TOEFL IBT Reading Score Improvement in Three Simple Steps

I once heard, "If you prepare, you will not fear.", a quote so true when taking a standardized admissions test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language, the Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT). And when it comes to conquering the reading section of this difficult test for international students, you will certainly want to be prepared before tackling 60-90 minutes of conceptually dense academic reading passages. In fact, so that you have an adequate reading speed of 250-350 words per minute, good concentration, and 60-80% comprehension of TOEFL reading passages, you should prepare yourself by building your college-level vocabulary, reading extensively for 45-60 minutes a day for several months, and having effective test-taking strategies.

Build your Vocabulary

First of all, you will need to build your college-level vocabulary so that you will be able to understand the language used in the TOEFL iBT reading passages.You can find such lists in TOEFL preparation books or at ESL web sites. A good TOEFL vocabulary list should consist of 1,000-2,000 common academic words, and, once you acquire your TOEFL words, you will need to create a note-card study system so that you get the meanings of these words into your long-term memory.

Get into a Daily Routine of Reading for about 45 Minutes

Second of all, block 45-60 minutes of time each day during which you read non-stop, even when encountering unfamiliar words. The point here is to get your brain used to concentrating in English, especially when reading for longer periods of time. Remember that the TOEFL iBT reading section, whose passages are notoriously conceptually dense, can be as long as 90 minutes. At first, you may find that you cannot concentrate for the entire 45 minutes of reading. That's is OK. Therefore, if your initial concentration if only 15 minutes, try to build from there. 'What should I read?" you ask. Reading multi-chapter fictional or non-fictional books, all of which should be a minimum of 250+ pages, will improve your speculative thinking ability and help improve your automaticity of language use. This and the vocabulary-building phrase of your academic reading proficiency may take up to year or more.

Utilize Effective Test-taking Strategies

Finally, you need to have good test-taking strategies while you take the TOEFL iBT test. Rhetoric, charts, schematic tables, implied detail questions, paraphrasing, and vocabulary: These are but a few of the types of questions you will have to answer, and you need to know two things: first, how identify each of these question types, and second, where to find the answers in the reading passages. TOEFL books will have targeted exercises to improve your reading skills in these areas. Complete all the skill-building exercises, including the reading comprehension practice tests. Once you have completed several practice tests within the time constraints recommended by the TOEFL book and you have met your reading proficiency practice test score goal, you should be prepared to take the actual TOEFL iBT. Unlike the vocabulary and extensive reading phases of your TOEFL iBT reading preparation, this last phase of your preparation will only take a few weeks.

To sum up, by practicing over an extended period of time, you will conquer the reading section of the TOEFL iBT. You will be able to concentrate better, read faster, and will remember more of what you read. And that is nothing to be fearful of, right?

Michael Buckhoff, founder and materials writer for The 7 Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT, has been teaching linguistics, composition, and ESL at California State University, San Bernardino since 1994.

http://www.bettertoeflscores.com/

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4 Simple Steps How to Be Successful in Life

Everybody wants to be successful, the main problem is that, how can they achieve it. Do you believe that there is a set of simple steps that you can take in order to achieve what you want in your life? In a word, yes, there are 4 simple steps how to be successful in life. As long as you follow these steps, you will be able to achieve whatever you want in your life.

1. Believe it before you start achieving it. Your belief system is a very powerful tool that you must make use if you want to be successful in your life. If you believe you can achieve it, then you can. If you believe you cannot, then you cannot. Either way, you are right because your beliefs are only real to you. You can believe that it is the right time to start a business, or you can believe that it is a bad time for it. Everyone has different beliefs. As long as your belief is an empowering one, it will be good enough.

2. Set clear and specific goals to achieve success in your life. If you are looking for how to be successful in life, then goal setting is one of the best answers for your question. Without a goal, you will never stay focused and you will not take the necessary action that will lead you to where you want to go. Every successful people set their goals, this is simply because goal setting works, and it works wonder.

