#1 Buy a book

The book isn't that important. But the CD that comes with it, is. You can of course,
torrent the CD content, but having an updated CD helps.
#2 Familiarize with the pattern of TOEFL
While preparing, I realized that TOEFL is hard because it's a complicated exam. I found
its structure very complicated. The listening and speaking sections, especially are very
demanding. The Speaking Section is hard, because it's a standardized extempore! To do
well in TOEFL, eliminate the element of surprise by knowing which type of question
after which one. Invest as much time as you have to, in this step.
#3 Start by preparing for Speaking Section
Speaking Section comes and goes at a surprising speed. The sequence of sections in the
exam is - Reading, Listening, [break], Speaking and Writing. The Speaking Section
takes about 20 minutes, and needs enormous concentration. In the actual exam, testtakers start speaking at the same time and it's hard to keep their answers out of your
mind (even with noise-cancellation headphones) while attempting this section.
First of all, realize that Speaking Section is not a conversation. In IELTS, you've a
conversation with a certified examiner. In TOEFL, you speak into a microphone and
your answer is recorded. This is awkward because, while you're being recorded every
word you say is permanent. And the time for each answer, to each question varies. Some
are 60 seconds, some are 2 minutes. Right at the start of the answer, you'd have to pace
yourself so as to make all the points.
Doing all of these require instincts. It's like learning to catch a ball. On paper, it's a hard
exercise. You've to measure the trajectory of the ball, taking into account gravity and
have to pace yourself based on how far you're from the estimated point of balls arrival.
In real life, these things are easy, because we play a lot of cricket! And that's what you'd
have to do with Speaking Section of TOEFL.
Install a recording app on your mobile. Take the TOEFL book, read the tips they give
for attempting the Speaking Section. Then answer the questions. If the question says
you've 30 seconds to prepare, practice the notemaking for 30 seconds. Notefull videos
on YouTube are excellent places to learn the note-taking skills.
Answer the question in a uniform tone. You shouldn't be excited while answering the
question or shouldn't answer it in a monotone. Use the inflections of a BBC News
anchor and not of Arnab Goswami. The CD will have recorded examples. Listen to
them, and speak like them. In the speaking section, fluency and consistency have higher
weights than content of the answers. If you're asked a question, where you think you can
make a lot of good points, don't attempt to say everything that you come up with. You'll
run out time! (happened with me, and cost me 3 points!)
#4 Prepare taking notes for listening section
I'm a voracious note taker. I wrote down everything that was being said in the lecture.
There are tips as to which points you should concentrate, but I noted down everything
that listened to! Your notes would be shorter if you read "how to take notes in listening
section" blog somewhere, but I skipped their advice. It's an impractical way, but you'll
get 30/30 in the exam, if you write down everything that was spoken in the question!
#5 Prepare the Writing Section like GRE analytical writing
TOEFL's writing task is easier than GRE, because all then want from you is a cohesive
structure in your writing. Avoid spelling mistakes like plague and grammatical mistakes

like the Ebola. You're not expected to be a grammar Nazi, but you should avoid
common grammatical mistakes. The foremost point - Type as much as you can! Higher
word count = higher marks. However, don't boost the word count by unnecessary words
like, "So" or using a large number of adverbs. While practicing writing section, use the
Hemingway. It has improved my writing considerably.
There is an integrated writing task in this section, which comprises of listening to a
lecture and writing about it. There's no need to make notes on the details mentioned the
lecture, because the transcript will be available while you attempt the task. Use the
lecture to note points, and design a structure to your writing while the lecture goes on.
Before the lecture ends, you should've figured out where the lecturer wanted the
students to focus.
#6 Do 2 Reading Sections before the exam
Reading section is long. It's Breaking Bad-style long. You're not expected to have
patience to practice many passages. But, practice at least two. Reading section has only
one complicated part - Writing the Summary of the passage. Practice this part for as
many passages as your patience permits, because this is the only place where you can
lose marks.
A month is a reasonable time to prepare for TOEFL. However, if you get a 100 or 90 or
110 depends on how much time you've spent with English. I prepared for ten days, with
intensive focus on the pattern of the exam. My final score was 117, with 27 in speaking
section (from my answer, you probably have deduced that I'm paranoid about that
section!).
I owe all of those marks to my GRE preparation, 4 years of watching every Emmy
wining English TV Series, and novel reading (I wasn't an avid reader though. With an
average of three books a year, during my college).
So, do not be stressed. TOEFL can be hacked, but you have to approach the exam
preparation scientifically.
The TOEFL iBT has 4 sections.

