Helpful Strategies To Successfully Take The TOEFL Test

Question Strategies

Read Carefully
Read the question and answer choices carefully. Don’t miss the question because you misread the terms. You have plenty of time to read each question thoroughly and make sure you understand what is being asked. 

Contextual Clues
Look for contextual clues. If the question includes a word you are not familiar with, look at the immediate context for some indication of what the word might mean. Contextual clues can often give you all the information you need to decipher the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Even if you can’t determine the meaning, you may be able to narrow down the possibilities enough to make a solid guess at the answer to the question.

Prefixes
If you're having trouble with a word in the question or answer choices, try dissecting it. Take advantage of every clue that the word might include. Prefixes and suffixes can be a huge help. Usually they allow you to determine a basic meaning. Pre- means before, post- means after, pro - is positive, de- is negative. From prefixes and suffixes, you can get an idea of the general meaning of the word and try to put it into context.

Hedge Words
Watch out for critical hedge words, such as likely, may, can, sometimes, often, almost, mostly, usually, generally, rarely, and sometimes. Question writers insert these hedge phrases to cover every possibility. Often an answer choice will be wrong simply because it leaves no room for exception. Be on guard for answer choices that have definitive words such as exactly and always.

Switchback Words
Stay alert for switchbacks. These are the words and phrases frequently used to alert you to shifts in thought. The most common switchback words are but, although, and however. Others include nevertheless, on the other hand, even though, while, in spite of, despite, regardless of. Switchback words are important to catch because they can change the direction of the question or an answer choice.

Face Value
When in doubt, use common sense. Accept the situation in the problem at face value. Don’t read too much into it. These problems will not require you to make wild assumptions. If you have to go beyond creativity and warp time or space in order to have an answer choice fit the question, then you should move on and consider the other answer choices. These are normal problems rooted in reality. The applicable relationship or explanation may not be readily apparent, but it is there for you to figure out. Use your common sense to interpret anything that isn’t clear.

Answer Choice Strategies

Answer Selection
The most thorough way to pick an answer choice is to identify and eliminate wrong answers until only one is left, then confirm it is the correct answer. Sometimes an answer choice may immediately seem right, but be careful. The test writers will usually put more than one reasonable answer choice on each question, so take a second to read all of them and make sure that the other choices are not equally obvious. As long as you have time left, it is better to read every answer choice than to pick the first one that looks right without checking the others.

Answer Choice Families
An answer choice family consists of two (in rare cases, three) answer choices that are very similar in construction and cannot all be true at the same time. If you see two answer choices that are direct opposites or parallels, one of them is usually the correct answer. For instance, if one answer choice says that quantity x increases and another either says that quantity x decreases (opposite) or says that quantity y increases (parallel), then those answer choices would fall into the same family. An answer choice that doesn’t match the construction of the answer choice family is more likely to be incorrect. Most questions will not have answer choice families, but when they do appear, you should be prepared to recognize them.

Eliminate Answers
Eliminate answer choices as soon as you realize they are wrong, but make sure you consider all possibilities. If you are eliminating answer choices and realize that the last one you are left with is also wrong, don’t panic. Start over and consider each choice again. There may be something you missed the first time that you will realize on the second pass.

Avoid Fact Traps
Don’t be distracted by an answer choice that is factually true but doesn’t answer the question. You are looking for the choice that answers the question. Stay focused on what the question is asking for so you don’t accidentally pick an answer that is true but incorrect. Always go back to the question and make sure the answer choice you’ve selected actually answers the question and is not merely a true statement.

Extreme Statements
In general, you should avoid answers that put forth extreme actions as standard practice or proclaim controversial ideas as established fact. An answer choice that states the “process should be used in certain situations, if…” is much more likely to be correct than one that states the “process should be discontinued completely.” The first is a calm rational statement and doesn’t even make a definitive, uncompromising stance, using a hedge word if to provide wiggle room, whereas the second choice is a radical idea and far more extreme.

Benchmark
As you read through the answer choices and you come across one that seems to answer the question well, mentally select that answer choice. This is not your final answer, but it’s the one that will help you evaluate the other answer choices. The one that you selected is your benchmark or standard for judging each of the other answer choices. Every other answer choice must be compared to your benchmark. That choice is correct until proven otherwise by another answer choice beating it. If you find a better answer, then that one becomes your new benchmark. Once you’ve decided that no other choice answers the question as well as your benchmark, you have your final answer.

Predict the Answer
Before you even start looking at the answer choices, it is often best to try to predict the answer. When you come up with the answer on your own, it is easier to avoid distractions and traps because you will know exactly what to look for. The right answer choice is unlikely to be word-for-word what you came up with, but it should be a close match. Even if you are confident that you have the right answer, you should still take the time to read each option before moving on.

General Test Taking Strategies

Handling Tough Questions
If you are stumped on a problem or it appears too hard or too difficult, don’t waste time. Move on! Remember though, if you can quickly check for obviously incorrect answer choices, your chances of guessing correctly are greatly improved. Before you completely give up, at least try to knock out a couple of possible answers. Eliminate what you can and then guess at the remaining answer choices before moving on.

Check Your Work
Since you will probably not know every term listed and the answer to every question, it is important that you get credit for the ones that you do know. Don’t miss any questions through careless mistakes. If at all possible, try to take a second to look back over your answer selection and make sure you’ve selected the correct answer choice and haven’t made a costly careless mistake (such as marking an answer choice that you didn’t mean to mark). This quick double check should more than pay for itself in caught mistakes for the time it costs.

Pace Yourself
It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you’re looking at a page full of questions; your mind is confused and full of random thoughts, and the clock is ticking down faster than you would like. Calm down and maintain the pace that you have set for yourself. Especially as you get down to the last few minutes of the test, don’t let the small numbers on the clock make you panic. As long as you are on track by monitoring your pace, you are guaranteed to have time for each question.

Don’t Rush
It is very easy to make errors when you are in a hurry. Maintaining a fast pace in answering questions is pointless if it makes you miss questions that you would have gotten right otherwise. Test writers like to include distracting information and wrong answers that seem right. Taking a little extra time to avoid careless mistakes can make all the difference in your test score. Find a pace that allows you to be confident in the answers that you select.

Keep Moving
Panicking will not help you pass the test, so do your best to stay calm and keep moving. Taking deep breaths and going through the answer elimination steps you practiced can help to break through a stress barrier and keep your pace.

The combination of a solid foundation of content knowledge and the confidence that comes from practicing your plan for applying that knowledge is the key to maximizing your performance on test day.