Mistakes and 21 Steps TOEFL Experience
Mistakes and 21 Steps TOEFL Experience
Mistakes and 21 Steps TOEFL Experience
>>Mistake 1<<
I postponed my registration till I was finished
with my collage exams, searching and
downloading study materials and waiting for
issuing of my passport. I made a decision to
take the test in late April; book my exam on
12th June aiming for mid-July and I ended up
with 4th August. This mistake wasted a lot of
time; forced me to study in Ramadan (which
was very stressful) and had a Detrimental
impact on my score.
WHEN: The paper score card reaches your home
usually 4 weeks after the day your e-copy of scores
are available (which usually are posted in 10 days of
the test date). This means, approximately 6 weeks
after you take the test. You want to have your
paper score card in hand before you apply for
2. http://www.4englishexams.com/englishtest/toefl/toefl-forum.htm
3. http://gmatclub.com/forum/toefl-ielts-pte-143/?
sid=c950f1e6e625aad00846020fd7dd7d87
4. http://www.facebook.com/groups/219416964805
021/
5. http://www.expenglish.com/vb/forumdisplay.php
?f=44
During my readings, I made a series of Word files,
containing the best experience I have encounter. This
helped me to take a quick second look whenever I
need to make a decision about something. In fact, I
used all of them while proofreading this note.
Step 6: Vocabulary
Having good vocabulary is a cardinal factor to ace all
of the four sections of the exam; however it is very
Step 7: Pronunciation
Do you know 3 different ways to pronounce (-th)?
Can you identify different stress patterns in English?
Do you have good intonation patterns? Knowing the
simple rules for English pronunciation is mandatory
for your speaking. The goal is to deliver the meaning
you intend clearly so that you can be understood the
first time you say something. Needless to say that
our native language; Arabic, have all the sounds
needed for mastering English pronunciation. Yet, the
main problem is that we tend to choose the easy way
to pronounce even if it is wrong. The (-th) sound
represents a famous example.
I found this YouTube channel which was very useful to
accomplish this goal. Jennifer; the instructor,
illustrates those rules in a very simple way. These
videos will take only 4:5 hours of your time and will
help you avoid a lot of common mistakes. Here are
the links http://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PL81BCA0A2CB139CB7&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PL4B28722936C871E8&feature=plcp
If you not satisfied with the above-mentioned
YouTube channel or you think that you need to work
with more aspects of your pronunciation, use
"Barron's Pronounce It Perfectly in English". It is a
Step 8: Grammar
Unlike previous versions of TOEFL, the IBT version
has no grammar subsection; however, it is imperative
to have a competent grammar in order to achieve
higher scores in the constructive sections of the
exam.
>>Mistake 4<<
I started this step using "Gem Top Grammar"; the
book with head of Nefertiti on it. It is highly
unorganized and out of date book that wasted my
time.
Here are other sources that I went through:
1) Cambridge English Grammar in Use (3rd
edition) It is a great source; delivers grammar
rules in a simple way for you to revise. It
consists of 145 units, each unit illustrate a
simple basic rule in one page and give you an
exercise on the facing page. The best merit of
this book is that it gives a study guide trial exam
at the end of the book, try to use it at first to
identify your weak areas and revise them
afterwards.
>>Mistake 5<<
While I was watching these videos, I did not take
notes of the unfamiliar concepts for me. I regretted
it later as I needed to quickly revise them during
my practice on the writing section, especially the
last two videos (Punctuation and Spelling).
>>Mistake 6<<
I did not do this step at all. In fact, I think that this
mistake is the principle factor that impaired my
score on the writing section. I found that I'm slow
at typing 2 days before my exam date and tried to
practice a lot but I did not manage to reach the
minimum limit wanted by ETS (225 words for
question 1 in 20 minutes and 300 words for
question 2 in 30 minutes) in the test day.
>>Mistake 7<<
During my days of practice, I typed my essays using
my laptop, which turned out to be a mistake as the
standard keyboard used during the exam is
different and need more energy. So, try to practice
on a standard one.
>>Mistake 8<<
After I learnt to take notes during listening to
someone, probably for the first time in my life, I
realized that my concentration was wavered while
noting down points. However, I didn't put that much
effort fixing this issue, which cost me two points in
the listening section.
>>Mistake 10<<
I scored 28 on my first trial exam's reading section
and get conceited about it. So, I did not devote
much time to practice the reading section and this
cost me 4 points.
Writing question 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx3AXbGWNbA
Writing Question 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytubzmj_j94
Writing Question 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul2OTUqMGqk
>>Mistake 11<<
For both constructive sections, I spent a lot of time
searching for the perfect strategy to acquire rather
than practicing it. I only practiced writing and
speaking for one day each. This severely impaired
my confidence, time management and development
of ideas which led to my low score.
HOW MUCH TIME: If i could go back in time, I would
stick to the following time table:
1. Watch all the above-mentioned videos + Nova's
intro + Nova's independent question in one
day.
2. Practice all of Nova's independent tasks (12
essays) in one day.
Part 2
http://www.mediafire.com/?qf97jx3il19293x
Part 3
http://www.mediafire.com/?0f0oa9l9bgsvj6p
Part 4
http://www.mediafire.com/?n7bn78juczum5qr
Part 3
http://www.mediafire.com/?hfdd3b0wzsqjq6z
3. Kaplan TOEFL IBT 2010-2011 (4 Tests)
Part 1
http://www.mediafire.com/?75r5x7rhvj06e9y
Part 2
http://www.mediafire.com/?014vqkb6wabwo2q
4. Longman Preparation for the TOEFL IBT CD (2
Tests + 8 mini tests)
Mediafire folder for the whole thing
http://www.mediafire.com/?cr67b9q6f5904
>>Mistake 13<<
Although I'm a long sleeper (needs 8:10 hours
minimum), I slept only for 3 hours that night. This is
my biggest mistake through my whole preparation
period, since it impaired my concentration on exam
day and made me more vulnerable to distractions
made by other examinees during their speaking
section.
Practice Part
Drawings