TOEFL® interview questions: Student sleep habits

I remember a morning when I nearly missed a presentation. I had stayed up until two to finish the slides, and I turned off my alarm without getting up. My roommate woke me twenty minutes before class. I arrived on time, but I forgot part of my introduction. After that, I tried to finish important work before midnight. My sleep time is more regular now, and I feel less worried before a morning class.

• stayed up until two · Uses ‘stay up until’ plus a time to say exactly how late the speaker worked.
• After that · A time linker that moves naturally from the incident to the change it led to.

Last semester, I stayed up polishing the slides for a group presentation, even though my part was already clear. The next morning, I could barely follow my teammates and lost my place halfway through my introduction. Nobody complained, but I knew the extra formatting hadn't helped our presentation. Since then, I've set a stopping time for work the night before anything important. I leave myself a short checklist instead of trying to finish every tiny detail. For our next presentation, I slept normally and explained similar material more confidently. That experience made sleep feel like part of preparing, rather than a reward for finishing.

• lost my place · ‘Lose my place’ precisely describes forgetting where you were halfway through speaking.
• a reward for finishing · Contrasts sleep as a reward with sleep as preparation, showing a changed view.

I would rather get up early. Our dormitory is usually quiet before seven, so I can read and write without many messages arriving. Last month, I finished a history report that way. I left the notes on my desk at night and started again after breakfast. I do not always enjoy leaving my bed, but my head feels clearer in the morning. Working late makes me slow, and I often have to correct the same paragraph again.

• would rather get up early · ‘Would rather’ plus a base verb states a choice between two options directly.
• have to correct · ‘Have to’ shows the extra rewriting that working late causes.

I'd choose an early start, provided I had already made a clear plan the evening before. When I work late, I tend to spend ages changing sentences without improving the argument. Before a recent history deadline, I stopped at eleven, wrote down the three sections still missing, and put my phone across the room. I started again at six thirty and finished before my first lecture. The useful part wasn't simply getting up early; it was knowing exactly where to begin. I wouldn't leave an entire assignment until the morning, though. One missed alarm would be stressful, especially with a submission system problem.

• provided I had already made · ‘Provided’ adds a condition that makes the preference reasonable.
• knowing exactly where to begin · A question word plus an infinitive gives the specific reason the early start worked.

I mostly disagree because extra study time is not always useful. During my first exam week, I read my notes very late and forgot many details the next day. I was looking at the pages, but I was not really learning. Now I choose the main topics and review them before going to bed. I may study a little longer on one evening, but I do not want to make short sleep my normal exam plan.

• not always useful · ‘Not always’ is a partial negative, so extra revision isn't dismissed completely.
• the main topics · A specific noun phrase shows how the speaker narrows down what to revise.

I don't think it's a good trade for me. As a freshman, I read nearly an entire economics chapter overnight, then struggled to explain its main idea in a practice question the next afternoon. I had covered more pages, but that wasn't the same as understanding them. These days, I test myself on a few likely topics and stop when I start reading the same line repeatedly. An occasional late night might be unavoidable, especially with several deadlines together. Still, I wouldn't build my revision plan around it. I'd rather enter the exam able to use what I know than vaguely remember seeing every page.

• a good trade · Uses ‘trade’ to weigh lost sleep against study gains, a natural spoken judgment.
• that wasn't the same as understanding them · ‘Not the same as’ separates having read the material from actually understanding it.

I think universities should try this, but they should ask students first. My earliest class starts at eight, and some classmates travel for almost an hour. A later start would help them arrive in a better state. However, students with evening jobs might not want more late classes. I would suggest moving the biggest lectures first and checking the results for one term. The school could then see whether attendance improves before changing the whole timetable.

• should ask students first · ‘Should’ plus a base verb makes a suggestion and names the step before any change.
• before changing the whole timetable · ‘Before’ plus a gerund sets the order: test first, then change the whole timetable.

I'd support a trial, particularly for large compulsory lectures. My university draws students from several distant neighbourhoods, and an eight o'clock start means some of them leave home before seven. Moving those lectures to nine could make attendance more manageable. However, shifting everything later might create problems for students who work evening shifts or collect younger siblings after school. I'd ask students to compare timetable options before choosing one. It could test the change in one department and look at attendance as well as student feedback. That seems more useful than assuming that everyone would benefit equally from a later start, regardless of their circumstances.

• draws students from · ‘Draw students from’ says where students come from, explaining their long commutes.
• attendance as well as student feedback · ‘As well as’ joins two kinds of evidence, making the proposal testable.