Okay friends, here is a trick you can use on the TOEFL iBT to improve your score in the section that everyone dreads the most — the TOEFL Speaking section.

Now, I would only advise that you read the following information if you are willing to do something devious and dishonest in order to get a better score…

Okay, here it is: When you’re done the section BEFORE speaking, don’t go forward to the speaking straight. Still your mind and and listen to what your fellow TOEFLers are speaking about around you. At least a few of them have probably already started their Speaking sections and will thus reveal something about the topic in what they are saying. If you do this, you’ll be able to think about the topic for longer and thus get a better score than your friends!

Remember — this is a TOEFL secret!! Don’t tell anyone ;)

This is a good four-part lesson on how to write an effective argument essay. This is tailored towards IELTS, but is useful for the TOEFL as well.

A lot of students worry about whether their accent will affect their score in the Speaking section of the TOEFL. Well, it’s like this. Everyone who speaks English has an accent. So, having an accent is not a problem.

What matters more than accent is clarity. Now clarity itself is composed of two elements.

The first element is that you must overcome any obvious mispronunciation. This means learning to say “yellow” and not “jello” if you’re a Spanish speaker. Or learning to say “rice” and not “lice” if you’re Japanese, for example. These are examples where the mistake actually produces a different word, and can cause confusion.

An example where a mistake due to accent does not produce another word is when Eastern Europeans say “Vas iz thiz?” instead of “What is this?” The meaning is still understandable, though there are errors due to the accent. This is less of a problem.

The second point is that you must speak as clearly and confidently as possible. Sometimes when students are nervous or forget the word they want to say, they try to mumble their way through. This is not a good idea, and doing so repeatedly could cause you to lose points because you are not communicating effectively. Better to find another word or explain what you mean as clearly as you can, in whatever accent you do have.