Reading
Listening
Speaking
Writing

1. READING SECTION:
To prepare yourself for the reading section, read a whole lot of books (not in that week,
but in your whole life). I have developed rapid reading by reading plenty of books. Any
books will do for that matter. you should just have the patience to sit and read a
thousand words in a single stretch. If you develop that skill then the reading section is a
piece of cake. Now in the week before the exam, start going through different types of
paragraphs which are similar to the ones appearing. For at least 2 days in that week
concentrate on reading, yes just reading. You can check out the book list below for
TOEFL Reading:
Ivys Reading 15 Actual Tests Toefl iBT

The Heinle And Heinle Toefl Test Assistant Reading

Developing Skills For The TOEFL IBT, 2nd Edition Intermediate Reading
LinguaForum Hooked On TOEFL IBT Reading
Mastering Skills For The TOEFL IBT: Advanced Reading
Building Skills For The TOEFL IBT Beginning Reading
NorthStar Focus On High Intermediate Focus Reading And Writing
Longman Introductory Course For The TOEFL Test: IBT
2. LISTENING SECTION:
To describe the listening section, it has 69 passages, each containing 56 questions,
which lasts about 60 90 minutes. The conversations varies from simple conversations
between 2 students to a lecture on a subject. Do not worry, you are not needed to have a
knowledge on the spoken subject. All answers are in the conversations.
When in the exam, you are given a sheet of paper to take notes. If you are good in notetaking, then you are all set for this section; otherwise, its best to shortly write the whole
conversation here. Believe it or not, I had written down the whole conversations during
the exam. Now to tackle the questions, just refer to your notes and click away on the
right answers. In all the listening conversations therell be an american accent. To get
used to this, watch a whole lot of Hollywood movies (my count 400). Understand the
accent, understand what is being talked about here, then the answers will form
themselves.
In the week before your exam, go through the listening samples. Plenty of samples are
available on YouTube. You can also download the books below to test your TOEFL
LISTENING Current level before sitting the test:
TOEFL IBT Activator Listening Advanced
Mosaic 1 Listening/Speaking Class
Mosaic 2 LISTENING/SPEAKING Class
TOEFL IBT Activator Listening Expert
Developing Skills For The TOEFL IBT: 2nd Edition Intermediate Listening
How To Master Skills For The TOEFL IBT: Listening Basic
TOEFL Listening Practice By Kaplan
Mastering Skills For The TOEFL IBT: Advanced Listening

Toefl IBT Activator Listening Intermediate

Heinle & Heinle TOEFL Test Assistant: Listening
LinguaForum Hooked On TOEFL IBT Listening
LinguaForum TOEFL IBT Insider Listening
TOEFL IBT Navigator: Listening
Basic Skills For The TOEFL IBT 1 Listening
Basic Skills For The TOEFL IBT 2 Listening
Building Skills For Toefl IBT Beginning Listening
3. SPEAKING SECTION:
Always LISTEN to the instructions given before EACH section. In this section you are
supposed to speak. The exam records your voice and sends it to the evaluator. Before
beginning the section, your voice will be calibrated.
Now in this section, you will face 6 tasks with 6 questions in each task. You are
expected to speak for about 45 seconds to 60 seconds. Bear in mind to:

Speak slowly and clearly. Do not, I repeat DO NOT elongate your speech by
adding umm,hmmm, eh, or any other dragging bits. As long as you speak
clearly, youll be given a good score.
Speak in English with your friends and/or family. Speak in English with
everyone you meet. Ask your friends to correct you if you have made a mistake.
Watch a American movies and learn how different people pronounce different
words.
Do not complicate your vocabulary. Try to communicate clearly. Learn a few
synonyms for the words you already know.
Practice daily with the authentic materials. You can download some of the great
materials for TOEFL speaking section below:

YA LOS BAJ
WRITING SECTION:
TOEFL Writing Task 1:
Most of the task will involve a reading passage with 3 paragraphs. Very rarely will it
exceed this length. The structure of the passage should be as follows:
<introduction paragraph>

