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ESL:HACKINGTOEFL&IELTSIN90DAYS


TheUltimateGuidetopassingTOEFL&IELTSwithproven
hackingtipsonreading,writing,listeningandspeaking




©2016Tenlavi
Allrightsreserved.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,distributedortransmittedinany
formorbyanymeans,includingphotocopying,recordingorotherelectronicormechanical
methods,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotations
embodiedincriticalreviewsandcertainothernoncommercialusespermittedbycopyrightlaw.

Theuseoftrademarksisnotanofficialconsentbythetrademarkownerforthere-useoftheeBook
orbrand.Alltrademarksandbrandsinthisbookareforclarifyingpurposesonlyandareownedby
respectiveowners

Introduction


Iwanttothankandcongratulateyoufordownloadingthebook, ESL:HackingTOEFLandIELTSin
90days .

Areyouanon-nativeEnglishspeakerembarkingonanEnglishjourney?Haveyoubeenpreparing
foryourTOEFLandIELTSandplantotaketheexamssoon?Thenthisbookisforyou.Thisbook
containsprovenstepsandstrategiesonhowtopassTOEFLandIELTSatyourconveniencein90
days.Iwilltakeyouthroughthebasicsofpreparingfortheexams,thetricksyouneedtolearnand
thepracticalguideandexerciseforeachmoduleoftheexams.Thisbookiswritteninsuchawaythat
ifyouunderstandthebookinitsentirety,youarereadytotakeyourexams.

Thankyouagainfordownloadingthisbook,IhopeyouenjoyitasmuchasIhaveenjoyedcompiling
it!







TABLEOFCONTENTS


INTRODUCTION



CHAPTER1:Gettingstarted


CHAPTER2:Startingearly,finishingstrong


CHAPTER3:Reading


CHAPTER4:Listening


CHAPTER5:Speaking


CHAPTER6:Writing


CHAPTER7:Scheduleplanning


CHAPTER8:Thefinalweek


SupplementA:Additionalonlinecourse


SupplementB:Checklist



CONCLUSION


Chapter1:GettingStarted


1.1WhyTOEFLorIELTS?
Englishistodaythemostwidelyspokenlanguageintheworld.Itisthelanguageofcommerceand
knowledge.MostemployerstodaydemandaminimumdegreeoffamiliaritywithEnglishbecauseof
ourglobalcommunity.Furthermore,world-renownededucationalinstitutionsalsodemandsome
degreeofEnglishfamiliarityfromitsstaffandstudents.English-languageskillsarealsopartofthe
requirementsofimmigrationandresidencesinmanycountries.

VariousstandardizedEnglish-languagetestslikeTOEFLandIELTSgiveaspirantsachanceto
demonstratetheirproficiencyinthelanguage.TheTestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL),
conductedbytheEducationalTestingService(ETS)isacceptedbysome8,500collegesand
universitiesin130countriesaroundtheworld.TheInternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem
(IELTS)isconductedjointlybyBritishCouncil,IDP:IELTSAustraliaandCambridgeEnglish
LanguageAssessment.Thistestalsohaswideacceptanceandisrecognizedbyover9,000
organizationsin130countriesaroundtheworld.

1.2Real-worldEnglish
TOEFLandIELTSarealittledifferentfromtheEnglishexamswetookinschool.BothTOEFLand
IELTStestyourlanguageskillsinfourareas speaking,listening,reading,andwriting.Buttheydo
thisin integratedtasks whichisacombinationofallthedifferentskillswithinatestquestion.For
instance,sometestquestionswillrequireyoutoread,listenandthenspeakinresponsetoaquestion,
whileinothersyouwillhavetoread,listenandthenwriteyouranswers.InTOEFLandIELTSthe
focusismoreaboutapplyingyourknowledgeofthelanguageinconcrete,real-lifesituations.They
wanttoknowifyouwillbeabletounderstandwhatisbeingtaughtinaclassroom,completeyour
academicrequirements,andhaveafriendlysociallifewithpeopleduringyourstayinthecountry.

So,themainthingistheyarenotlookingfortextbookknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguage.The
ultimatepurposeofboththetestsisthesame,yourfunctionalabilitytounderstandandcommunicate
inEnglishinitsoral(speakingandlistening)andwritten(readingandwriting)forms.

Thisalsomeansthatyoucanprepareforboththetestsinmuchthesameway.Bystudyingsmartly,
youcaneasilymakeupfortheminordifferencesbetweenthesetwotests.

1.3SomeTOEFLandIELTSBasics
Forfirst-timetest-takers,thedecisiontotakethetestbringswithitmanyoverwhelmingquestions:
HowandwherecanItakeTOEFLorIELTS?Whatquestionswilltheyask?HowdoIusethemarks
formycollegeadmissionsorimmigrationapplication?Thissectionwillhelpyouwiththe
registrationandtestingprocedureforthesetests.
1.3.1Registration
BothIELTSandTOEFLcanbetakenatover9,000centersacrosstheworld.

Youshouldnotethismajordifference
(a) TOEFLcanbetakeninpaper-basedorcomputer-basedformat;
(b) IELTScanonlybetakeninwrittenform.






IELTSallowsyoutheoptiontochoosebetweentheAcademicandGeneralTrainingoptions choose
theformerifyouareapplyingforhighereducationandthelaterifitisforemploymentor
immigrationpurposes.ButthereisonlyoneTOEFLtest,whichteststheabilitytocommunicatein
academicsettings.
Theeasiestwaytoregisterforthesetwotestsistodoitonline.ThedetailsforTOEFLregistration
areprovidedatwww.ets.org/toeflwhilethosetakingIELTScanvisitwww.ielts.org.Thesewebsites

willtellyoueverythingyouneedtoknowaboutregistration,fees,requireddocuments,testcenters
andtestdatesinyourcountry.

TOEFLandIELTSareheldalmostfourtimesamonth,whichgivestest-takersalotofflexibilityin
theirpreparationschedule.Butdorememberthatbothtestsneedyoutoregisteratleastsevendays
beforethedateofthetest.

1.3.2TestFormat
BothTOEFLandIELTSaredividedintofoursections speaking,listening,readingandwriting.But
asstatedearlier,theirtestformatsareslightlydifferent.
TOEFLmustbegiveninasinglesitting.Ittakesaboutfourhourstocompletethetest.Thefirst
sectionisReading(60-80minutes),followedbyListening(60-90minutes),thenSpeaking(20
minutes)andfinally,Writing(50minutes).Acompulsory10-minutebreakmustbetakenafterthe
Listeningsection.Youcannotgobacktoasectionafteryouhavecompletedit,exceptintheReading
sectionwhereyoucanreturntopreviousquestionswithinthetimeallotted.Eachsectionisallocated
30marks,andthefinalmarkisoutof120.

