Cracking the TOEFL IBT with Audio CD, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) [Paperback]

Princeton Review (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0375428550 | ISBN-13: 978-0375428555

The TOEFL has undergone major changes in recent years. It is now completely computer-based; it's longer; and it has mandatory Speaking, Listening, and Writing sections. Cracking the TOEFL iBT provides the most comprehensive information available about how to succeed on the exam, complete with an audio CD and full transcript, full-length practice test, and scores of drill questions.

In Cracking the TOEFL iBT, The Princeton Review will teach you how to

·Use our preparation strategies and test-taking techniques to raise your score
·Focus your reading and listening to identify the key parts of passages, lectures, and conversations
·Improve your command of spoken English and your use of good English grammar and vocabulary
·Write top-scoring essays by responding to the specific question asked and organizing your ideas clearly
·Test your knowledge with review questions and practice drills for each topic covered

All of our practice test questions are just like those on the actual exam, and we explain how to answer every question.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375428550
• ISBN-13: 978-0375428555
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pros and cons, July 14, 2008

By 

B. Monzavi (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cracking the TOEFL IBT with Audio CD, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)

I bought Cracking the TOEFL IBT with Audio CD, 2009 Edition (College Test Prep)( Princeton Review) and Kaplan TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM 2008-2009 (Kaplan Toefl Ibt) .i read both of them for one month and passed the ibt by 97. This is what I think about these two books on all four part of ibt:

Princeton Review

Reading 3 out of 5: good strategies but the readings are simpler than the real exam

Writing 5 out of 5: great strategies and samples with good drills

Speaking 4 out of 5: good strategies and drills but difficult to use on exam

Listening 4 out of 5: good strategies and sample but limited number

Overall 4 out of 5: the most important negative point is that it comes only with audio cd and you can not experience the real exam condition.

Kaplan

Reading 5 out of 5: great strategies and samples

Writing 2 out of 5: some useful techniques but not so helpful

Speaking 2 out of 5: some useful techniques but too general

Listening 4 out of 5: good strategies and examples

Overall 3.5 out of 5: the most important positive point is that you can create the real exam condition by its cd-rom at home.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good strategy book, but not for beginners, August 29, 2008

By 

Dori (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the TOEFL IBT with Audio CD, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book for intermediate users who are already familiar with English usage but are looking for a quick review to familiarize themselves with the test format. Every test has its own strategy and so does iBT, which is very different from the PBT or CBT.

This book delivers the best 'strategies' to crack each part of TOEFL iBT. The strategies are very easy to understand and are very practical. I spent two days studying this book (and only this book), and received a satisfying score of 110 (out of 120). However, this book will NOT teach you so much about the basic knowledge for English grammar, structural writings, vocabs, etc. So if you need help in these fields, I'd recommend buying other books to complement your study. Good luck for the test!

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was not what I expected, April 20, 2010

By 

Asya Ostroukh (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cracking the TOEFL iBT with CD, 2010 Edition (Test Preparation) (Paperback)

Actually, I bought the book because of its highest rating at Amazon. It seems that there is no good book on TOEFL strategy at all. This one mostly describes the test, it gives some hints, but the proposed strategy doesn't appeal to me. Even having learned it, you still have to guess answers if you do not know a correct one. What they call a strategy can not be compared on real strategy proposed in textbooks for the IELTS. In "Cracking" they have exercises, what is good, but for speaking they propose as an exercise to WRITE your answers, which is stupid because when you speak and write you use different skills (and different areas of the brain, I guess). Very few exercises on speaking. They have one practice test. However, the CD is just an audio CD with audio tracks. So you have to take a paper-based test for training. And you have to manage your time and to record your speaking answers (and you have to do it while speaking). This ain't fittin. Besides, there are mistakes, typos and wrongly formulated questions in the book. Here is a piece of their "Victorian" English: "By mastering the skill of active reading, you'll be able to not only find the most important information in a passage but also effectively answer the questions that follow". Show the phrase to a good English teacher and you'll understand that if you need a score more then 90, you should avoid the book.

The book volume could be two times smaller since there are a lot of blank pages and blank space on pages.