<Point 1 in passage and how lecture refutes it>

<Point 2 in passage and how lecture refutes it>
<Point 3 in passage and how lecture refutes it>
Though a conclusion is not required, but if you feel compelled to write one, then a
couple of sentences should do it. The expected word count for this essay is around 250
words, but the score will get a boost if you have a high word count. I would recommend
350 400 words.
TOEFL Writing Task 2:
There are around 200 topics for Task 2. The expected word count here is 300 to 350
words. I would recommend a 400 500 word essay here.
Let me, in detail, describe to you on how to write this essay. There are 2 types of styles,
4 paragraph essay and 5 paragraph essay.

The 4 paragraph style contains, 1 introduction, 2 body, and 1 conclusion.

The 5 paragraph style contains, 1 introduction, 3 body, and 1 conclusion.

You can choose which ever style you want. The 4 paragraph style is used when you
dont have many points to argue with, but are very good in producing word count. the 5
paragraph style is used when you have more ideas than word count.
-Use everything you can to increase word counts.
-Use your personal experiences and worldly examples in the essay. This helps build
word count and give the essay more meaning.
You can practice Writing with the following books:

YA LOS BAJ

There are a lot of best-selling TOEFL books which aim to improve 4 skills in TOEFL
test. You can download to practice at home before 2 weeks taking the test.
YA LOS BAJ

You can follow the schedule below to practice TOEFL in a weekly basis.
Monday Reading

Tuesday Listening
Wednesday Speaking
Thursday Speaking
Friday Writing
Saturday & Sunday Revision & Test
1.8k Views View Upvotes

H. E. Colby, TOEFL instructor for professionals and students

Written 19 Jan
In addition to the below suggestions, do this one thing - Increase your vocabulary.
Building a powerful lexicon is an essential part of demonstrating to test examiners your
confident command and control of English.
Strong word power undergirds success in all four areas of the exam. Clear and
persuasive speaking and writing are bolstered by word wealth. The listening and reading
sections are made easier when you have a rich vocabulary to call on.
If you don't have sophisticated words to use on the TOEFL iBT or IELTS, examiners are
not going to consider a higher score. Remember, "lexical resources" is a key component
of your scores.
In a short time like a month, I suggest IELTS Ryan videos on YouTube on vocabulary.
Here is an example.
Plus check out my eText, Grow Your Word Power: 301 Useful Vocabulary Terms.
Good Luck!
3.2k Views View Upvotes

Prachee Priyadarshinee
Written 12 Jul 2015
1)Take a full practice test to know how much you can score without preparation. There
are many free tests available online. However, these may not include tips and tricks for
reading section.
2)You can buy a good book that covers sample questions,tests and scoring tricks. I used
Princeton Review's Cracking the TOEFL Ibt with audio CD and really liked it. The
CD contained a lot of questions on speaking and listening sections.

3)If you've prepared for GRE, your vocabulary should be reasonably good. If not, go
through at least Barron's 330 wordlist or Practice tests and resources for high school,
college and graduate tests.
NOTEFULL can be used for practice.
All the best!
3.8k Views View Upvotes

Aliona Ladus, Account Manager at TodayTranslations/www.todaytranslations.com

Written 6 Jun 2013
I'd say do paper and practice tests on your computer/laptop. Whilst it is easier to
practice the Reading and Listening sections by yourself as you can see your scores
instantly, it is more difficult to train for the Speaking and Writing sections. It would
therefore be great to find a TOEFL-buddy, i.e. a person who has written the test or is
training people for TOEFL. The buddy can offer regular support by reading your essays
and reviewing your answers for the Speaking section. If you don't have someone to
work with you, for Speaking - you can record your answers and play them to you; for
essay-writing - learn all the conventions and keep practicing timed writing. And of
course, learn from your observations.
However you decide to train for your exam, just bare in mind that you have to shape all
your answers by the current TOEFL requirements that are presented on YouTube - as
Gaurav suggested, on or on other useful websites.
3.1k Views View Upvotes

Michael Buckhoff, I have more than 22 years of TOEFL teaching experience.