TheIELTSformatisalittlemorecomplicated.TheListening,ReadingandWritingtestsmustbe
completedonthesameday,oneaftertheother,withoutanybreaksinbetween.TheSpeakingtestmay
bescheduledonadifferentdayfromtheothers.TheListeningandSpeakingsectionsarethesamefor
boththeAcademicandGeneralTrainingpapers,buttheReadingandWritingsectionsaredifferent.
Thewholetesttakesapproximately2hours45minutestocomplete.Marksforeachsectionare
markedonabandbetween1to9,andtheoverallmarkisanaverageacrossthefourskills.

Markreportsaresentbymailtocandidatessoonafterthetest.Bothtestsalsoallowcandidatestohave
theirmarkssentautomaticallytoasmallnumberofinstitutionsfreeofcharge TOEFLcansendthe
candidatesmarkstofourinstitutionswhileIELTScansendtheresultstofiveinstitutions.Themarks
forbothtestsarevalidfortwoyears.

1.3.3SomeKeyDifferences

Aswesawintheprevioussection,bothTOEFLandIELTSfocusonthesameskillareasbuthave
slightlydifferenttestformats.Asaresultofthis,differentcandidateshavedifferentexperiences.
Thesedifferencesaremainlytodowiththedifferenceintestingconditions.Knowingwhattoexpect
willhelpyoufocusonpossibleproblemareasandtoprepareforthetestsituationmorethoroughly.
Whilesomecandidatesfindthatthefour-hourdurationofTOEFLisverytiring,othercandidatesfind
thatthegapbetweentheSpeakingandothersectionsinIELTSisabigdistraction.

AsignificantdifferenceintheSpeakingtestis:
(a)inTOEFL,youspeakintoamicrophonethatrecordsyourspeech;
(b)inIELTS,youhavetocarryoutaconversationwithanexaminer.



ThevoicesintheTOEFLListeningSectionallhaveanAmericanaccent,butifyouappearforIELTS,
youwillhavetogetaccustomedtoamuchwiderrangeofaccentsandspeechstyles.

Finally,theWritingsectionsaredifferent:
(a)inTOEFL,theanswersmustbetypedoutonacomputerkeyboard;
(b)inIELTS,theresponsemustbehandwritten.

Thiscanbeaveryimportantfactor:thoseappearingforTOEFLmustimprovetheirtypingspeedand
accuracytosavetimeinthetest,andIELTScandidatesmustfocusonclear,mistake-freehandwriting.

1.4GettingDowntoBusiness
Bythistimeyourregistrationshouldbecompleted,andyouarereadytostartyourthorough
preparationforthetestofyourchoice.Overthenextfewchapters,thisbookwillguideyouthrough
thevariousaspectsofmasteringEnglishforTOEFL.Theskillsareessentiallytransferableifyouare
takingtheIELTStestinstead.EachchapterwilllayoutasystematicapproachtoReading,Listening,
Speaking,andWriting,withexplanations,tricks,andstrategiesthatwillleadyoutosure-shotsuccess.
Step-by-step,daybydayandweek-by-week,youwillfindyourselfgrowinginabilityandconfidence.

Allitneedsissomepatienceanddiscipline.Attheendof90days,Englishwillnolongerbean
obstacletoyourdreams.Foreaseofreference,IwillrefertoboththeexamsasTOEFL








Chapter2:Starting Early,FinishingStrong


Attheendoftheday,tosucceedinTOEFL,youwillhavetoimproveyouroveralllanguageskills;
andthiscannothappenovernight.Theonlywaytodothisistopracticeregularlyandsystematically.
Inthischapter,wewilllookatsomewaystobuildyourskillsandconfidence.Thetipsinthischapter
areaimedatimprovingyourgenerallanguageabilities.Startimplementingthesetricksearlyonin
yourpreparationtogetthegreatestbenefits.

2.1TechnologyTricks
YourSmartphonecanbeyourbiggestassetinpreparingforTOEFL.Itismulti-functionalandcanbe
usedanytimeandanywhere.Therearesomeusefulappsthatareavailableforfree.

AppssuchasTOEFLFlashcardsareusefulindevelopingcommonvocabularyaswellastechnical
words.TOEFLPictionaryisagreatappthathelpsyoumemorizenewwordsbyconnectingthemtoa
picture.Thesetwoappswillalsohelpinimprovingyourspellingskills.

YoushouldalsodownloadavoicerecorderapponyourSmartphonetoaddtoyourspeaking
practice.Recordyourvoiceduringyourspeakingexercisesandthenreplayittotakenoteofmistakes
inyourspeech.Payattentiontomistakesinsentenceconstruction,pronunciation,speechclarityand

speakingspeed.

Video-sharingsitessuchasYouTubearethebestplacetogetsomelisteningpracticebywatching
shortclipsandcompletevideosofAmericanfilmsandtelevisionshows.Thisisveryusefulfortwo
reasons:
(a)watchinginterviews,talkshows,lectures,etc.helpdevelopyourlisteningcomprehension
skills;
(b)ItletsyougetusedtothestyleandpronunciationofAmericanEnglish.
YouTubechannelssuchasNotefullalsoprovideusefulTOEFLpreparationtipsandtutorials.

2.2SpeakUp
Oneofthebestwaystobuildconfidenceinyourabilitiesistoimproveyourpublicspeakingskills.If
thereactionsofotherpeoplemakeyouuncomfortableatfirst,usethetelephone callatoll-free
numberandinquireabouttheirproductsandservices,thensustaintheconversationforaslongasyou
can,payingattentiontoyoursentenceconstruction,pronunciationandsoon.Withalittle
imagination,youwillalwaysfindawaytopractice.

2.3TypingTroubles
IfyouarepreparingforTOEFL,rememberthatyouwillhavetotypeoutyouranswersona
computerkeyboard.Useyour90-daypreparationperiodtogetusedtotypingwithspeedandwithout
mistakes.Websitessuchaswww.learntyping.organdwww.speedtypingonline.comprovidefreeonline
tutorialsonhigh-speedtouch-typing.

