WRITING 137 one. He was in the army. He didn’t like to talk much so that’s part of why I was so surprized. One question I had, was, why did he fight. He said he didn’t like the government and they’d take you away for just saying that. I can’t imagine such a thing. I would want to fight to. That’s not the way it is in France or America. This is a really grate country and I’m glad to live here. CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS ■ Review the list of TOEFL exam writing prompts at www.toefl.org. ■ Time yourself and practice writing essays about several prompts. ■ Familiarize yourself with the scoring system and the criteria for a top-rated essay. ■ Do not write about a topic other than the one assigned to you. If you write about a different topic, you will receive a score of 0. ■ Plan on writing five paragraphs: an introduction, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. ■ Aim to write about three to four sentences in each paragraph. ■ Give yourself about 5–10 minutes to plan, 15–20 minutes to write, and 5 minutes to proofread your essay. ■ The prewriting process includes stating your thesis, brainstorming, and outlining. ■ Use your outline to organize your essay and fill in gaps where supporting details are needed. ■ Proofread for grammatical errors and word choice; do not revise or rewrite. . the busiest testing months are October, November, December, April, and May. The paper test is given less frequently and is available in fewer locations. At the time of publication, the test dates. not all test locations are open on all dates. Con- tact your Regional Registration Center (RRC) to ask about avail- able test dates. REGISTRATION FOR THE COMPUTER TEST To schedule a test date. of $65 if you contact the testing center within the proper time frame and fill out a Refund Request Form (available in the exam bulletin). SCORING: THE COMPUTER TEST Test takers of the computer