在一開始接觸托福寫作時，很多人都不大知道到底寫作的重點在哪邊，也不知道要如何透過一開始要先讀的文章幫助自己深入了解聽力部分的資訊，因此一直無法將寫作分數提高。
首先，先來從托福的官方解說來瞭解一下這個部分吧：
• that their response will be evaluated for content (accuracy and completeness), and for appropriate use of language and sentence structure;
• that their response should show that they understand the major ideas and important information in the passage and lecture, and their relationship; and
• that “This writing task is not asking for your opinion; it is asking you to give an answer, in an organized and well-written way, based on the information in the passage you read and short lecture you heard.”
• that typically an effective response would be 150-225 words.
整合寫作評分的第一個重點是是以考生的回答是否「精確」以及「完整」來評分。也就是說，如果你漏聽了什麼資訊而沒有寫上去，很有可能就會因此失分。另一個評分重點則是在文句的使用上，如果千篇一律，都只是使用一樣的文章結構，那也無法拿到高分。
第二個重點則是考生寫出來的文章能不能顯示出考生真的知道閱讀與聽力的「重點」在哪邊，這兩造間的「關係」又是什麼。也就是說，考生是不是有能力抓到：
一、文章中的三個論證的前提、推論、與結論
二、聽力如何攻擊這三個論證（否定前提還是否定推論？）
此外，第三點也提到了考生需要注意，這個整合寫作一點也不在意考生個人的意見，反而，考生寫了自己的意見（這個論證太爛了！應該聽我的～）可能會失分。這是因為，這種整合寫作只是要求考生整合出寫作與聽力提到的訊息，並不是問考生的意見。提出自己的意見反而變成了離題。
最後一點則是整合寫作大概多少字，托福的官方說法是150-225個英文字。這並不是說，湊到了這樣的字數或者更多就可以拿到高分（不然你也可以複製貼上我好帥五十次，看會拿幾分），而是說，如果你真的寫到了閱讀與聽力的重點，並且解釋清楚聽力與閱讀之間的關係，那你最少最少要有150字。當然，寫的越細緻就會越多字，字數超過他的建議字數並沒有關係。
初步了解這些以後，那我們可以怎麼見招拆招呢？
首先我們要先瞭解一下所謂的論證是什麼。一般而言，論證不會是以一種「地球是上帝創造的！」這樣的形式出現，括號裡說到的，其實是一種宣稱、斷言。論證一般而言，會有前提與結論，我們可以透過邏輯規則、判斷其前提是真是假來瞭解一個論證是否有效、是否健全（這邊不是在上基本邏輯課，所以就不再繼續說下去了。）。
好比說：
前提一：如果是人，就會死
前提二：蘇格拉底是人
結論：蘇格拉底會死
根據基本的邏輯推論，如果前提一、前提二都是對的，那我們可以推論結論是對的。
如果你不滿意，當然，你可以攻擊這個論證。你可以否定前提一，宣稱並不是所有人都會死，這中間的「如果…就會」中間並沒有這麼緊密的關聯（哲學術語來說，就是「如果」所帶到的條件，並不是「就會」怎麼樣的「充分條件」），這就是我先前說的，你可以透過攻擊「推論」來反駁別人的論證。如果你不想攻擊前提一，你也可以攻擊前提二，宣稱蘇格拉底不是人，如果蘇格拉底不是人的話，那當然，我們就不能肯定的推論出「蘇格拉底會死」這個結論，我們也無法知道這到底是真是假。
我們就繼續拿托福官方範例來當例子吧！
In many organizations, perhaps the best way to approach certain new projects is to assemble a group of people into a team. Having a team of people attack a project offers several advantages. First of all, a group of people has a wider range of knowledge, expertise, and skills than any single individual is likely to possess. Also, because of the numbers of people involved and the greater resources they possess, a group can work more quickly in response to the task assigned to it and can come up with highly creative solutions to problems and issues. Sometimes these creative solutions come about because a group is more likely to make risky decisions that an individual might not undertake. This is because the group spreads responsibility for a decision to all the members and thus no single individual can be held accountable if the decision turns out to be wrong. Taking part in a group process can be very rewarding for members of the team. Team members who have a voice in making a decision will no doubt feel better about carrying out the work that is entailed by that decision than they might doing work that is imposed on them by others. Also, the individual team member has a much better chance to “shine,” to get his or her contributions and ideas not only recognized but recognized as highly significant, because a team’s overall results can be more far-reaching and have greater impact than what might have otherwise been possible for the person to accomplish or contribute working alone.
