Incomplete sentences

Do not leave any sentences incomplete. If you don’t know how to end a sentence, then don’t write anything at all. For example, do not write:

People work hard every day and are usually…

When a sentence is incomplete, it sends a very bad message to the reader—it signals that you lack the grammar and vocabulary to express your thoughts. There are two ways of avoiding this problem. First, you can eliminate the sentence entirely: don’t write anything! Second, you can simplify:

People work hard every day.

It’s true that the sentence above is not a brilliant display of academic writing; however, at least it is complete.

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However

Do not use the word however to connect two separate sentences—this is not possible. For example, the following sentence is incorrect:

Leather shoes are expensive however they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.

There are two possible corrections:

Leather shoes are expensive. However, they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.
Leather shoes are expensive; however, they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.

Notice that we use however as a transitional phrase at or near the beginning of a sentence. We also use it after a semicolon (;) to introduce a contrasting idea.

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The thesis statement

The most important function of the thesis statement is to answer the essay question. The thesis statement should always answer the question. Not answering the essay question is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

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Avoid making announcements

Avoid making formal announcements about what you are going to write in your TOEFL essay. For example, do not write the following:

First of all, I am going to emphasize on the contribution of the government to colleges and universities.

Do not use phrases such as I am going to emphasize, I want to say, I would like to stress, what I am trying to say is. If you want to emphasize something, then emphasize it. If you want to say or stress something, then say it or stress it. Do not tell waste words by telling the reader what you would like to do or what you are going to do.
A possible revision for the sentences above:

First of all, both urban and rural communities benefit from government contributions to colleges and universities.

Here’s another example:

Secondly, I stress on poor people cannot afford education.

Correct is this:

Secondly, many poor people cannot afford education.

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"Dress" vs. "Clothes"

Dress vs. Clothes
Be careful with these words—there is the potential for a spectacular mistake. For example, you wrote:

...a person can be judged by the dresses he wears...

It is true that sometimes I like to wear dresses, but most men do not. Only women wear dresses.

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