The Complete Guide To The TOEFL Test

The Complete Guide

to the TOEFL@ Test

PBT Edition

Bruce Rogers

~... J# HEINLE

_- (ENGAGE Learning

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Australia· Brazil·Japan. Korea·Mexico·Singapore. Spain. United Kingdom. United States

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Contents

vi Contents

Preface

About This Book

If you are preparing for TOEFL, you are not alone. Over a million people all over the world take either the Internetor Paper-based version of the test every year. A high score on this test is an essential step in being admitted to graduate or undergraduate programs at almost all colleges and universities in North America. A strong TOEFL score may also be needed to complete an English program at a language school or may be a requirement for graduation from a university. But preparing for this test can be a difficult, frustrating experience. Perhaps you haven't taken many standardized, multiple choice tests such as TOEFL. Perhaps you are not familiar with the format of TOEFL. Maybe you've taken TOEFL once but were not satisfied with your score, or maybe you've taken the test several times but can't seem to improve your score beyond a certain point. In any of these cases, you need a guide. That's why this book was written-to help students preparing for this important exam to maximize their scores.

This is the most complete and accurate TOEFL preparation book for the Paper-based test now available. It is based on many years of classroom experience teaching TOEFL preparation classes in the United States and abroad, and on several years of research on the test. The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test is simply written and clearly organized and is suitable for any intermediate or advanced student of English as a second or foreign language.

The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test offers a step-by-step program that teaches you critical test taking techniques, helps you polish the language skills specifically needed for the Paper-based test, and generally makes you a smarter test-taker. And the Guide is an efficient way to prepare for TOEFL; by concentrating only on the points that are actually tested on the TOEFL, it lets you make the most of your preparation period and never wastes your time.

Good luck on TOEFL!

x Preface

About This Edition

In 200S, Educational Testing Service (ETS) began administering the Internet-based TOEFL (iBT). It was introduced at first in the United States and a few other countries. Over the next few years, ETS began to administer the iBT in more and more countries. However, the original Paper-based TOEFL (PBT) is still given in many locations around the world. Whether you take the iBT or the

PBT depends on the location where you take the test. It may also depend on when you take the test, because some centers offer the PBT on certain dates and the iBT on others.

To find out if the iBT or the PBT is given in your area, you should check the TOEFL website. Go to www.ets.org.click on TOEFL and then click on Register for the Test.

In addition, the Institutional TOEFL (called the TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (ITP) by ETS) is a paper-based test which is administered by language centers, universities, and other institutions all over the world. Over 400,000 people take the Institutional test every year.

For students or classes that must prepare for the Internet-based test, The Complete Guide to the TOEFL: iET Edition is also available from this publisher.

This edition of The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test meets the needs of people who want to take the TOEFL PBT rather than the iBT because the design of the two versions of the test is quite different.

I believe The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test is the most complete and accurate and up-to-date guide to preparing for the Paper-based TOEFL available. If you have comments about this edition of The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test or about any aspect of the TOEFL test, I welcome your ideas, questions, and suggestions. please feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below.

And, as always, good luck on TOEFL!

Bruce Rogers Bruce_Rogers_CGT@mail.com

Preface xi

Organization of this Book

Getting Started, th~ first section of the book, serves as an introduction to the Paper-based test. The opening<portion;of this section, Questions and Answers about TOEFL, provides you with information about the format of the test, guides you through the process of registering for the exam, and helps you understand your scores. The next portion of this section, Keys to High Scores, presents the "secrets" of being a good test-taker: arranging your preparation time, using the process of elimination, coping with test anxiety, pacing yourself during the test, and other important techniques.

The main body of the book is divided into three parts, reflecting the three main sections of the Paper-based test: Listening Comprehension, Structure and Expression, and Reading Comprehension.

Each of these sections consists of the following components:

• An introduction containing basic strategies for that section of the test.

•A full-length sample test to give you a feel for each part of the test and to provide a basis for understanding the lessons.

•An introduction to each subsection of the test, with specific tactics for approaching the items in each portion of the test.

•Lessons that break down the knowledge and skills needed for each part of the test into comprehensible "bites" of information. Each of the forty-eight lessons in the book contains sample items that illustrate exactly how the point brought up in that lesson is tested in TOEFL. Furthermore, each lesson contains one or more exercises for practicing the relevant points. Some of these items follow TOEFL format, others follow formats appropriate for the particular point being taught, but all of them have the same "feel" as actual TOEFL items. There are around 125 of these exercises in the GUide-totaling over 2,500 practice items!

•Mini-tests that review the points brought up in the previous lessons. These tests put together the points practiced in isolation in the lessons and allow you to chart your progress. All the items on the mini-tests are identical in form to items on actual tests.

•Mini-lessons covering important testing points which require more time to master than points

brought up in the lessons. You should begin studying and working the exercises in the minilessons as soon as you hegin each section of the guide.

•Section 1: Listening Comprehension This section is subdivided into three parts, each one designed to familiarize you with the problems commonly encountered on the three parts of the revised Section 1: Dialogues, Extended Conversations, and Mini-Talks. The exercises and tests in this part of the book are intended to be used with the audios that accompany the Guide.

The mini-lessons for this section teach common idioms and figurative expressions that are often tested in Part A.

•Section 2: Structure and Written Expression The first part of this section categorizes common grammatical points tested in Structure problems and suggests ways to solve these problems. The second part lists the usual errors that must be identified in Written Expression problems and offers ways to identify these mistakes. The mini-lessons for this section cover preposition usage, one of the most difficult of grammar skills.

•Section 3: Reading Comprehension This section of the book prepares you for the third section of TOEFL. The Reading Comprehension portion of the book suggests reading attack skills, lists the various types of questions asked about the passages, and offers suggestions for answering each type of question. There are in-depth reading exercises to practice these techniques. The

mini-lessons for this section systematically build your vocabulary, especially concentrating on the type of words that are asked about in the vocabulary items in the Reading section.

•The Test of Written English This part of the book introduces the TWE and presents the best methods for planning, writing, and checking the essay you must write if you take this portion of the exam. There are two models of strong TWE essays and there are two practice TWE exams.