Independent Question You have 30 minutes to answer the following question Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents make the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your response.

Essential tips for the independent writing section©

Well here you are! You have been in the exam now for a total of 4 hours with only a mere 10 min break. You are exhausted not so much physically, but almost certainly psychologically.Your eyes are beginning to ache and you can no longer feel your legs let alone backside. You have never been so low and you are almost 100% sure you have just wasted $185 on this test; there is no way you are going to be able to get that score you need in order to go to the University of your choice or to get that nice little pay rise that you have already spent on some kind of holiday or even worse a car. However, it's not over yet! You still have one last question and then you can go.

The independent writing section can be one of the trickiest parts of the exam to be successful on; in comparison to the other parts of the test, in which they give you everything you need to answer the questions correctly, in this part you are on your own with only a simple question to guide you through those last desperate moments on the exam. To help you through this part of the exam I have included a short list of tips which will help you get the best out of the independent writing section.

• Whilst the directions are being read, relax and focus yourself on the task at hand.
• If you are unfamiliar with the English based key board or haven’t used one frequently, spend that time familiarizing yourself with the positions of the letters and punctuation; the last thing you need to do is waste time looking for the full stop or comma key.
• Spend a couple of minutes reading through the question. Make sure that you understand what it is asking of you. You would be surprised how many people answer the question incorrectly because they haven’t understood the question correctly.
• Spend the first 5 minutes planning your response. A good plan saves you time whilst writing and helps you avoid digression. Planning your essay will also help ensure that you get the marks you deserve.
• Whilst writing, be yourself. It is more than possible to get top marks by using the grammar and vocabulary that you already know; just use them correctly!!
• Stay away from set structures and vocabulary (such as “facilitate” and “utilize”) that your teachers at high school or university insist on you using. They stick out a mile in your essay and more often than not, you use them incorrectly! Don’t believe me? Well then be my guest, use them in your exam and you will see what I mean!
• Be creative! Your essay will not be marked on how true the information is. If you are stuck for an example, just make one up.
• Don’t try to be an expert! The questions have been designed in such a way that anybody ,no matter from what walk of life or level of English, can answer them. Draw on your own life and experiences and use them to support your ideas.
• You are not expected to write an academic style essay. The purpose of the writing section is to judge how much English you know and how you use it in relation to a basic question.
• Bigger is better! Studies in exams such as the TOEFL have shown that raters are more likely to give higher marks to those who write more despite the mistakes they have made. However, saying this, it is possible to write a little lower than the word limit and still do very very well!
• Make sure you give yourself a little time before you finish to go over and proof read your essay and correct any mistakes that you have made.
• Didn’t have time to complete the conclusion? Don’t worry you won’t lose marks for not doing so! In fact, ETS make many concessions for the independent writing section as they understand that not everybody is familiar with English styled key boards. You won’t lose points for incorrect punctuation (as long as it is not too frequent) and typos (words spelt incorrectly by mistake).
• Familarize yourself with the list of questions which can be found at the link below. They are classic examples of the questions that appear on the exam.

http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/989563wt.pdf

Tackling Vocabulary questions on the exam

WHAT TO DO:

• Refrain from looking at the options to begin with. They should infact be the last things that you look at.
• Look for synonyms or antonyms that may help you understand the word being tested.
• Look at the words being used in conjunction with the word being tested. Some of the options may seem to be correct; however, they may not collate with those words in the text.
• Look at the word being tested and see if you can break it down into its basic components; prefix, root and suffix as these can often give vital information about the meaning of that word and lead you to the correct option.
• Use information in the passage to help you build a mental picture of the word being tested.
  

If after all that you still have no idea as to what the correct answer is, just take a guess and take a note of the question number; if you have any time left over you can always come back to it later.

OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

ETS, the company which created the new generation TOEFL iBT® exam, has spent a lot of time and effort finding out the best way to catch you out. Typical tricks they employ include:

• The use of false friends (words that appear to be and may sound the same in two different languages, but infact have two very different meanings, ie: Sympathetic and sempatik).
  