2.4TeamUp!
Oneofthemosteffectivewaystoimprovelanguageskillsistoworkwithapartner.Findsomeone
whoisalsolookingtoimprovetheirEnglish.Bydoingexercisestogether,youcanhelppointout


eachothers mistakes.ThisismostusefulwhenyouaredoingSpeakingandListeningpractice.Italso
makesstudysessionsmoreinteresting sometimes,sharingajokeisthebestwaytostayfocused.


2.5ADailyExercise
Hereisasmallexercisethatwillhelpyoudevelopyourreading,speakingandwritingskillsallatthe
sametime.TakeanygoodEnglishnewspaper,pickoutanewsarticleofabout150wordsandseta
timer/alarmfor20minutes.Firstreadthearticlecarefully,underliningthekeydetailsandunfamiliar
wordsyoucomeacross.Take30secondstocollectyourthoughtsandwriteoutafewquicksentences
tosummarizewhatyoulearnedfromyourreading.Nowspendtwominutesonthinkingaboutthe
event,incidentorpersondescribedinthearticleinyouropinion.

Switchonyourvoicerecorderandspeakaboutitfor30seconds.Thiswholeexerciseshouldnottake
morethanseventotenminutes.Intheremainingtime,youwillanalyzeyourresponses.Firstmakea
listoftheunfamiliarwordsyouhaveunderlined.Next,readyoursummarytoseeifyougotthe
importantinformationthrough theWHs who,what,when,where,whyandhow.Finally,listento
yourvoicerecordingandmakeanoteofproblemsinstructure,pronunciationandclarity.Overtime,
youshouldmoveontomorecomplextextssuchasshorteditorialsininternationalEnglish
magazines,ortechnicalencyclopediaentries.

Thisisashortdailyexercisethatcanbedoneatanytimeoftheday,aslongasyouconcentratefor
thedurationoftheexercise.Thissmallinvestmentof20minuteseverydaywillproducegreatresults
bytheendofyourpreparation.

2.6BeInspired!
Finally,inthemiddleofallthehardwork,takethetimetorememberthatwhatyouaresettingoutto
doisbothchallengingaswellasrewarding.Motivateyourselfbylearningaboutinspirationalstories
ofgreathistoricalpersonalitieswhostruggledthroughhardshiptoachievesuccessandrecognition.
ThinkaboutthestrugglesofpeoplelikeNelsonMandela,AbrahamLincolnorCharlieChaplin,and
neverloseheart!





Chapter3:Reading


3.1Introduction
TheReadingsectionismeanttotestyourabilitiesinreadingandabsorbinguniversity-levelacademic
texts.Thetextsthemselvesareonmanytopics,butunfamiliaritywiththesubjectneednotbotheryou
becausethequestionsarebasedentirelyonthepassage.

Thepurposeofacademicreadingisthree-fold:
(a) readingforinformation;
(b) readingforcomprehension,and
(c) readingtolearn.

EachoftheseabilitiesistestedintheReadingsection.TheReadingsectionnormallycontains
betweenthreeandfivepassages,ofapproximately700words.Eachpassageisfollowedby12-14
questions.Thetimeallocatedforthesectionvariesbetween60-100minutes.

Inthischapter,wewillbeginbylearninghowtoidentifythevarioustypesofpassagesandquestions
thatmaybeaskedbasedonthem.Thenwewillapplythisknowledgetodevelopareadingstrategy
thatwillensureahighmarkintheReadingsection.

3.2TypesofPassages
TheReadingsectionwilltestyouwithdifferenttypesofpassages.Tosucceed,youmustbeableto
understandtherelationshipsbetweenthedifferentpartsofthetext,andtheroletheyplayinpresenting
theauthor sideas.Whilesomecomplexpassagesmayincludemanypointsofviewandlinesof
arguments,mostofthemsticktooneofthefollowingtypes:

Classification: This passage usually defines a category or an object and its main
characteristicsorfunctions.Itmaythengoontoshowthiscategorytohavemanysubcategories,eachwithitsfeatures.Sometimes,thesewillbedefinedbyexamples.


Comparison/Contrast:Sucharticlesdescribethecharacteristicsoftheobjectandplace
them alongside those of another. They will go on to show relations of similarities and
differences between the two. They usually do this by showing the advantages or
disadvantagesofoneovertheother.

Cause/effect:Thesepassageswilldiscusstheconsequencesofanactionorthereasons
foraparticularaction.Thearticlessometimesdescribeaprocessofsomekind.Insuch
cases,theideaofcauseandeffectisoftenusedtoconnectvariousstagesintheprocess.
Problem/Solution: In such passages, a problem of some sort is first defined. Then
reasonsaregivenfortheproblemsandfinallyasuggestionismadeonhowtorectifyit.
Inthiscategory,commontopicsaregunsviolenceandsocialconflicts.

3.3TypesofQuestions
Thequestionsthatfollowthereadingpassageusuallyfallundersomecategories.Inthissectionwe
willlookatthevariouskindsofquestionsyoucanexpecttobeasked,andafewhintsonhowto







identifythem.

3.3.1FactualInformationQuestions
Factualquestionsaskforspecificinformationthatisusuallyfoundinoneortwosentenceswithinthe
passage.Thisisusuallyclearstatementsoffactthatdealwithnames,dates,definitions,etc.Theycan
beoftwokinds:factualandnegativefactualquestions.Factualquestionsareusuallyofthesort
whichofthefollowingaretrue? or accordingtotheparagraph,XdidYbecause... Negative

factualquestionscanbeidentifiedalmostimmediatelybecausetheyhavetheword not or except
inthem.Youcanexpectbetweenthreeandeightquestionsonsuchdetailsoffactsandnegativefacts.

3.3.2QuestionsbasedonInference
Thereareusuallybetweenoneandthreeinference-basedquestionsperpassage.Inthese,youwillbe
askedquestionsaboutsomethinginthearticlethatisnotdirectlystated,butonlyindirectlyhintedat.
Forthesequestions,youneedtobeabletofollowthelogicoftheauthor sargument.Theyare
usuallyframedas theauthorofthepassageimpliesthat or whichofthefollowingcanbe
inferredfromtheparagraph

3.3.3RhetoricalPurposeQuestions
Thesearequestionswhereyouwillbeaskedwhytheauthorhaschosentosaysomethingtheway
he/shehas.Youmaybeaskedwhytheauthorhaschosentoquoteaparticularauthororreferredtoa
particularsource.Oryoumaybeaskedtoexplaintherelationshipbetweentwo
paragraphs/ideas/linesinthepassage.Therearenormally,atleast,oneortworhetoricalpurpose
questionsaftereverypassage.

