diep

Hi, I have a friend who took this institutional test some years ago. As his telling, this test is absolutely equivalent to the real TOEFL test. Wishing you get the best score!:)

I'm sorry I have no idea about the Institutional TOEFL offered by MoE of Vietnam (do you mean that one?), but the int'l TOEFL test is much similar to TOEFL practice tests in the book published by ETS (sometimes even easier:p). Hope that helps you. Cheers,

Hi, You should try doing one test everyday from now to the real test date and getting nervous at home. You'll be intrepidly calm at the testing room:D Honestly, results of those tests are nearly same to the real scores. Gud luck:)

Hi vvaann, I took toefl exam on Jan 18. Same to you, I felt that I lost a number of listening questions because I was too nervous and I could not follow up the trace of tape immediately. I was very worried for nearly two months while waiting for the result. However, my score was not bad as I thought, I got 53 for listening section. So, don't worry too much. For cocobella76, keep writing, don't be discouraged! You'll succeed[dance]

Thanks all of U, Hi, cocobella76 (I like ur nick[bomb])! You can find a lot of helpful advices here - this TM forum. The most important thing: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE AGAIN. Post your essay here and other friends will help you. Even if no one has time for commenting on it, don't worry, you will improve your skills yourself by doing this. It's my experience. And I still keep writing[dance], so practice now with me;) Gud luck to you, cocobella76!

Hi everybody in TM, I've just received my Toefl score report after waiting nervously for nearly two months. I'd like to share with you my happiness: TOEFL 603 and TWE 5.0. I know many of you got much higher results, but I feel happy because I made progresses, particularly in writing skill, thanks to Erin's site with lots of kind TM friends. I wish all of you would get the best results and this site would live forever[dance]

By the way, I have some comments on your essay. Hope that helps you.

Hi miwa, No, I did not conclude that either emails or telephones cause human communication less personal[V]. Can you point out which sentences made you think that? In my essay, I meant that emails and telephones make it easier for communication among people. Only the way people use them too much as a replacement for face-to-face conversation might be the cause. In other words, it is caused by the people, not by the tools. Cheers:drunk:

In general, your ideas sound good. You should strengthen your grammar skill. Cheers,

#027: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Essay: During his life, a man should do not only favorable things but also things that he does not enjoy doing because of the more benefits than harm such unpleasant things will bring. Besides, the most important reason why I support the statement is that doing things he does not like might make him esteem loved things much more. In the childhood, no child does not tire such chores as getting up early, brushing the teeth, and cleaning his room. As soon as he grows enough, he is obliged to go to school. At home, he must do his homework, rather than play games or chat with his friends as he wants. Time passes, and he knows such things return him rewards in the future: becoming a healthy and educated man with a promising career and a hard-working habit. On the other hand, attending at college, a man should obey the school’s regulations. Living in the society, he must abide by the law. Perhaps, such regulations bother him but he should follow them because they provide the community in which he works and lives a great deal of benefits. For example, granting that he does not like the syllabus and time schedule offered to him, he skips most lectures. If the other students imitate his behavior, you can imagine what will happen in the college. For the community’s general interests, we should enjoy doing unpleasant things at times. Last but not least, when you try yourself to do things you do not like, you will experience favorable things more enjoyable. Doing all things you like at every turn let them become a kind of habits. Hard work makes rest desired; house chores make evening out a genuine party; and a period far away from beloved makes time being together a precious gift. As a result, his keeping balances between pleasant and unpleasant things will multiple the meaningful significance of happiness in his life. In all, I wholly agree that people should sometimes do things they do not like for the benefits of their society or themselves in their future. Furthermore, it is also important for them to keep balance between favorable and unfavorable things to help them enjoy the life. ______________________________ Hi all, I really need your thoughts about it. Don't just read;), let me know your comments on it.

Hi all, what do you think about this?;) ***************************** If I were preparing for an oversea journey for a rather long time, apart from clothing and personal care items, I would take with me one thing that reminds me of my native country, Vietnam. Of many beloved things, I would choose a water dipper made of coconut shell for the following reasons. First, in every family in the countryside of Vietnam, a water dipper represents an indispensable object that is closely associated with the daily life. Each time looking at it, I would remember the scene that my mother holding a dipper scooped a little well-water to wash my hair. It would also recall me of my eighty-year-old grandmother, who is skillful at the process from emptying the coconut, drying its shell to whittling it into a scoop. Taking it with me, I could find my family being around me. Furthermore, another important reason for my choice lies in the natural material to make a dipper, coconut shell. Coconut becomes a symbol of my coastal hometown. Coconut trees are planted everywhere along the coast. I remembered the time when I was a child, I loved to run playfully in the range of coconut trees and hide myself from my friends behind those tree-trunks. Of course, I will never forget those beautiful and peaceful memories. In all, since a water dipper made of coconut shell contains in itself such a great deal of meaningful significance, I would not hesitate to take it with me in my trip. I would put it in my room, so that I could see it everyday. Undoubtedly, it would keep me from stress due to pressure from my daily work.