• Words which have more than one meaning. Here they play on the fact that with some vocabulary you only know one meaning of a particular word, and therefore eliminate it as a possible correct answer (take the word ‘’fast’’ for example; how many meanings does it have?).
  

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY:

• Set yourself realistic daily goals. Learning 5 words per day is more effective than learning 20.
  
• You will come across books and lists of commonly used vocabulary on the exam, but remember that a lot of this vocabulary may not be tested on the exam.
  
• Practice using new vocabulary not only when writing, but also when speaking.
  
• Invest in some magazines such as National Geographic or New Scientist. It is easier to remember vocabulary if you see it on a daily basis.
  
• Use a good English dictionary to look up the other meanings of words you already know.
  

Invest in a good thesaurus. It is a quick and easy way to enlarge and enrich your vocabulary.

Ant and Caterpillar Symbiosis

Jumping Spider

Bluefin Tuna ''True swimming machines''

WHEN WHALES WALKED THE EARTH

BEFORE STARTING

You should keep in mind that the following short film is not original TOEFL iBT material. However, having said that, any practice is good practice and the film has been chosen because of its content and use of academic language. Once you have listened to the film you may answer the questions that follow (the answers of which can be found at the bottom of the page). Please remember that in the real exam you will not be able to see the questions as you are listening to the dialogue.

WHILST WAITING

Depending on your connectivity, it may take some time for the film to fully download on to your screen. So I have included the following list of facts to keep you entertained whilst waiting. Enjoy!

When Whales Hag Legs

Whales were believed to be land animals with legs before they were known to be animals of the sea. Today, there are over 80 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises

• In 1859 Charles Darwin suggested that whales had evolved from large bearlike animals that swam in the sea.
• The evolution of whales started around 50 million years ago.
• The evolution of whales is one of the most extraordinary transformations – in less than 10 million years the whale’s ancestors completely transformed from a four legged terrestrial animal to ocean dwelling giants.
• The oldest known early whale was called Pakicetus – a small furry wolf-like animal that lived in the region now known as Pakistan.
• A descendant of the modern whale was the giant serpent like Basilosaurus, meaning King Lizard - measuring up to 60 feet long.
• Modern whales share many land-based mammalian features – they are warm blooded, breathe with their lungs, take care of their newborns and the mothers nurse their calves with milk.
  The Blue Whale is the largest animal ever to inhabit the earth.
• Archaeologists dated a harpoon lodged in the blubber of a living Bowhead whale in Alaska to the 19th century. New ageing techniques also calculated another Bowhead to be over 200 years.
  The Grey Whale has the longest known migrations of any animal – each whale will travel up to 20,000 km (12,500 miles) in an annual migration.
• Whales rest – they do this by closing off half their brain at a time. They continue to swim and rise to the surface to breathe even if they are in a deep sleep.
• Whale carcasses (or whale falls) often float down into deep waters, reaching depths in excess of 1000 m. In these depths, the whale bodies serve as a major source of organic material for decades at a time- housing more than 30,000 animals.

Read more:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/morphed/3001/Videos/06300_00#tab-facts#ixzz0LmmStpN8


NOW LISTEN AND TAKE NOTES.






NOW ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. YOU MAY USE YOUR NOTES TO HELP YOU.

1) What is the main subject of the film?

• The life of the Pakicetus.
• The link between early whales and modern whales.
• The discovery of Ambulocetus fossils.
• The link between Pakicetus and Ambulocetus.

2) It can be implied that the Ambulocetus lived?

• 46 million years ago.
• 4 million years after the Rodhocetus.
• 1 million years after Pakicetus.
• 5 million years before Rodhocetus.

3) According to the film, where was the fossil of the Rodhocetus found?

• In an area that was once an ancient seabed.
• In a place just outside Pakistan.
• In an ancient lake located in Pakistan.
• In a country bordering Pakistan.

4) According to the film, which three adaptations did the Rodhocetus have that other early fossils did not. Choose three answers.

• A larger skull.
• Wider flipper like legs.
• Shorter neck.
• Better eye sight.
• Better developed tail muscles.

