SAT Practice


Saturday, January 21, 2006

Number2.com SAT Companion email tutor

Dear SAT Practice,

Our suggestion for what to do next:

We suggest that you finish the grammar question set, which you have already started: Go to grammar question set.

Additionally, your performance in the arithmetic category is below your average performance. We suggest working on some more questions, or reading through the arithmetic introduction.

If you prefer, you can go straight to your personal homepage by following this link:

Go straight to your personal homepage.

*** Question of the Day
To see your personal question of the day, follow this link.

*** Contacting Us
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at: SATcompanion@number2.com. If your email address changes, just log into your account and click on Account Management to update it.

*** Activity Summary
Here's a brief summary of your recent activity on your personal tutorial:

The time you spent on site this week is: 0 hours
You've answered 0 questions this week. Your percentile standing is 32% +- 6%.
This week you've mastered 0 words in the vocabulary builder. You've mastered a total of 0 words so far.

Remember that by clicking on 'Review Words' on your personal Vocab Builder homepage, you can revisit the words that you got correct on your first go, so that you can be sure you know them. Every word you get right in a review session is added to your mastered words, for which you have a personal set of flash cards.

Best regards,

The Number2.com Team

p.s. The first time that you follow a link into your personal tutorial, you will not need a password. Subsequent visits using the same link in the same email may require that you enter your password.

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Friday, January 20, 2006

Number2.com SAT Companion email tutor

Dear SAT Practice,

Which part of the tutorial should you visit now?

We suggest that you finish the grammar question set, which you have already started: Go to grammar question set.

Additionally, your performance in the arithmetic category is below your average performance. We suggest working on some more questions, or reading through the arithmetic introduction.

If you prefer, you can go straight to your personal homepage by following this link:

Go straight to your personal homepage.

*** Word of the Day

placid (adj) :
Undisturbed; serene; peaceful.

Example:
Lake Placid is so named because it is a beautiful and peaceful lake set in the mountains of upstate New York.

*** Contacting Us
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at: SATcompanion@number2.com. If your email address changes, just log into your account and click on Account Management to update it.

*** Activity Summary
Here's a brief summary of your recent activity on your personal tutorial:

The time you spent on site this week is: 0.2 hours
You've answered 2 questions this week. Your percentile standing is 32% +- 6%.
This week you've mastered 0 words in the vocabulary builder. You've mastered a total of 0 words so far.

Remember that by clicking on 'Review Words' on your personal Vocab Builder homepage, you can revisit the words that you got correct on your first go, so that you can be sure you know them. Every word you get right in a review session is added to your mastered words, for which you have a personal set of flash cards.

Best regards,

The Number2.com Team

p.s. The first time that you follow a link into your personal tutorial, you will not need a password. Subsequent visits using the same link in the same email may require that you enter your password.

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If you want to stop future emails from Number2.com, then follow this link.

Kaplan's English/TOEFL Edge

Kaplan English Programs


In this issue:
TOEFL Practice
TOEFL Vocabulary












































The English/TOEFL Edge

Sponsored by www.kaplanenglish.com.


Test-Taking Tips and Strategies

In the last TOEFL News column, you learned about the Writing Section of the TOEFL iBT. Very briefly, the major change is that the new test has two writing tasks. One of these is similar to the type of writing task on the older version of the TOEFL: you are presented with a prompt and asked to respond to this general prompt with your ideas or opinion. This is called an 'independent' writing task. The new task requires you to gather information from a lecture and reading passage, then write a response that synthesizes information from both of these sources. This new task, called an 'integrated' task, evaluates your writing skills as well as your reading, listening, note-taking, and paraphrasing ability.

It may help you to prepare for the Writing Section if you understand how your writing will be evaluated. The writing component of the TOEFL iBT is worth 30 points, as are the reading, listening, and speaking components. The response to each task is evaluated on the basis of several factors. A well-written response:

  1. Adequately addresses the task
  2. Shows good organization and development: for example, has suitable supporting information—appropriate examples, explanations, or details
  3. Uses various sentence structure types and well-chosen vocabulary, but may include minor grammatical errors
Take a free mini practice test in preparation for the TOEFL iBT.

TOEFL Practice
A Question of Global Warming
Imagine the following integrated writing task. You are required to:
  1. Read a passage that discusses the negative effects of global warming.
  2. Listen to a professor lecture on the common misconceptions about global warming.
The prompt asks you to:
Give a summary of the reading passage. Then discuss ways in which the lecture contrasts with the reading passage.

Read the sample response to the prompt below:
While the reading explains the negative effects of global warming, the professor proposes that global warming is hardly even existent. He claims that for the past three decades, observations have been made by satellite, balloon, and other techniques to investigate the issue of so-called global warming. While the results have shown that there has been a slight warming of 0.6 to 0.8 degrees C over the last one hundred years, these changes are not significant. One must also take into account that these observations have been made in urban and industrial environments. It is known that the ground temperature in such areas is warmer than it is in rural areas due to the density of population. Therefore, the professor concludes that there is no real evidence of global warming.

Question:

What are the major weaknesses of the sample response?

1. It does not adequately address the task.
2. It does not show good organization and development.
3. It does not use varied sentence structure and well-chosen vocabulary.
4. All of the above


TOEFL Vocabulary

integrated (adjective)

Combined with something else to work together in a system.

The author's integrated style combined both poetry and prose.


 
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The Correct Answer to the Question above is: (1)

The task is to summarize the reading passage and discuss how the lecture contrasts with the reading passage. In this sample response, the summary of the reading passage is missing—there is no discussion of the negative effects of global warming. The response is well organized, so (2) is not correct. The response uses a variety of sentence structures and the vocabulary is sophisticated and appropriate; therefore, (3) is not correct. Obviously, (4) is not correct because neither (2) or (3) are weaknesses of the response.

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