So, having gotten some courage and some dollars together, you are planning on taking the TOEFL iBT. The following questions and answers will help you to create an effective study plan that, in time, will help you to increase your score.
"How do I prepare for the reading section?" In order to score high on the test, you need to improve your capacity to understand university-level texts and reading passages. The key is to frequently read academic texts in natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and business to provide better skill preparation. The Internet is also a great resource to find these types of materials; also, in public libraries, you can check out books, magazines, and journals that are academic in style. The important lesson to remember is the more academic the reading material is, the more it will prepare you to pass the test.
"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?" To score high on the speaking section on familiar topics, create a list of topics and practice speaking about them: "Describe your favorite vacation destination" and "Describe an important person who has influenced you" are representative of familiar speaking topics. Practice giving 1 minute voice-recorded responses to these types of speaking tasks.
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?" If you want to score higher on the writing section on familiar topics, start by creating a small list of familiar topics and practice writing about those topics: "Describe a favorite family vacation spot" and "Describe someone important in your life who influenced you as a child" are potential familiar Independent Writing topics for the TOEFL iBT Test. You should also practice by declaring some opinion or preference of anything and then offer clearly detailed reasons for your belief. "Which do you think is better: living on campus in dorms or off campus in apartments?" is another sample question of an opinion-preference writing topic. Remember, you should constantly practice planning, writing, and revising your essays during the 30 minute time period.
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.