TO HELP YOU ENRICH YOUR VOCABULARY, I HAVE INCLUDED A LIST OF THE MOST USEFUL VOCABULARY FROM THE FILM BELOW.

• Remote
• Ancient
• Seabed
• Fossil
• Tools
• Discovery
• Dive
• Rear
• Muscle
• Elusive
• Bone
• Mineral
• Reveal
• Creature
• Struggle
• Hunt
• Predator
• Species
• Ingenious

ANSWER KEY:

1=B, 2=C, 3=A, 4=B,C,D

Meerkats at their best

This is a short documentary about the life of the infamous Meerkat as featured in ETS' Official TOEFL iBT guide. Enjoy!

Who rates the spoken and written part of the exam?

In order to be eligible TOEFL iBT raters must:

• Reside in the U.S or Hawaii.
• Be a U.S citizen or reside in the U.S.
• Hold a B.A. or higher degree.
• Be experienced in assessing non-native speakers written or spoken English.
• Be qualified in teaching English as a foreign language.

How will your responses be marked?

Raters are trained to score responses using the holistic method which is based on the theory that the entirety of your response is more important than its individual parts. With this method your responses are marked on the total impression that they create, rather than their individual aspects.

How are the raters trained?

An online interactive tutorial web site provides everything a potential rater needs including:

• Information on assessing the written and spoken parts of the exam.
• Instruction in the scoring process.
• Practice in scoring actual TOEFL iBT responses.
• Internet software instruction. Internet scoring procedures and policies.

How are sessions conducted?

Each session may last between 4-8 hours and they are overseen by a scoring leader, who is highly experienced in TOEFL iBT scoring. The sessions begin with a practice set of essays which are designed to help the raters calibrate their judgments against TOEFL iBT standards. If questions arise during this calibration or actual scoring, the rater and scoring leader can telephone each other to dicuss any problems at hand.

About ETS®

A non profit organization, ETS was established in 1947. The organization develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests per annum including a number of other exams such as the TOEIC® test and the GRE® general and subject test in over 180 countries and over 9,000 locations worldwide. ETS are also committed to conducting educational research, analysis and policy studies and developing a variety of customized services and products for teacher certification, English language learning, elementary, secondary and post secondary education.

The truth about testing centers

Now, I know most of you are under the impression that the vast majority of TOEFL testing centers throughout Turkey (and maybe the world) are professional in every way possible; and of course you would think this! After all, they are representatives of the all infamous ETS (Educational Training Services). However, that is just simply not true; the truth is that any organization (as long as they have the right equipment, internet connection and staff) can become a TOEFL testing center. Now, it's true that some TOEFL testing centers such as those provided by Universities or computer based testing centers which specialize in a number of computer based tests including those by Microsoft, do actually do their best to ensure that you receive the exam experience that you paid for. However, other institutions and establishments, especially language schools, have other motives. They use the fact that they are TOEFL testing centers to promote their school and increase their number of students in a very competitive market and to take advantage of the continuous influx of students needing to take the TOEFL exam. Even worse, they use this guise to dupe students in to believing that they are receiving an ETS approved education. This simply isn't true! The fact is that ETS does not endorse any product or educational training of the TOEFL test outside of its own material. So next time you are in search of a TOEFL prep class, try staying away from those language schools that try to pretend to be partners with ETS for the sake of a few bucks. The school next door which may be cheaper, probably provides the same type of course at a more reasonable price.

Choosing the right testing center

Choosing a testing center is just as important as preparing for the test itself. Over the years, so many students have complained to me about the test centers at which they took the test. Complaints range from overly cramped conditions, no separators between computers, copying by other students and more commonly to the absence of an administrator during the exam. Unfortunately, these are more than common events and I receive at least 2-5 complaints every month. Here are a few tips to help you have the exam experience that you have paid for.

• Don't leave it to the last minute to register for the exam as you will have very little choice as to where you can take it.
  
• Before registering for the exam, go to the testing center of your choice and ask to see the testing room.
  