3.3.4VocabularyQuestions
Thesearequestionsthatwilltestyourknowledgeofthewords,phrasesorexpressionsusedinthe
passage.Youmaybeaskedsynonyms,antonyms,orwords closestinmeaning toaparticularword.
Thesequestionsusuallytestunfamiliarortechnicalwordsthatareneverthelesscriticaltothe
meaningofthepassage.Expectbetweenthreetofivevocabulary-basedquestionsforeverypassage.

3.3.5ReferenceQuestions
Thesearequestionsthatwilltestyourgrammarskills,particularlyontherulesofreference.For
instance,youmayberequiredtoidentifytherelationbetweenapronounandthenounthatitrefersto.
Theremaybeuptotwosuchquestionsinaset.

3.3.6SentenceSimplificationQuestions
Thistypeofquestiondoesnotappearveryfrequently.Insentencesimplification,youwillneedto

selectoneoutofthegivenoptionsthatcontainthemeaningofthequotedsentence.Forexample,
whichofthefollowingbestexpressestheinformationinthehighlightedsentence?

3.3.7TextInsertionQuestions
Thepassageusuallycontainsone inserttext typequestion.Asyoureadthetext,youwillseeblack
squaresatsomeplaceswithinthepassage.Thequestionwillprovideyouwithasentence,andwillask
youtoinsertitinplaceofoneofthefourblacksquaresinthepassage.

Textinsertionquestionstestyourlanguageskillsattwolevels:
(a)inunderstandingthecontentoftheparagraphinquestion;and


(b)inunderstandingthegrammaticalstructureofthesentenceitself.

3.3.8ProseSummaryQuestions
Thesequestionstestyourgraspofthepassageasawhole,andtheorganizationofideaswithinit.
Thesequestionswillaskyoutodifferentiatebetweenmajorandminorpointspresentedinthe
passage.Usually,youarepresentedwithsixstatementsaboutthepassage.Whileeachofthemistrue
initself,youwillneedtojudgetheirrelativeimportanceintheauthor sargumentandaccordingly
choosethethreemainpointsmadeinthepassage.

3.3.9Table-basedQuestions
Thisisanothertypeofquestionthattestsyourabilitytosummarizeandabsorbtheinformationinthe
passage.Youmustbeabletojudgethedifferencebetweenessentialandnonessentialaspectsofthe
argumentpresentedbytheauthor.Thisisavariationontheprosesummaryquestions.Theskills
testedarethesame,butheretherearealotmoreoptionsthatneedtobeplacedcorrectlyunderthe
differentsubheadsprovided.Eachpassagecontainsoneofeitherprosesummaryortable-based
questions.

3.4HowtoRead

ThereadingskillsforatestlikeTOEFLaredifferentfromthosethatweuseinourdailylives.The
stricttimelimitationsinthissection fivepassagesin60-100minutes meanthatitisimpossibleto
doacloseword-by-wordreadingofthetextpassages.Infact,theexaminersdon texpectyoutoread
thewholepassage!SuccessintheReadingsectiondependsonyourmasteryoftheskillsof
skimming and scanning throughagiventext.

Skimmingisafast-readingtechniqueinwhichyoureadonlythefirstandlastsentencesofthe
openingparagraph,andthenthefirstsentenceofeachparagraphafterthat.Theaimistodoaninitial
quickreadingthatwillgiveyouagistofwhatitcontains,notthedetails.Asyouskim,identifywhat
typeofpassageitis.Also,youwillgetagoodideaofwhatiscontainedineachoftheparagraphs,
andhoweachislinkedtotheother.

Skimmingisimportantfortworeasons:(a) ithelpsyougraspthewholepassage,and
(b) itprovidesaguidetoquicklylocatingthepossibleanswersforthequestions.

Scanningisaslowermethodinwhichyoureadfromthebeginningofthepassagetofindaspecific
answeryouarelookingfor,andthenstopwhenyoufindit.Thenrepeatforeachquestion.Asyougo
throughmorequestions,youwillgettoknowmoreaboutthedetailsofthepassage,sothatbytheend
youwillhaveagoodideaofthestructureaswellasthedetailsofthepassage.

Youcanachievethebestresultsbycombiningskimmingandscanning.First,doaquickskimming
reading.Inyournotes,makeanoutlineofthepassagestructure,withjustalineofeachparagraph
given.Fornow,focusontheconnectionsbetweenparagraphs.

Afterthis,readthroughallthequestionsonce,identifyingtheirtypes.Nowbeginwiththefirst
questionandusethescanningmethodtofindtheanswerinthetext.Dothiswitheachquestion.Allthe
timekeepaddingkeyinformationtotheoutline.Nowyoucanusethesenotestoanswerthemore
complex readingtolearn questionsandtablesattheend.







3.5SomeTipsforPractice
WhiletheskimmingandscanningskillsaremostimportantintheReadingsection,thereareother
aspectsofyourreadingabilitiesthatyoualsoneedtopayattentionto:
Vocabulary:Havingastrongvocabularyisessentialtobothunderstandingandspeaking
anylanguage.UseSmartphoneapps(asshowninChapter2)toimproveyourknowledge
ofwords.Also,carryaroundasmallnotebookinwhichyouwritedownnewwordsto
addtoyourwordlist.Readaswidelyasyoucan.
Try guessthemeaning .Pickupanyreadingmaterialandlookforwordsyoudonot
understand.Now,insteadofcheckinginadictionary,trytoguessthemeaningfromthe
linesbeforeandafterit(context).Doingthisimprovesyourvocabularyaswellasskills
ofinference.
Connectthepronouns.Takeanysamplereadingpassageandunderlineallthepronouns
thatoccurinit.Nowtrytoconnecteachpronounusedtothenounthatitisreferringto.
Doingthiswillimproveyourskillsingrammarandsentenceconstruction.
Practiceparaphrasing.Takeapassagefromamagazineortextbookandskimthroughit,
making notes along the way. Take 20 seconds to think about the article as a whole and
thenquicklytrytocapturethegistofthepassageinsevenoreightsentences.Practicethis
asfrequentlyaspossibleandonallsortsofreadingmaterial.



