion is different from culture to

culture and is therefore acquired, or learned. Another aspect of emotion that differs from culture to culture is the situational use of culture, that is, the situations where emotions are expressed. In some cultures, people do not express emotions openly, while in other cultures people do express emotions openly; for instance, in some cultures,

men cry publicly, while in other cultures they absolutely do not. These cultural differences related to emotion show that these aspects are learned, or acquired, and are not natura', or intrinsic.

As you listen to the passage, you should take notes on the topic and main points of the listen­ ing passage, Look at these notes on the topic and main points of the listening passage on emotions.

TOPIC OF LISTENING PASSAGE: situations when emotions differ from

culture to culture main points about.the topic:

• difference in triggers for emotion

• difference in situations where emotions are used

These notes show that the topic of the listening passage is situations when emotions differ from culture to culture. The main points about the topic are that there are different triggersfor emotion in various cultures and that there are different situations where emotions are used in various cultures.

The following chart outlines the key information you should remember about dealing with the listening passage in the integrated writing task..