TST.l?REP
Your Goals for
the TOEFL® Test
EARN A HIGHER SCORE WITH BETTER STUDY STRATEGIES
TST Prep
Goals for the TOEFL Test
Goals for the TOEFL Test
Earn a Higher Score with
Better Study Strategies
1
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
TOEFL Reading
Reading
Skills
Possible Goals / Intentions
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Speed
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Vocabulary
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Topic
Knowledge
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Start by giving myself plenty of time to read and answer the questions (e.g., 25
minutes). Try to reduce that time by one minute tomorrow. Repeat the process.
Practice with less time than on test day (e.g., 16 minutes per passage).
Answer questions and read at the same time without reading the passage first
Time myself answering challenging question types like summary questions or
negative factual information questions. Aim to answer in less than 90 seconds.
Give yourself 2-3 minutes to speed-read an academic article like one on Scientific
American's website. Summarize it and compare your summary with AI software.
Check the similarities and differences
Identify five words or phrases from a passage that you do not know or want to
learn. Cross-reference it with a useful word list like the Academic Word List. If it’s
common, study with flashcards or by including it in writing samples.
Try to use 2-3 new words in your speaking or writing responses that will help you in
your reading (e.g., proposal, illustration)
Read for pleasure for 20 minutes every day in English.
Practice using 2-5 new words or phrases while carrying on a conversation with a
chatbot. Check to see if your grammar and usage are correct.
Conduct a 2-5 minute conversation with a chatbot about a topic you do not
understand (e.g., Swarm Intelligence). Use these phrases to keep the conversation
going: “I'm sorry. Could you explain that in simpler terms?” or “What else should I
know about Swarm Intelligence?”
After reading about the topic, research it for three minutes on Google. Take notes.
After that, speak about the topic for one minute. Record your voice. Check your
vocabulary and grammar with a grammar checker like Grammarly or a chatbot.
You can also ask a teacher to check your summary.
Identify 2-4 words or phrases in a passage from a topic you do not know well. Write
or speak about the topic for one minute using those words and phrases. Record
your speech or save your writing and check your grammar
2
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
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Question
Strategy
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Identify a question type you struggle with (e.g., inference question). Practice answering
three questions and explain why each option is correct or incorrect. Check your
explanations with the answer key.
Speak about the question type for two minutes. Start with the name of the question
types, some tips for answering it, and why you struggle. Record your voice and listen
back to it. Practice two of those question types, focusing on the weaknesses you
mentioned in the recording.
Take five minutes and create one of these question types on your own. Think how you
will make an incorrect answer appear correct.
3
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
TOEFL Listening
Listening
Skills
Possible Goals / Intentions
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Comprehension
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Vocabulary
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Topic
Knowledge
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Increase the playback speed of a TOEFL Listening passage between 1.1x to 1.5x.
Take notes and answer the questions. Your goal is to get at least 4 out of 6
questions correct.
Give yourself 2-3 minutes to speed-listen an academic article like one on Scientific
American's website. Set the playback speed slightly faster, at 1.1x or 1.2x.
Summarize the passage and check with a teacher or chatbot if it is correct.
Transcription. Take any 20-30 second clip of audio from an academic lecture. Write
down everything you hear. Replay it twice. Your goal is to transcribe as much as
possible. Track words or sounds you have trouble hearing and set a goal to work
on them tomorrow.
Identify five words or phrases from a passage that you do not know or want to
learn. Cross-reference it with a useful word list like the Academic Word List. If it’s
common, study with flashcards or by including it in writing samples.
Try to use 2-3 new words in your speaking or writing responses that will help you in
your listening (e.g., proposal, illustration)
Listen for pleasure for 20 minutes every day in English.
Practice using 2-5 new words or phrases while carrying on a conversation with a
chatbot. Check to see if your grammar and usage are correct.
Conduct a 2-5 minute conversation with a chatbot about a topic you do not
understand (e.g., Swarm Intelligence). Use these phrases to keep the conversation
going: “I'm sorry. Could you explain that in simpler terms?” or “What else should I
know about Swarm Intelligence?”