Chapter4:Listening


4.1Introduction
TheListeningsectiontestsyourskillsinlisteningtoclassroomlecturesaswellasinunderstanding

everydayconversationwithintheuniversityandoutside.Thelanguageyouwillencounterinthese
lectureswillbeofthestandardyoucanexpecttobeexposedtoinauniversityclassroom.

Youwillneedtolistentoaboutfourtosixlecturesof500-800wordseach,inatimelimitof60-90
minutes.Eachlecturewillbefollowedbysixquestions.Also,youwillhavetoanswerquestions
relatedtotwoorthreeconversationsinaperiodof60-90minutes.Theconversationsareaboutthree
minutesinlengthwithabout12-25exchangesbetweenthespeakers.Eachconversationwillbe
followedbyfivequestions.

4.2Typesoflectures
Thelecturepassagescanbeverydemandingonthelistener.Youwillneedtoabsorblargeamountsof
informationthatispresentedtoyouinaconstantflow.Unlikereading,youcannotpausewhenever
youneedto.Youmustcatchasmanywordsasyoucan.Thelecturesareusuallyoftwotypes,those
thatfeatureonlytheprofessorspeakinginaclassroomscenario,andothersinwhichtheprofessor
andstudentsbothspeak.ThelecturesareusuallyfromtopicsontheArts,PhysicalScience,Life
Science,andSocialScience.

Theconversationquestionsusuallyhaveeitherapersonalizedinteractionbetweenaprofessorand
student,oraserviceencounterlikemakinganinquiryinthelibraryorcompletingclassorexam
registrations.Conversationstestskillsaredifferentfromlisteningskills.Conversationsareusually
shorterandcancoverbothacademicandnon-academictopics.

Whilethekeyskillinthelecturescanfollowthespokencontentclosely,theconversationsaregeared
towardstestingyourskillsatinterpretinginferences,idiomaticusageoflanguageandtonesof
voice/emotioninthevoice.Butonthedownside,theconversationusuallymovesmuchfasterthana
lecture,anditrequiresyoutoknowamoreinformalvocabularythatisusuallynotfoundinother
TOEFLreadingandlisteningsections.

4.3TypesofQuestions
Inthissection,wewilllookatthemaintypesofquestionsthatmaybeaskedintheListeningtasks.By

learningtoidentifyandcategorizethequestions,youwillbeinabetterpositiontoanswerthem
correctly.

4.3.1QuestionsonGist-content
Thesearebasiccomprehensionquestionthattestsyourabilitytograspthemainpointbeingdiscussed
inthespokenpassage.Thesequestionsdealwiththeoverallcontentofthespeech,andmayrequire
youtodrawonbothinferredaswellasexplicitmeanings.Questionsthataskforthe mainproblem,
maintopic, andsoonareoftengist-contentquestionsandshouldbeansweredaccordingly.

4.3.2QuestionsonGist-purpose
Thegist-purposequestionsshouldnotbeconfusedwiththegist-contenttype.Gist-purposequestions


areusuallyaskedforconversationsratherthanlectures.Here,thequestionsareaboutthereasonthe
conversationisbeingheld,andaboutthecontentofwhatisbeingsaidintheconversation.These
questionsareusuallyintheformof whydoestheprofessorsay or whydoesthestudentvisitthe
admissionsoffice? etc.Gist-purposequestionscanbetrickybecausesometimesthepurposeofthe
conversationmaynotcoincidewiththemaintopicbeingdiscussed.

4.3.3QuestionsonDetails
Inthesequestions,youwillneedtoreproducespecificdetailsfromwhatyouheard.Usually
mentioneddirectlyinthelecture/conversation,sometimestheymayalsobemoreimplicitinnature.
Often,ifthereisalongdigressionfromthemaintopicofdiscussion,thenyoucanexpectadetail
questiontobeaskedfromthis.

4.3.4QuestionsontheFunctionof WhatisSaid.'
Thesequestionstypicallyrequireyoutolistentoapartofthelectureorconversationagainandthen
askyouaboutthesignificanceofwhatissaid.Here,youmustpayattentiontothefunctionalaspectof
whatissaid,ratherthantheexactcontent.


4.3.5QuestionsabouttheSpeaker sAttitude
Theseareparticularlytrickyquestionsbecausetheyrequireyoutodevelopasenseofthespeaker s
personalityitself.Youmustbeabletomakeouttheperson sopinionsandattitudestowhatisbeing
discussedthroughlittlehintsthataregiveninthediscussion.Theyaresometimesintheformofshort
reactionstootherpeople scomments,orclearstatementsofone slikesanddislikes.Itisusefultop
paycloseattentiontothespeaker stoneofvoiceandvolumetogetcluestohisattitudes.

4.3.6QuestionsonOrganization
Thesearequestionsthattestyourabilitytoconsolidateandorganizeinformation.Youwillusuallybe
askedabouthowthespeakerhasstructuredhis/herlecture.Dotheyprovideahistoricalaccount?Are
theycomparingandcontrastingdifferentexamples?Aretheydescribingaprocess?Sometimesyou
maybeaskedabouthowaparticularstatementfunctionswithintheorganizationofthelectureasa
whole.

4.3.7ConnectingContentQuestions
Thesequestionsrequireyoutounderstandandinfertheinformationprovidedinalecture.Theywill
thenaskyoutorepresentwhatyouhavelearnedintheformoftablesandcharts.Attimes,youwillbe
requiredtoclarifyrelationships,contradictionsorcauseandeffect.

4.3.8QuestionsBasedonInference
Hereyouwillbetestedonyourabilitytodrawconclusionsandunderstandtheimplicationsofwhat
youhaveheardinalectureorconversation.Youwillhavetodrawfromthefactspresentedtomake
logicalpredictionsonthefuturecourseofaction,oryoumayhavetounderstandtheimplicitcontent
ofwhatissaid.

4.4HowtoListen
Thelisteningtaskscanbeverydemandingbecauseittestsbothyourlanguageskillsaswellas
abilitiesofinferenceandcomprehension.Thekeytosuccessisefficientnote-taking.Note-takingfor
theListeningtaskisallaboutbeingabletotakedownthemainpointssothatbytheend,youhavea
basicflowoftheconversationavailableinwriting.Butasyouhavealreadynoted,thelectureand



conversationpassagestestslightlydifferentaspectsofyourlisteningabilities.Asaresult,yourstyle
ofnote-takingwillalsobealittledifferentforeachofthese.

