152 Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN THE STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION SECTION IN TOEFL PREDICTION TEST Tira Nur Fitria* Institut Teknologi Bisnis AAS Indonesia ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the students’ ability and their opinions in doing the Structure and Written Expression (SWE) of the TOEFL Prediction test. The result suggests that, on the mean score, 136 non- regular students show a higher average score of 30.68 than 118 regular students’ score of 30.01; on the median score, both regular and non- regular students have the same median score of 36 out of 40 points; while on the range score, regular students have a minimum score of 4 to 40 correct answers, while non-regular students have a minimum score of 5 to 39 correct answers. Related to their opinions about the test, the students agree that SWE is the most difficult test, thus arguing that studying grammar is essential. Therefore, careful preparation is needed to achieve a maximum score on the test such as having sufficient knowledge of English grammar. Keywords: Structure and Written Expression (SWE); TOEFL ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kemampuan dan pendapat mahasiswa dalam mengerjakan tes TOEFL Prediction Structure and Writing Expression (SWE). Penelitian ini bersifat deskriptif kuantitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pada nilai rata-rata, 136 siswa non- reguler menunjukkan skor rata-rata lebih tinggi 30,68 dari 118 siswa reguler yang skornya 30,01. Dalam median skor, baik siswa reguler maupun non-reguler memiliki nilai median yang sama yaitu 36 dari 40 poin. Dalam rentang skor, siswa reguler memiliki skor minimal 4 sampai 40 jawaban benar. Siswa non-reguler memiliki skor minimal 5 hingga 39 jawaban yang benar. Terkait dengan pendapat mereka tentang tes tersebut, terlihat bahwa siswa setuju bahwa SWE adalah tes yang paling sulit, sehingga mempelajari grammar itu penting, 50 soal terlalu banyak, durasi mengerjakan tes terbatas, banyak kalimat kompleks, dan kata-kata asing. Sebagian besar siswa mempelajari materi SWE sebelum melakukan tes, tetapi mereka tidak melakukan latihan sebelumnya. Sebagian besar siswa mudah terganggu oleh lingkungan sekitar dan kehilangan konsentrasi saat mengerjakan tes. Diperlukan persiapan yang matang untuk mencapai nilai maksimal dalam ujian seperti memiliki pengetahuan tata bahasa Inggris yang cukup. Kata Kunci: Structure and Written Expression (SWE); TOEFL INTRODUCTION The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a test run by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to assess the English proficiency of non-native English speakers in the English language (Gear & Gear, 2002). It consists of three sections, namely listening, reading, and structure and writing expression. The TOEFL test's appropriate score depends on the particular criteria of the specific E-ISSN: 2621-9158 P-ISSN:2356-0401 *Correspondence: tirnufitria@gmail.com Submitted: 23 April 2021 Approved: 24 November 2021 Published: 11 December 2021 Citation: Fitria, T. N. (2021). Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 8(2), 152-163. Doi: 10.22219/celtic.v8i2.16373 Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index 153 organization or entity concerned. Until 1998, the TOEFL was only available in a paper-and-pencil-based test (Miller & Wheeler, 2003a). Some problems then arose because people taking the test were unfamiliar with the TOEFL. Furthermore, ETS realized the enormous financial benefits they could earn from transforming the paper-and-pencil TOEFL test into the Computer-Based Test (CBT). The Structure and Written Expression (SWE) section contains questions to test someone’s understanding and insights regarding the structural and grammatical standards of English (Fauzy et al., 2013). This part is meant to assess the ability to understand written English used in formal contexts (formal written English). In spoken communication, certain English terms can be accepted, but in written communication, let alone formal ones, they cannot be accepted or are not widely used. The structure of the written language section consists of two parts, the word structure and the written English expression (written expression). There are 40 questions in the Form and Written Language section, consisting of 15 structural questions (numbers 1 to 15) and 25 questions in written word questions (numbers 16 to 40). The time allocation to answer the 40 questions is 25 minutes. For some test-takers, the SWE section of the TOEFL test is considered the hardest part of the TOEFL test (Fitria, 2019), even though this section has the least number of questions (40 questions) compared to the Listening section (50 questions) and the Reading section (50 questions). The biggest difficulty faced by test takers is the limited time of 25 minutes to solve 40 questions, meaning that on average, participants or test- takers are only given 37.5 seconds to finish 1 question. Priyasudiarja (2019) also states that the SWE TOEFL aims to test the test takers’ knowledge about the use of correct grammar in English. According to Dixon (2011), grammar is a key component for learning to use English well. It is supported by Fitria (2018) and Fitria (2019), who claim that grammar is the rule of a language. Learning grammar is important, especially to improve writing skills and understand more complicated