After listening about the topic, research it for three minutes on Google. Take notes.
After that, speak about the topic for one minute. Record your voice. Check your
vocabulary and grammar with a grammar checker like Grammarly or a chatbot.
You can also ask a teacher to check your summary.
Identify 2-4 words or phrases in a passage from a topic you do not know well. Write
or speak about the topic for one minute using those words and phrases. Record
your speech or save your writing and check your grammar.
4
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
●
Question
Strategy
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Notetaking
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Identify a question type you struggle with (e.g. gist-purpose question). Practice
answering three questions and explain why each option is correct or incorrect. Check
your explanations with the answer key.
Speak about the question type for two minutes. Start with the name of the question
types, some tips for answering it, and why you struggle. Record your voice and listen
back to it. Practice two of those question types, focusing on the weaknesses you
mentioned in the recording.
Take five minutes and create one of these question types on your own. Think how you
will make an incorrect answer appear correct.
Transcription. Take any 20-30 second clip of audio from an academic lecture. Replay
it twice. Write down the five most important words and explain why they are most
important.
Listen to an academic or conversation passage from TOEFL. Write down only five
words. Try to write six words tomorrow. Continue to increase by one word until you
have a number that is comfortable and helpful.
Write down only consonants and content words in your notes and then summarize
them to a friend, teacher, or chatbot.
5
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
TOEFL Speaking
Grading
Criteria
Scoring
Dimension
Possible Goals / Intentions
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Structure
(topic
development)
Discourse
Coherence
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Vocabulary
Depth
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Vocabulary
Diversity
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Vocabulary
and Grammar
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Grammatical
Accuracy
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Include at least two discourse markers like ‘for example’ or ‘first of all’.
Include a personal example in this response to lengthen your response
and add coherence.
Begin your response with a stock phrase like ‘this is an interesting
question’.
Take a few seconds to plan out your response first. Decide what you will
say first, second, and last.
Stay on topic. Listen back to your recording. If it sounds like you are
rambling at any point, try the same response again with more focus.
Pick two new words or phrases you would like to use in this response.
Write a sentence with them first and fit it into your response.
Avoid uttering a word or phrase you feel you use too often (e.g., ‘good’).
Find synonyms for one or two common adjectives like ‘good’ or ‘happy’
and aim to use at least one in your response.
Respond as usual. Transcribe your response. Replace between 5-10 words
and/or phrases and read your new transcript aloud.
Write out one sentence with a grammatical form you find difficult.
Include it in your response (e.g., a conditional sentence).
Start your response with an ‘If…then’ statement.
Stick to the simple present, present perfect, and past tense if you struggle
with other tenses.
Pick one conjunction to include and expand on at least one sentence
(e.g., ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘but’).
6
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
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Speaking
Rate
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Sustained
Speech
Speech Music
and
Pronunciation
(continued)
Pause
Frequency
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Aim to have five or fewer vocal fillers in your response.
Replace ‘uh’ and ‘umm’ with words like ‘okay’, ‘well’, or ‘so’.
Plan to use two discourse markers to help deliver smooth transitions (e.g.,
‘to start’, ‘second of all’).
●
Shadow a native speaker’s response to the same question. Include one
sentence from their response in your own and match their speech music.
After you finish recording and transcribing your response, read your
transcript aloud, this time focusing on linking phrases together and
chunking clauses. In other words, focus on your speech music.
Write out one short sentence you will include in your response and aim to
say it in one breath.
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Repetitions
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Response
Length
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Distribution
of Pauses
Pick two useful phrases you can link together in your response (e.g., “in my
opinion” “I remember when”).
Write out your first sentence and last sentence before you start to speak. A
clear beginning and end may help with your speed.
After you record and transcribe your response, read it aloud, aiming to
reduce the time by at least 5 seconds while sounding natural.
Find synonyms for one or two common adjectives like ‘good’ or ‘happy’ and
aim to use at least one.