Inthelectures,youwillbegivenalotofdetailedinformation.Thetrickistofocusonthecontentof
thespeechinthesepassages.Sowhenyoubegintakingnotesinalecture,makethreeheadings, main
idea , majorpoints and minorpoints. Asyougothroughthelecture,allyouneedtodoisfillin
thevariouspointsunderthesethreeheadings.Bytheend,youwillhaveacondensedversionofthe
lectureinaformthatcanbeusedtoanswerthequestionsthatfollow.Yourtableshouldlooklikethis


MainIdea



MajorPoint



MinorPoint




Intheconversations,thepaceoftalkingisfaster,therearemorespeakers.Theydrawonyour
abilitiestocatchimplicitmeanings.Sowhentakingnotes,itismoreimportanttogettheflowofthe
conversationthanallthelittledetails.Todothis,firstdivideyourpageintotwoorthreeparts,
dependingonthenumberofspeakers.Nowaseachpersonspeaks,makenotesintheappropriate
column,maintainingtheflowofquestionandanswer,argument,andrefutation.Youcannoweasily

seeinavisualformtherelationshipsbetweenwhatthedifferentpeoplearesaying.Hereisan
illustration

Speaker1
Speaker2
Speaker3
Speaker4









4.5SomeTipsforPractice
TheListeningtasks,infact,drawonsomeotherskillsthatalsoneedtobedeveloped.Hereareafew
thingsyoucanpracticeimprovingyourmarksinthissection:
(a) Summarizeandparaphrase
Summarizing and paraphrasing are two of the most useful skills in the Listening section.
While these skills are more important in the Reading and Speaking sections, the Listening
section is unique because it does not allow a gap between receiving the information and
summarizing it. Here, you have to use to draw an inference at the same time as you are
listening.

(b) Note-takingsystem
Inadditiontodevelopinganefficientnote-takingsystem,youmustpayattentiontothespeed
at which you take notes. Over the course of these 90 days of preparation develop your
shorthand code language through which you can make your notes shorter, quicker and

clearer.

(c) Accents
One of the biggest obstacles to understanding English speech is the accents and styles of
speechthatnativespeakersuse.Theonlywaytogetaroundistobecomefamiliarwiththe
differentaccentsandpronunciationsusedbyAmericansintheirspeech.Toprepareforthe









lectures,youcanwatchAmericandocumentariesonvarioustopicsrelatedtoart,scienceand
society.Fortheconversations,ontheother,hand,itisbettertowatchtelevisionsitcomsand
Hollywoodfilms.Theseallowampleopportunitytounderstandthenuancesoftoneofvoice
and emotion in various conversational situations and also expose you to more a more
informallanguageofcommunication.Video-sharingwebsitessuchasYouTubearethebest
placetofindawiderangeofvideosthatyoucanpracticewith.


Chapter5:Speaking


5.1Introduction
TheSpeakingsectionstestyourabilityinanacademicenvironmenttoclearlyandfluentlyconverse
inEnglish.Ittriestoassesswhetheryouwillbeabletoengagefruitfullyindiscussionswithfellow
studentsandprofessorsinanacademicaswellasanon-academicsetting;toexpressyourideasand

opinions;andyourabilitytocarryoutgeneralsocialconversation.

ManycandidatesfindtheSpeakingsectionchallengingbecauseitgoesbysofast.Itisoverbefore
youknowit itlastsjust20minutesandquicklyputsyouthroughsixtasks.Thereisverylittletime
torecoverfromlapsesinperformances.

ThischapterwillgiveyouanideaofwhattoexpectintheSpeakingsection,andhowbesttoprepare
forit.

5.2TypesofTasks
TheSpeakingsectioncomprisesofsometasksthatfallundertwotypes:independentandintegrated.

Theindependenttasksarethoseinwhichyouaresimplygivenatopic,onwhichyoumustspeakwith
minimalpreparationtime.Thesetasksaremeanttotestyouropinionsandthoughtonvarious
familiarsubjects,theclaritywithwhichyouorganizeyourthoughtsandyourabilitytothinkonyour
feet.Sincetheindependenttaskrequiresyoutospeakonafamiliartopic,itisthebestopportunityto
playtoyourstrengths.Inthesetasks,youcanbeconfidentandmusttrytodisplayyourlanguage
abilitiestothefullest.

Theintegratedtask,ontheotherhand,isamoremultimediaaffair.Inthese,youwillhavetocombine
yourlistening,readingandspeakingskillstounderstandandthenexpressyourthoughtsonagiven
issueorsituation.Insomeofthetasks,youwillneedfirsttolistentoalectureorconversationbefore
yourespondtowhatissaid.Inothers,youwillalsoneedtoreadanadditionalpassagebeforeyou
provideanoralanswer.Thesetaskstestyourskillsinabsorbingnewinformationquickly,andin
collatinginformationfromdifferentinformationmedia.Theintegratedtaskchallengesyourskillsin
inferringmeaningsand,onceagain,you resummarizingskills.

5.3TypesofQuestions
TheSpeakingsectioniscomprisedof:
(a) twoindependenttasks Fortheindependenttasks,youarerequiredtospeakfor45

secondsafterapreparationtimeofonly15seconds;and
(b) fourintegratedtasks Inthefourintegratedtasksinwhichyouwillhavetoreadand
listen,andthenspeakinresponse.Youwillbeallowed30secondsofspeakingtimeand
60secondsofresponsetimeforthetworeading-listening-speakingtasks.Thetwo
listening-speakingintegratedtaskswillgiveyouapreparationtimeof20secondsand
responsetimeof60seconds.

Forthetest,youwillhavetospeakintoamicrophone.Yourvoicewillbedigitallyrecordedandsent
tocertifiedexaminerswhowillassessyourresponsesusingvariouscriteria.






5.3.1IndependentQuestions
Questions1and2areindependenttasks.InQuestion1youwillbeaskedtospeakaboutaplace,
person,andeventorobjectthatyouarepersonallyfamiliarwith.Whiletheremaybesomevariation
inthespecificsofthequestion,itwillalwaysrequireyoutodrawonyourpersonalexperience.Inthis
question,youwillbeaskedtoanswerthequestioninseveralparts.Yourresponseisexpectedto
includeadescriptioncomponentandthenitssubstantiation youwillhavetodescribesomething
(yourfavoriteteacher,yourfavoriteholidaydestination,etc.)andthenprovidereasonsforyour
choice.Youareexpectedtoprovidesomedetailedinformationandacoherentjustification.