language structures. It means that grammar is about how to use a language correctly by following the rules (Suparmi, 2015). Similarly, Nelson and Greenbaum (2018) opine that grammar is central to language which mediates between the system of sounds or written symbols and the sensor system. Grammar deals with the way words are put together to achieve clear communication such as in writing (Antony, 2016). This is based on the consideration that someone who is engaged in academics will be involved in many writing activities, such as writing research reports, essays, scientific journals, or other written works. Therefore, the gain value in this section can be used as a reference to discover to what extent someone can understand the sentence structure and grammar in English properly and correctly (Fitria, 2020). In the SWE TOEFL section, the test-takers may face difficulty in passing it. As stated by Munadia (2016), the difficulties are on certain aspects of grammar in structure and written language. Furthermore, there are four reasons that affect the difficulties, including the lack of grammar capacity, the absence of vocabulary mastery, distraction, and less practice. This is supported by other personal issues, such as lack of practice and lack of grammatical competence (Ubaedillah, 2020). For most students in one of the institutes in Surakarta, Central Java, where this study took place, achieving an adequate TOEFL score is not easy, considering that the campus does not have teachers with English Education backgrounds or other Tira Nur Fitria Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test 154 related study programs. Many students have never learned how to do the TOEFL test. However, in the fifth semester, the TOEFL course is an important subject that students must take. The TOEFL prediction test certificate is used as a requirement to take the final exam and thesis. The biggest difficulty is of course the TOEFL itself which is known to have a high level of difficulty. External and internal factors in the TOEFL process are no less important such as observing and understanding students’ behavior and motivation when the students are doing the TOEFL test. To understand more about the nature of the TOEFL test especially its Structure and Written Expression (SWE) section, the following section discusses both in detail. Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) According to Murray and Christison (2010), TOEFL offers both internet and paper-based testing. The exam is an indirect indicator of how test-takers read, listen, and write English. The official TOEFL test is offered in two formats, Internet-based TOEFL (iBT) and Paper-based TOEFL (PBT). The IBT is given on a computer, and the PBT is given with paper and pencil (Hasik et al., 2008). The format of the test depends on the test center location where the test-takers register. During its development, the TOEFL has several versions, namely paper-based (PBT), internet- based (IBT), and computer-based (CBT). The three of them can be used as a requirement for students’ admission to schools abroad as well as measuring the level of English proficiency. In addition, TOEFL is also available in the form of an Institutional Testing Program (ITP) for students with intermediate and advanced levels of English. Even so, the four have differences, both in structure, period, and minimum score limits. In determining the students’ levels related to the generally accepted standards of English competence, one of the best-known systems of international proficiency tests is TOEFL test (Davies & Pearse, 2000). Some professional licensing and certificating agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency (Sharpe, 2020). It is also supported by Dulan (2012) who states that most institutions accept scores of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). TOEFL is one of the English language proficiency tests besides TOEIC and IELTS (Stirling, 2015). The TOEFL test is used by scholarship selection committees of governments, institutions, universities, and agencies as a standard of the English proficiency of the candidates. The TOEFL Structure and Written Expression help to test the ability to recognize written English used in formal contexts (formal written English). In spoken communication, certain English terms can be accepted, but in written communication, they cannot be accepted or are not widely used. Structure and Written Expression (SWE) TOEFL Structure section consists of two types of questions, Sentence Completion and Error Identification (Miller & Wheeler, 2003b). While, according to Widiastuty et al. (2020), there are two types of structure and written language, which are structure and written expression. Ang-zie (2020) states that Part A (structure) consists of 15 questions designed to test someone’s ability to recognize the correct language used in the language Standard written English. These fifteen questions consist of incomplete sentences, under each sentence (question item), Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index 155 test-takers will see four choices (A, B, C, or D) in the form of a word or phrase. They have to choose one of the four choices to complete the sentence. Next, Part B (written expression) consists of 25 questions in the form of sentences, where each sentence has four outlined words or phrases and is marked with the letters (A), (B), (C), or (D). Test-takers are asked to choose one of the four words or phrases that must be changed to make the sentence correct (Bailey, 2001). In SWE, there are two kinds of questions, sentence completion and error identification. In sentence completion questions, the test-takers are required to find the correct answer to complete the blank sentences. While in error identification questions, the underlined words or phrases ask the test takers to identify the wrong answer. Even though SWE is a section with the least number of questions (40 questions) compared to the listening section (50 questions) and the reading section (50 questions), this section does require extra precision and knowledge, not just guessing what words are the most comfortable to read. It requires analysis of standardized formulas. In addition, several studies had been conducted related to various problems encountered by the students in SWE, among others, Hajri et al. (2018) who recognized the difficulties of the students in referring to TOEFL's structure and written expressions and to analyze the causes of the errors of the students. Also, Thiel (2019) examined which skills of the TOEFL were challenging for students, and Kholidi (2018) found the skill of the students in TOEFL's SWE section and the kinds of SWE section products that caused the problems. Also, Muhajir (2018) explored the difficulties experienced by learners tested in PBT (Fitria, 2021), and Handayani (2019) studied the difficulties of nursing students in the section of the form and written expressions in the Paper-Based TOEFL. Finally, Hadi (2020) examined the difficulties of students in Structure and Written Expressions on Paper-Based TOEFL. Those previous studies have a similar focus on the SWE TOEFL section and its difficulties, but there are differences between those studies and the current study, which is the objectives of the current study. Previous studies focused on the question items related to the difficulty in grammar aspects which include the internal factor, while this study focuses on the students’ perception in doing the SWE TOEFL section based on internal and external factors that influence the students’ difficulty in doing the section. Based on the explanation stated previously, the researcher is interested in investigating the SWE section of the TOEFL Prediction Test. Thus, the researcher formulates the objective of this study as to know the students’ ability and their perceptions towards the TOEFL prediction test of the Structure and Written Expressions (SWE) section. METHOD This study uses descriptive quantitative method. The descriptive quantitative method is used to describe or explain events or an event happening at this time in the form of meaningful numbers. Descriptive statistical analysis is a statistic used to analyze data by describing data that have been collected without intending to draw conclusions that apply to generalization. To know students' ability in dealing with TOEFL SWE, this study uses a test using Google Form. The purpose of the test is to collect as much information as possible (Rubin & Chisnell, 2011). The tests are in forms of sentence completion and Tira Nur Fitria Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test 156 error identification questions, covering 15 questions for sentence completion in which the students were expected to find the correct answer; and 25 questions for error identification questions, in which the students were expected to look for the incorrect answer from the underlined words in sentences. In this research, the researcher shares the test using Google Forms. Through the Google form, points are awarded for SWE section questions in the form of Multiple Choice. By providing an answer key and determining the number of points at the time of question creation, Google Forms can automatically provide points for each question. So, the researcher only describes the details of the points obtained by the students in the SWE section. In addition, the researcher uses a questionnaire to investigate the students’ perception when doing the SWE section test. There are 15 questions in the questionnaire relating to the student’s perception about the structure and written expression in TOEFL with two options of “Yes/No” questions. In these two answer choices, respondents can fill out a questionnaire according to the available alternative answers. Besides, the data is also obtained quickly at the time of data collection. The respondents are students of ITB AAS Indonesia, consisting of regular and non-regular classes. There are 118 students from a regular class (A), while 136 students from a non-regular class (B). In this study, the researcher used the data analysis technique. There are several interrelated steps used in the process of analysing the quantitative data (Creswell, 2012). The first step is to prepare the data for analysis. Typically, the researcher conducts a descriptive analysis of the data reporting measures of central tendency. The next step is to report the results found using tables, figures, and discussion of the key results. Finally, the researcher interprets the results from the data analysis that consists of the result summary descriptively. FINDINGS The objective of this study is to know the students’ ability and their perceptions towards the TOEFL prediction test of the SWE section. Below are the results of the data analysis. The Students’ Ability of Structure and Written Expression Test The table below shows the test’ result in Structure and Written Expression section in average, median, and range score from Google response. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index 157 Figure. 1 The Regular Students’ Correct Score in SWE Based on the TOEFL test of the regular students, it shows that the scoring average of the students is 30.01 out of 40 points, the median score is 36 out of 40 points, while the range score is 4 up to 40 points which means that the correct students’ answers are between 4 up to 40 correct answers. It indicates that the regular students have the lowest score of 4 (or 23 scores), and the highest score of 40 (or 68 scores). Figure 2. The Non-Regular Students’ Correct Score in SWE Meanwhile, based on the TOEFL test of the non-regular students, it indicates that the scoring average of the students is 30.68 out of 40 points, the median score is 36 out of 40 points, while the range score is 5 up to 39 points which means that the correct students’ answers are between 4 up to 40 correct answers. It confirms that the regular students have the lowest score of 5, and the highest score is 39 or 67 scores. The Students’ Opinions of SWE The table below describes the questionnaire result from the students’ perception towards the TOEFL as a whole and especially the Structure and Written Expression (SWE) section, as well as the internal and external factors that influence it. Table 1. The Result of Questionnaire from Regular Students NO STATEMENT RESPONSE Yes No 1. Structure and Written Expression is one of the most difficult tests in the TOEFL 85 (72 %) 33 (28 %) 2. There are a large number of Structure and Written Expression questions (consisting of 40 questions) 94 (79.7 %) 24 (20.3 %) 3. The total time duration for working on the Structure and Written Expression questions is limited to around 25 minutes 77 (65.3 %) 41 (34.7 %) 4. Learning grammar is important in taking the TOEFL Structure and Written Expression test 111 (94.1 %) 7 (5.9 %) 5. Grammar material on Structure and Written Expression is difficult to be learned 85 (72 %) 33 (28 %) Tira Nur Fitria Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test 158 6. The sentences in the Structure and Written Expression contain complex sentences that are difficult to understand 88 (74.6 %) 30 (25.4 %) 7. There are many foreign words in the Structure and Written Expression test questions 96 (81.4 %) 22 (18.6 %) 8. I Studied the Structure and Written Expression material before the TOEFL test 97 (82.2 %) 21 (17.8 %) 9. I had experience taking previous TOEFL tests 46 (39 %) 72 (61 %) 10. I did exercises on Structure and Written Expression before the TOEFL test 65 (55.1 %) 53 (44.9 5) 11. I got easily distracted by my surroundings when working on Structure and Written Expression questions 90 (76.3 %) 28 (23.7 %) 12. I easily lose concentration in working on Structure and Written Expression questions 80 (67.8 %) 38 (32.2 %) 13. I tend to choose easy questions first over difficult questions 109 (92.4 %) 9 (7.6 %) 14. I tend to interpret each word in the Structure and Written Expression questions 90 (76.3 %) 28 (23.7 %) Table 1 illustrates the regular students’ perception toward the Structure and Written Expression section. The table clearly shows that the researcher uses closed questionnaires which contain questions or statements that usually require respondents to answer with YES or NO. This closed questionnaire does not provide other alternatives to the respondents' possible answers so that they immediately received a definite answer. In the 1st statement, 85 students (72 %) agree that SWE is one of the most difficult tests in the TOEFL test. Then, in the 2nd statement, 94 students (79.7 %) agree that there are too many questions in the SWE section. In the 3rd statement, 77 students (65.3 %) agree that the time duration in doing the test is very limited to only 25 minutes for 40 questions, while in the 4th statement, 111 students (94.1 %) agree that learning/studying English grammar is important in doing the SWE section test. In the 5th statement, 85 students (72 %) agree that grammar is difficult to be learned, and in the 6th statement, 88 students (74.6 %) agree that SWE contain complex sentences. In the 7th statement, 96 (81.4 %) agree that there are many unfamiliar words in the SWE test, while in the 8th statement, 97 students (82.2 %) studied the material before doing the test. Next, in the 9th statement, 72 students (61 %) reported that they did not have experience in doing the TOEFL test before, and in the 10th statement, 65 students (55.1 %) respondents did the exercise before the test. In the 11th statement, 90 students (76.3 %) said that they were easily distracted by their surroundings when doing the test, while in the 12th statement, 90 students (76.3 %) said they were easy to lose concentration when doing the test. In the 13th statement, 109 students (92.4 %) reported that they tend to choose an easy question first over difficult questions, then in the 14th statement, 98 students (83.1 %) tend to choose short questions first. Lastly, in the 15th statement, 90 students (76.3 %) tend to interpret each word in a test. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index 159 Table 2. The Result of Questionnaire from Non-Regular Students NO STATEMENT RESPONSE Yes No 1. Structure and Written Expression is one of the most difficult tests in the TOEFL 103 (75.7 %) 33 (24.3 %) 2. There are a large number of Structure and Written Expression questions (consisting of 40 questions) 119 (87.5 %) 17 (12.5 %) 3. The total time duration for working on the Structure and Written Expression questions is limited to around 25 minutes 106 (77.9 %) 30 (22.1 %) 4. Learning grammar is important in taking the TOEFL Structure and Written Expression test 130 (95.6 %) 6 (4.4 %) 5. Grammar material on Structure and Written Expression is difficult to be learned 107 (78.7 %) 29 (21.3 %) 6. The sentences in the Structure and Written Expression contain complex sentences that are difficult to understand 99 (72.8 %) 37 (27.2 %) 7. There are many foreign words in the Structure and Written Expression test questions 125 (91.9 %) 11 (8.1 %) 8. Study the Structure and Written Expression material before the TOEFL test 99 (72.8 %) 37 (27.2 %) 9. Have experience taking previous TOEFL tests 60 (44.1 %) 76 (55.9 %) 10. Practice doing exercises on Structure and Written Expression before the TOEFL test 64 (47.1 %) 72 (52.9 %) 11. Easily distracted by your surroundings when working on Structure and Written Expression questions 111 (81.6 %) 25 (18.4 %) 12. Easily to lose concentration in working on Structure and Written Expression questions 102 (75 %) 34 (25 %) 13. Tending to choose easy questions first over difficult questions 124 (91.2 %) 12 (8.8 %) 14. Tending to choose short questions first over difficult questions 123 (90.4 %) 13 (9.6 %) 15. Tending to interpret each word in the Structure and Written Expression questions 118 (86.8 %) 18 (3.2 %) Table 2 represents the non-regular students’ perceptions toward the Structure and Written Expression section. In the 1st statement, 103 students (75.7 %) agree that SWE is one of the most difficult tests in the TOEFL, while in the 2nd statement, 119 students (87.5 %) agree that there are many questions in the Structure and Written Expression section. Next, in the 3rd statement, 106 students (77.9 %) agree that the time duration in doing the test is limited to only 25 minutes for 40 questions, and in the 4th statement, 130 students (95.6 %) students agree that learning/studying English grammar is important in doing the SWE test. In the 5th statement, 107 students (78.7 %) agree that grammar is difficult to be learned. In the 6th statement, 99 students (72.8 %) agree that SWE contain complex sentences. In the 7th statement, 125 students (91.9 %) agree that there are many unfamiliar words in the SWE test. In the 8th statement, 99 students (72.8 %) study the material before doing the test, while in the 9th statement, 76 students (55.9 %) said that they did not have experience in doing the TOEFL test before. In the 10th statement, 72 students (52.9 %) reported to not do the exercise before the test, while in the 11th Tira Nur Fitria Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test 160 statement, 111 students (81.6 %) said to be easily distracted by their surroundings when doing the test. Next, in the 12th statement, 102 students (75 %) reported to be easy to lose concentration when doing the test, while in the 13th statement, students (91.2 %) tend to choose an easy question first than the difficult questions. In the 14th statement, 123 students (90.4 %) said to tend to choose short questions first, and finally in the 15th statement, 118 students (86.8 %) said that they tend to interpret each word in a test. DISCUSSION Based on the findings from the online test of the Structure and Written Expressions section, it shows that there are differences in a test score. The regular students show that the scoring average is 30.01 out of 40 points, the median score is 36 out of 40 points, while the range score is 4 up to 40 points. It means that the correct students’ answers are in the range of 4 up to 40 correct answers, meaning that the regular students have the lowest score in 4, and the highest score in 40. While from the non-regular students, the average score of the students is 30.68 out of 40 points, the median score is 36 out of 40 points, while the range score is 5 up to 39 points, meaning that the correct students’ answers are between 4 up to 40 correct answers. It implies that the regular students have the lowest score of 5, and the highest score of 39, or most of the students’ answers are correct. The descriptions illustrate that in average score, non-regular students achieve a higher score of 30.68 than regular students’ score of 30.01. In the median score, both regular and non-regular students have identical median score of 36 out of 40 points. In the range score, regular students have a minimum score of 4 and a maximum score of 40, meaning that the students have a minimum score of 4 of the correct answer in a test and reach the perfect score of 40 of correct answers in the test. While non-regular students have a minimum score of 5 and a maximum score of 39, meaning that the students have a minimum score of 4 in the correct answer in a test and reach a score of 39 of correct answers in the test. Based on the findings from the questionnaire related to the students’ perception toward the Structure and Written Expression test, it shows that 118 regular students and 136 non-regular have similar and different opinions toward the Structure and Written Expression section. The similarities show that: 1) Most students agree that Structure and Written