Reflections on TOEFL prep-14 days-111

lindalong

这篇是托福考完当天写下的一些感想，当时许愿分数上了110就把它发出来，这篇帖子算是还愿。同时受益CD很多，也算一点小小的回馈，希望能够对大家有哪怕只是一点点的启发。

在各位写作满分的大牛面前有点班门弄斧了，不过总觉得这样才算是自己托福备考的一个完整的结束。也祝福所有的CDer都有好的考试和申请结果！



Overview
I spent literally 14 days during the prep. On the average, I spent 8 hours per day, much fewer in the first week and more in the second week. I wish I could have worked harder in the beginning. If only I could have accelerated the decision-making process!

For the first week, my focus was 1) understanding and getting familiar with the exam and 2) the reading and listening sections. For the second week, I focused on 1)the speaking and writing sections and 2)successful exam-taking techniques and past exam questions.

I guess the strategy generally worked for me though I wish I could ensure at least one hour's speaking practice in the first week. That way, I might be able to develop a better sense of time management in speaking.

Specific Experience on Each Section
Reading: The key really is to go back to the article and not just follow your impression.
And except specifically asked by the question, do no ever infer by yourself. As
for the Summary questions, it could be helpful to start by skimming the first
and last paragraphs as well as the first sentence of each paragraph. Eliminate
information that is detail, wrong, or not mentioned.

Listening: The trick
is not to lose the whole picture while taking notes. Practice is needed for
this. Jot down the key words rather than sentences. Contrary to Chinese exams,
dates and time are generally not that important.

Speaking: This is the
part that I fear the most: I constantly worry about having nothing to say.
Templates could ease the tension at the beginning. However, in order to achieve
high scores in this, a more important skill would be to tell interesting, small
and personal stories. For task 1 and task 2, it's better to stick with one idea
and fully develop a story to support it. For task 3-6, listening matters and so
is time-management skills. For task 5 though, personal opinion should take up
about half of the speaking time.

Writing: Practice makes perfect! Words
count matters! The difference between a GMAT essay and a TOEFL essay is that
TOEFL essays are more like speaking. Personal stories are OK. So are speaking
languages. ( For example, you could find first person narrations from many of
the top scored essays) Again, templates are not encouraged. Lengthy introductory
and concluding paragraphs are generally not encouraged except you develop your
own style, rather than some sentences that could apply in all circumstances.

Final words

As much as I dread the exam, I think it's really practical in that the skills tested are really the ones essential to pursue graduate study in the US. And it's actually a great way to improve one's language skills.

It's been a rewarding journey, no matter what the results will be. And I'm really fortunate to have some luck.

taoist

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xiaojinjin1992

kankankanaknankaan

泽涵宇内

thankyou

cloudflies

xiexiela!!!

pigcoor

110以上的分数对我来说真是太难了啊 佩服

yuika

thx for sharing

missmaona

学习学习~太强悍了吧

piglet9218

膜拜！！！！！！！！！！！！

ciciorange

thanks for sharing