Before I took the test (yes, test, I know, I’ve always categorized it as “exam” before as well), I received a lot of contrasting tips and opinions on the TOEFL iBT test. This ranged from:
(Wide eyes, scarily focused expression) “TOEFL is the scariest thing you will ever experience. I mean, the listening. You listen to a short story and you note down the important plot points, and they end up asking you what color a secondary character’s eyes are!”
to:
(Snorts) “Pssssh, you’re gonna be fine. TOEFL is the easies thing ever. Don’t even study for it!”
Yes, I had a very concrete idea of what the test was like.
Now that I’ve taken the test, I’ve decided that TOEFL isn’t that hard. For me. As a native speaker, I didn’t have to worry about vocabulary or comprehending accents. It comes naturally to me. That said, TOEFL isn’t something you can ace without preparing a bit, either.
TOEFL is split into four parts: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing (in that order). I took the TOEFL iBT, which is completed online. I was given a piece of scrap paper, a pencil, and sat in front of a computer, complete with headphones (for listening and speaking). The whole test takes around 3-4 hours to complete, with a 10 minute break in between.
Let me talk about pacing.
TOEFL Reading can come in two ways: A 60 minute block with 3 passages, or an 80 minute block with 4 passages. I was unlucky enough to get the 80 minute block. But as you can see, a simple division reveals that you ought to dedicate 20 minutes to each passage. I would read the passage first, taking about maximum 7 minutes to read the passage. Then, 10 minutes to answer the questions relating to the passage. Since you will be able to see the passage while answering questions, it is not essential to memorize everything you have read. Then, I’d leave 3 minutes to go back and check over your answers.
TOEFL Listening, unlike Reading, does not let you go back to reevaluate your answers. Hence, the answer you put in is final when you click “Next”. The listening section will take around an hour, with between 6 and 9 total passages. They come in sets of 3 passages per 10 minutes. I wouldn’t worry too much about pacing in the listening section. Because you cannot go back to check, it’s rather fast paced. Just don’t get stuck on one particular question for too long.
TOEFL Speaking is the one section where you truly have to keep an eye on the time. Here’s the timing of this section: (From toeflprofessor.com)
1) Personal Preference Task (0:15 preparation time/0:45 speaking time)
2) Paired Choice Task (0:15 preparation time/0:45 speaking time)
3) Announcement/Discussion Task (0:30 preparation time/0:60 speaking time)
4) General/Specific Task (0:30 preparation time/0:60 speaking time)
5) Problem/Solution Task (0:20 preparation time/0:60 speaking time)
6) Summary Task (0:20 preparation time/0:60 speaking time)
It is very easy to go overtime. So plan out what you’re going to say well, because they cut you off very abruptly.
TOEFL Writing section requires you to write 2 essays: One essay of 150-225 words in 20 minutes, and one essay of 300+ words in 30 minutes. Personally, I love to plan out the essay before I write, so for the first essay I would always take around 5 minutes to construct my thesis and topic sentences. I would spend around 12 minutes to write, and 3 minutes to make sure there aren’t any typos in your essay. For the second, I can afford to spend around 7 minutes structuring my essay, 20 minutes writing it, and 3 minutes to, once again, check for mistakes.
That’s my pacing for you. Here are some other miscellaneous tips:
TOEFL Reading: The reading questions are mostly multiple choice. Always read all the choices before answering, or even searching for the answer. Some choices are obviously wrong, and others have just one element that isn’t quite right. Usually you can determine the answer by eliminating the impossible. The last question in each passage is one where you have to choose the 3 major points. First, eliminate the choices that contain erroneous information or information that hasn’t been mentioned. Then, just take the main ideas of the biggest paragraphs and choose the 3 most prominent ones. These questions are more intimidating, but once you study it, the answers are typically quite obvious as well.
TOEFL Listening: Take notes. Seriously. Practice writing fast, because they will ask you details that you may not remember. You’ll end up not needing 90% of what you write down, but it’s worth it for that final 10%. If you aren’t a native speaker, get accustomed to British, New Zealand, and Australian accents, as well as a bit of colloquial slang, as they will be incorporated into the test as well.
TOEFL Speaking: Oh, the timing. Dear TOEFL, 15 seconds is really very little time to prepare a speech. Nevertheless, you, the test taker, has to deal with it. I would recommend planning out the gist of what you are going to say in that 15 seconds, and think of a couple examples and details to support your point. Then, just improvise.
TOEFL Writing: This may be the section that you can prepare for the most. TOEFL Writing does not look for large, fancy descriptions or long explanations. Remember, they look for essays 200-300 words in length. Get rid of the details you are used to putting in your school essays. Be clear and concise. Use words like “First, Second, Third, Finally”, or “In conclusion”. While this may be frowned upon by your English teacher, it is applauded by TOEFL. Also, memorize synonyms of words like “grow, prepare, also”, because you will end up using them very often.
After you take the test, just relax for 10 days, until your score is out. You can check your score on the TOEFL webpage, complete with how you scored in each section.
If you’re taking TOEFL soon, good luck!
This Girl Reina 
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