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TOEFL iBT Guide

Updated: Apr 12, 2023

TOEFL iBT Guide

Created by Niamaat on February 13, 2023

Version 1.2 February 16, 2023

Version 1.3 February 20, 2023

Version 1.4 February 22, 2023

Version 1.5 February 24, 2023




Introduction

There are no tricks. To maximize your score you should know, in advance the structure of the exam in terms of timing number of questions and types of questions. You should practice completing each section under exam conditions in terms of time allowed and any other resources allowed or disallowed. It is important to take a "mock exam" so that you can accurately predict your scores in each section prior to taking the official exam. Also if the scores are being required of you by someone other than yourself it is important to know what that person or entity requires in terms of minimums cores for each section and minimum overall score.

There are 4 sections in this order

Reading

Listening

Speaking

Writing


Each section is worth a maximum score of 30. .


The overall score is the sum of the 4 section scores.

C2 Overall Points 114-120

C1 Overall Points 95-113

B2 Overall Points 72-94

B1 Overall Points 47-71


Another interpretation of CEFR Equivalents

Reading

  • Advanced (24–30) C1, C2 Level

  • High-Intermediate (18–23) B2 Level Level

  • Low-Intermediate (4–17) B1 Level

  • Below Low-Intermediate (0–3) B1 Level

Listening

  • Advanced (22–30) C1, C2

  • High-Intermediate (17–21) B2

  • Low-Intermediate (9–16) B1

  • Below Low-Intermediate (0–8)

Speaking

  • Advanced (25–30) C1, C2 Level

  • High-Intermediate (20–24) B2 Level

  • Low-Intermediate (16–19) B1 Level

  • Basic (10–15)

  • Below Basic (0–9)

Writing

  • Advanced (24–30) C1, C2

  • High-Intermediate (17–23) B2

  • Low-Intermediate (13–16) B1

  • Basic (7–12)

  • Below Basic (0–6)

TOEFL iBT is one of 4 different TOEFL exams: TOEFL PBT, TOEFL CBT, TOEFL institutional, TOEFL iBT.


Now the TOEFL iBT is given in several different ways, namely,

TOEFL iBT test: on a computer at an authorized test center

TOEFL iBT Home Edition: on a computer at home, monitored by a live human proctor

TOEFL iBT Paper Edition: Two test sessions:

Reading, Listening, and Writing sections: on paper at a test center

Speaking section: on a computer at home


No other TOEFL exam but the TOEFL iBT includes a speaking section. The TOEFL iBT is offered at “ETS recognized testing facilities”, “at home online” and “on paper”. https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/where-to-test.html


Each section is worth 30 points and there are a total of 120 points possible for this exam. If you have no specific score requirement for each section but an overall score requirement of 100 points or more, it is reasonable to prepare for the exam in the following way. This particular exam is done on internet either at home or in a test center. This particular exam consists of 4 sections in the order presented below


To prepare for the TOEFL iBT you need to work on preparation daily.

  1. Figure out a schedule for yourself such that you will dedicate 60 minutes per day, 7 days per week to TOEFL preparation. Nothing but your death can stop you from fulfilling your promise to yourself.

  2. Use the first hour to memorize the exam format for test format that you are most likely to take (paper test at an exam center, computer format at an exam center, online format at home, paper format at home combined with online speaking section at home) Also create your collection of mock TOEFL iBT exams either as PDFs, Youtube videos, physical books for purchase or loan (library). You will need at least 4 complete exams to use a mock exams. You might need 2 hours for this.

  3. Use the next hour to collect material regarding "tips" and "practice exams" for each section of the exam (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing). You might need 2 hours for this.

  4. Use the next 3 hours to take a mock exam under exam conditions This way you will know what you current band scores in eac section are and you will know what your overall band score is.

  5. After this first week, you should be ready to use one hour per day to focus on tips and practice tests that consist of a complete TOEFL iBT listening section. Work on listening until you have the band score that you are aiming for. If you do not have a numeric band score target, then spend at least 1 week on this, no more than 2 weeks.

  6. Focus on tips and practice tests that consist of a complete TOEFL iBT reading section. Work on reading until you have the band score that you are aiming for. If you do not have a numeric band score target, then spend at least 1 week on this, no more than 2 weeks.

  7. Focus on tips and practice tests that consist of a complete TOEFL iBT writing section. Work on writing until you have the band score that you are aiming for. If you do not have a numeric band score target, then spend at least 1 week on this, no more than 2 weeks. Use the TOEFL iBT rubric to score your output or hire an English teacher to use the rubric to score your work and give you corrections and other feedback.

  8. Focus on tips and practice tests that consist of a complete TOEFL iBT speaking section. Work on speaking until you have the band score that you are aiming for. If you do not have a numeric band score target, then spend at least 1 week on this, no more than 2 weeks. Use the TOEFL iBT rubric to score your output or hire an English teacher to use the rubric to score your work and give you corrections and other feedback.

