Tips 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.
If you want to really score high on the speaking section on topics based on reading passages and lectures, locate a good college textbook that includes discussion points at the back end of the chapter. You should practice reading the chapter, taking good notes, and then practice aloud answering the discussion points. You should also practice reading short 100-200 word articles. You can locate many such articles on the Internet, in the library, or in a TOEFL E-book. Practice reading the article then making a brief overview which includes its main ideas. Afterwords, use the outline to practice summarizing the information aloud, then you can add more detail to the outline and summarize aloud again. With a focus on improving your listening skills, you can use the Internet, the library, or a TOEFL E-book, to locate additional listening and reading materials on similar topics. The material can provide similar or opposing points of view. After taking notes on the listening and the reading materials, you should be able to do better oral summaries by synthesizing the information. It is very important to practice giving 1 minute voice-recorded responses.
“How do I prepare for the writing section?” In order for you to score higher on the writing section on familiar topics, it is important to create a sample list of familiar topics and begin writing about them: “Describe one of your favorite vacations” and “Describe an important person in your life who has had a positive influence on you” are two examples of familiar Independent Writing topics for the TOEFL iBT Exam. Another way you could practice is by stating your opinion or a preference and then presenting arguments clearly and in detail. “Which do you think is better: living on campus in dorms or off campus in apartments?” is an example of an opinion-preference writing topic. You should practice planning, writing, and revising every essay during the 30 minute time allotment.
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.
Filed under: Writing & Speaking