delphaeus

Awhig ... you were right hehe I got the test score report this morning, 2 weeks and a few days and I got 5,5 for the TWE :tup: Ok - GMAT is next ;)

I really don't know about this because I never write essays and I have quite a poor vocabulary ... but let's hope you are right ;) I wrote some essays in the TWE and I rarely go 5 ... To Alaa : What details do you want to know ?

Hello, It's over :) Details : Listening 29 Structure 13-30 Reading 27 Reading was supposed to be my best part but some questions were tricky and I hesitated a lot. Essay topic was on the "qualities of a good neighbor" I need at least a rating of 4,5 to have 270 which is the score required to get into the Master I aimed at. ;) *fingers crossed* ;) PPtest got me a bit lower score but I guess it's because I've never done them seriously. Apart from this, I had the Kaplan and I always had 230-240 for the highest score possible so Kaplan test are really very hard. But I haven't tried the other books though. Good luck for the others who are taking the test soon :)

Imagine that you are preparing for a trip. You plan to be away from your home for a year. In addition to clothing and personal care items, you can take one additional thing. What would you take and why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice. Preparing a one-year trip is certainly more complicated than a 2 weeks holidays for knowing what I will bring. If I have the choice, I'll go to South America a continent that I have never been before. Indeed, place is limited thus my choice goes to a personal diary because one must remember the cultures, sceneries and people during the trip, so as to note down, to gather the information to prevent from forgetting them and to expose them to our friends once I am back. Making a one-year trip will surely be the occasion for me to discover a whole range of interesting things that is why they must be noted down in a diary. Not only will I need to note down the description of what I will see, the diary is a tool to put down my emotions and feelings at the moment during which I will be experiencing them. Notes will be classified chronologically and pictures can later be added when needed. People I meet will have the opportunity to write some words for me as well as contact information for further communication. Overall, the diary's purpose will ressemble to a second back-up memory since a one-year trip is really long adding to the fact that, as for me, my memory is not the brightest of all. Furthermore, when we go for a one-year trip, it always comes to an end. And when we come back to our home town and meet the old friends, the diary will be the tool to show and expose what we have seen as well as a way to remember all the good times I had. It will serve the purpose of a souvenir. So if there is one more thing to bring for a long trip, my choice will go to a diary. It is a tool that will help me to save my experiences and thoughts on paper as well as to present my trip to my family and friends once I'll be back. Of course, a personal diary for a one-year trip will surely be very heavy and contain lots of pages but that is another story ...

Thank you for all the advices. I'm posting another essay in a few then I'll be checking all the subjects as you said (writing draft of the essay's plan ).

Kaplan's are harder then PP especially reading and listening

I bought Kaplan CBT 3rd edition. It's not so bad however the 4 tests that comes with the book (CD ROM PC/Mac compatible) are harder than PowerPrep one to my surprise. I heard good things from the Barron's too. But download the PowerPrep free software from ETS. But I can not compare since I've only used one so far :D Hope it helps

{Here I suggest you to explain advantages in sub paras.This will give impression of a big essay and reviewer won't bother to read all.He/She will predict your essay to be good.So your intro need to be strong.This is the case with concluding para too.} You are saying that I should put others examples or arguments in both of my support paragraphs ? But that in order to do that, I must strenghten both intro and conclusion. Did I get it right ? :) Another question, I noted that essays that have a relatively high rating are those that have simple but real example. Is it just an impression or do the raters really prefer those kind of arguments ? And the last question, following what I have written, how do you think I can strenghten my conclusion paragraph ? (Another essay to come in a few, I just realized that TWE is my weak point ...) Thanks :)

Hello Awhig ! I must thank you for your input, I tried to shorter my sentences and to make the ideas more apparent than before. And also use more link words in the essay. Tell me what you think, Thank you :) ___________________ Which would you choose: a high-paying job with long hours that would give you little time with family and friends or a lower-paying job with shorter hours that would give you more time with family and friends? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details. Maslow has been able to distinguish several needs from the natural ones such as eating, drinking to the social ones such as self-satisfaction or the fact of being important to others. I totally agree with him because in my point of view : collecting an enormous amount of money is useless if you can not share it with family and friends. That is why I'd be more preferable to a lower-paying job with shorter hours hence giving more time with my relatives. Numerous disadvantages exist for a high-paying job with long hours. For instance, working for long hours is a known cause for stress which causes depression today. Moreoever, people suffering from stress are tensed, unrelaxed and will surely not have the ability to enjoy life. Indeed, since the length of time at work is taking the most hours a day has, time left for social life is almost non-existant. As a result, time to enjoy one's labor fruits is not possible. For example, my parents were working in a restaurant. Rarely have I seen them during weekdays and even if I had the chance to do so, they were tired and unable to deal with a family's normal routine. In addition to that, they lost most of their friends as time passes by. In contrast, one can see the benefits of a lower-paying job with shorter hours with more time. Clearly, money is not everything in life especially when you can not enjoy it with the ones you love. Therefore, most people can manage a lot with little or less income. Not everyone need to spend holidays to the lastest trendy beach in the middle of the Pacific ocean. As a result, people just need to have a good time with friends and family in a simple humble place rather than go to an expensive one. Furthermore, as previously stated, time is needed to enjoy even the tiniest of all activities with relatives. This is why a lower-paying job with shorter hours will win my preference over the high-paid one. Spending time with family and friends is the most important thing one can do. So that, money is not everything even more when it is accompagnied with no time to enjoy the good simple things in life. That is why I really think that less money but more time for our life is far more enjoyable than no time with lots of money since it will not permit to enjoy it anyway.