I really get stuck on this topic. Could anyone give me some ideas? Thanks, Diep

Here's my essay. What score shall I get with it? I'll appreciate your comments... _____________________________ During each person’s life, he sometimes inevitably confronts with financial difficulties. Of course, at those times, he requires support from his family, as well as his friends. I hardly agree that borrowing money from a friend in such cases will damage the relationship among them. Frequently, a respectful person asks his friend for money only in the case of needs. Thus if he receives funds from his friend, he will be grateful to his friend for the timely help. Moreover, the lender finds happy since his kind act partly helps his friend overcome the difficult situation. As a result, their friendship is likely to be strengthened. Contrarily, in the case that his friend refuses to lend him money due to whatever reason, it does not mean that their friendship will be broken. For example, I asked to borrow some money from a friend of mine last month when my mother had to come to hospital. Although she could not meet my demand because she had spent all her money in her new car, she ardently helped me take care of my mother. I was so moved by her affection for me that I believe nothing can overshadow our intimate friendship. Last but not least, even in the case that my friend does not return me the amount of money he borrowed me some time ago, it fails to frustrate me. Countless reasons can exist to prevent my friend from fulfilling his promise. The most important point is that I could assist my friend at the time he needed me. In the end I believe that a true friendship between two people will never be hurt because a person borrows money from the other. A friend who helps you at the time you need is the best friend.

Karthik, Ur essay seems to be written for Topic #001: People attend college for many different reasons... This topic asks you to give reasons why students choose to study abroad. Cheers,

#72: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students to learn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. It is a common notion that a high grade reveals good qualification and hard practice of a student. Thus all students try their best to achieve the highest marks. I agree that grades promote students to learn due to the following reasons. First of all, for every student, his score in each subject tells him about his competence in that field, as well as reflects how hard did he study on it. Although this result is good or bad, it encourages the student to learn harder. If a student got a good mark, he felt proud of his result, which brought him the commendation of his teacher and the admiration from his friends. Consequently, he would try more to get at least the same grade in the next semester. On the other hand, students with bad scores have to make further efforts in order not to lag behind. In a word, as grades are a mirror of students’ performance, they motivate students to learn more. Moreover, a good final grade at university becomes the least criterion for students to either find a good job or go to further study. The higher the final scores are, the more the chances opened to them will be. I, for example, regret that I did not try my best at university to get an excellent grade, which would give me an opportunity to pursue Ph.D programs bypassing a master course. Therefore, the best grade should become a goal of any student attending college, which in turn acts as an impetus to his harder studying. In short, in attempts to become a star in his class and reach a better future, a student tries to study more and more under the driving force of higher marks. A good final result at college will help him have a foot in the door. ____________________________ What score will I get with this one? I've tried to simplify my language. Is it better, Erin? Thanks a lot.

I hope that I still have enough time. Maybe I relax by writing essays;). Erin, pls take a little time to comment on essay #88 I've just posted. [/size] Big thanks [/size]

#088: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Telephones and email have made communication between people less personal. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Undoubtedly, the advent of telephone and the Internet has significantly improved communication among people. I disagree to accuse telephones and email of making human communication less personal. In this essay I will point out some reasons to support my opinion. In order to exchange their confidences in day-to-day life, most people much prefer face-to-face talking with their families and friends to just either making a call or sending an email. Using telephone as well as email is of course an essential part of many people, but most of them would gladly choose a direct dialogue with the others were they given the choice. I, for example, after a full day at work, call my parents to ask after them. Yet I manage to take every possible chance to stop by their home. I would like to see them and share with them personally everything in our daily life. For me, that routine could never be replaced by using telephone, email, or any other technology. On the other hand, the popularity of telephones and email makes it possible for impersonal communication among people. Nevertheless, it is people who abuse telephone and email as their main forms of communication, rather than these tools themselves, cause communication less personal. For example, instead of sending a private postcard to each remote friend of mine on the occasion of Christmas that takes me much time and efforts, I can now send an electronic mail or card to a group of people just in a few minutes. I still keep, however, the traditional way because I believe that each of my friends feels happier when receiving a postcard sent personally to him enclosing a wish written exclusively for him. In a word, perhaps people with very little time for anything tend to make their communication less personal, but either telephones or email is the cause. All in all, I do not believe that telephones and email make communication among people less personal. Most people can take these tools’ advantages while keeping their communication barely personal. _____________________________ Dear Erin, I posted here another essay. Pls give me your opinion about this one itself, as well as some advice for me to improve my writing skill. I almost run out of time. I really need your help to make progress. Thank you very much.

