I gave my TOEFL this November ’23. Here is everything I know.

107.
24 in Reading, 27 in Listening, 28 in Speaking, and 28 in Writing.

Here is all the information that I used to prepare for my first attempt at TOEFL all compiled into one article. The article is divided into the following sections

• General Pointers
• Section | Reading
• Section | Speaking
• Section | Listening
• Section | Writing

Note-taking is vital. Take a deep breath and get started!

GENERAL POINTERS

1. Try to keep a level head.
2. If you are someone who prefers to talk to people and has a genuine interest in someone sitting next to you I wholeheartedly recommend that. I struck up a conversation with another test giver and was able to relax and found myself more at home during the speaking task.
3. Depending on where you test ensure that you read what you have to carry to the test center.
4. The center will give you the sheets to use for notes and the stationery.
5. There is a fixed time for every section. If you finish early take time to review your answers from a relaxed pace of mind as your initial round of answers has been answered.
6. Be mentally prepared to have ambient noise (usually of other test takers speaking, typing, or listening to their audio). Practice with ambient noise around.

SECTION | Reading

I read the passages entirely so that I had the big picture while answering the questions. During my practice, I noticed that I could answer reading questions more efficiently when I had read the passage in its entirety at the beginning than not doing so.

FORMAT: 2 passages, 10 questions each
Total no. of questions: 20
Total time: 35 minutes

• Test communication. Does not test knowledge.
• Understand the flow of events + relationships.
• Read the entire paragraph and then answer
• Use your finger to guide your reading
• Keep track of difficult questions and choices you have eliminated — A reason to use paper & pencil
• Read the question twice — NOTE THE TENSE and MEANING
• Read the selected answer twice — NOTE THE TENSE and MEANING
• Before submitting — TAKE A DEEP BREATH
• A reason to use paper and pencil — Keep track of difficult questions and choices you have eliminated

SECTION | Speaking

Practice with soft music playing around you. This will help you tackle the noise of students around you who are also in their speaking section.

1. 1 independent task (prep time: 15–30 sec; response time: 45 or 60 sec)
2. 3 integrated tasks — Read/Listen/Speak (prep time: 15–30 sec; response time: 45 or 60 sec)

Total no. of questions: 4
Total time: 16 minutes

The general format for Speaking Tasks is, to begin with a MAIN IDEA > DETAIL 1 > DETAIL 2 > END

• Answer the question calmly
• Take a deep breath before answering
• Plan the FIRST LINE i.e. OPENING STATEMENT
• Choose a side and stick with it
• Use real-life examples to drive home your point
• Main Idea — with example
• Try to complete your sentences. If you feel like your sentence would remain unfinished given the time frame, cut it short and move to a concluding statement.

Question One — Independent Speaking

Explaining to a CHILD — be energetic.

1. State your main point I agree/I disagree with the idea. For example — In my opinion, this idea is better. I believe that… While some may disagree, I believe that…
2. Aim for a smooth transition from the statement to the reasons I think/feel this way for several reasons.
3. First Reason — First, + example (personal experience with a conclusion supporting the statement).
4. Second Reason — Second, another example (more details)

Question Two—Integrated Task — Read an article, Listen to a conversation — Summarize/Report

I am a REPORTER — Talk like you are reporting news therefore adopt a mentality to report the person’s response.

1. Begin with the main point/stance/argument taken by one of the students. For example — Student A believes that the basketball court must be added to the list of sports facilities for the new complex.
2. With a smooth transition explain why Student A believes this. So, after the main opening line have REASON 1 and REASON 2.
3. Now, that you are 3 sentences into the task collect yourself and look to add instances where there is a stark difference in reason between the article and the student’s reasoning.
4. Using a similar transition word (Finally/Additionally/Also/Adding on/It is important to note that) include the final and third reason why Student A believes in something and how it differs from the article.
5. Use the 4th sentence to flesh out the differences between the article and the student's conversation and move to conclude.

Question Three — General to Specific — Short article on a concept and listen to a lecture, then summarize

I am a TEACHER—Adopt the mentality of sharing information. Therefore try to identify the important concepts and build your answer around them.

1. Start by stating the Term or Idea — SAVES TIME
2. For sentence 2, give a small amount of detail from the Reading using “It states that…”
3. For the next few sentences use “The professor elaborates on this by providing an example. / “The professor elaborates on this by providing two examples.” to flesh out the key concepts in the lecture/reading (based on the question)
4. Some more transition phrases — “To begin with, he/she mentions that…” “Next, he/she says that…”
5. Finally, conclude by stating the general theme of the lecture/reading and see if you can naturally mention that you learned something new about the topic to end on a high note.