InQuestion2,youwillbepresentedwithtwopossiblecoursesofactioninagivensituation.Youwill
havetocompareandcontrasttherelativemeritsanddemeritsofthechoicesandexplainwhichone
youpreferandgiveyourjustification.Thetopicswilleitherdealwithsomethingfamiliartoyouin
youreverydaylifeoranissueofgeneralinteresttostudents.

5.3.2IntegratedQuestions

Questions3and4areintegratedreading-listening-speakingtasks.InQuestion3youwillfirstreada
shortpassageonsomegeneralissuerelatedtocampuslife.Thismaybeanythingfromanofficial
noticetoanewspaperarticle.Youwillalsohavetolistentoabriefconversationbetweentwopeople
expressingtheiropinionsonthesameissue.Youwillthenhavetorespondorallytoaquestionthatis
basedonthetextandconversationprovided.Question4isalsoareading-listening-speakingtask,the
onlydifferencebeingthathereyouwillbedealingwithanacademictopic.Youwillfirstreadan
academicextract,followedbyaprofessor slectureonthesametopic.Youwillthenbeaskeda
questionbasedonwhatyouhavereadandheard.

Questions5and6arelistening-speakingtasks.Inbothofthese,youwillhavetolistentoabrief
conversation/lecturebeforeprovidinganoralresponsetothegivenquestion.Question5will
typicallybeaconversationbetweentwopeopleaboutaproblemfacedbyoneofthem.Itwillprovide
youwithtwopossiblesolutionstotheproblem.Youwillbeaskedtosummarizethediscussionand
provideyouropiniononthesolutionsofferedbythespeakers.Question6willhaveyoulistentoa
shortexcerptfromaprofessor slectureonanacademicsubject.Thelecturecanbeonanythingfrom
thearts,physicalscience,socialscienceandnaturalscience.Youwillthenbeaskedtosummarize
whatyouheardinthelecture.

5.4HowtoSpeak
ThebestwaytopreparefortheSpeakingsectionistogetanideaofhowyourresponseswillbe
evaluated.InaccessingyourperformanceintheSpeakingsection,theexaminersadoptaholistic
approach.Theytakeinaccountvariousaspectsofyourspeakingandwillgiveacombinedmark.This
isbecausespeakingisnotaseasilyquantifiableastheotherskills,and goodspeaking combines
differentaspectsindifferentmeasures.Mostimportantamongthesearespeechdelivery,language
use,andtopicdevelopment.

Languagedeliveryisconcernedwithhowclearlyyouspeak,andhoweasilyyoucanbeunderstood.
Thisincludestheuseofcleardictionandintonation;naturalnessandeaseofspeaking;and,the
naturalnessofyourspeakingpace.
Languageuseparametersmeasurethecorrectnessofthelanguageyouusewhilespeaking.Itdeals

withtherangeofyourvocabularyandapplicationoftherulesofgrammar,syntaxandsentence


construction.

Finally,topicdevelopmentisaboutthecontentofwhatyouhavesaid.Itassessesyourabilitiesinthe
presentationofideas,logicalprogressionandoverallorganizationandstructure.

Whenyoupracticeyourspeakingsessions,itisbeneficialtorecordyourself youcaneasilyusea
Smartphoneapptodothis.Onceyouhavearecordedsample,listentoitcarefullyandnotedownthe
mistakesyoumadeinyourdelivery,languageuseandtopicdevelopment.Now,repeatwhatyousaid
butthistimewithoutthemistakes.Recordyourvoiceagain.Analyzeagain.

Thisisaveryusefulexercise,fortworeasons.First,repeatingthesamepassagemanytimesismore
effectiveinfixingyourmistakesthanspeakingonadifferenttopiceverytime.Second,thisexercise
willgiveyouagoodideaoftiming.Areyoufinishingtoosoon?Areyouspeakingtoofastwhenthe
timeisrunningout?

5.5Tipsforpractice
TheSpeakingsectionrequiresregularpractice,andyourskillscannotbedevelopedovernight.Here
areafewtricksthatcanhelpyoufocusonimprovingyourskillsinawell-roundedmanner.

Improveyourimpromptuspeaking.Speakingwithoutpreparationisaskillthatwillstand
you in good stead for the TOEFL test. Pick any simple topic of your choice, take 30
seconds of preparation time, and then speak on the subject for a whole minute without
interruption. Start initially with topics you are very comfortable with. As you become
more fluent over time, move on to unfamiliar subject pick up your daily newspaper,
lookatthetopicforthemaineditorialarticleanddoanimpromptuspeechonthattopic.
You can even replicate an integrated task for yourself: on any prominent news
issue/controversyoftheday;readanarticleandlistentoareportonthesameinevening

news;nowproduceyourimpromptusummaryoftheissueathand.

Speakingisoftenmarkedbyerrorsthatarehabitualinnature peculiarpronunciations,
repeatedgrammaticalerrorsandconfusingofsimilartonameafew.Thesemistakescan
onlyberectifiedthroughasystematicapproachthatconsciouslytrackyourprogress.It
might be a useful idea to maintain an audio diary. An audio diary is essentially a
collection of your speaking samples, built up over time. This can be done easily by
making good use of a voice recording app on your Smartphone. Since it provides a
long-termrecord,anaudiodiaryhelpsyoutogetagoodideaoftheprogressyouare
makinginrectifyingparticularmistakes.

OneofthemostdistractingthingsabouttheSpeakingtestisthateveryoneistakingtheirs
atthesametime.Thevoicesofsomanypeopletalkingtogethercanbequitedistracting,
eventhoughthenoise-reductionheadphones.Thebestwaytogetaccustomedtothisisto
dosomespeakingpracticedrillsinapublicspacesuchasacafé,crowdedpark,orsome
othersuchbustlingpublicplace.
























Chapter6:Writing


6.1Introduction
TheWritingsectionisdesignedtotestyourskillsinwrittenexpression.Itwilldrawonthesame
powersofcomprehensionandinferencethatwe reusedintheothersections,butonlyinthewritten
form.

ItiseasytobecomecomplacentabouttheWritingsection,asitisthelastofthefourskillstested.On
thefaceofit,thewritingsectionseemseasy.Thereareonlytwotaskstobecompletedwithalmostan
hourtospend.Thisleadsmanycandidatestobecomecomplacentinthissection.Butasweshallsee,
theWritingsectioniswhereyourtimemanagementskillsaremostimportant.Thetasksrequireyou
tomakeuseofyourreadingandlisteningskillsalongwithyourwritingskills.Anotherreasonthe
Writingsectioncanbedifficultisthatthisiswhereyourdeficienciesingrammar,spellingand
punctuationbecomevisible.ItmighthavebeenpossibletodisguisetheseintheSpeakingsection,but
theWritingtasksleaveyouwithnowheretohide.



