Here is my review... I took the test and sored pretty well. The best preparatory material would be any TOEFL IBT book that you can loan from the library. I took just Friday and Saturday morning (my exam was scheduled at 4 pm on Saturday) to study for the TOEFL. I didn't have much time with my part 1 scheduled 10 days later. Still, I don't think you need anymore. A day or two is ample time! Whatever book you borrow there will be a few essay questions, try answering them at home.
Now for the TOEFL ...
The first section is reading. You will have around 8 passages each one for 20 minutes. As long as you don't waste time reading the passage, you will be fine. Start answering the questions as soon as possible. I found all my passages to be real english! The vocabulary, the structures of sentences were high level. It was definitely hard but not very hard... I mean this is how it should be if our vocabulary is being tested. But the reading apssages are dfinitely differently structured from the CBT so get hold of an IBT book. It will help.
The next section is listening. As long as you have heard a couple americans talk you should be fine. Even otherwise you should be fine. It is very clear... so much more audible than CBT. The quality is excellent. Plus you get sheets to write notes on as you listen to the conversations or lectures. Remember this is not a memory test so do take notes!! The listening is actually a joke.
The speaking is slightly intimidating not because the questions are hard or anything it is more because you are under the pressure of thinking for an answer in 15 seconds. However, you get more than 15 seconds. The question will appear on the screen and as that hapens they will ask you the question following which you will be instructed to prepare for the answer and then an instruction to start talking after the beep. So finally you have more time. When the question appears on the screen read it and start preparing for the answer. Also, if you do not know the answer, answer something relevant. All they are looking for is how relevant your answer is to the question, the way you structure your sentences, how grammatically correct, your vocabulary knowledge and your pronunciation. They don't care for your accent or whether your answer is right or wrong. For instance, if they ask you describe the city you live in don't talk about your school instead talk about the city that's all. Just anything about the city. Couple of the speaking sections are about integrating two sets of information that we get as a paragraph/notice and a conversation or a excerpt from an article and a lecture and so on. So how well you can integrate the two pieces of information and present it in 45 seconds. It is not hard at all. Just your presence of mind.
The final section is the essays. The first essay is easy. The second essay is neither hard nor easy. That is something that cannot be improved in a day's work. Just write what you think but make sure the punctuation is correct and your sentences are structured well. Don't mix the tenses from past to past perfect to present Try to maintain the same tense throughout.
Ok, now for the scoring...
Though the exam sounds hard, their scoring is very lenient. It's hard not to score high.
Tips:
1. Get 1 TOEFL ibt book. Skim through it. That's more than enough.
2. Try answering simple questions like who is your best teacher? Which place do you go to most often and why? what are the characteristics do you want in your best friend? Which subject do you like the most? simple questions like that.
3. Prepared to be disturbed during your reading section by others beside you testing their mics.
4. Use the sheets of paper given during the TOEFL to take notes. Don't write down everything you hear only take notes.. like in college.
5. Good luck... it is not as hard as it seems, definitely harder than CBT but nothing compared to part 1.
