Are you using the right search strings?

Internet seems to be an important weapon as far as searching relevant content is concerned.Some people use it for searching, many for social networking sites, many to keep them updated on particular text subject or even entertainment…the list is long. But the most common task that generally maximum percentage of the users do while surfing internet is searching for the right content for their queries.

Not many, so you can use certain tips discussed here to make your search refined and receive the most optimal solutions for your query.

Searching the content with a string but you can not exclude certain phrase. You need that in search results displayed. So make sure that you put the whole term in double quotes. This will make search engine to consider the quoted phrase as specific and will only display the results including that.

The search engines are intelligent enough to take up + or – signs. They know the manipulation of these operators. For example, a term with + emphasizes that search should include it and – states that the search should be free from that.

The next is the use of operators “and”, “or”, “not” operators. Still with many people this is a mis-conception. They add no value to the search as many search engines exclude them but in fact they are the refiners. They can append to the search making its spectrum coherent and narrow.

In fact search engines do recognize them but they need them to be written in All Caps like “AND”. “AND” is the logical operator specifying that terms on right and left side of it are important and should be included in search results. “OR” emphasizes on the fact whether this or that, and “NOT” specifies that the part on right side of operator should be excluded from the search results.

You are looking for certain pages on the site but are not able to mark them. You are not able to reach that particular page that you are looking for even if you are on the home site. So to make query more specific and indexed, go to the search engine, type “site: url of the site”. The search engine will display all the pages that are indexed from that site for search results. Even you can go for the similar or related sites by appending the world “related” to your above search tag.

These tips will surely help you to refine your search results and reach optimal in lesser required time.


Published By : Daniyal Ahmad
MsN : Daniyal.ahmad@hotmail.com

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Are you ready for the TOEFL test?

Over the years the TOEFL test has been a standard for measuring English proficiency as a second language. The term TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. Thousands of universities in the United States and Canada require foreign students to submit a Toefl score as part of their application process. The reasons for this are quite clear, universities want to be sure that the foreign student is capable of handling the required courses to graduate. Each year over one million students around the world take the test over the Internet. The TOEFL test has four parts; reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The total time it takes to complete the examination is usually from 3.5 to 4 hours. Each part has a value of thirty points, so the maximum total would be 120 points. So what scores are universities looking for? The scores that most universities are looking for are in the range of 65 to 100. You need to be well prepared before you take the examination.

So what can you do to prepare for the TOEFL test? Well, there are a lot of publishers that have instruction and practice textbooks. There are also many other textbooks that cover TOEFL test and you should be able to find one that suits your needs. I like to turn our attention to the listening part of the test. Many of my students tell me that listening to a dialogue between two people on CD is quite challenging. My students tell me that they feel the speakers are talking too fast to be understood. This hurdle can be overcome by listening over and over again to the same conversation until you have mastered it. You need to train your mind to get accustomed to the speed of conversation of native speakers of English. You will need to put in many hours of study on a weekly basis to be able to cover all sections of the TOEFL test.

So, how else can you prepare for the TOEFL test other than using a textbook? A fun way to practice your listening skills is to go down to your local video store and rent a movie. There are many advantages to this idea, for instance, you can stop and rewind the segments of the movie you don't understand clearly. Why not start a movie club? You could invite all your friends that also are planning on taking the TOEFL test. This is a fun way to get your friends together and have discussions about the movie.

I hope you found this article helpful and informative. Learning a new language can be difficult and challenging for many students and professionals. Having the right resources and motivation, anyone can master a second language.



Published By Daniyal Ahmad
MSN : daniyal.ahmad@hotmail.com

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