Forthesereasons,theWritingsectionneedsregularpracticeandcloseattention.Inthischapter,you
willlearnabouttheformatoftheWritingsectionalongwithafewstrategiesandtipstogetthe

maximummarkspossible.

6.2TypesofTasks
TheWritingsectioniscomprisedoftwotasks:theintegratedtaskandtheindependenttask.Whilethe
latterissolelyawritingtask,theformerwillalsodrawonotheraspectsofyourlinguisticabilities.
Bothwillrequireessay-typeresponses,butwithdifferentemphasis.

6.2.1Integratedtask
Theintegratedtaskisareading-listening-writingexerciseandmustbecompletedwithin20minutes.
Youwillreadapassageonanacademictopicfor3minutesthanlistentoashortlectureonthesame
subject.Youwillbeaskedtosummarizethedetailsprovidedinthelectureandexplainhowtheyrelate
tothepointsmadeintheexcerptedtext.Thelecturemaystrengthen,refuteorchallengethe
informationgiveninthewrittenpassage.Keepinmindthatyouarenotbeingaskedforyouropinion.
Youhavetoexplaintherelationshipsbetweenthetextandthelecture.

Moreoftenthannot,thequestionitselfgivesagoodideaofhowyouaresupposedtounderstandthe
relationship.Ifthereiscontradiction/disparity,thequestionwillusuallyaskyoutoshowthewaysin
whichthelecture castsdoubt or challenges thereadingpassage.Whenthepassageandthelecture
areinagreement,thequestionwillalsorequireyoutoshowhowone supports or strengthens or
elaborateson theagreedideas.

Thewordcountforresponsesisusuallybetween150and225words.Youwillnotbepenalizedfor
exceedingit,aslongastheansweriscoherentandcomplete.

6.2.2Independenttask
Youwillbegiven30minutesinwhichyouwillhavetowriteashortessayonthegivenquestion.The
questionwillaskyoutogiveyouropiniononaparticularissue,whichyouwillhavetojustifywith
suitableexamples.

Thereisnoupperwordlimit,butyoushouldwriteaminimumof300words.Accordingtoexperts,

youwillneedtowriteatleastthismuchtodisplaythelevelofideasandorganizationexpectedinthe
test.Youneedtostrikeabalancebetweenthenumberofideasyouputdownandtheoverall
effectivenessofyourcommunication.

6.3Howtowrite
TheWritingsectiontestsyourskillsinorganizationandwrittenpresentationofideas,notyourprior
knowledgeofthegivensubject.Yourresponsesareevaluatedonthreecriteria:
(a) development;
(b) organization;and
(c) languageuse.
Youressayshouldbewelldeveloped,usingadequateandappropriatedetails,explanationsand
examples.Italsoneedstobewell-organizedwithaclearlineofthoughtandprecisearguments.
Finally,yourlanguageuseshouldbeproficient,withminimalerrorsingrammarandspellings.
Smallerrorsmaybeoverlookediftheyarenottoofrequent,anddonotdistorttheintendedmeaning.








Note-takingisofparamountimportanceinthissection.Thereneedstobeaclearandparallellink
betweenyourdraftnotesand finalcopy .Youdonothaveenoughtimetoprepareadetailedoutline.
Youonlyneedaroughoutlineofthemajorideayouwillcover,alongwithatmostthreeexamples.
Beyondthis,youwillneedto makeup thedetailsasyougoalong.Youshouldnotunderestimatethe
importanceofgoodnotes,butatthesametime,youhavetobeflexibleinyourapproachinthenotes
section.

Agoodessayrequiresaclearandconcisethesisstatement.Usually,thiscanbegeneratedoutofthe

questionitself.Allyouneedtodoistakethemainwordsfromtheoriginalquestionandrephrase
themintoastrongstatementofyouropinion.Also,makesuretoincludeinyourresponsedetailsand
examplesthatcangivesubstancetoyourargument.

Editingisessentialtocheckforstructureandflowofideasinyouressay.Keepatleast3minutesin
theintegratedtaskand5minutesintheindependenttaskforrecheckingandediting.

OnethingtorememberintheWritingsectionisthatyoumustfocusonthequalityofwriting,notthe
quantity.Yourwritingneedstobeclearandprecise.Thiscanbeachievedonlythroughabalancingof
thenote-taking,writingandeditingstepsoftheprocess.Sometimeswritinglongessayscanevenbe
counter-productive,sincethemoretimeyouspendonwriting,thelesstimeyouspendoneditingand
improvingthewriting.

6.4TipsforPractice
HereareafewwaysinwhichyoucanmakethemosteffectiveuseofyourWritingPractice:
Practicetimedwriting.WritingforTOEFLisnotthesameaswritinganessayforyour
college assignment. Time management is crucial. Some people cannot handle the
pressureandendupwritingalmostnothing.Othersareunabletofinishtheiressayson
time.WhilepracticingfortheWritingsection,alwaysuseanalarmandfinisheverything
withinthegiventime.

Itisusefultopreparesomebasicsentencepatternsandtransitionwordsforuseinyour
writing. Learn to use phrases like for example, also, furthermore, on the
contrary, and atthesametime. Theseareusefulforthefollowingthreereasons:
(a) theyallowyoutoexhibityouradvancedsentenceconstructionskills;
(b) theyhelpyoutofillinasurprisinglylargeamountofinformationevenina
smallparagraph;and
(c) theygiveaclearorganizationtoyourwriting.

Readwidelyandbewell-informedaboutcurrentevents,peopleandtrendsintheworld.

The Writing questions offer no options, so whatever you are asked will come as a
surprise.Theonlywaytoprepareforthisistobeinformedonawiderangeoftopicsso
thatyouhavesomethingsubstantivetowriteinyourresponse.

Stayonthesubject!RememberthatTOEFLmarkersarealwaysexpectingpre-prepared
answers, which are only vaguely related to the topic given in the question. To avoid
giving this impression, stay on topic. In trying to do this, you may sometimes end up
writingalittlelesswhenconfrontedwithadifficultorunfamiliartopic.Buteventhisis
finebecausethosefewlineswillhavesomethingimportanttosay.