Overused Phrases in TOEFL Speaking That Hurt Your Score

TOEFL Speaking raters evaluate hundreds of responses every week. After years of this work, certain phrases become so familiar that they essentially become white noise—signals that a test-taker is relying on memorized templates rather than demonstrating genuine English proficiency.

This critical audit identifies the most overused phrases in TOEFL Speaking responses and explains why they hurt scores. More importantly, it provides authentic alternatives that demonstrate the language flexibility raters actually reward when evaluating TOEFL speaking templates and responses.

Why Overused Phrases Damage Scores

The problem with clichéd phrases is not that they are grammatically wrong. The problem is threefold:

Problem 1: They Signal Template Dependence

When raters hear "In my opinion, I think that..." for the thousandth time, they recognize a memorized opening rather than spontaneous language production. This matters because TOEFL Speaking assesses your ability to communicate in English, not your ability to memorize phrases.

Problem 2: They Waste Precious Time

With only 45-60 seconds to respond, every word matters. Filler phrases consume time that could be spent developing ideas with specific details and reasoning.

Problem 3: They Prevent Natural Discourse Flow

Rigid templates create choppy, artificial-sounding responses. Natural speech flows; templated speech plods from phrase to phrase.

The Most Overused Openings

"In my opinion, I think that..."

This phrase is doubly redundant. "In my opinion" and "I think" mean the same thing. Worse, it is the single most common opening in TOEFL Speaking responses.

Why it persists: Test-takers feel they need to explicitly signal that they are giving an opinion.

Better alternatives:

• Simply state your position: "Working in groups offers significant advantages."
• Use a concessive opening: "While both options have merit, group work provides unique benefits."
• Start with your reasoning: "The collaborative skills developed through group work prove valuable throughout one's career."

"There are many reasons why..."

This phrase promises reasoning without delivering it. Raters hear it constantly and have learned that it often precedes weak development.

Better alternatives:

• Name the reasons directly: "Two factors make this approach preferable: efficiency and skill development."
• Start with your strongest reason: "The primary advantage is the immediate feedback that classroom interaction provides."
• Use a specific frame: "From both practical and developmental perspectives, this choice makes sense."

"I strongly agree/disagree with the statement that..."

The word "strongly" adds nothing. Raters assess the strength of your argument through your reasoning, not through adverb intensity.

Better alternatives:

• State your position cleanly: "University students benefit from required physical education courses."
• Acknowledge complexity: "While reasonable people disagree, the evidence supports mandatory physical education."
• Frame the issue: "The question of required courses involves balancing student autonomy against institutional responsibility."

The Most Overused Transitions

"First... Second... Third..."

This numbering system is not wrong, but it becomes mechanical when used identically in every response. It also forces a rigid structure that may not suit every topic.

Better alternatives:

• "The most compelling reason is... Beyond this, there is also... Finally, we should consider..."
• "To begin with... Additionally... Perhaps most importantly..."
• "One significant factor is... A related consideration is... This connects to a broader point about..."

"On the other hand..."

Overused in attempts to show balanced thinking. Often appears even when the speaker is not actually presenting a contrasting view.

Better alternatives:

• "From a different perspective..."
• "However, this must be weighed against..."
• "The counterargument suggests..."
• "Critics of this view point out..."

"Last but not least..."

This cliché signals that the speaker is wrapping up but adds nothing meaningful. Raters have heard it thousands of times.

Better alternatives:

• "A final consideration is..."
• "Perhaps the most overlooked factor is..."
• "This connects to one more important point..."

The Most Overused Examples

"For example, my friend..."

Vague friend examples appear in countless responses. They rarely provide compelling evidence because they lack specificity.

Why it persists: Test-takers believe personal examples are required and default to generic friend scenarios.

Better approaches:

• Make examples specific: "In my economics study group last semester, explaining supply curves to struggling members actually deepened my own understanding."
• Use hypothetical scenarios: "Consider a student balancing work and coursework—flexible online scheduling becomes essential."
• Reference general patterns: "Research consistently shows that active recall outperforms passive review."

"When I was young..."

