BrentWarner

Another thing that helps a lot for reading is studying general subject information to increase background knowledge. It takes some time, but I'd recommend picking a different subject everyday - Art History, Astronomy, Geography, Economics, etc. You don't need to know everything - but getting a good start by reading the general information about each subject will be helpful. Even just checking Wikipedia for each general subject will help you out a lot. After a while, you'll have a good working background knowledge on a wide variety of topics, that way you won't need to spend as much time reading and thinking about the general topics and you can focus on the details. Good luck!

Hi Pedro, It depends a little bit on the grader, but it's very unlikely to make a significant difference. It can't hurt to include a title, but honestly in reading the way you wrote the question, you can probably work on getting higher points by developing your grammar and structure rather than on worrying about small things like titles. Good luck!

Hey Cecile, Notefull looks interesting. What was your score before you took their course? One of the hints I always give my students for the speaking is to master the timing. I always set them up with a timer and then tap my pen on the table at key intervals so they keep an awareness of how far along they should be. It usually goes like this: 60 seconds - START 45 seconds - TAP 30 seconds - TAP 20 seconds - TAP 10 seconds - TAP 5 seconds - TAP 4 seconds - TAP 3 seconds - TAP 2 seconds - TAP 1 seconds - TAP 0 seconds - TAP TAP TAP Admittedly the students find this annoying, but soon they learn how to understand the timing and how far along they need to be. All of my students have said it's been a big help... after they get over the frustration!

Hi Sanjoo, I'm afraid you're going to have a hard time finding any free tests that are of good quality. Some English language schools will offer a free sample test if you go to their campus, but usually it's not offered for free because people have to put a lot of time and effort into grading your work. Usually things are about as valuable as what you pay for them, so if you find a free test... I'm sure that's not the answer you were hoping for, but maybe it will help you consider the value of paying for a valuable service. Good luck!

Hi Kwgl, It's actually a little difficult to answer without more context, but I'll do my best to answer. Imagine the following example - "In America, people eat too much sugar and greasy food. This results in an obesity epidemic." This sentence works well because "results in" is showing a cause/effect relationship. BUT "This gives an obesity epidemic." This sentence is NOT good because an obesity epidemic is an abstract concept which can't really be given to anyone or anything. It's probably easier to replace "gives" with "results in" than it is to do it the other way around. Again, I'm not sure of the larger context of your essay, but maybe this can help you out a little bit in the future!

Hi there! Just a couple of points from a teacher's perspective: Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others believe that going to classes should be optional for students. Which point of view do you agree with? Use specific reasons and details to explain your answer. In my opinion, university students should be required to attend classes regularly rather than optionally. There may be a possibility that a student can do well even though he or she didn’t attend the classes regularly. However, Tthere are many advantages in attending the classes regularly. You're showing contrasting information here, so it creates a more natural flow by introducing the sentence with "however". The Ffirst reason is, that by attending classes regularly, he can obtain knowledge from a teacher who can gain (? - the teacher can gain knowledge?) valuable knowledge. This knowledge will help him keeping with the latest information and syllabus, so that it will be easier for him to gain a good score in the final exam. But, if a student is attending classes according to his will or once in a while the subjects may not be clear to him and he may not attain good knowledge and most (would be more) likely to score low marks. Be careful about gender identification. Recently it is considered more appropriate to leave the subject "gender-neutral" You might consider changing it with "The student / they / them" etc. The second reason is when attending classes regularly one can know his standards by which he can improve himself towards excelling in his academic performance. He is pore (spelling - more?) focused on the subject. On the other hand a student attending the (unnecessary) classes optionally can easily get distracted by the environment and spoiled (tense) his academic performance. Finally, university students should attend classes regularly to gain proper knowledge and gain confidence to excel in final exams rather attending class optionally. Even though this serves as a conclusion, it's a little hard to tell if it is introducing a new point. I prefer a very clear conclusion - "For reasons A, B, and C, I believe that students should be required to attend class." I hope that helps you out a little bit!

Hey guys, my name is Brent. I've been an English Teacher for over a dozen years and I like helping students figure out what they need to pass the TOEFL. I love seeing students get accepted to colleges and universities. Sometimes I get pretty busy, but hopefully I can help out wherever I can. Thanks for having me!