This post presents you some important tips to take into consideration before taking exams such as: IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT.
IELTS
Try to do at least 4 practice tests from the IELTS website.
Buy IELTS practice books. Examples: The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Barron’s IELTS Superpack Road to IELTS.
The night before the test and during the test, remember to: sleep well, eat breakfast, stay calm, If a question is taking too long move to the next one and come back to it later, focus while you are reading, and write your ideas on a paper before you start writing.
TOEFL
Familiarize yourself with the TOEFL exam, get to know the different sections, and how they are scored. Do not just surprise yourself on the day of the exam.
Give yourself time to prepare. Practice can take up to 6 months depending on English proficiency. If it is the first time try evaluating yourself, and set a plan. If it isn’t your first time base your plan based on the previous results.
Before you start a study plan, know what your weaknesses are and try to tackle them. Never let any section take down your TOEFL result.
Use efficient resources to maximize your score. Such as:Â TOEFL iBT Interactive Sampler, TOEFL iBT Quick Prep, TOEFL iBT Sample Questions, TOEFL practice online (paid), Official TOEFL prep book (paid).
TOEFL requires a high range of vocabulary, learning new words will tremendously raise your mark.
Get familiar with multiple choice questions, and learn strategies on how to answer them.
SAT
Familiarize yourself with the exam by taking practice tests while timing yourself, as this will allow you pace yourself when taking the exam.
When practicing always review your mistakes and make sure you understand what you did wrong.
Try to pace yourself so you don't go too fast or too slow, this will prevent you from making careless mistakes while also giving you some times to review your answers.​
When unsure of a question try to eliminate the wrong answers and find the one that is closest to being correct.
Remember that you are not docked marks for wrong answers so make sure to answer every single question, even if you are forced to guess one or two.
If a question is too difficult do not spend too much time on it and try to solve the rest of the questions before coming back to it.