Written Sep 11
I am Michael Buckhoff, the founder, owner, and materials writer for The 7-Step
System to Pass the TOEFL iBT.
From my experience of having taught TOEFL preparation over the last few decades, 30
days is usually not enough time to reach a goal of 100 on the exam. In addition, I cannot
say for certain whether or not someone can teach 100 in 30 days unless I already know
what his/her current level or TOEFL score is. For example, if someone has taken the
TOEFL exam and has a score of 9095/120, I would say that it is reasonable that, if the
student studies hard, that s/he can reach the target score of 100 in 30 days or less.
However, consider this example. I just got an e-mail today from someone who just
scored 38/120 on the TOEFL exam. This student, even after following all of the
suggestions outlined in this discussion thread at Quora, will not be able to reach a score
of 100 in 30 days. Instead, this student will need to study approximately 612 months
before reaching a high level of academic English language proficiency.
Therefore, to directly answer the question being asked, unless your TOEFL score is
already within 510 points of 100, it is not possible to score 100 after just 30 days of
study. To be honest, most students who score 100 usually do so after taking several

TOEFL exams over a period of a year or so. And they typically have been using English
for many years by reading newspapers, listening to lectures, watching TV and movies,
and speaking to native English speakers.
If you have not taken the TOEFL exam before, then you should take a full-length iBT
TOEFL practice test so that 1) You can mark your level by getting an overall and
subtotal scores in the reading, listening, speaking, and writing sections. 2) You can
become more familiar with the structure and format of the TOEFL exam. 3) You can
develop the endurance, concentration, and strength needed to complete a five hour
English test. In fact, ScoreNexus, among many other web sites, offers full-length
TOEFL iBT practice tests at a fraction of the cost of the official TOEFL exam. If you
choose ScoreNexus, give them my discount code so you do not have to pay full price:
MBuc2f42v5.
Once you have either an official TOEFL score or a practice test score, make a comment
at my Online TOEFL Course web page, so I can recommend a study plan best suited to
your academic English strengths and weaknesses. You can also see some of the TOEFL
study plans I have recommended at my You Tube Channel.
455 Views View Upvotes

Didier Szende, They pay me to travel. I would do it for free. Ssshhhh!

Written Dec 11, 2015
A few years ago I had this idea of going back to school. Being a French guy in Asia,
even though I have a few degrees, I needed to take the TOEFL. So I registered and went
to the exam center on a grey morning. I hadn't prepared (no time), and had no idea what
to expect. It was an interesting experience. The first part was easy. Reading and
listening were easy enough. I think I had the advantage of age, as I have had lots of
practice listening and reading. Getting a perfect score there is not hard.
The second part however is another matter. On the speaking part you are judged on all
aspects: not only the contents (and for young people it is sometimes a chore to sound
articulate and knowledgeable, even in their mother tongue), but also on your diction. I
lost a few points here. I probably should have slowed down and worked on my accent. I
guess I needed more coffee!
Finally, the writing part is probably the hardest. They expect you to produce a clear,
well-organized, thoughtful, and error-free text. I am lucky to have been trained in
French colleges in the old days, when students were expected to write properly in
French, without mistakes (no typos as an excuse back then as we were using pen and
paper), and where the emphasis was put on structuring your argumentation. We had
classes that taught us to digest and summarize documents. This was quite tedious back
then, but I am grateful we went through this. As a result, it taught us how to write in a
moderately intelligent and articulate manner. This is a hard skill to acquire, and even
more so without formal training. I am quite happy, while slightly annoyed, to have
missed the perfect score on this one by just one point.

Working hard for this last part is probably key to get a good TOEFL score -- I am pretty
sure that's the section where the average is the lowest. But it is also a good skill to
acquire for your studies and professional life. Nobody likes to teach or work with
people who write like penguins.
Good luck!
1.9k Views View Upvotes

Pragati Rastogi
Written Feb 13
I started my prep for TOEFL one day before the test and scored 110.
So don't panic, 30 days is more than enough to score well in TOEFL.
You can check my answer at:
What is the best way to get ready for TOEFL (IBT) with 3 weeks left?
I followed this website NOTEFULL strictly. Follow any one book/website don't do too
many things. The website provides very useful techniques and gives information about
the catch in each question (which I mentioned earlier). Notefull videos are god! They
have done a detail analysis of each question that comes in TOEFL and have broken it
down to simple answers. Go through their videos and follow them to the T and I
guarantee you will get above 100.
I strongly recommend you use it! All the best!
1.1k Views View Upvotes

Phanindra Babu Guthi, Very bad in speaking, appeared twice.