3. Develop strategy plan how you can achieve your goals. Once you have identified what you want in your life, it is time for you to craft out your blueprint of how you are going to achieve it. If you follow through the first and the second step, your mind will automatically come out with strategies how you can achieve your goals.

4. Take consistent and massive action toward your goals. The key here is consistent, you have to take action steps each and everyday to move yourself closer toward your goals. Many people fail here because they are lazy, they procrastinate and they give up taking more action. The number one reason most people fail because of the lack of action. Nothing is going to happen without taking action, no action, no results. So take massive and continuous action everyday.

These are the 4 simple steps how to be successful in your life. I believe that if you follow through these 4 steps mentioned above, you will be able to achieve whatever you want in your life. Remember, take the first step now, don't wait, find out what you want in your life and achieve it.

This article is written by Shawn Lim, someone who constantly pursue wealth and success. You can visit his blog here for more success and wealth creation tips.

There are a lot of quality and free resources that can supercharge you, visit http://www.TheMillionaireSecrets.net/ now and don't forget to grab your FREE download.

Steps to Diet Success - Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals Today!

Nobody wants to fail. And when it comes to weight loss, we all want to win. Day in and day out we go about setting goals for our diets. Some reasonable, most not.

If you want to be successful in your weight loss you must take a good look the goals you are setting. Most of us set ourselves up for failure with the goals we set.

Lets make new steps to diet success by learning how to set achievable weight loss goals.

Setting Realistic Goals:

Look, if your goals seem to difficult to achieve, if you set your expectations too high, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Instead, start out small. Especially when you are first starting your diet. Try something like losing 2 pounds in 1 week, or 5 pounds in 3 weeks. Yeah, that doesn't seem like much, but it is better than setting you goal to 10 pounds in 2 weeks. I'd rather lose the 2 pounds than getting frustrated not losing the 10.

One of the key factors most of us seem to forget when it comes to dieting and losing weight is the fact that it is not just changing the way you eat and doing some push-ups.

Weight loss is a lifestyle change. And we all know a change in lifestyle isn't going to happen overnight.

Most diet failures are a result of setting unrealistic goals. Most dieters become so obsessive in losing 10 pounds that they don't notice the 2 pounds that they've lost. All they see is failure.

That is why it is important to set realist goals. Goals that you can achieve. Goals that are well within your reach.

Imagine how great you are going to feel when you lose those first 2 pounds. Imagine the motivation and the inspiration shedding those first few pounds are going to give you.

At [http://topdietsreviewed.com] you will find the right program to help you achieve all your weight loss goals. For more on dieting and weight loss visit: http://dietingright.topdietsreviewed.com

Three Steps to Success - Part 1

Would you like to be a person of success in every area of life? If so, this article is for you; this is a two part article and this first part will show you how you can become successful with the following three steps plan.

Step 1: Cultivate Your Dream

This will keep your dream alive and your heart motivated. This is the first recommendation in the six steps to success, and it includes a few things to cultivate your dream:

A. Create a dream board and look at it every day.

B. Pursue your dream with a burning desire; not wishful thinking

C. Repeat your dream every day.

If you do not cultivate your dream you will surely forget about it very quickly. Think of it daily and it will become a burning desire that will push you to the top. Do not quench your dream, but use it to improve your life. And on that line of thought I want to suggest that you make an outline of the six steps to success, just the phrases outline, and repeat it every day to boost your commitment to your dream.

Step 2: Be Yourself as You Pursue Your Dream

We were not born in the same family; do not have the same gifts, or the same circumstances. Is this unfair, as some people say? This is not unfair because those differences speak to the fact that each one of us is a different person, rather than a clone.

As you seek to achieve success online or elsewhere, you may follow the steps that you learned from others, but be yourself. In the long run you will be better off being yourself.

Weather you are poor or rich, black or white, U. S. citizen or not, you have within yourself an incredible potential. Take hold of your potential in ways that only you can, and follow these six steps to success faithfully; you will be amazed as what will happen.

Step 3: Stick to Your Choice Until You Reach Success in Life

You will be tempted to buy new programs or to chase new opportunities, but that is a recipe for failure. The vast majority of people fail because they do not stay with one thing. They keep moving from program to program.