讀完這篇後，我們會發現，這篇文章提到的「論點」，都是在支持「團隊合作好棒棒」這個結論。
第一個論點著重在多樣化的專業背景：
前提一：如果有團隊，就會有不一樣專業的人。
前提二：如果有不一樣專業的人，就可以快速應對不同的事情。
前提三：如果可以快速應對不同的事情，就可以有好棒棒的工作效率
結論：團隊合作好棒棒
第二個論點則是專注在解決問題上：
前提一：如果有團隊，就會有不只一個人參與解決問題
前提二：如果不只一個人參與解決，就會分散應當付的決策責任
前提三：如果責任分散了，團隊成員就會更勇於做出比較冒險的好棒棒決策
結論：團隊合作好棒棒
第三個論點則是以展現工作表現為賣點：
前提一：如果有團隊，就有人可以幫忙一起實現自己的決策
前提二：如果有人可以幫忙一起實現自己的決策，就會讓自己覺得很爽工作效率高就能好棒棒
前提三：如果有人可以幫忙一起實現自己的決策，會可以集合眾人力量，達到超過個人計畫所能發揮的好棒棒成果進而大放光彩
結論：團隊合作好棒棒
那聽力部分怎麼說呢？
(Professor) Now I want to tell you about what one company found when it decided that it would turn over some of its new projects to teams of people, and make the team responsible for planning the projects and getting the work done. After about six months, the company took a look at how well the teams performed. On virtually every team, some members got almost a “free ride” … they didn’t contribute much at all, but if their team did a good job, they nevertheless benefited from the recognition the team got. And what about group members who worked especially well and who provided a lot of insight on problems and issues? Well…the recognition for a job well done went to the group as a whole, no names were named. So it won’t surprise you to learn that when the real contributors were asked how they felt about the group process, their attitude was just the opposite of what the reading predicts. Another finding was that some projects just didn’t move very quickly. Why? Because it took so long to reach consensus...it took many, many meetings to build the agreement among group members about how they would move the project along. On the other hand, there were other instances where one or two people managed to become very influential over what their group did. Sometimes when those influencers said “That will never work” about an idea the group was developing, the idea was quickly dropped instead of being further discussed. And then there was another occasion when a couple influencers convinced the group that a plan of theirs was “highly creative.” And even though some members tried to warn the rest of the group that the project was moving in directions that might not work, they were basically ignored by other group members. Can you guess the ending to *this* story? When the project failed, the blame was placed on all the members of the group.
在一開始，聽力部分的講者就說了閱讀部分的推論有問題。
第一個問題是free-rider的問題，基本上就是挑戰了上面提到第一個論點所說的的有很多人的話工作就會比較有效率。人多，工作不一定有效率。申論：因為有的人可以當團隊的寄生蟲，什麼事情也不做也可以以「團隊成員」的身份拿到好處。
第二個問題則是決策時間，他挑戰的是第二個論點中的人多就可以比較產生有創意的、冒險的解決方案。人多，不一定就比較能快速解決問題。申論：人多口雜，要達成共識就要很久了。
第三個問題則是有影響力的人對團隊可能造成的傷害，他挑戰的是第三個論點中的跟其他人一起工作的話，可以透過讓別人執行自己的計畫獲得成就感，進而有更好的工作效率。在團隊中，不見得每個人都有一樣的機會一展長才。申論：有些人會汲汲營營的要當「領導人」，這些人很可能會很武斷地說別人的點子都不好，自己的點子最有創意，反而將團隊推向失敗的懸崖。
我們可以充分地看到，聽力部分的內容，都是依照閱讀部分的論證去進行攻擊。在這篇範例中，聽力部分其實沒有說閱讀部分的推論通通都是錯誤的，而是說閱讀部分少考慮到了很多因素。也因此，寫作的重點就在於如何說明聽力部分對閱讀部分的反駁。事實上，仔細看一下托福官方網站的範本，整合部分的寫作指示不是別的，就是：Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on points made in the reading. 另外一點重點是，閱讀部分的文章在聽力結束以後，依然會出現在螢幕的左側讓考生參考，如果考生一直寫閱讀部分的東西而沒有討論聽力部分是怎麼反駁閱讀，那分數當然不會高（都放在螢幕上給考生看了，考生如果這麼做，充其量只能說很會換句話說，而不能說真的理解了聽力內容。）
我們也可以從官方範文中的範例答案知道，要拿到好成績真的不可能寫不到150字，兩篇benchmark為5的範文分別有242, 299個英文字。
需要特別注意的是，可能是因為ETS太懶惰了，一直都沒有將官方範文更新，其實現在的整合寫作，閱讀的部分一定是分列為四段：簡介、論證一、論證二、論證三。而聽力部分也是依序攻擊論證一、論證二、論證三。所以，只要在閱讀時可以先抓出論證的推論重點，聽力部分就能守株待兔，馬上掌握關鍵申論。
我們以TPO22來做範例
第一段就是在介紹乙醇燃料，然後用however帶出乙醇作為燃料也是有很多人在批評
Ethanol fuel, made from plants such as corn and sugar cane, has been advocated by some people as an alternative to gasoline in the United States. However, many critics argue that ethanol is not a good replacement for gasoline for several reasons.
