{"id":2236,"date":"2015-09-08T11:54:14","date_gmt":"2015-09-08T18:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:45:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:45:20","slug":"spontaneous-speaking-how-to-give-your-best-answers-under-time-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/spontaneous-speaking-how-to-give-your-best-answers-under-time-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Spontaneous Speaking: How to Give Your Best Answers Under Time Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1242\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2015\/02\/magoosh_clock-300x300.png\" alt=\"magoosh_clock\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2015\/02\/magoosh_clock-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2015\/02\/magoosh_clock-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2015\/02\/magoosh_clock.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>When that clock starts ticking down from :15 or :30 on the TOEFL speaking section, a lot of test-takers panic. Maybe they hadn\u2019t considered this particular question before. Maybe they didn\u2019t fully understand the question. Maybe they\u2019ve been asked for an opinion (<a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-speaking-topics\/#approaching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">independent<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-speaking-topics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tasks<\/a>, anyone?) about an issue on which they just don\u2019t have an opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry! We\u2019re here to make sure that you aren\u2019t among the students still frozen, pencil in hand, when that timer hits :00. With the right kind of preparation, enough practice, and the ability to expect the unexpected, you can get the top score you want, even under pressure!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Step 1 (applies to Independent Speaking only): Pick a side, any side.<\/h2>\n<p>In TOEFL Independent Speaking, one common fear among students is that they\u2019ll choose the wrong answer. Guess what? There is no wrong answer! There are only answers that don\u2019t address the prompt. If an independent-task prompt is asking you about your favorite thing about your city, and the first thing that comes to mind is that one ice-cream parlor downtown, don\u2019t dismiss it. If you elaborate enough on why it\u2019s your favorite thing about your city, you\u2019ve responded to the prompt.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Step 2: Prepare your first sentence in advance.<\/h2>\n<p>Of course, you can&#8217;t predict exactly what your prompts will be on test day. However, the TOEFL is a <i>standardized<\/i> test: its prompts will always follow the same general format. As you practice for the test, create a general introductory sentence that will allow you to start speaking easily as soon as the timer goes off. Most test-takers get stuck on the first sentence and waste precious time hesitating. Not you! You&#8217;ll be in a much better position, even if you have something as simple as &#8220;I prefer x, for several reasons&#8221; ready to go.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Step 3: Wait for the magic :05.<\/h2>\n<p>A significant number of test-takers will get caught at the end of their response mid-sentence. This isn&#8217;t good, for a number of reasons, but primarily because it signals to the graders that you didn&#8217;t get to give your full response. To ensure that you give a polished, complete-sounding response, practice concluding in five seconds or less. Then, when you see the clock hit 0:05, immediately go into your conclusion\u2014or at least make sure you finish your current sentence!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the TOEFL, it&#8217;s the little things that add up to a high score. By practicing strategically, you&#8217;ll give yourself the best chance to show off your <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/test-your-english-level-quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">level of English<\/a> to the graders. It&#8217;s true that the TOEFL is an artificial format\u2014nobody&#8217;s going to ask you to give your opinion on the best tourist destination in 30 seconds or less in real life!\u2014but by creating strategies, you&#8217;ll be able to answer the prompts naturally.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When that clock starts ticking down from :15 or :30 on the TOEFL speaking section, a lot of test-takers panic. Maybe they hadn\u2019t considered this particular question before. Maybe they didn\u2019t fully understand the question. Maybe they\u2019ve been asked for an opinion (independent tasks, anyone?) about an issue on which they just don\u2019t have an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13618],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13642],"class_list":["post-2236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speaking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Spontaneous Speaking: How to Give Your Best Answers Under Time Pressure - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/spontaneous-speaking-how-to-give-your-best-answers-under-time-pressure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spontaneous Speaking: How to Give Your Best Answers Under Time Pressure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When that clock starts ticking down from :15 or :30 on the TOEFL speaking section, a lot of test-takers panic. 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Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Universit\u00e9 de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London.","honorificSuffix":"PhD","knowsAbout":["SAT","ACT","TOEFL","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","French"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/rachelkd\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13642,"user_id":228,"is_guest":0,"slug":"rachelkd","display_name":"Rachel Kapelke-Dale","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41228fc7acd2d2f0b74acf2ec7c4cb5bd541898142796d216cbf467d77f3801d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Kapelke-Dale","first_name":"Rachel","description":"Rachel is one of Magoosh\u2019s Content Creators. She writes and updates content on our <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/hs\/\">High School <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/\">GRE Blogs<\/a> to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/ACT-Prep-Magoosh-Schedules-Strategies\/dp\/1610660692\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Magoosh ACT Prep Book<\/a>. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Universit\u00e9 de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel,<a href=\"https:\/\/read.macmillan.com\/lp\/the-ballerinas\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> THE BALLERINAS<\/a>, is forthcoming in December 2021 from<a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/author\/rachelkapelkedale\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> St. Martin's Press<\/a>, while her memoir,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/315080\/graduates-in-wonderland-by-jessica-pan\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND<\/a>, co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her <a href=\"http:\/\/rachelkapelkedale.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">work<\/a> has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn't strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RKapelkeDale\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Twitter<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rachelkapelkedale\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Instagram<\/a>, or<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rkapelkedale\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Facebook<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}