tshimba

[tshimba]

aspiration

sibling

scrutinize

scrutinise

council

archetype

obsess

eminence

lawmaker

[tshimba]

TOEFL Writing Tips

Introduction Paragraph

Three sentences introduction. (3 or 4 minutes)

Hook sentence

Thesis Statement (start with "In my opinion")

Transition

Don't repeat the words in the question.

First Body Paragraph

Start with "To begin with"

General (Explanatory Statement) to Specific (Personal Experience)

Use "however" in somewhere

Mention "For example" in the last half of the paragraph

Summing up at the last sentences. Repeat topic sentence with using new words.

Second Body Paragraph

Start with "Secondly" rather than "Moreover"

Rest of the part is same as the first one.

Conclusion

Start with "In conclusion"

Repeating the main point with paraphrasing again

Repeating the thesis with paraphrasing again

Repeating the two arguments with paraphrasing again

[tshimba]

Cohesive devices

Addition

additionally

also

besides

furthermore

in addition

moreover

Concession

however

just the same

nevertheless

nonetheless

still

yet

although

even though

in spite of

despite

Exemplification

for example

for instance

in fact

in other words

actually

Enumeration

first of all

first

second

third

next

for one thing

last

finally

Summary/Conclusion

in short

to sum up

in conclusion

Contrast

on the other hand

on the one hand

instead

in contrast

rather

on the contrary

Result

because

now that

because of

thanks to

due to

therefore

so

as a result

for this reason

consequently

Time and Sequence

when

whenever

before

after

as soon as

recently

these days

nowadays

at present

currently

Speaker's thought

strictly speaking

frankly speaking

to be frank

to be honest

put simply

as I see it

personally

Transition

in any case

at any rate

anyway

now

then

by the way

Miscellaneous

of course

fortunately

according to

generally

on the whole

in many cases

basically

certainly

naturally

probably

maybe

as a matter of fact

if

provided that

unless

normally

thats why like

particularly

specifically

in particular

that is

namely

in effect

obviously

usually

as long as

in this case

in some cases

[tshimba]

TOEFL Reading Tips

Important things for reading section

Figure out the plot

Figure out author's tone

For deep understanding

Don't start at the beginning, stay in the middle

Skim before you read

3 Questions to go deeper

What is passage map?

Tips for reading

Read the intro information

Know the Summary/Main Idea of Each Paragraph (If you don't "get" something, at least know what it is and where it is)

Know Author's Tone and/or Take (VIBE)

Find primary purpose of passage as a whole

Track the structure of the piece

Tips for skimming

Try to pick the easiest passage

Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph: Create Passage Map and get Main Idea/Tone (Usually the introductory and concluding paragraphs are helpful in establishing the main idea) Don't consume your time on hook story.

Look for the main ideas (find Trigger Words: Questions, Thesis, Answers/Conclusions)

Recognize the relationship between claims and evidence

Skip over lists

Stop subvocalize

Speed reading techniques

Minimize subvocalization

Circle/underline quickly

read with a purpose

avoid reading small words

read in chunks

Trigger Words

Contrast signals

However

Although

Even though

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Still

Notwithstanding

Regardless

That said

In contrast

One the one hand

Though

Adding Information

And

Additionally

Also

Besides

Furthermore

Emphasizing Words

Key

Critical

Important

Central

Transition Words

For example

For instance

In particular

Meanwhile

Thereafter

Cause/Effect

As a result

Thus

Therefore

Because

Consequently

[tshimba]

TOEFL Words

thermophile: a thermophilic organism.

[tshimba]

Bag of words

Read like a computer, create bag of words in your brain with ignoring stop words.

[tshimba]

TOEFL Reading - Speed Reading Tips

Pareto principle

Read 20% of words and understand 80%

Points

Be aware: reading like timing drill

Read with purpose: Don't read aimlessly. Know what you're looking for.

Stop subvocalization: Don't read sentences inside your head

Read in Chunks: also focus on the pieces that are most important

Get physical: use your finger or index card to read faster

Practice

Tips

Figure out the plot

Figure out author's tone

Ignore the small stuff (a, an, the, of)

AccelaReader will help you to practice speed reading.

You can practice "stop subvocalization" and "read in chunks" at this site.

set words per minutes (wpm) depends on your goal: e.g. 300

chunk size, may be 3 to 7 depends your level: e.g. 3

some other setting

I'd like to check "Start new chunk at end of sentences and paragraphs"

[tshimba]

TOEFL Speaking Tips

Speaking Question 1

You must include some EXAMPLE in your sentence.

[tshimba]

TOEFL Words

bossy: given to ordering people about; overly authoritative; domineering.

tusks and trunk (part of elephant)

tusk: (in certain animals) a tooth developed to great length, usually one of a pair, as in the elephant, walrus, and wild boar, but singly in the narwhal.

trunk: the main stem of a tree, as distinct from the branches and roots. nose of elephant.

ostracize: to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc

[tshimba]

TOEFL Speaking Tips

Question 1: Advantage/Disadvantage type template

xxx has advantage and disadvantage.

The advantage is xxx

The disadvantage is xxx

In conclusion, xxxxxxx has pros and cons, but the advantage/disadvantage outweighs the disadvantage/advantage. 

Therefore, I believe that xxxxxx

[tshimba]

TOEFL Tips

Tips

Speak clearly

be aware of the intervals

add intonation

Listen to your voice objectively

Question 2 & 3

It can be possible to start from introduction with the summary of the reading passage, but if time is not enough, it would be better to omit it.

Useful sentences

It's worth doing

Further improvement

Sentence making: Reconstruct sentence structure.

Words

person vs people

by -ing

dean of student

like for example in Math...

In spite of the woman disagreeing with his opinion,....

frontrunner: a person who leads in any competition.

obligate: to bind or oblige morally or legally:

prior knowledge

[tshimba]

TOEFL Speaking Tips

Question 1

Mention your opinion at the first sentence.

Reason 1 (main idea 1) and 2-3 support sentences

Reason 2 (main idea 2) and 2-3 support sentences

Question 2

Summarize the reading part

Agree/Disagree

Reasons

Question 3

Take care about what the professor talking. Sometime the professor not talking directly about the reading part thing.

Question 4

Focus on answering question

Directly go to the answers

[tshimba]

TOEFL Reading Time Management

First two half minutes: Skimming

Answer the questions in order

Read carefully when answering exception questions.

[tshimba]

TOEFL Words

whopping: very large of its kind; thumping

Toxoplasma gondii: an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan (specifically an apicomplexan) that causes toxoplasmosis

[tshimba]

TOEFL Speaking Tips for conclusion

The magic word for conclusion

That’s why I think so.

[tshimba]

TOEFL Speaking Example Answer for Each Level from ETS

You can see the sample answers for each level (level 4, level 3, level 2 and level 1)

[tshimba]

TOEFL Reading Tips: Skim and Scan

Skimming means to get general idea form passages quickly. Scanning is to search specific word or information form passages.

How to skim?

Keywords (ignore details)

Bold words

Headings for titles

First ad last sentence/paragraph

Signal words for skimming

Because/Therefore/As a result (Conclusion): straight forward cause/effect

As well/More over/Further more (Adding): adding similar ideas

However/Despite (Contrast): contrasting statement

For instance/For example (Example)