Greetings TOEFL test takers!
To begin with, I'm going to take TOEFL questions from the PBT (Paper-Based Test) and rework them into something fun. Although most of you will take the iBT (internet-Based Test), these examples will help you understand some of the grammar that the TOEFL folks expect you to know and use.
I've given you five words and phrases from an actual TOEFL, along with an example sentence for each. Use them to help boost your performance on the writing section!
Here are your five sample questions:
1) __________ I like to have sex with the lights on, my girlfriend likes to have sex with the lights off.
A) No matter what
B) Due to the fact that
C) Whereas
D) Accordingly
E) However
2) __________, I am going to keep buying kimono condoms. Even if they cost 50000 yen I would still buy them.
A) No matter what
B) Due to the fact that
C) Whereas
D) Accordingly
E) However
3) My girlfriend likes to have sex with the lights on. _________, I like to have sex with the lights off.
A) No matter what
B) Due to the fact that
C) Whereas
D) Accordingly
E) However
4) I felt really turned on in the movie theatre. __________, as soon as I get home I'm going to masturbate.
A) No matter what
B) Due to the fact that
C) Whereas
D) Accordingly
E) However
5) _________ he had an affair with his daughter-in-law, the mayor was forced to resign.
A) No matter what
B) Due to the fact that
C) Whereas
D) Accordingly
E) However
Answers:
1) C)
There are two ideas in this sentence. The first is that (during sex) the speaker likes to have the lights on. The second is that the speaker's girlfriend likes to have the lights off. You can use "whereas" when two conflicting ideas are in the same sentence. You can use "however" when you have already expressed one of the ideas. See question 3).
2) A)
You could use "however" here-- if, and only if, there were a setence before it that said something like "Kimono condoms are getting expensive". Since there is nothing like that, you can say "no matter what". This shows that anything at all can happen and the speaker will still buy kimono condoms.
3) E)
This is similar to question 1). But since the ideas are in different sentences, using "whereas" won't work. The first sentence is one idea and the second sentence is a different idea. Therefore, this is a great place to use "however".
4) D)
Think of "accordingly" as being the same as "therefore". I find "accordingly" to be a weirder, more awkward word. You should understand it, but I'd advise you to use "however". "No matter what" might be a possibility here. But really, there is nothing to suggest that the speaker won't be able to masturbate when (s)he returns home. So "accordingly" is the best choice.
5) B)
"Due to the fact that" is similar to "therefore", you just put it in a different part of the sentence. We could rewrite question 4) as "Due to the fact that I felt really turned on in the movie theatre, as soon as I get home I'm going to masturbate". Or we could rewrite question 5) as "The mayor had an affair with his daughter-in-law. Therefore, he was forced to resign."