• Stay away from testing centers at language schools as their main priority is to their paying students. Also, these establishments only care about administering the test because of the number of students it attracts and not because they are interested in administering the test for educational purposes.
  
• If you can't find the right place for you in your own area, think about travelling out of town to take the test.
  
• Follow the advice of friends that may have already taken the exam. What did they think of their testing center?

Common words used in the TOEFL iBT® exam

A

Abandon
Abduction
Abhor
Absent
Absorb
Abstain
Abstract
Abundant
Accelerate
Accompany
Adjacent
Adjust
Advent
Adversely
Advocate
Affluence
Attitude
Attribute

B

Banal
Battle
Beguile
Behavior
Belligerent
Beneficial
Benevolence
Benign
Bias
Bond
Breed
Bribery
Bridge
Brief
Buoyant
Burden

C

Candidate
Capable
Capacity
Capricious
Catastrophic
Cease
Challenge
Chiefly
Circulate
Circumspect
Circumstance
Clandestine
Compare
Compatible
Compensate
Complement
Complex
Consume
Contamination
Content

D

Data
Debris
Decade
Declare
Decline
Decrease
Demonstrate
Denote
Deteriorate
Determine
Detract
Deviate
Device
Devise
Devote
Digress
Discriminate
Distill
Distinctive
Distort

E

Edit
Efficient
Election
Elegant
Elements
Eligible
Emerge
Emission
Emphasis
Enable
Enclave
Enterprising
Epiphany
Epitome
Equality
Eruption
Evaluate
Eventually
Exploit

F

Fervor
Finance
Fluctuate
Focus
Formidable
Formulate
Fossil
Foster
Foundation
Fraction
Frugal
Frustration
Function
Fundamental





G

Garrulous
Gender
Generate
Generation
Genre
Global
Gradual
Gratify
Graze
Gregarious
Guarantee
Guilty

I

Identical
Ideology
Ignorant
Ignore
Illiterate
Illustrate
Implicate
Imply
Import
Improve
Impudent
Impulse
Inaugurate
Inborn
Intellectual
Intense
Isolated

L

Labor
Lack
Laconic
Languish
Latent
Lease
Lecture
Leeway
Legal
Legislation
Leisurely
Liable
Likewise
Location
Locomotion
Logic
Loose
Lucid
Lucrative

M

Majority
Makeshift
Mandatory
Manifest
Manipulate
Merit
Method
Meticulous
Milieu
Minimum
Miniscule
Motivate
Mundane
Mutual

N

Negotiate
Net
Neutral
Nevertheless
Nonchalant
Notion
Noxious
Nucleus
Nullify

O

Obese
Objective
Obtain
Obtrusive
Odious
Offense
Omnipotent
Onset
Opportunity
Oppress
Option
Organize
Outcome
Outgrow
Outlet
Outward
Outwit
Overall

P

Paradigm
Parallel
Partial
Participate
Passion
Passive
Per se
Perceive
Permit
Perpetuate
Persevere
Persist
Perspective
Persuade
Proficiency
Proportion
Propulsion
Prosperous
Provide
Publication
Purchase
Purge
Pursue

Q

Query
Quid pro quo

R

Readily
Recede
Recognize
Regimental
Region
Regulate
Relic
Repress
Repudiate
Resent
Retain
Retract

S

Sedimentary
Seep
Segment
Seize
Semi subsistence
Sentiment
Sibling
Simulation
Skilled
Sophisticated
Source
Spearhead
Specialize
Spectacle
Spectator
Spectrum
Suspect
Suspend
Symbolic
Syndrome

T

Tactic
Talent
Tank
Target
Temporary
Tenacious
Terminal
Terminate
Text
Thereby
Thrive
Timorous
Transmit
Trend
Trigger

U

Ultimate
Umbrageous
Umbrageous
Undergo
Underlie
Undermine
Undertake
Unify
Unique
Universal
Utilize

