Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes

Have appropriate word choice!
Have appropriate word choice!


Michael Buckhoff’s “7 Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT

Exam!”

A long time ago when I was learning Spanish, I prepared and delivered a speech in front of a large congregation. A few minutes into the speech, I told the audience that I was a little embarrassed because of my limited Spanish-speaking skills. However, instead of using the word “avergonzado” (embarrassed), I used the word “embarrazada.” “Embarrazada” seemed like a logical choice because it looked so similar to its English counterpart “embarrassed.” After the speech, I was shocked to find out the word I had chosen actually meant “pregnant.”
Like me, you may have put your foot in your mouth a few times when speaking English. And it is that during those times of difficulty you improve your English language skills. To be sure, the adage “You learn from your mistakes” has a lot of merit.

Of course, during the TOEFL iBT speaking and writing sections, you need to make as few errors as possible if you want to get the coveted 30 points for each sections. And one way for you to score high is to make a minimum of vocabulary errors. Finding the correct form of a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb, using college-level vocabulary, and eliminating common word choice errors will help you to maximize your TOEFL iBT speaking and writing scores.

Using the Correct Form

Consider the following sentence: “The competitive boy competed competively in a competitive competition. To utter the previous sentence, you need a thorough knowledge of the position and the ending of words in the English language. For example, nouns occur in subjects and object positions, while adjectives occur before nouns as modifiers or after linking verbs as subject complements. In addition, nouns end in suffixes such as -ment, -tion, and -ity, wheras adjectives often end in suffixes such as -ive, al, and -able. You should make sure that you use a word in its correct position and ending. Go to http://buckhoff.topcities.com/sentence%20structure.htm#Prepositional%20phrase to get some basic instruction on word order and sentence structure. Go to http://buckhoff.topcities.com/word%20form%20quizzes.htm to take some practice exercises with word form usage. Are you to up to par in this area?

Using College-level Vocabulary

In addition to correct word form usage, you should use college-level vocabulary during the TOEFL iBT speaking and writing sections. For example, the word “arduous” as opposed to “difficult” in the following sentence demonstrates a higher level of vocabulary knowledge: “The professor’s assignment was arduous, requiring us to invest dozens of hours of researching and writing.” Are you to up to par in this area?

Eliminating Common Word Choice Errors

The last area which will either make or break your TOEFL iBT speaking or writing score is that you elminate word choice errors, especially the ones that non-native speakers make. For example, you need to know when to use “another” instead of “other,” “fewer” instead of “less,” or “quanity” instead of “number” or “amount.” Though native-speakers rarely have trouble in this area, avoiding word choice errors will be no small task for you. Go to http://buckhoff.topcities.com/editing_exercises_for_the_twe.htm so that you can get a list of ESL-related problem words. Finally, to practice word choice errors, go to http://buckhoff.topcities.com/word%20choice%20quizzes.htm . Are you to up to par in this area?

In time, after a coordinated three-prong study vocabulary plan with word form usage, college-level vocabulary, and appropriate word choice, you will command a lot more respect with the words you speak and write. It will not be long before the human raters on the TOEFL iBT speaking and writings sections give you the score you deserve.

For information, go here:

Michael Buckhoff’s “7 Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT

Exam!”


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