Take a minute to plan out your response. Do NOT write everything down.
Just think about what you are going to say first, second, and so on. This will
help reduce the number of instances where you stutter or unnecessarily
repeat words.
You must speak for at least thirty seconds, often longer. Plan to include a
personal example or anecdote to help expand your response.
You might be rambling or speaking too long. If this is the case, re-record
your response and focus on staying on topic.
If you are having trouble organizing and expanding on your response, aim
to include at least two discourse markers (e.g., ‘for example’, ‘in my
opinion’, ‘the first reason is’).
Aim to speak over 140 words per minute.
(same as Pause Frequency)
7
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
●
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Rhythm
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Vowels
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After you record and transcribe your response, identify at least two words
with three syllables or more. Check a dictionary and be sure you are
stressing the correct syllable. Plan to use the same words again.
Shadow a native speaker’s response to the same question. Include one
sentence from their response in your own and match their speech music.
After you finish recording and transcribing your response, read your
transcript aloud, this time focusing on linking phrases together and
chunking clauses. In other words, focus on your speech music and pausing
at the same time a native speaker might.
After you finish recording and transcribing your response, read your
transcript aloud, this time focusing on words and phrases you have trouble
pronouncing. Pick two words or phrases you would like to include next
time.
Select two or more words or phrases you would like to practice
pronouncing. Write one or two sentences with these words and include
them in your response.
8
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
TOEFL Writing
Grading
Criteria
Scoring
Dimensions
Discourse
Coherence
Possible Intentions
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Structure
Topic
Development
Vocabulary
Depth
Include at least two discourse markers like ‘for example’ or ‘first of all’
Use a template with an introduction and body for each question (conclusion
optional)
Begin your response with a stock phrase like “The reading passage
introduces” (integrated essay)
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Take two minutes to draft an outline before writing
Stay on topic. Edit your essay before checking with an automatic tool and
decide if you answered the question
●
Pick two new words or phrases you would like to use in this response. Write
a sentence with them first and fit them into your response.
Avoid writing a word or phrase you feel you use too often (“good, nice,
thing”)
Run your essay through a text analysis tool and be sure it is at least at a B2
level
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Vocabulary
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Vocabulary
Diversity
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Find synonyms for one or two common adjectives like ‘good’ or ‘happy’ and
aim to use at least one in your response.
After you finish writing your essay under test conditions, edit it. Pick 3-5
words and/or phrases you would like to replace and use tomorrow
Edit your essay. Avoid using the same word more than five times in task #1
and three times in task #2 (besides function words like “a, the”)
9
TST Prep - Name of the material
Goals for the TOEFL Test
●
Grammatical
Accuracy
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Grammar
Grammatical
Complexity
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Grammatical
Usage
Spelling
Style
Punctuation
Word count
Stick to the simple present, present perfect, and past tense if you are
struggling with other tenses.
Aim to have fewer than three mistakes with articles. Identify the mistakes
and plan on properly using a similar sentence tomorrow.
Check your subject-verb agreement. Aim to have two or fewer mistakes.
Identify the mistakes and plan on properly using a similar sentence
tomorrow.
Pick one conjunction to include in at least one sentence to help increase your
sentence length (e.g., “and, or, but”).
Write out one sentence with a grammatical form you find difficult. Include it
in your response (e.g., a conditional sentence).
Aim to have at least three sentences in task #1 and two sentences in task #2
with two clauses or more.
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Avoid writing a sentence of less than five words or more than 50 words
Use technology to check if you used the right word in the right place (for
example, using “imitate” instead of “imitation”). Correct it and use the same
word, phrase, or sentence properly next time.
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Aim to have three or fewer spelling mistakes. Identify the mistakes and plan
on properly spelling the same word tomorrow.
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Use technology to check for missing commas or periods. Fix and use a
similar sentence construction in your next essay.
Use technology to check if you used the wrong punctuation. Fix and use a
similar sentence construction in your next essay.
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Aim to have at least 250 words in task #1 and 120 words in task #2
10
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