Expression is one of the most difficult tests in the TOEFL; 2) most students agree that there are many questions in the Structure and Written Expression section; 3) most students agree that the time duration in doing the test is very limited to only 25 minutes for 40 questions; 4) most students agree that learning/studying English grammar is important in doing the Structure and Written Expression test; 5) most students agree that grammar is difficult to learn; 6) most students agree that Structure and Written Expression contain complex sentences; 7) students agree that there are many unfamiliar words exist in the Structure and Written Expression test; 8) most students studied the material before doing the test; 9) most students did not do the exercise before the test; 10) most students were easily distracted by their surroundings when doing the test; 11) most students were easy to lose concentration when doing the test; 12) most students tend to choose an easy question first than difficult questions; 13) most students tend to choose short questions first; and 14) most students tend to Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2021 http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index 161 interpret each word in a test. Conversely, dealing with the differences, most regular students did the exercise before the test, while most non-regular did not do the exercise before the test. The findings confirm the previous studies investigating the problems and difficulties of Structure and Written Expression, such as Hajri et al. (2018) who analyzed the difficulties of the students in referring to TOEFL's structure and written expressions and to find the causes of the errors of the students, and Thiel (2019) who examined which skills on the TOEFL were challenging for students. Next, it is also related to the study by Kholidi (2018), who found the skill of the students in TOEFL's SWE section and the kinds of SWE section products that caused the problems, and Muhajir (2018) who explored the difficulties experienced by learners tested in PBT in mastering structure and written language. Then, it also supports the study by Handayani (2019) who studied the difficulties of nursing students in the section of the form and written expressions in the Paper-Based TOEFL, and Hadi (2020) who examined the difficulties of students in Structure and Written Language on Paper-Based TOEFL. Besides the grammar aspect, other factors influence the difficulty of doing the SWE section, such as the internal and external influences of non-English students leading to the difficulties (Kholidi, 2018). The problems emerge from the internal variables such as the students’ low degree of grammar use and their lack of grammar educational context. While the problems emerge from external factors, such as the time allocated is not appropriate for them, and their view of this section that TOEFL is more challenging than other sections. The problems also include poor knowledge of grammar, less concentration, lack of practice, and restricted vocabulary (Tilana et al., 2019). The other statements also indicate that the challenges of students arise from the comprehension of participants, participants’ issues, and lack of time for rehearsal. Some efforts done by the students to solve the problems were by applying appropriate rehearsal time and fostering comprehension of form and written language (Gina, 2019). The SWE section of the TOEFL requires ability to use proper and correct structure or grammar. To have good SWE skills, a person must have sufficient knowledge of reading and listening activities. Besides, other factors can also affect students' ability to do the SWE TOEFL section, including 1) the physical condition of someone who is doing the TOEFL test, in other words, if his/her physical condition is not healthy, then someone's concentration will be disturbed when carrying out the TOEFL test; 2) Motivation is the next factor which can produce additional energy in individuals, marked by the emergence of affective (feelings) and reactions to achieve goals; 3) Environmental factors, which can consist of family environment, school environment, and community environment; 4) Technical factors, namely things that are directly related to the implementation of the test; and lastly, 5) time, which is used by individuals in analyzing and planning the strategy to increase the benefits and efficiency of doing the TOEFL test. CONCLUSION The Structure and Written Expressions (SWE) of TOEFL consists of two sections, the sentence structure and the written expression, covering 40 questions of 15 structural questions (number 1 to 15) and 25 written expression questions Tira Nur Fitria Students’ ability in the Structure and Written Expression section in TOEFL prediction test 162 (number 16 to 40). It takes 25 minutes for those 40 questions to be answered. Many students state that the SWE is the hardest part of doing the TOEFL test. The structure and written expression section of the test requires intensive, planned, and gradual practices. Finally, further research is needed to find methods, techniques, and teaching materials that could speed up the mastery of the Structure and Written Expressions section of the TOEFL test. REFERENCES Ang-zie, M. K. (2020). 14 Exams In Preparation & Practice Test TOEFL. Genta Group Production. Antony, P. D. (2016). 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