ICON+

Every year, we at ICON+ work with hundreds of students preparing for the TOEFL and IELTS exams.

The scores they achieve impact which colleges, universities, and graduate programs they attain admission to; career opportunities; and even whether or not they can migrate to their countries of choice. A great deal of impact for tests that each last less than four hours, huh?

Although our students pay for the same course to prepare them for these crucial exams, we’ve noticed that some students walk out with disproportionately higher improvement on scores. We’ve scratched our heads and come out with the following tips to help you get the most out of your TOEFL or IELTS preparation course:

The final task of your TOEFL exam is to write and complete an independent essay within a 30 minute time frame. By this point in the test you will be somewhat exhausted from the last three hours, and to make it worse, you are not given a choice of essay topics. That is, you will only receive one option for the essay question.

On April 8, 2011, the UK Border Agency announced that they are now accepting the TOEFL exam in applications for all UK visas under the points-based system.

Overcoming the challenges of the English language is your first step to conquering your IELTS or TOEFL examination. What makes it so tricky is that the English language, like many others, has various exceptions to the rules we learn. As Stephen Fry of the BBC famously stated, there are actually more exceptions than words which follow the rule! If understanding the nuances of the English language doesn’t confuse you enough, there is a whole load of common exceptions that you need to know. Along with common exceptions to the rule, here are some useful tips for mastering the English language.