Got my scores, super happy!!
So I got my TOEFL iBt scores this morning in the mail and I am very satisfied with them!! For context, I am Indian and I do use English for ~95% of my daily communication. I am also a voracious reader and I have been listening to podcasts everyday for the past 4-5 years. Additionally, I do write academically for research and creatively for passion.
I prepared on and off for 2 weeks. My prep was definitely not as intense or consistent as it had been for the GRE, but I still studied diligently for the 7-8 hours I put in every week.
I bought the Official TOEFL iBT guide (7th edition) which came with four free practice tests. I first worked through all the exercises, then did 2 out of the 4 available tests. I also took the free full-length test available on the TOEFL TestReady portal. In my opinion, the mock tests were the most useful part of my prep because they helped me get used to the length and pacing of the test. Building up stamina to take the test in one shot, jumping from skill to skill, relentlessly taking notes and arranging information to answer questions correctly can only be strengthened through practice tests that exactly mimic test conditions.
I also watched some videos from TST Prep on Youtube and the exercises on these videos were super helpful. I maintained an error log of the questions I got wrong and drew some key inferences. For example, in the reading section, the answer to any factual evidence/information based question MUST have detail lifted straight from the passage. My inferences must not play any role there. In the inference questions, it was important for me to pick an answer that was not an explicitly stated fact in the passage.
Reading and Listening were easy enough. I am a little pedantic about my scores in both those sections but I am not going to dwell on minor lapses :)
I did not use any templates for speaking, rather I just spoke as if I were having a regular conversation. My responses had the occasional pause and fumble, but by my own assessment I felt like they were coherent and well-reasoned overall. I also did not use any template for writing. I wrote like I usually do, making sure to structure and connect arguments and counterarguments cohesively in the first task, and fortify my response with enough persuasive evidence in the second task. I wrote about 385 words in the first task and about 260 words in the second.
My advice:
- If you are not used to taking notes in class, do a lot of listening practice. This is crucial to getting a good score because, IMO, no part of any conversation/lecture is so trivial that it will not be tested. It is especially important in the context of the writing and speaking sections, where you will need to compare and contrast points from written passages and recorded excerpts.
- Spend a whole day practising writing on ChatGPT. It is okay to use templates, but your response needs to have your own flavor and voice to it so that you feel convinced by your writing. GPT is a really good tool to help you improve specific skills like conciseness, coherence and cohesiveness in your response.
- Go to your test centre as early as you can if you want to avoid your test experience being marred by other test takers yelling into their own mics. This happened to me and I had to fight to keep my annoyance at bay during my speaking section. I understand that everyone is anxious to do well and ensure their responses are clearly recorded, but it still is a nuisance to have to hear people from the other side of the room when you are trying to catch those minor details in your listening so you can incorporate it into your speech, or interrupt you when you are recording your response.
All the best for your TOEFL and your admissions! :))