TOEFL - SPLessons

TOEFL Preparation | TOEFL iBT Study Plan | TOEFL Exam

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5 Steps - 3 Clicks

TOEFL Preparation | TOEFL iBT Study Plan | TOEFL Exam

shape Introduction

If you are looking forward to applying to the foreign universities in which English is a medium of teaching and you belong from a non-native English speaking country, TOEFL exam becomes mandatory. TOEFL exam gives you the license to apply for the best colleges across the world who accept global admission for different courses.

shape Statistics

TOEFL exam assesses the candidates based on their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Let us look at some of the statistics regarding the TOEFL exam:
With more than 20 lakh Indians applying for the TOEFL exam, as much as 84 is the average score for all the test takers of the TOEFL exam. India ranks among the top 5 nations that rank higher in the average score when it comes to the TOEFL exam, which gives a right understanding of the competition of the TOEFL exam. The table below shows the upper and lower range of the average scores for each subject of the TOEFL exam
SUBJECT LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER AVERAGE
Reading 21 22
Writing 21 22
Listening 21 21
Speaking 20 22

shape Strategy

Let us list down some important constraints before preparing the study plan for TOEFL exam:
  • You are a student or a working professional and you cannot dedicate more than 6 hours of the day for preparation on weekdays

  • You are looking to score somewhere in the band of 100-110 in the first attempt of the TOEFL exam.

  • You have reasonable writing and listening skills.
Let us begin with Step 1 of the study plan: 1. Divide 30 days into 4 chunks. 3 chunks of seven days each and one block of nine days.
2. Make sure you choose a time window in which you can study for three hours at a stretch, followed by a break of 30 minutes and then 3 hours again.
3. Utilize your weekends by dedicating at least 10 hours on the weekends.
After the first step, the second step begins with knowing your weakest section. Let us see the essential steps for Step 2:
    1. Start with giving a mock test on Day 1 of your preparation. Though it may sound very scary at the first go, it will help you test the waters before jumping into it. The mock test before the preparation will let you know your strengths and weakness of the subject which will assist you in your preparation.
    2. After you are done with your mock test, spend the rest of the day analyzing your mock test.
At the end of the first day, after you have known which section needs more attention; follow the routine below to allocate your subjects.
Let us categorize the toughness of the subjects on a scale of 1 to 4, 1 referring to the easiest subject and 4 referring to the toughest subject. Though the subject would vary from one person to another, yet the following routine aims to simplify the preparation for you.

Deciphering the table:
To make the above table simpler to understand, we would like to dissect it into the following points:
a) Since you are dedicating a total of 6 hours daily for your TOEFL preparation, each half of the preparation is of 3 hours. So, if you are preparing S4 in the first half, you are preparing it for 3 hours.
b) The slots can be defined in terms of buckets of weeks.
    Week 1 begins from Day 1 through Day 7. Week 2 begins on Day 8 and ends on Day 14 Week 3 has a duration of 7 days starting from Day 15 to 21st day of preparation.

c) The weekly calculation for any subject can be defined as the following: (Number of sessions in a week) X (3) X (number of weeks you are preparing the subject; in this case 3). For example; for the S4; you have 3 sessions in a week wherein you prepare for 3 days in a week through three weeks, so you end up dedicating 27 hours for the subject during the preparation phase.
d) The subjects are prepared in the same cycle for three weeks. So is why we have not made a separate weekly table for the same.
Let us come to Step 3 of the preparation. This step is comparatively easier and it lasts for as long as 9 days. We would divide these 9 days into two blocks of 3 days and 6 days.
Phase 1: In the first phase of 3 days, it is essential that you refer to all the previous year's questions that are asked in the TOEFL exam. Having a comprehensive knowledge will let you grade your preparation as well as judge yourself. Make sure to encircle the questions that you are not comfortable with and read them twice daily before going to bed.
Phase 2: In the second phase of 6 days, make sure you give 4 full-length mock tests including all the sections of the exam. It will test your patience as well as help you to strategize your exam. You would be able to crack the exam with glowing colors if you follow the schedule meticulously. Make sure you give at least 4 full-length mock tests. On the last day of the exam, abstain from studying anything new and keep yourself involved with the basic revision of the subject which will help you to memorize stuff. Listening to a piece of cool music often helps.
The following table will make the plan simpler for you.
PHASE DAY COUNT ACTIVITY


Phase 1
1

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS
2
3






Phase 2
4 FULL LENGTH TEST 1 & 2
5 ANALYSIS OF TEST 1 & 2
6 FULL LENGTH TEST 3
7 ANALYSIS OF TEST 3
8 FULL LENGTH TEST 3 & ANALYSIS
9 RELAXING
Last-minute tips:
Often, the day before the exam can be counted as the most important day for the students. Make sure you prepare well on the day before the exam as any form of disturbance on the day before the exam can lead to anxiety on the exam day. Let us look into some of the important points which you must keep in mind before the exam day.
1. Identification Details: A valid passport must be carried along with you as proof of ID details. The passport needs to have your original photograph along with your signature.
2. Exam Application print: The exam application print out must be available with you as you reach the center. It needs to be shown to the examiner for the entry into the examination hall.
3. Cool music: On the day before the exam, taking a light dinner and listening to soothing music often helps in soothing the nerves.
4. Early sleep: This is the most important aspect before the exam. Make sure you sleep early as the rest of 8 or more hours will help you stay alert during the exam and take quick decisions.
5. Extras: Make sure you don’t pay attention to the new topics. Let us call them ‘extras’ for the time being and accept that your course coverage is sufficient for the targeted score. Time management will play the key; hence make sure to optimize it.
6. Be the early bird: Often reaching the exam center early helps in acquainting you with the environment of the center. Make sure that you reach the exam center 20 minutes in advance.
Following the next 5 key points will help you to keep you calm on the test day. Make sure that you follow each of them diligently.
1. Stay away from peers: Often not being indulged in any form of pre-exam discussion can be an excellent way to maintain the calmness. Stay away from anyone discussing the subjects in TOEFL and it will prevent your confidence from losing the stability.
2. No songs: Listening to catchy songs can lead them to get stuck in your head. As a result, you might end up marring your exam altogether, hence avoid listening to catchy songs; as such any songs!
3. Grab a bit: Grab a bite of some delicious energy giving food and have a small sip of water before you enter the exam hall. It will help to keep you active.
4. No cramming: Enough of the cramming of the notes has been done and any form of cramming in the last few minutes of the exam will not help you. It could rather increase confusion.
5. Jackets: Yes, make sure you carry a pair of wind-cheaters with you to prevent the cool air from AC causing any discomfort and distracting you.
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