Top 10 Tips to Clear TOEFL and IELTS

This article is the third and final part of the Standardized Tests for the US College Admissions series. So far, you have learned about preparation strategies that can be used to get through SAT and ACT tests. In this article, we are going to talk about how to prepare and perform well for IELTS and TOEFL tests that examine the English language skills of a potential candidate to get admission at the US Universities and colleges.

Though most US colleges give importance to TOEFL scores for admissions, for some specific colleges, IELTS can be the gateway. Please note that TOEFL and IELTS scores are not only for foreign students who wish to pursue higher education in the US, high school students who have less than four years of school education at the US schools are also required to take any of the theses tests for college admissions. Hence, along with your SAT or ACT preparation, ensure that you brush up your language skills including reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

You would have already heard a lot about TOEFL and IELTS exams and its structure, without much ado, let us learn about how to prepare for TOEFL and IELTS exams.

Both of these tests consist of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing tests. The following tips will not only help you to perform well during the examination, they would also help you to improve your every day communication skills.

Top 10 Tips for TOEFL

1. For Reading test, read regularly, especially textbooks in subjects related to arts, sciences, business, social sciences, etc. and try to comprehend the passages in the book. Practise to skim through the passages to get the overall picture of the subject.


2. Develop the habit of reading journals, general books, and magazines. After reading the text, identify unfamiliar words and add them to your vocabulary.


3. For Listening test, develop the listening habit in English language, especially if you are in the non-English speaking country. Listen to as much English as possible. The best sources are television, radio programs, etc. in English language.


4. After listening to a program or a lecture, try to identify the purpose and the main idea behind the speech.


5. For Speaking test, try to develop the habit of thinking and speaking in English language every day. While practising, try to explain a subject or a topic to others completely in English. This provides enough opportunity to use many words in a particular subject of study.



6. Argue with your friends over a topic for preparation purpose and state your opinion clearly while doing the same. Understand the conversation and try to give a solution to the problem in discussion. This will increase your creative thinking ability.


7. For Writing test, read a text book that contains reading material and comprehension questions. Try to answer these questions. Also write your own summary of the passages given in the text book.


8. While writing the summary, try to use different words and grammatical structures to create a new copy of the original passage without deviating from the main idea or the subject of the context.


9. Most importantly, practise using the TOEFL and IELTS study materials to get familiar with the structure of the test.


10. Practise to pace yourself during the preparation and on the test day to distribute and use your time wisely for all the questions to be answered.

With this, the three part series of Standardized Tests for US College Admissions comes to an end. In the next article, we will discuss in detail about the whole application process in practice at the US Universities and colleges including the application and financial procedures, creative essays, recommendation letters, and acceptance & rejection letters.

This content is brought you by