第二段馬上利用主題句說出第一個批評：全球暖化
其中的推論重點在於：燒乙醇還是會有二氧化碳，因此沒有比傳統石油好
First, the increased use of ethanol fuel would not help to solve one of the biggest environmental problems caused by gasoline use: global warming. Like gasoline, ethanol releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it is burned for fuel and carbon dioxide is greenhouse gas: it helps trap heat in the atmosphere. Thus, ethanol offers no environmental advantage over gasoline.
第三段也是馬上在主題句引入批評：減少動物糧食
主要論證建構在：乙醇是用動物的食料製造，如果要做乙醇就不能給動物吃，要給動物吃就不能做乙醇，所以乙醇會跟動物競爭資源，減少動物糧食
Second, the production of significant amounts of ethanol would dramatically reduce the amount of plants available for uses other fuel. For example, much of the corn now grown in the United States is used to feed farm animals such as cows and chickens. It is estimated that if ethanol were used to satisfy just 10 percent of the fuel needs in the United States, more than 60 percent of the corn currently grown in the united stated would have to be used to produce ethanol. If most of the corn were used to produce ethanol, a substantial source of food for animals would disappear.
第四段當然還是馬上透過主題說名批評：太貴
論據在於：目前的乙醇燃料要政府補貼才有競爭力，要是政府不補貼了，乙醇燃料就玩完了。
Third, ethanol fuel will never be able to compete with gasoline on price. Although the prices of ethanol and gasoline for the consumer are currently about the same, this is only because of the help in the form of tax subsidies given to ethanol producers by the United States government. These tax subsidies have cost the United States government over $11 billion in the past 30 years. If the United States government were to stop helping producers in this way, the price of ethanol would increase greatly.
聽力部分的結構也非常相似：開頭、論證一、論證二、論證三
開宗明義就說乙醇其實還是很不錯的替代品
Ethanol actually is a good alternative to gasoline, although you just read three reasons why it’s not a good alternative, not one of these three reasons is convincing.
論證一：不會加劇全球暖化
不否認燒乙醇會有二氧化氮，但指出文章少考慮到其他因素，亦即乙醇燃料的原物料生長時會吸收二氧化碳。因為生長時會吸收，所以總碳排還是比燒傳統汽油好。
First, the increased use of Ethanol fuel will not add to global warming. It’s true that, when Ethanol is burned, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but as you read, Ethanol is often made from plants such as corn. Well, the process of growing the plants counteracts this release of carbon dioxide. Let me explain. Every growing plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as part of its nutrition. So growing plants for Ethanol production actually removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
論證二：不會跟動物競爭食物
否定閱讀中的大前提，也就是做乙醇燃料的東西跟動物吃的是一樣的東西。乙醇燃料用的其實是動物不吃的。
Second, large scale production of Ethanol doesn’t have to reduce the sources of food for animals. That’s because we can produce Ethanol using cellulose, cellulose is the main component of plants’ cell walls, and you’ll find most cellulose in those parts of plants that are not eaten by animals. So, since we can produce Ethanol from the plant parts that aren’t eaten, the amount of animal feed that is available will not be reduced.
論證三：價格不會永遠那麼貴
不否認現在需要補助，但指出那也可能「只是現在」。未來只要越來越多使用者，就能刺激產能，就能促使價格下降。
Third, in the future, Ethanol will be able to compete with gasoline in terms of price. It’s true that government subsidies make Ethanol cheaper than it would normally be, but this support won’t always be needed. Once enough people start buying Ethanol, Ethanol producers will increase their production of Ethanol. Generally, increased production of products leads to a drop in its price. So the price of Ethanol will go down as more of it becomes available. Studies show that, if Ethanol production could be three times greater than it is now, the cost of producing a unit of Ethanol will drop by forty percent.
這樣的「標準化」題目，使得托福的整合寫作其實比想像中的要來得容易很多。只要把握著「永遠只有三個論證」、「聽力永遠都在攻擊那三個論」這兩大重點，透過簡單的邏輯分析，我們在閱讀文章的時候就可以將一個一個邏輯段落標記出來，等到聽力的時候，馬上將攻擊的重點標記上去，這麼一來，就能很輕鬆地達成這個大提的寫作指示了。