Question Four — Lecture — 20, 60 seconds

I am a TEACHER — Adopt the mentality of sharing information. Therefore try to identify the important concepts and build your answer around them.

1. State the lecture subject and details. The lecture is about (subject) which is (detail)…
2. State the first example (3–5 sentences). First, the professor notes that … For example, …
3. State the second example (3–5 sentences). Secondly, he says that …For instance, …
4. Finally, conclude by stating the general theme of the lecture/reading and see if you can naturally mention that you learned something new about the topic to end on a high note.

SECTION | Listening

If you are a person who watches a lot of English movies and series (without subtitles) you should do fine in this section. I preferred to listen to the audio without taking notes — similar to how I would learn a new concept biology concept at school. Listen first and take notes later, which in this case translates to me being able to focus intently on the audio without the pressure of writing notes. Here, if you are taking notes do so in a columnar fashion so that you can compare and establish a flow of events to refer to while answering

Actually, you should adopt this method of note-taking for Speaking as well. Do practice and give it a shot during your mock tests to find out what works for you.

1. 3 Lectures (3–5 minutes long, about 500–800 words) 6 questions each, a total of 18 questions
2. 2 conversations (about 3 minutes long, about 12–25 exchanges) 5 questions each, a total of 10 questions

Total no. of questions: 28
Total time: 36 minutes

Information to look out for — Conversation b/w a Student and an Employee

1. Student
   What is their confusion
   How is the situation explained
   How does the student feel at the end of the conversation
2. Campus Employee
   Explanation of the situation
   Offers to do exactly what

Information to look out for — Lecture

1. Opening Statement/Stance/Argument
2. x2 reasons/ways to elaborate on the importance of the topic
3. What does the lecturer want us to know?

SECTION | Writing

Extravagant and flowery words are not always necessary. If you don’t know the meaning, don’t write it. Also, long essays will fetch you good scores in writing. I just let my writing mind go wild and was able to write to my heart’s content. So just write as much as you can. Back up all your points with an example. The example should be genuine. It doesn’t matter if is true. You could make up any life event of your own. No one will come and ask for its proof.

1. 1 Integrated task — Read/Listen/Write (20 minutes) (reading time: 3 min; Listening time: 2 min; writing: 15 min)
2. 1 Writing for an Academic Discussion task (10 minutes)

Total no. of questions: 2
Total time: 30 minutes

• Interesting — Exciting
• Goes on to
• Longer essays get higher scores — MAKE PARAGRAPHS
• MUST PROOFREAD
• Differentiate using lines the x3 opinions presented by PARAGRAPH and LISTENING
• Writing the INTRODUCTION last
• Communication > Complexity

OBJECTIVE & FORMAT | 120 Words | Integrating Writing | Task — When a Prof introduces a topic, and 2 individuals share their opinions

1. Objective
   Add to the discussion
   Talk about your perspective
   Provide examples
   Avoid difficult grammar
2. Format
   CHOOSE A SIDE REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU THINK — JUST WRITE;
   My opinion — is not general, choose a side, a specific word;
   Explain why you chose this side — SUMMARIZE the statement of the person;
   Reason 1;
   Explain why not the other side — SUMMARIZE the statement;
   Reason 2;
   Conclude — GENERAL OPINION.

OBJECTIVE & FORMAT | 200 Words | Independent Writing | Task — Read a Paragraph and listen to a person speaking about the same agenda

1. Objective
   Add to the discussion
   Talk about my perspective — Compare Listening and Reading
   Separate the Paragraphs
2. Format — OPINION — AGREE with 1 — DISAGREE with 1 — Example
   Opening Statement;
   Bridge it with x2 reasons;
   PARA 1 is your 1st Reason — Topic > Example > Explanation > Sum Up;
   PARA 2 with a similar format;
   Conclude by restating the main opinion > Summarize PARA 1 and 2 > End on a high note with a final thought.

This article is in no way, shape or form the complete preparation for TOEFL. I think that TOEFL is a unique examination in many ways and this article can serve as a base for your preparation. Use this article to navigate your journey as you prepare to score well on this test. Please take time to create formats and tricks to help you tackle each section uniquely.

ETS and YouTube have some great free reference materials that you can use for your preparation. I used Magoosh TOEFL personally which came in handy to practice and create habits that I could rely on if the exam jitters got to me during the test : )

Good luck!