Many [/size]thanks [/size]to [/size]Erin[/size], You are very kind to develop this site where I can learn a lot. I'll take the exam on Jan 18 and I feel very worried about my writing skills:(. Pls help me, Erin and other TM friends!

#121: Some people trust their first impressions about a person’s character because they believe these judgments are generally correct. Other people do not judge a person’s character quickly because they believe first impressions are often wrong. Compare these two attitudes. Which attitude do you agree with? Support your choice with specific examples. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Many people trust the soundness of their first impressions about a person’s character. I contradict this viewpoint for the reasons I will point out hereinafter. First of all, a person’s appearance and attitude that are initially engraved upon our mind are often influenced by that person’s mental status. Thus, their nature is probably different from what they showed off at that time. My girlfriend, for instance, appeared to be an insipid and arrogant girl with a range of sharp-tongued and flat words when I met her the first time. After a long period keeping contact with her, I figured out that her feeling of disappointment due to sad news in her family converted her become like that. Genuinely, as time goes by she expressed her modest and sensitive character that made I love her so much. After that time, I wholly believe that my first impressions about a person’s character are undependable. Besides, a person’s appearance and attitude probably change with his/her social environment in which he/she lives or works. Take my father as an example. He is a teacher and he is known as a deadly strict one in his university. However, in my family, he becomes a gentle father of my brother and I. A lot of his former students visited him at our home and acknowledged that their first thoughts about my father were quite distinguished from their senses of his benevolent nature during their studying years. Therefore, in my opinion, to make judgments about one’s character I have to get in touch with him for a rather long time and in different environments. In conclusion, I disagree to base only upon the first impressions about a person’s character to judge of him. A cautious consideration after several times of meeting and talking with him under different circumstances helps me make accurate judgments about that person. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [/size]HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY[/size] This is my first essay in the New Year. I'm looking forward to your comments... Best wishes 4 all of u, TM:) Diep

#152: Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or clean waters. Choose one resource that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved. Use specific reasons and details to support your position. ______________________________________________________________________ Our country, Vietnam, is endowed with a great amount of forests that cover roughly three fourth of the nation’s area. However, this area has been reduced dramatically in recent years due to a range of forest destruction for timber exploitation and other living purposes. Never before have forests should be preserved because of adverse effects of forest destruction on the life of us as well as future generation. First, forest devastation posed a harmful impact on living environment of local people. In a business trip to the Northern mountainous region last month, I was so stunned by a wide area of bare and fallow mountains that used to be green forests prior to the big forest fire last year. Stemming from the habits of ethnic minorities to clear land for plantation purposes by burning forests, that forest fire swept off hundreds houses of them. Moreover, it also caused the environmental pollution in the region, and consequently, a great deal of local people was prone to respiratory diseases. Not only has forest reduction affected the life of local citizens it has also been to the detriment of the neighborhood of that region. In fact, many forests play an important role to die down the power of floods when they arise. Therefore, when such vital forests were destroyed, inundation would be taken place in many regions. The most terrible flood happened in the South in 1997 was a specific example. In conclusion, due to such above serious impacts of forest destruction on the health and the life of human beings, it should be noted that forest protection would be an important responsibility of each of us all over the world. Also, other natural resources such as clean waters, animals are necessary to be saved. ______________________________________________________________________ After I finished this version, I came back to the topic: "...Choose one resource that is disappearing..." and I wonder if I was off topic. Pls help me!! Thanks in advance. Excessively long line removed by Erin. It was making your essay stretch across my screen, making it necessary to scroll left and right to read the essay.

#156: You have the opportunity to visit a foreign country for two weeks. Which country would you like to visit? Use specific details to explain your choice. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If I had a chance to visit a foreign country for a couple of weeks, Korea would be my first choice. My brother is now working there. From his telling, I have been appealed by the beauty scenes, the tradition and the people of this “Taekwondo” country. First, I would be truly happy to meet my brother from whom I separated for a long while. In his letters, he told me a lot about his home with many kind and generous Korean persons. It is taken for granted that it would be the first place I stop by if I came to Korea. Moreover, I am very excited by the imagination of being together with my brother, going along the roads of Seoul, and enjoying star-shape snow falling in my hairs. He also promised to let me taste renowned foods such as kimchi, naengmyon, which is characteristic of Korean tradition. Last but not least, it should be wonderful for me to take several days staying at Jeju island, the Hawaii of Korea. In a range of popular Korean movies I have ever seen, I was so impressed with the romantic scene of beauty there that I always wish to have an opportunity to set foot on that island. For all the above, I would be very pleased with my big gift of a two-week journey to Korea. There is no doubt that going to a country will bring us wide knowledge about the culture, the tradition and the people of that country. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hi all, pls give me your opinion. I've never been to Korea and I really want to go there;). What score will I probably get? FY

