Clues to Beating the TOEFL iBT Exam
Finally you have gotten some courage and put some dollars together, you are planning on taking the TOEFL iBT Exam. Using these questions and answers will help you to design an effective study plan that will assist you to increase your score.
“How do I prepare for the reading section?” To score high, you need to improve your ability to understand university-level texts and reading passages. Therefore, frequently reading academic texts in natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and business provides excellent preparation. The Internet is a great resource for these materials; also, in libraries, you can check out books, magazines, and journals that are academic in style. Consequently, the more academic the reading material is, the more it will prepare you.
“How do I prepare for the listening section?” In order for you to score high on the exam, you should work to improve your overall listening comprehension proficiency. Just like the reading section, you should practice listening in a variety of academic subjects from natural sciences to business. Using the Internet or CD’s as resources, focus on taking notes as you listen intently for the main ideas and critical supporting points.
“How do I prepare for the speaking section?” If you want to score higher on the speaking section on familiar topics, begin by making a list of possible topics and practice speaking about them: “Describe one of your favorite vacation memories” and “Describe someone important in your life who has influenced you” are some examples of familiar speaking tasks. You should practice aloud giving 1 minute voice-recorded answers to these types of speaking assignments.
In order for you to score high on the speaking section on topics based on reading passages and lectures, look for any college textbook that has discussion questions at the back of the chapter. Practice reading the chapter, taking notes, and orally answer the discussion questions. Also, you should read a lot of short 100-200 word articles. You can locate these articles on the Internet, in the library, or in a TOEFL E-book. After reading the article once, create a quick outline including the major points, then use the outline to orally capsulize the information, after that add more detail to the outline and orally capsulize again. Focusing on your listening skills, use the Internet, the library, or a TOEFL E-book to identify additional listening and reading texts on similar topics. it does not matter if the material provides similar or opposing points of view. After taking notes on the listening and the reading materials, you should orally capsulize and synthesize the information. Remember to practice giving 1 minute voice-recorded responses.
“How do I prepare for the writing section?” To score high on the writing section on familiar topics, create a list of familiar topics and practice writing about them: “Describe your favorite vacation destination and “Describe an important person who has influenced you” are representative of familiar Independent Writing topics for the TOEFL iBT. You could also practice by stating an opinion or a preference and then by presenting reasons clearly and in detail. “Which do you think is better: living on campus in dorms or off campus in apartments?” is representative of an opinion-preference writing topic. Practice planning, writing, and revising each essay within the 30 minute time limit.
If you want to score higher on the writing section for questions based on reading passages and lectures; look for a general college textbook that has discussion questions near the end of the chapters. Simply read the chapter completely, take notes as you read, and then practice writing responses to those questions. Also, it is helpful to read any 300 to 400 word article and write down an outline of the major ideas and significant details. Use the outline to write a summary of the content and ideas of the article. Lastly, it is important to be able to determine the differences among the following methods of citation: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. The best tip is to consistently practice planning, writing, and revising each answer within the 20 minute time period allowed by the test.