Using Complicated Words in the TOEFL Essay

As for the vocabulary, I think the best advice I can give you is to use words that you know well and are comfortable with. When some native English speakers write essays or make speeches, they use big words or complicated language because they think it will sound impressive. It does sound impressive when it is used correctly, but most native English speakers don’t even know how to use these words correctly. Consequently, it just sounds funny when they use them. It sounds like they don’t really know what they are talking about. Moreover, a mark of a good writer is to explain complicated ideas in a very simple way that is easy for everybody to understand. In this respect, simple words really are impressive. One of the greatest American writers, Mark Twain, once put it this way:  “Never use a twenty-five-cent word when a ten-cent word will do”.