Ask for information
Name the missing detail and ask for it politely.
ModelCould you share the observatory's weekend hours?
Use it well: A vague request may not get the answer you need.
The phrases that get things done in English: asking, offering, clarifying, arranging and stating a position. Thirty-six cards, each with a model sentence and a note on when it fits.
A lot of the TOEFL is about doing something with language, not just understanding it. The email task asks you to request, explain and propose. The academic discussion asks you to take and support a position. Listen and Choose a Response asks you to recognize what a speaker wants and pick the reply that fits.
These cards group the most useful moves by purpose. Each shows one natural way to perform the function and a note on tone, because the same request can sound polite to a classmate and too casual to a professor.
Most useful for: Listen and Choose a Response · Listen to a Conversation · Write an Email · Academic Discussion · Take an Interview
Name the missing detail and ask for it politely.
Use it well: A vague request may not get the answer you need.
State the action and any useful timing in a courteous request.
Use it well: Avoid assuming that the listener can agree immediately.
Ask whether you may take an action affecting someone else.
Use it well: Permission is different from requesting that person to act.
Offer an action you can realistically complete.
Use it well: An offer should leave the listener room to decline.
Make the proposed activity and time clear to the listener.
Use it well: The invitation should match the relationship and setting.
Specify which part of the task you are offering to handle.
Use it well: An unclear offer may create duplicate work.
Ask the speaker to repeat the part that was missed.
Use it well: A targeted request is easier to answer than general confusion.
Request another explanation when the words are audible but unclear.
Use it well: Repeating identical words may not resolve the problem.
Restate your understanding and let the other person confirm or correct it.
Use it well: Do not present an inference as an established fact.
Ask what a specific word means in this conversation.
Use it well: The term may have a local or technical sense.
State the corrected detail without blaming the other person.
Use it well: A brief repair usually keeps the exchange moving.
Pause after a complex explanation and invite a response.
Use it well: A yes answer may still hide uncertainty.
Choose a greeting that suits your relationship with the recipient.
Use it well: A brief greeting can establish a courteous tone before the purpose of the message.
Tell the recipient why you are writing near the opening.
Use it well: A lengthy background story can hide the request.
Add only details the reader needs to understand the situation.
Use it well: Personal history may distract from the requested outcome.
Describe the action or information you hope to receive.
Use it well: A complaint alone may leave the next step unclear.
When a request disrupts someone's plans, recognize the inconvenience briefly.
Use it well: Do not add a generic apology when the request causes no inconvenience.
End in a courteous way suited to the relationship.
Use it well: A closing cannot replace a clear request in the body.
Offer a specific meeting time that can be accepted or changed.
Use it well: Include the day when several dates are possible.
Ask whether a proposed slot works for the other person.
Use it well: Do not assume an unanswered invitation is confirmed.
Give the relevant conflict without unnecessary personal detail.
Use it well: A constraint is easier to use when it has a time boundary.
Provide another workable option after a scheduling conflict.
Use it well: An alternative should address the original purpose.
Repeat where or how the meeting will happen.
Use it well: An agreed time alone can still cause confusion.
Finish an arrangement by naming who will do what.
Use it well: A plan is clearer when responsibility is explicit.
Open with a clear response to the discussion question.
Use it well: A position can be qualified rather than absolute.
Show which earlier point your contribution responds to.
Use it well: Do not imply agreement if you mean only acknowledgment.
Connect your position to a reason the reader can evaluate.
Use it well: A reason needs a visible link to the claim.
Use an example that illustrates the reason you just gave.
Use it well: Keep the example tied to your point rather than introducing a new topic.
Name the specific point of disagreement and explain why.
Use it well: Avoid dismissing the person who wrote the earlier post.
Connect compatible parts of two positions into a next step.
Use it well: Do not pretend the views are identical if they differ.
Respond to the action requested, rather than an unrelated detail.
Use it well: The right response depends on speaker intent and context.
If you cannot decide now, say when you can answer.
Use it well: A delay should not sound like a definite promise.
Request the information required before you can act.
Use it well: The question should address the actual missing fact.
State briefly why the requested action is unavailable.
Use it well: An explanation can preserve a cooperative tone.
Provide another action that meets the speaker's underlying goal.
Use it well: The substitute should be possible in the setting.
Restate the agreed solution when several options were discussed.
Use it well: Confirmation prevents later confusion about the chosen plan.