Do not jump around different dreams or programs. Stick to your choice until you become a success story. It does not matter what kind of circumstances you face every day; the only thing that really matters is that you have the power to choose. You will experiment frustration and doubts about your pursue; it happened to me and at many times I felt like giving up. When this happens to you take time to meditate on each one of the six steps to success, even if you do not feel like doing it. It will work for you, as it did for me. The other steps will be described on part two of this article.

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Want to Succeed? Then Take the 7 Steps to Greater Authenticity!

Sometimes goals and resolutions are empty and disembodied from our spirit and soul. No wonder they fail! Often they are not authentic; they are not true to who we are. If a goal is not something you fundamentally want, if it is not a decision made by your authentic self, you will be fighting yourself every step of the way; perhaps not consciously, but certainly on the levels of your deeper and higher self!

Goals and resolutions per se are not my topic today. Rather this article is about 7 steps to greater authenticity. I am proposing that authenticity is a prerequisite to setting your goals and making resolutions that you will actually accomplish. When you are authentic you open the door to "passionately riding the wave of who you are," which will make your pursuits more effortless and obstacles more surmountable. Personal authenticity and self awareness are not discussed often enough in relation to designing your goals, resolutions and choosing our life path. My experience has taught me that if you get authentic first, the rest falls more naturally into place. So greater authenticity will help you succeed at whatever you choose to pursue!

Here are the 7 steps:

1. Grateful Awareness: The first step is entering a calm and relaxed state of mind. Choose the method that works best for you, options include relaxation or visualization processes, self-hypnosis, or meditation. What is important is that you do this with the intention of clearing your mind, centering yourself, and connecting with your awareness in the present moment.

Then reflect on where you have been during your life journey so far and on where you are right now. Encourage and allow grateful awareness and appreciation for all you have learned and for all that is. Invite grateful awareness and accept and appreciate deeply where you are right now. Reflect with lightness, noticing your thoughts but letting them pass by rather than dwelling on them. What I am recommending in this first step is essentially a mindfulness state (as in mindfulness meditation) with the addition of some directed reflection; inviting grateful awareness, appreciation, and self-acceptance.

2. Reflecting on your beliefs: From the state of grateful awareness, reflect on the beliefs and values that direct your life. We all have beliefs and assumptions about who we are, what is possible, and the nature of reality. Often we do not take time to reflect on these beliefs or meanings, instead we take them for granted and don't question them. Our beliefs and meanings influence what we see, what we choose, what we know, and ultimately what we do. In this step simply notice what your beliefs and values are and appreciate the feeling of what is important to you, as this will help you make authentic choices.

3. Evaluating whether your beliefs serve you: In steps 1 & 2 you observed where you are now with grateful awareness and reflected on your current beliefs and values. In this step you evaluate whether or not your beliefs serve you. This step is often challenging! For many it is a new idea that they can choose their beliefs and that they can create meaning. Ask yourself whether or not your beliefs serve you. Are your beliefs helpful to you? What are you limiting beliefs? Do your beliefs hold you back or do they prime you for action? Evaluate where you are at right now. Don't just evaluate intellectually, also evaluate intuitively and notice what your gut is telling you.

Once you have done some work with these first three steps you will be more self aware and authentically centered. You will be more prepared to start thinking towards what is next and what you need to adjust to make the changes that you want in your life. Part of these first three steps is assessing whether you are ready for change. Are you centered enough? Can you feel some grateful awareness? Are your meanings positive enough? Do they serve you? Also how does it resonate with you? Is your spirit ready for change? When your spirit is ready for change, change becomes much easier, growth becomes easier, and achieving your goals becomes easier.

