I had my TOEFL on 26th August,2005, and I got a scaled score of 233-290. With the quality of essay I wrote, I am hoping to get anything above the 280 mark.
* After GRE, TOEFL seemed to be something like a cakewalk. I did a few CDs, like kaplan, cambridge, and powerprep. But just doing the powerprep is more than enough.
* The LISTENING section was all that I was concerned about, since I am not much into English movies, infact I hardly watch movies. Just do not doze off during the listening part, the one liners are more tough 'coz the conversations start and end even before you have had a chance to train your ears. The longer ones were cool. Keep your eyes glued to the comp as a lot of unfamiliar terms will be written down frequently. If a process is being discussed, try remembering it sequentially, as in, what happens after what.And yes, when you hear a conversation, you see two people on the screen. Most of the times, you would have seen the people concerned previously in the powerprep CD while practising. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE CONVERSATIONS ARE DIFFERENT HERE AND DO NOT TRY TO RECALL WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE PARTICULARLY TALKING ABOUT IN YOUR PRACTICE CD. This works as an instant distraction.
* The STRUCTURE part was quite okay. Since time is not a constraint, recheck your answers before you have made the final click.
* The COMPREHENSION was the most boring part, where you have 4 essays and 4 x 11 = 44 questions. But there is plenty of time, and there are no extra points for being the fastest one to complete them. So do not rush. The essays are just school level ones, unlike the GRE.
* The WRITING part, nothing to worry about, I never expected an easy topic like this. Just hone your typing speed and keep typing.
* Make use of the earplugs. The sound of the key boards being frantically used around you can be quite a distraction.
* In GRE, just mentioning the names of the universities sufficed. Here, I had to mention the departments as well.
* As usual, the second ID was needed.
* Get plenty of sleep the previous night and just relax.
Break up of my scores:
Listening-29/30
Structure and Writing- 13-30/30
Comprehension- 28/30.
Good Luck.
sunshine.
Note: www.sunshinenjoy.blogspot.com
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