Know your connecting words to bring disparate ideas to life.

Connecting words can help to create a logical sequence for your argument, and will be really useful in the essay section of the TOEFL, but could also come into their own in during the speaking test and any shorter written answers. Add some sparkle to your responses with words that constitute an addition: what’s more, also, in addition, besides, moreover and along with- to name just a few. Then you’ll need plenty of words of equation such as likewise, similarly, in the same way, thus, correspondingly. For a powerful conclusion, choose many varied phrases e.g. in brief, it can be concluded that, therefore and to sum up briefly.

The right type of English

It’s great to know many different varieties of English, but just as important to know when to use them in different contexts. The TOEFL is a North American English exam, so British English phrases could be detrimental to your score as some phrases common in the UK are not well-known in the US and Canada.

To avoid this, pay attention to so-called ‘Britisms’ (British English vocabulary) that you may have picked up and learn equivalents for your test day, so that ‘break’ becomes ‘recess’, ‘trousers’ become ‘pants’, ‘petrol’ becomes ‘gas’ and many more of the same. Immerse yourself in US culture through TV, media and newspapers to get a flavour for this type of English and imitate natural forms of speaking that you hear. In particular, since the TOEFL has a strong academic focus, learn terms surrounding the world of higher education such as ‘matriculation,’ ‘college’ rather than ‘university’ and ‘semester’ rather than ‘term’ etc.

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