托福考试分为独立问题和综合问题。前两道题，也就是所谓的T1、T2是独立问题；后四道题，即T3、T4、T5和T6为综合问题。独立问题通常不需要考生具备某一学科或每一领域的专业知识，这就从根本上降低了问题的难度，考生准备起来也方便了许多。T1通常要求考生主观描述一件物品、一个事件、一个人或一个地点，结合实际经验对问题做出反应。T2通常是给出两种情景让考生做出选择或给出一个论点让考生辩论同意与否。在本质上来说，这两问的主观性之强决定了它们的难度是比较低的。只要考生能结合实例，一般来说分数就不会很低。然而，如果想要拿，那么考生们就要首先来了解考官的评分标准是什么。
美国人的思维和中国人是不一样的，首先美国人是直线思维，说明你的回答需要顺着你的论点一步步深入。其次美国人需要条理清晰的回答，而不是绕来绕去找不到重点。也就是说，你的回答应该遵循“论点—论据1—实例—论据2—实例—论据3—实例—总结”的顺序，从而做到开门见山、条理清晰。下面我们通过一个经典例题来看一下回答具体是什么样子。
Describe a person who has influenced you most. Use specific examples and details to explain why he or she has influenced you most.
Sample answer: The person that has influenced me most, I’d say is my grandpa. He is quite different from other elderly people I know. He has posed great influence on me because first of all, he is so mentally youthful and dynamic that makes me even have to introspect my attitude towards life. I mean, he keeps learning knowledge regarding almost all the latest high-tech gadgets, and he even knows more about how to use the latest applications and software than I do, which I thought was hardly realizable for the elders. What’s more, he teaches me to be an optimistic person. He used to show off and joked on his scars got during his involve in the Second World War. I thought he was optimistic enough so that he could play jokes on his scars, otherwise he wouldn't be so relaxed when talking about those scars. Therefore, that’s why I would say my grandpa has influenced me most.
现在我们来分析一下上面的例子。首先，开门见山地给出了问题的my grandpa, 让考官直接把握住你的主要论点。然后，用了first of all、what’s more来给出两个主要论据。作者给出的个论据是grandpa的积极向上和活力使我反省自己对待生活的态度，并用了grandpa喜欢钻研新的科技产品一事来进一步证明他是如何积极向上。第二个论据是grandpa的乐观心态对我产生很大影响。作者用了grandpa开自己伤疤的玩笑来支持此论据，真实有力。这样一来，有了顺序，有了细节，你的回答就天衣无缝。当然，我们建议考生们在平时练习的时候多准备一条论据和例子，以备忘词或因紧张而缩短的状况之需。下面我们来看看T2的经典考题示例：
Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with modern buildings? Use specific reasons to demonstrate your answer.
Personally, I’m in favor of the idea that old and historic buildings should be preserved as they offer great value to the society. For one thing, these buildings are of vital importance in illustrating culture, history and tradition. In other words, they are the witness and symbol of a particular region’s history. Without them, people would find it hard to get to know the architectural style of the particular region as well as the living conditions of people in old times in the region. For another thing, old and historic buildings play a pivotal role in tourism industry for some certain cities. For example, millions of tourists are rushing to the Forbidden City per year to feel the ancient China, which brings vast value to the economic enhancement of Beijing, even of China. As a result, old, historic buildings are not supposed to be destroyed. Conversely, they need to be preserved.
总体看来，本题直奔主题，条理分明，论据充足。先说出应该保护历史建筑，然后用了两个论据说明历史建筑的价值。一是历史建筑代表了文化、历史和传统，可以让人们了解特定地区特定时期的历史文化、建筑风格和人们的生活环境。二是历史建筑能推动旅游业的发展。中举了故宫的例子来证明历史建筑为旅游业，甚至是整个的经济做的贡献是巨大的。通过这两个示例，我们可以看出，在给出论据的时候可以多变换一下连接词，使看起来不重复、不死板，同时还能显示出词汇量。示例中用了first of all、what’s more、for one thing、for another thing, 除此之外，还有很多表示增补关系的连接词，如：besides、more importantly、moreover、in addition、on the top of it等，这些都可以用来连接论据。
把握住前两题的思路逻辑方面的规则之后，你所需要做的就是平时坚持练习跟读。就好像我们听到外国人说中文的语气发音很地道时有一种舒服的感觉一样，考官听到你的语音语调跟美语相似会很舒服，从而对你的回答有了好印象，你得的几率就会比差不多的人大很多。所以，每天坚持跟读是改变你语音语调基本也是直接的方法。在此基础上，提高你的思考速度和答题速度，将不再是别人的专利。