Student Score List

Fatih (Hİ sabah) 99pts
Kuaybe (Hİ sabah) 94 pts
Selime (HS sabah) 90 pts
Özgur Fırat (Hİ sabah) 74 pts
Mustafa Kara (HS Akşam) 89 pts
Başak Görgeç (Hİ Sabah) 95 pts
Emrecan Soylemez (Hİ Sabah) 89 pts
Tarik Ulaş (Hİ sabah) 96pts
Osman Aydoğan (Hİ sabah) 110pts
Selin Özsinan (Hs Sabah) 87pts
Ahmet Ergul (Hİ Sabah) 101pts
Çiğdem Bal (Sabahdan akşama kadar) 95pts
Seda uzun (Hİ Sabah) 102pts
Ezgi Deniz Yılmaz (HS Akşam) 92pts
Ebru uzundere (Hİ Akşam) 92pts
Nur Göğüş (Hİ Akşam) 80pts
Said Ertekin (Hİ Akşam) 85pts
Sinem Erdem (HS Sabah) 108pts
Ozgur polat (Hİ Sabah) 108pts
Ömer Nacı Tayan (Hİ Sabah) 93pts
Özgül Özyurt (Hİ Sabah) 96pts
Begum Beyhan (HS Akşam) 97pts
Burhan Aras (HS Sabah) 87pts
Pınar Osmanpaşaoğlu (HS Sabah)90pts
Ahmet Canbeyli (Hİ Akşam) 102pts

This month's best essay (August 2009)

August 2009

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Dancing plays an important role in culture.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your response.

Over thousands of years humans have been communicating with eachother. People from all over the world need to express their feelings and thoughts. In the modern world we mostly use writing and speaking to express ourselves. However, there are a few more ways to do so. Dancing can be a good example, because with mimics and gestures dancers try to explain something.

All of the nations in the world have different cultures and almost in all of them there is at least a piece of dancing. Dancing is an important aspect of our traditions. Dancing figuares will be the same no matter how old they are. Because native people dance to show their environment and life style. This is a way of representing our traditions. Samba dancers from Brazil, for example, represent the life in Brazil in their dance, samba, an observer can see how relaxed and also dynamic place Brazil is, according to the dance figuares.

A tradition belongs only to one nation and culture. So does dancing. Dance figuares may be similar, because traditions and cultures affect each other, but we can easily see that samba is quite different from the horon, for example, a dance of people from Blacksea area region in Turkey. When watching the Horon you can easily learn about the life in this region. In their dance figures, you can realize the excitement of the blacksea people. While dancing they shake their bodies just like hamsi in cold water, which is a species of fish that lives mostly in the blcksea. From their dance moves it is remarkable how rebellion and brave these people are. Also the clothing can give us a clue about the life.

In conclusion, as I have illustrated above there are many reasons that dancing plays an important role in a culture because of its uniqueness and what it represents

Author: Erdem/Point=3+

People listen to music for different reasons and at different times. Why is music important to many people? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Over the last 50 years or so, listening to music for different reasons and at different times has become so important for people's lives. People from all over the world listen to different types of music, like rock, pop, jazz...However, listening to music is important to many people for two very different specific reasons

The first reason as to why listening to music is important to many people is that of human health. The listener can create whatever image he or she wants to when listening to music. By listening to music one can start their day and gets the brain flowing in the morning. This is an essential part of life as listening to music in the morning helps you calm down whenever things go wrong in the day. Thousands of people, for example, are treated for cancer each year, and recovering from serious procedures can be painful. However, studies show that music eases the recovery of individuals who have undergone bone marrow transplants to treat cancer. Also, research supports the use of music to modulate heart rate and blood pressure which can relieve stress symptoms in patients with heart disease.

The second reason as to why listening to music is important to many people is that of educating children. Music helps the mind to develop and grow. It is a proven fact that participating in a music program in school will help develop your brain to a higher level and faster than other students. Music actually improves communication between the right and left brain, allowing you to gain better comprehension and memorization skills, for example. Music is science. It is exact and demands accustics. Music is math. It is based on the rythmic subdivisions of time done in a split second. Music is history. The music you hear or play is usually an indication of the time and environment in which it was created. Music is a foreign language. The music is not any language known to man. It is its own language and uses symbols to represent ideas. Most of all, music is art. It is the greatest form of art that allows a human to take boring notes on a page and transform them in to an emotion and feeling you can not measure.

