Saving time and maximizing your test scores

Once you have finished your writing, never forget to proofread it. In a toefl exam you get 20 or 30 minutes to write an essay. Always leave yourself time to check your work. This practice will ensure you do not lose points to simple mistakes.

Look at the following sentence:

The president ________ the election by a landslide.

(a) won
(b) he won
(c) yesterday
(d) fortunately

Looking at the blank, you should see that the sentence is missing a verb. Looking at the possible answers, the only answers containing a verb are A and B. The sentence already contains a subject, making b an incorrect choice. A is therefore the only possible answer.

Quickly eliminating the obvious is one method of saving time and maximizing your score. While you are proofreading, keeping in mind certain methods or practices can make the most of the time you have available for editing and proofreading.

Good luck with your studies,

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