Hi guys,
I took TOEFL on 19th December and received my score today morning.
I got 106 and this is the breakdown :
Reading - 23
Listening - 28
Speaking - 26
Writing - 29
Test Center Experience :My slot time was 12:30 and reporting time is 12:00. I arrived at 11:00 and I was allowed to start the test at 11:30. I completed the test by 4:00 o' clock. I felt headset to be uncomfortable to wear. I had to adjust it like 100 times during the test. That's the only annoyance I faced.
Reading Section :I got 80 minutes section and total of around 56 questions (4 passages). I became restless after 60 minutes. Staring at the screen for answers and going back and forth felt very uncomfortable. I had to keep the headset for the whole time because others are testing their microphone. That's the main disadvantage of 12:30 slot. I felt very stressed out during this section.
Listening Section :This section, I didn't face any difficulty at all. Everything went so well. I expected 30 in this. One small suggestion though, Entire scoring of this section depends on how well you take notes. Note down with shortcuts and organize it properly. Better structured notes = correct and fast answers. I usually use arrow marks and symbols to connect words.
For example, if lecture says "X gives rise to Y through Z process", Then write X and arrow mark and then Y. Put Z on top of arrow mark. Use shorthand notations. If student says "Marks are decreasing", you write the word "marks" and put "down arrow" symbol beside it.
After returning from 10-minute break, I felt refreshed
Speaking Section :I performed fine on speaking section. Main difficulty I faced is the speed. I speak at a faster rate, so I was able to complete my answers and still have like 10 seconds left over. So, I had to fill that gap with bla bla.
Writing Section :I felt very uncomfortable during this section. Everyone was still doing speaking section and that headset is needed for Integrated task. So, I had to bear the difficulty. I did very well on the first task. The second task was a bit tough. Its purely based on how we use our ideas and organize them.
Integrated task :1.Intro Para -
1st sentence, what was the topic discussed by lecture and text.
2nd sentence, relationship between them (support/oppose)
3rd sentence, what did text say
4th sentence, what did the lecture say
2.1st Idea Para-
1st sentence, what did lecture say (lecture said this.....)
2nd sentence, why did lecture say that (reason)
3rd sentence, what did lecture feel about text ideas (hence professor denied this...)
4th sentence, what did text say (start sentence with "while", "on the other hand")
5th sentence, why did text say that
3.2nd Idea Para-
1st sentence, lecture and text relation (lecture denied that........)
2nd sentence, why did lecture say that (reason)
3rd sentence, what did text say (start sentence with "while", "on the other hand")
4th sentence, why did text say that
4.3rd Idea Para -
Repeat a format
5.Conclusion Para
Independent Task:1.Intro para-
1st, intro sentence
2nd, come to the point
3rd, state your opinion
4th, state name of the reasons (example, "This is because of factors like time, money and xyz")
2.1st Idea para-
1st, state the idea
2nd, explain about it in a simplistic manner
3rd, use analogy or quote (optional)
4th, state an example
5th, show how that example related to the topic and idea.
6th, conclude the para
3.2nd Idea para
4.3rd Idea para (if time permits)
5.Conclusion
Preparation :I prepared for around one week. Materials I followed:
-TOEFL
Official Guide.
-
Magoosh TOEFL flashcards (app).
-TOEFL quickprep PDFs (4 PDFs in ETS website).
-CD that comes with
official guide.
I followed
Magoosh 1 month study plan but didn't have 4 weeks time
. That schedule had 24 days prep plan(6 days per week) . I had roughly 7 days for prep.
So, I combined 4 days of work into single day work.
For example,
1st day - Did all the work mentioned for first 4 days in schedule.
2nd day - Did all work mentioned for next 4 days in schedule.
.
.
.
6th day - completed all 24 days work
7th day - Revised weak areas and wrote some essays for practice.
On test day - For one hour, I practiced speaking (to warm up for the test)
On these 7 days, I listened to an Audio book every night for 30 minutes and listened to few TED talks. Read some nice articles from various websites etc.