4. Appreciate possibility: Appreciate the possibility that the beliefs you have, if they do hold you back, can be different. Imagine what beliefs would serve you better in your life and what beliefs would direct you toward a more authentic future. Appreciate that you can change your beliefs! Appreciate the possibility that some of your values are really not so important compared to your higher values. Consider what ifs. What if I believed in myself? What if I believed that I was capable of anything? What if I believed that I know what to do to take the next step? What if I confidently believed that I have talents to offer to help people and make the world a better place? Appreciate possibility and embrace the options that emerge. Do you have beliefs that allow you to boldly pursue what you really want, among the possibilities you are imagining?

5. Trust yourself: Without some degree of authentic self-awareness you cannot truly trust yourself. You need to trust yourself and have some faith in yourself to let go of old patterns, habits, and beliefs. Because many do not trust themselves they choose the status quo rather than possibility. The unfortunate fact is that many people are comfortable with the way things are even if they are miserable! The hell they live is not as bad as the hell they fear. Since they do not trust themselves fear wins and they never change paths or progress toward their dreams. To authentically make changes, follow through with resolution, and pursue goals you need to trust yourself. (The exceptions to this include changes made out of desperation and the drive to survive physically or psychologically.) You need to trust your capabilities and your ability to make good decisions. You need to trust your purposes and intentions enough that they compel you! Your purpose and intention need to resonate with your spirit, with who you are-trust that! But aren't there degrees of trusting yourself? Absolutely, and that's okay! Sometimes trusting yourself enough is a leap of faith; jump!

6. Energy focusing: Focusing your energy is the next step. Once you centered yourself with beliefs and values that serve you, have begun to appreciate your possibilities, and have increased your trust in yourself you are ready to direct your energies. Through this process your energy has been shifting already. Your energy is stronger because your beliefs and values are clear, you know they serve you, and the possibilities you can imagine are compelling now. It is time to direct your energy congruently with your intentions. Decide how to utilize your energy toward the steps you want to make to move you toward your goals and your dreams.

7. Resource appreciation and development: We all need resources to achieve what we aspire for. These include your life experience, strengths, talents, personal qualities, and the support of others. Notice and appreciate who you genuinely are and what you have to offer! If you don't have all the resources that would help you yet direct your energy toward developing, enhancing and enriching your resources. Trust your instincts. If you need knowledge, learn more. If you need a coach, find a coach. If you need a healer, find a healer. Determine your action steps and trust yourself to know where best to put your energies. Realize that resource development is a step by step process and that every step is movement toward your future!

Practicing these seven steps to greater authenticity prepares you for setting your goals and making resolutions that you will actually accomplish. After you have explored all them genuinely at least once, appreciate what have discovered. You will likely feel more balance and strength. You are now ready to resolve to change and choose to move forward with your life with clarity! Often an unrecognized part of going for goals and making changes is preparation. When preparation is in place, things fall into place. You need the pieces of the puzzle in order to complete the puzzle. As your authentic self you can have all the pieces!

When you are aligned you are also more apt to do what will move you forward and attract the support that you need from other people and from the universe. With greater authenticity you have much more potency and direction. This will also open doors to creativity and the capacity to make substantial changes and to really be successful in your life!

In summary, GREATER is an acronym for the seven steps to authenticity. I like acronyms; I find them fun, useful, and easy to remember.

G = Grateful awareness.

R = Reflecting on your beliefs.

E = Evaluating whether your beliefs serve you.

A = Appreciating possibility.

T = Trusting yourself.

E = Energy focusing.

R = Resource appreciation and development.

I hope you embrace your authentic self, make aligned resolutions, design effective goals, and have a fulfilling and abundant life!

Rich Liotta, Ph.D., is a Psychologist, Author, Trainer, Consultant, and Photographer. As an Author and Fine Art Nature Photographer he strives to encourage appreciation and stimulate potentials toward growth and change. As a Trainer and Consultant he is passionate about providing tools to help people enrich and transform their lives. He offers workshops and seminars, including sponsored events, on a variety of topics. He is a Certified Trainer of Neuro-Semantics, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and Ericksonian Hypnosis. He owns Enrichment Associates Consultation & Training (http://enrichmentact.com/) with his spouse Rosemary. His more community oriented blog is http://changepathsblog.com/. He is a believer in human potential, abundance, and beauty in the world!

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