Childhood examples often feel disconnected from academic topics. They also risk sounding naive rather than analytical.

Better approaches:

• Use recent, relevant experiences: "In my current program, collaborative projects have proven more challenging but more rewarding than individual assignments."
• Reference academic contexts: "University courses that incorporate discussion produce deeper engagement than pure lecture formats."

The Most Overused Conclusions

"In conclusion..."

This phrase is fine in writing but sounds overly formal in 45-second spoken responses. It also wastes time that could be spent reinforcing your argument.

Better alternatives:

• "Ultimately..."
• "For these reasons..."
• "Taking these factors together..."
• Simply restate your position without announcement: "Group work, despite its challenges, builds skills that independent study cannot provide."

"That is why I think..."

Repetitive when the entire response has been explaining why you think something.

Better alternatives:

• "This analysis points to..."
• "The evidence clearly supports..."
• "These considerations make the case for..."

Overused Phrases in Integrated Tasks

"The reading passage states that..."

While you must reference sources, this mechanical phrasing sounds like reporting rather than synthesizing.

Better alternatives:

• "According to the announcement..."
• "The university's proposal involves..."
• "The passage introduces the concept of..."

"The speaker/student agrees/disagrees..."

Accurate but bland. Higher-scoring responses show how the speaker engages with the reading.

Better alternatives:

• "The student challenges this policy by arguing..."
• "The speaker supports the change, pointing to..."
• "The student's objection centers on..."

"The professor gives an example of..."

Describes without analyzing. Strong responses explain how examples connect to concepts.

Better alternatives:

• "The professor illustrates this concept through..."
• "To demonstrate this principle, the lecture describes..."
• "This phenomenon appears in the lecture's example of..."

Building Natural Language Flexibility

The solution to template dependence is not memorizing better templates—it is developing genuine language flexibility. Here is how to do that when working on speaking templates for TOEFL:

Strategy 1: Variety Practice

For the same prompt, practice three different openings, three different transition styles, and three different conclusions. This builds flexibility rather than dependence.

Strategy 2: Spontaneous Response Training

Practice responding to prompts without any preparation time. This forces genuine language production rather than template retrieval.

Strategy 3: Phrase Banking with Variations

Instead of memorizing single phrases, memorize phrase families:

Opening family: "The central issue here is... / What makes this significant is... / This question touches on..."

Transition family: "Building on this... / A related point is... / This connects to..."

Conclusion family: "Ultimately... / Taking everything into account... / For these reasons..."

Strategy 4: Listen to Natural Academic Speech

Notice how professors and lecturers actually introduce ideas, transition between points, and summarize arguments. Their language is sophisticated but not formulaic.

What Raters Actually Want to Hear

Raters are not looking for impressive phrases. They evaluate:

• Relevance: Does the response address the prompt directly?
• Development: Are ideas explained with reasoning and examples?
• Coherence: Do ideas connect logically?
• Language use: Is vocabulary appropriate and varied?
• Delivery: Is the response clear and fluid?

Notice that "uses sophisticated transitional phrases" does not appear on this list. A response with simple but natural language that develops ideas well will outscore a response with memorized phrases but weak development.

Practical Exercise: Phrase Audit

Record yourself responding to five different prompts. Then listen back and count:

• How many times do you use "In my opinion" or "I think that"?
• How many times do you say "First... Second... Third..."?
• How many times do you mention "my friend" without specific details?
• How many times do you say "In conclusion"?

If any phrase appears in more than two of five responses, you have a template dependence issue. Work on developing alternatives.

Conclusion

Overused phrases are comfortable precisely because they are familiar. But this comfort comes at a cost: raters recognize template dependence, and it limits your score ceiling.

The goal is not to avoid all common phrases—some transitions and structures are common because they work. The goal is flexibility: the ability to express ideas in multiple ways, to adapt your language to different topics, and to sound like someone communicating genuine thoughts rather than reciting memorized content.

Develop a repertoire of expressions rather than relying on a single TOEFL speaking template for each situation. Practice variety until natural language production replaces template retrieval. This flexibility is what distinguishes high-scoring responses from adequate ones.