Written Sep 6, 2015
Just one tip: Search for "Notefull TOEFL mastery" in youtube and the videos ease your
preparation. One month is more than enough and you can easily score above 100.
2.6k Views View Upvotes

Partha Sarathi Jena, 111

Written Dec 4, 2015
I feel that the reading and listening sections are pretty easy as compared to other
sections. You can get 28 and above easily if you are average in reading and listening
skills. Just give 2 - 3 practice tests you will get the feel of it.
Speaking and writing sections are a little difficult. Just practice these sections with a
focus on how to make notes especially for the speaking section. You can google the tips

and tricks required for speaking section (lot of YouTube videos out there!!).
With some practice you will easily get 24 and above. Remember to speak clearly and
cover the required topic as much as possible.
I am an average student with average English skills and i got 111(r-29,l-29,s-25,w-28)
just by some practice on note taking and 1-2 practice tests.
1.4k Views View Upvotes

Karan Thakkar, Author at www.mygradapp.org- the common app for grad schools
Written Jun 13
TOEFL is an exam that may not need any separate preparation or training. Given that
you have already spent a lot of efforts for the preparation of GRE verbal section, the
same will prove useful here. If you have a decent English and read newspapers daily,
the only preparation you may require to do is to solve a few practice test papers before
you go for the exam and even 1015 days should be enough for this. You can get more
information on preparation tips here. Yes, you can get a 100+ score but you need to
prepare well and do well at the test as well.
To know more about TOEFL, read this blog post - TOEFL
If you have any more questions regarding graduate school admissions, you can post
your questions on Forum
523 Views

Gilbert Duy Pham Doan, Pragmatic Advice

Written Apr 16
TOEFL qualifies you as proficient in English as a second language. I want you you to
consider your intent with English. Usually you take this test for admission into a
university that studies any subject in English. If you are serious about mastery and
research, your second language is a life long process. It is not simply one test before
admission, but on a developmental plan throughout your career. Seen in this way, it is
best to pass the test with good marks but not as a surface solution. You should lay a
groundwork for the rest of your life. This allows you to use English as best possible.
833 Views Answer requested by Pio Leo

Gaurav Garg, Berkeley '17

Written Jun 6, 2013
25 days is more than enough to get a good score. Just to give you assurance, I started
preparing 5 days before the exam and got a 114. There was a youtube channel that gave
toefl tips for every section. That helped me a lot. Apart from that, do papers.
1.4k Views View Upvotes

Rounak Biswas, 108 with a Perfect Score in Listening

Written Feb 23
I have scored 108 in TOEFL iBT with a perfect 30 in Listening Section.
To be very specific , I never spent more than 2-3 hours on the entire preparation.
I had solved a couple of individual sections from the TOEFL Official Software. That's
all about it.
Apart from that I believe you need to have a complete idea about the format of the exam
which again I learnt while I was at the Test Centre (sounds reckless, I know! )
I constantly read/write blogs/ articles/ Op-Ed columns of practically anything I can get
my hands on. I believe that did the trick.
Your performance on TOEFL depends on what you do on the Test Day.
One needs to be calm and composed. Utilize your breaks well. Do not think of any score
( I can't say how important it is to stress this point).
Try to calmly read and listen to every question as clearly and in as much detail as
possible. That will be enough.
818 Views

Anonymous
Written Jul 16
Ok, Toefl is an easy exam. All you need to do is look at a couple of practice tests, a
couple of sample papers and you are all ready to go. I have given it twice with no
preparation and ended up scoring 118+ on both occasions. Do not stress out about it.
Relax and give the test.
297 Views

Shabir Khan
Written Apr 10, 2015
I took the exam and did great . because of my busy schedule i was unable to take a
physical class . so i searched online and after some time found this website EnglishBaba
- Learn English in 12 months . The quality of lessons and specially the daily reading/
quizzes helped me a lot . those people pushed me like a teacher would do in the class .
1k Views