In conclusion as I have illustrated above there are many reasons as to why listening to music is important for peoples lives and that is

Greek and Latin roots

A good understanding of Greek and Latin roots will help you a great deal on the exam. Not only are they helpful when it comes to understanding the meaning of new words when you come across them, but they are especially helpful in helping you determine the correct answer to say a vocabulary question. Study the following list of Greek and latin roots.

ROOT	MEANING	EXAMPLE
ALTER	OTHER	ALTER EGO
AMI	LOVE	AMICABLE
ANN	YEAR	ANNUAL
ANTHROP	MAN	ANTHROPOLOGY
AQUA	WATER	AQUARIUM
ARCH	LEADER, CHEIF	MONARCH
AUD	SOUND	AUDIO
BELL	WAR	REBEL
BIBLIO	BOOK	BIBLIOPHILE
BIO	LIFE	BIOLOGY
BREV	SHORT	ABBREVIATE
CAP	TAKE, SEIZE	CAPTURE
CARN	FLESH	REINCARNATION
CED	GO	PROCEED
CHROM	COLOR	MONOCHROME
CHRON	TIME	CHRONOLOGY
COGN	KNOW	RECOGNIZE
CRAT	RULE, RULER	DEMOCRATIC
CRYPT	HIDDEN	CRYPTIC
CULP	GUILT	CULPRIT
DEI	GOD	DEITY
DENT	TOOTH	DENTIST
DERM	SKIN	EPIDERMIS
DIC	SAY, TELL	DICTATOR
DOX	BELIEF	ORTHODOXY
DUC	LEAD	EDUCATE
DUO	TWO	DUET
DYNAM	POWER	DYNAMO
EGO	SELF	EGOIST
EQU	EQUAL	EQUITY
FACT	MAKE, DO	MANUFACTURE
FRATER	BROTHER	FRATERNITY
GAM	MARRY	POLYGAMY
GEO	EARTH	GEOLOGY
GLYPH	GROOVE	HIEROGLYPH
GRAD	STEP	GRADUALLY
GRAPH	WRITE, PRINT	AUTOGRAPH
GYN	WOMAN	GYNECOLOGIST
HOLO	WHOLE, ENTIRE	HOLOGRAPH
HYDRO	WATER	HYDRAULICS
JECT	THROW	EJECT
JUD	JUDGE	AJUDICATE
LEG	LAW	LEGISLATION
LITER	LETTER	LITERATURE
LOC	PLACE	LOCATION
LOG	WORD, STUDY	MONOLOGUE
LUC	LIGHT	LUCID
MAGN	LARGE	MAGNIFY
MAN	HAND	MANIPULATE
MAR	SEA	MARINE
MATER	MOTHER	MATERNAL
MET	BEHIND	METAPHYSICS
METRI	MEASURE	GEOMETRIC
MIN	SMALL	MINISCULE
MIT	SEND	EMIT
MOB	MOVE	MOBILE
MON	WARN	PREMONITION
MORT	DEATH	MORTAL
MORPH	FORM	AMORPHOUS
MUT	CHANGE	MUTANT
NEURO	NERVE	NEUROLOGY
NOM	NAME	NOMINATE
NYM	WORD, NAME	SYNONYM
ODONTO	TOOTH	ORTHODONDIST
ORTHO	STRAIGHT	ORTHOPEDIC
PATER	FATHER	PATRICIDE
PATH	FEELING	EMPATHY
PED	FOOT	PEDAL
PEL	PUSH	REPEL
PEND	HANG, WEIGH	PENDANT
PHON	SOUND	CACOPHONY
POD	FEET	PODIATRIST
PORT	CARRY	PORTABLE
POT	POWER	POTENT
PSYCH	MIND	PSYCHOLOGY
QUE	QUESTION	ENQUIRE
SCENT	CLIMB	DESCENT
SCI	CUT	SCISSORS
SCRIB	WRITE	CONSCRIBE
SECT	CUT	DISSECT
SED	SIT	SEDIMENTARY
SENT	FEEL, BE AWARE	SENTIENT
SEQU	FOLLOW	SUBSEQUENT
SOPH	WISDOM	PHILOSOPHY
SPEC	LOOK, SEE	SPECTATOR
SPOND	ANSWER	RESPOND
STAT	STAY	STATIONARY
TACT	TOUCH	TACTILE
TEMP	TIME	TEMPORARY
TENT	HOLD	TENUOUS
TERR	LAND	TERRAIN
THEO	GOD	THEOLOGY
THERM	HEAT	THERMAL
TROPHY	NUTRITION	ATROPHY
VAC	EMPTY	VACANT
VENE	COME, GO	CONVENTION
VERT	TURN	IRREVERSIBLE
VIT	LIFE	REVITALIZE
VOC	CALL	REVOKE

