LearningExpress ® ’s TOEFL ® [Test of English as a Foreign Language™] EXAM SUCCESS In Only 6 Steps! LearningExpress ® ’s TOEFL ® [Test of English as a Foreign Language™] EXAM SUCCESS In Only 6 Steps! NEW YORK Elizabeth Chesla TOEFL® is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS). This publication is not endorsed or approved by ETS. Copyright © 2002 LearningExpress, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Chesla, Elizabeth L. TOEFL Exam success from LearningExpress in only 6 strategic steps / Elizabeth Chesla.—1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-57685-421-3 (alk. paper) 1. English language—Textbooks for foreign speakers. 2. Test of English as a foreign language— Study guides. 3. English language—Examinations—Study guides. I. Title. PE1128 .C528 2002 428'.0076—dc21 2002010030 Printed in the United States of America 987654321 First Edition ISBN 1-57685-421-3 For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 900 Broadway Suite 604 New York, NY 10003 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com About the Author Elizabeth Chesla is a lecturer in English at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York, where she coordi- nates the Technical & Professional Communication Program. She is the author of several books and study guides, including Write Better Essays, Reading Comprehension Success, Improve Your Writing for Work, and Read Better, Remember More. In addition, she is a content developer for LearnATest.com. INTRODUCTION ix CHAPTER 1: How to Prepare for the TOEFL ® Exam 1 CHAPTER 2: Reading Comprehension Skills 23 CHAPTER 3: Structure: Grammar and Style 51 CHAPTER 4: Listening Comprehension 89 CHAPTER 5: Writing 107 CHAPTER 6: Notes on the TOEFL ® Exam: Registration, the Computer-Based Test, 129 Scores, and Tips for Test Day APPENDIX A: Answers and Explanations 141 APPENDIX B: Additional Resources 157 Contents vii Need to take the TOEFL exam? You are not alone. Over 800,000 students take the Test of English as a For- eign Language™ each year. More than 2,000 universities and programs in the United States and Canada use the TOEFL exam to evaluate the English proficiency of applicants who are not native speakers of English. The reason for this is simple: Academic institutions want to be sure that these applicants can read, write, and comprehend spoken English so that they can succeed in the college classroom. What This Book Is—And Isn’t Because your score on the TOEFL exam can determine whether or not you are accepted into an academic institution or program, it is important to prepare carefully for the exam. As you have probably noticed, there are dozens of TOEFL exam preparation books available in libraries and bookstores. Most of these books provide you with practice TOEFL exams to help you become familiar with the format of the test. But taking practice TOEFL exams will do little to boost your score if what you really need is to improve your basic English skills. That’s exactly how this book can help you. The goal of LearningExpress ® ’s TOEFL ® Exam Success is fourfold: 1. To explain the format of each section of the TOEFL exam. 2. To offer specific test-taking strategies that you can use on the exam. 3. To review the basic reading, writing, and listening skills you need to do well on each section. 4. To provide exercises that help you build the basic skills and practice the test-taking strategies you learn in each section. Introduction ix Building your English reading, writing, and listening skills is important, of course. But before address- ing these specific skill sets, this book takes you through a review of basic study skills and learning strategies. It also helps you prepare a detailed study plan. The stronger your study skills, and the better you understand learning strategies, the more you will get out of each skill-building chapter. Each skill-building chapter of this book includes several practice exercises, and detailed answers and explanations are provided in Appendix A. Appendix B offers an extensive list of resources to help you fur- ther strengthen your basic skills. Chapter 6 provides general information about the TOEFL exam, including notes about registration and scoring. The TOEFL Exam: What the Test Is About The TOEFL exam has four sections: Listening, Structure, Reading, and Writing. The Listening section meas- ures your ability to understand English as spoken in North America. If you have lived in an English-speak- ing country or region where the accent is different than you will find on the TOEFL exam, you may need to spend some extra time adjusting to the sound of American English. The Structure section of the exam tests your knowledge of English grammar and usage, including topics such as verb tenses, idioms, and parallel structure. The Reading section measures your ability to understand passages written in English. You will be asked to identify the main idea, determine the meaning of vocabulary words, identify specific details, and draw inferences based upon the passage. Finally, the Writing section will ask you to write a short essay on a gen- eral topic. A list of possible topics is included in the TOEFL ® Computer-Based Test Information Bulletin and online at www.toefl.org. (For more information, see Chapters 5 and 6.) BECAUSE test centers fill up quickly, you should begin the TOEFL exam registration process right away. The first step you need to take is to obtain the Bulletin. If you have access to the Internet, the easiest way to get the Bul- letin is to download it from www.toefl.org. Bulletins for both the paper-based and the computer-based exams are available on this site. If you don’t have Internet access, you can get the Bulletin from an English language cen- ter or the international student office at the university to which you are applying. You can also send a written request to: TOEFL ® /TSE ® Services P.O. Box 6151 Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA 609-771-7100 Don’t Delay—Register Right Away – INTRODUCTION – x . way to success on the TOEFL exam. – INTRODUCTION – xii LearningExpress ® ’s TOEFL ® [Test of English as a Foreign Language™] EXAM SUCCESS In Only 6 Steps!. regions take the exam. TOEFL Exam Facts – INTRODUCTION – xi Scoring on the TOEFL Exam There is no single passing score on the TOEFL exam. The institutions