Here is my lastest essay, my test is tomorrow so I think I will only have time to write one more :) Thanks in advance ! -------------------------------------------------- Some students like classes where teachers lecture (do all of the talking) in class. Other students prefer classes where the students do some of the talking. Which type of class do you prefer? Give specific reasons and details to support your choice. What makes a class better than another ? The answer to that question is surely what most teachers would like to know as to give the best courses they can to satisfy theirs students. My answer is simple : students do not want to be bored during class. The way to attain this goal is to let the students do some of the talking during the class, and that can be achieved through several ways. Some of the reasons that lead the students to boredom, which certainly can not be denied, is the absence of a will to learn. Beside this reason, it can also be the effect of a course’s contents that is too complicated or abstract. To overcome this, pushing the student to work before the course so that he/she will be able to have at least an overview of what the teacher will talk about is a first step. But we can ask ourselves what will guarantee this pre-course work to be done, it is simply by letting them to present part of their pre-course research in class and in front of their comrades. Exposing their own research will not only help themselves but also motivate their comrades since there will be interactions between the teachers, the talking student and his comrades. This interaction will prevent the students from falling into boredom because there will be a change of tone, self-satisfaction of presenting his own work, exchanges of ideas among the students. We can conclusively say that letting the students take part in the class is the key for a better assimilation of the course’s contents as it raises interest, self-satisfaction, interaction, and involved different speakers. More students will come prepared to the courses, they will participate and exchange ideas on the subject so that boredom will not affect them anymore. Therefore, this is why I really agree with the idea on letting students take part during a course is the best thing a teacher can do to improve and overcome the difficulties he can run into.

Thanks Awhig for your comments ! I'll try to polish my skills. I'll work on two others essays tomorrow and so on till my test day. Happy Easter

Hello, This is my first post even if I've been browsing this website for a long time. I'm going to have my TOEFL on the 1st of April (no, it is not a joke :hmm:), and I'd be glad if you could correct, comment, criticize all the essays I will write and post here. Thank you ! :D ------------------------------ Essay 1 : Neighbors are the people who live near us. In your opinion, what are the qualities of a good neighbor? Use specific details and examples in your answer. One factor that people tend to forget when prospecting for a new home is the neighborhood. Indeed, judging the qualities of a neighbor needs time. But as time passes by, one can begin examining whether we have a good neighbor or not First, there is a need to establish a social relationship which tends to friendship. I will always remember the time when a new family arrived at the flat next to mine. The day after its arrival, all the neighborhood received an invitation card for a lunch at their place, the goal was simple : to know more about each other. We also organized several “neighborhood days” during which each family brings a dish and we share it in the common area. Second, a good neighbor is a helping neighbor. You have invited some friends at home but finally it showed up that some chairs are missing, you can then knock at your neighbor’s door and ask for some extra-chairs. Or when you forget to buy milk for one of your famous recipe, a good neighbor will always come in handy by lending a bottle of milk. Last, a good neighbor is one in which you can rely on. Insecurity is nowadays a primary concern and when you wish to go to holidays, there is always a fear of our house being the thieves’ target. When there is a relationship based on trust with your neighbor, we can always ask him to keep an eye on our houses since they are right next to our house or even give them our keys. All in all, here were some examples of qualities that a good neighbor must have. He needs to be friendly, always to be ready to help and one in who we can rely on. Of course, there are plenty of others qualities to define a good neighbor but, as for me, those are the one I consider the most important. ------------------------------ Essay 2 In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay. One century ago, when a child was born, a few would have expected him to see his great grand mother. But today and moreover in the future this trend will only grow. Indeed, this is not due to plain hazard and it is a combination of several reasons that help people to live longer. The progress of medicine is the reason why people tend to live longer. Nowadays, especially in the developed countries, access to medicine is not considered as a luxury anymore. Pharmaceutical laboratories have developed multiple ways to cure a large panel of diseases and its distribution and production are quite effective. There is also a strong belief that food is a medecine for our bodies. People are eating food both of better quality and diversity than before. Allowing us to have all the vitamins and proteins necessary for a good healthy body. Another reason is the nature of work today compared to what it was yesterday : better working conditions. If we take an example such as the period of the Industrial Revolution most people were workers in factories but today even if factories are still needed, machines have replaced all the tiring work. The proportion of workers compared to office employees has reversed, hence putting less physical work in our everyday life. Consequently, people are living longer now because their lives have not been as hard as before and due to the accessibility of medicine and a better nutrition. This trend will only continue with the constant progress of medicine and nutrition as well as the evolution of the working conditions. ------------------------- Thanks for reading !