A basic introduction to the TOEFL iBT® exam

So you have decided for some reason or another to take the TOEFL exam; and you may have many ideas or assumptions as to what the exam entails and measures. So before we go any further, lets define and put the TOEFL exam into context by looking at what the exam is, and is not.

• The exam is primarily designed for students who desire to study at an English speaking university.
  
• It tests your overall understanding, knowledge and use of the English language in an academic environment.

• You are not required to have any prior knowledge of the academic subjects used in the exam.
  
• Unlike other exams there is no easy, automatic route to success; Success can only be obtained with hard work and by listening to the advice of your teacher.
  

The next step is to see what we are faced against. The TOEFL IBT is divided into four sections each worth a total of 30 points. Let’s look at what these sections are made up of.

THE READING SECTION

• Three academic based reading passages.
  
• Each passage averages 700 words.
  
• Each passage consists of 12-14 questions.
  
• There are three basic types of passage: Exposition, Argumentation and historical.
  
• These three passages are divided into two sections.

• In the first section the student has 20 minutes to complete the first reading passage whilst in the second reading section the student has 40 minutes to complete the final two.
  
• Any time left over in each section can be used to check and change answers if need be. This time, however, cannot be carried over to any other section.

THE LISTENING SECTION

• 6 dialogs divided into two sections.
• Each section consists of one campus based dialog and two academic based dialogs
• Campus based dialogs are followed by 5 questions and academic based dialogs 6
  Dialogs can be anywhere between 4-6 minutes long.
• Students only have ten minutes to answer all the questions in any one section.
• Students are unable to check or change previously answered questions.

THE SPEAKING SECTION

• You will be asked a total of 6 questions
• Question 1=Independent. You will be asked to speak about a place, person, object or event. Once the question has been read you will be given 15secs to plan and prepare and then 45secs to make your response.
• Question 2=Independent. You will be presented with two possible actions or situations and then asked to say which of them is more preferable or which opinion is more justified. The timing for this question is the same as question 1.
• Question 3=Integrated/campus. You will be presented with a reading passage about a particular aspect of university life. Then you will listen to two people discussing this subject. Once the listening is over you will be asked a question on what you have read and listened to. You will have 40-50secs to read the passage, depending on its length; 30secs to plan and prepare your response and then 1min to make your response.
• Question 4=Integrated/academic. You will be presented with a passage on a particular academic subject. Then you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture on the same subject. You will then be asked a question about the materials that you were presented with. The timing is the same as question 3.
• Question 5=Integrated/campus. In this question, you will listen to a short dialog between two people discussing a particular campus related problem. You will then be asked to summarize this problem and give your opinion as to what you think would be the best possible solution. After being read the question, you will be given 20secs to plan and prepare your response and 60secs to make your response.
• Question 6=Integrated/academic. In this question you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture and then you will be asked a question about what you have just heard. The timing for this question is the same as question 5

THE WRITING SECTION

• Question 1=Intergrated. In this question you will be given 3mins to read a passage of an academic nature and then you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture on the same subject. You will then be given 20mins to write a summary of the information that you have read and listened to.
  
• Question 2=Independent. In this part of the writing section you will be presented with a traditional styled essay question. You will be given 30mins to write a response, which should average around 300 words.