#165: You have decided to give several hours of your time each month to improve the community where you live. What is one thing you will do to improve your community? Why? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next month, after finishing my exam, I will have more free time. Thus I plan to give some parts of my time to gather children near my home and arrange joyful and helpful plays for them. In fact, children in my country appear to suffer from such overloading education programs that cover most of their time. My younger brother, for example, who is now attending a primary school, has only up to an hour a day at leisure in which he either sticks his eyes on television or plays games passionately. Consequently, he, as well as his counterparts, lacks of physical teamwise practices that would probably improve their health and help them fall in line with the community. However, what I plan to do is not an easy work. First, I have to persuade their parents to allow them to join my activities. I would be successful only if I could prove that those plays would make their offspring enjoyable without detriment to their learning at school. Second, I must encourage my local authorities to let us use their meeting hall for playing. Never before have we faced a shortage of land for kids and youths’ playing in our crowded city. Third, I am likely to lead the children with all my might to our amusements, which should be changed frequently in order to help them enjoy and relax. On the other hand, playing with the kids and bringing them joy and fun will also release me from stress and tension of my daily life. In all, I truly enjoy my plan and hope that many other people will support me, so that our community will be full of joys and humanities. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ I finished this essay, but I didn't satisfy the last paragraph. Pls give me some advice, especially for the way I used vocabs which I am very bad[V]

#184 Some students prefer to study alone. Others prefer to study with a group of students. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons examples and details to support your response. _______________________________________________________________________________ Each person opts for himself the best way to study, either with or without the others. I, personally, always enjoy all the discussions about academic subjects with my friends. For me, learning from the other students is the most efficient method to broaden my knowledge, as well as to strengthen my self-confidence. First of all, I am able to learn longer when a circle of other people surrounds me. Last week, for example, a team of my classmates and I made an excited and concentrated talk about Vietnamese literature during three hours, while I had never paid attention to any issue more than an hour and a half without the feelings of sleepiness and weariness when I was alone. During the talk, we exchanged our ideas about the literature movements, the authors, and so forth with the others. As a result, I saved a lot of time to improve my knowledge when I listened to a plentiful supply of information from my friends, which I had not been informed before. Furthermore, attending the discussions, I learn the way to express my own opinion as well as comment on the others’ viewpoint in front of many other students. Surely, this practice not only brings me a helpful experience for my future career but also helps me understand the issue much deeper and consequently, remember it for good. Because of a great deal of above-mentioned benefits that studying as a group brings me, I wholly believe that it is the most suitable way for my studying. ------------------------------ I wrote this essay for 35 minutes. I will appreciate your comments on it. Thanks!

#174: Every generation of people is different in important ways. How is your generation different from your parents’ generation? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. _____________________________________________________________ Our generation is much luckier than our parents, who were born when our country, Vietnam, had suffered from a prolonged war of resistance against US army. As a result, we have been taken benefits as well as responsibilities that are genuinely distinguished from those of our predecessors. To begin with, we have to study hard to strive for survival in a competitive knowledge-based society. We cannot find a good job if we have not equipped myself with a great deal of necessary skills. It is much different from our parents’ generation. In my father’s youth period, as he told me, a lot of his colleagues were appointed to vital positions due to their achievements in fighters rather than because of their knowledge or experience in related aspects. I did not mean that they were not good at those new charges, but it is no doubt that knowledge and experience were not the first criterion to evaluate a person’s appropriateness to a position as they are nowadays. As compensation, we have been benefited from various worldwide sources of scientific and social knowledge, which were very scarce in my parents’ generation. Moreover, our living conditions have been improved far from those of our elders. Last but not least, living in the more and more developed and cooperated world, we have to try our most to develop our economy as fast as possible and defend our national security while the supreme tasks of people of my parents’ generation were to expel the enemy away from our country. Needless to say, the ideal must be changed with generation transfer. All in all, I show deep gratitude to all those of my parents’ generation, who tried their best to leave us a peaceful and rather prosperous life in an independent country. I believe that my generation will work hard to make Vietnam much more developed. _____________________________________________________________ I tried it for over 45 minutes :(and have not yet revised it;). Pls let me know your views, welcome!!!

Hi Hinda, I’m new too :o and this is the first time I try to comment on another person’s writing. Do not take my personal opinion so serious:p. Your essay made me feel that I was reading a dictionary or a textbook rather than an academic essay. It appears to lack of coordination among different ideas. Besides, in your sentence, “They made a study in a upper middle school in Sweden.”, I couldn’t find who they are. Despite the above, I was really impressed with your profound knowledge that proved that u r a very intelligent girl. Good luck!