  9. Visit the room where you will take the exam and rehearse where you will sit, the day of the week and time of day you will take the exam. rehearse your entire exam day. You want to eliminate surprises that might adversely affect your test performance.

  10. Take another mock exam. Imitate the exam conditions that you anticipate.

Structure and Timing of Each Section


READING

For practice purposes: 3 passages, 10 questions each, 54 minutes


LISTENING

3 lectures with 6 questions each and 2 conversations with 5 questions each, 41 minutes


SPEAKING

4 tasks, with one prompt each, 17 minutes


1 independent task to express an opinion on a familiar topic

You will be given a task

15 seconds to prepare

45 seconds to speak


1 integrated task

45 seconds to read a text (a reading passage)

Listen to a conversation about the same topic.

You will be given a task

30 seconds to prepare

60 seconds to speak.


1 integrated task

45 seconds to read a passage.

Listen to a lecture on same topic

You will be given a task

30 seconds to prepare response

60 seconds to respond


1 integrated task

Listen to part of a lecture

Listen to the question

20 seconds to prepare response

60 seconds to respond


WRITING

2 tasks: integrated task based on what is read and heard AND independent task to support an opinion on a topic, 50 minutes

Task 1

20-minute integrated task based on what is read and heard


Task 2

30-minute independent task to support an opinion on a topic


Tips and Practice Tests for Each Section

Focus on implementing tips and strategies to complete TOEFL iBT sections. Focus on one section by practicing the section with the links provided and more. Your goal is to consistently score 25 points or more for a given section before moving on to focus on another section.


READING

Reading Tips and Practice but NOT Complete Reading Sections!

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-viuqAW58

  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9wvAz0Emc

  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHe4KsyLuf0

  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvMFC9pCAS8

  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Xsn4K_JG4

  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JqcblwK0us

  7. https://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/TOEFL_reading1.htm

  8. https://edutecion.com/most-effective-strategies-for-reading-section-of-toefl-ibt/

  9. https://tstprep.com/articles/toefl/100-reading-questions-for-the-toefl-test-pdf-included/

  10. https://collegedunia.com/exams/toefl/toefl-reading-practice

  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBIix5rR4Nc (This one is definitely worth listening to at least once.)

    1. Find answers faster by focusing on area just after the answer to the previous question. The sequence of the questions equals the sequence of the answers in the text. In the reading, the answer to number 2 canbe found below the answer to number 1 for example.

    2. Pay attention to “modifier’ which modify the meaning of nouns and verbs. Frequency adverbs are examples of modifiers. Answer choices with extreme modifiers are normally incorrect answers. Here are examples of more modifiers: some, most, no

    3. Identify the question type so you can figure out what type of answer you’re looking for. This list of 10 comes from here https://www.fluentu.com/blog/toefl/toefl-reading-exercises/ .




Reading Exam Practice

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6UajlQO97A

  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbyHigGnPg

  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YKI4epvnU

  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRFK9lz0yts

  5. https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-reading-practice-sets.pdf

LISTENING

Listening Tips

Listening Exam Practice



SPEAKING

Speaking Tips and Practice


Speaking Exam Practice

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZj-wKo6JC8

  2. https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-speaking-practice-sets.pdf

  3. https://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_speaking.html

  4. see right side bar for Speaking section 1, 2, 3 and 4

  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itOyJxRdilY

WRITING

Writing Tips



Writing Task 2 Independent Writing Task

Scoring

iBT raters will assign a score to your writing based on three areas:

  1. Topic development: your score will depend on the number and types of examples, details, and reasons you use to support your idea. Get a top score by making your essay “well-developed” and supporting your ideas well.

  2. Organization: this means your essay should be easy to follow from the beginning to the end. All the points you include must be related to the essay topic and to the main idea you are making in your response. Get a top score by not repeating ideas (therefore avoiding redundancy), not making unclear connections, and not including unrelated points to your main idea (also called irrelevant ideas).

  3. Language use: this criterion is related to vocabulary and grammatical structure. Use several different sentence structures and choose appropriate words. You will not get a top score if 1) your writing is difficult to follow, 2) you write in too-simple sentences, or 3) your vocabulary is limited.

The following link will show you the rubrics that ETS use to evaluate the Independent (and Integrated) writing tasks. TOEFL iBT® Test — Independent Writing Rubrics

The Prompt

The prompt gives you the topic which you must write about. All the prompts are very general and do not require any special knowledge or experience. As mentioned, you will need to make a choice and choose an idea to support. There is no correct or incorrect answer to the question. The most common topic areas for prompts are education, culture, business, travel, career, friendship, communication, technology, and so on.

In the 5th edition of the TOEFL Official Guide, ETS provides a list of TOEFL independent essay questions. Look over the sample questions. You will also see thorough information in the text, however, below is a useful summary of central subjects divided into types.

Expect a TOEFL independent writing question in one of these four styles:

  • Agree/Disagree -- most common style; used about 50% of the time

  • Multiple Choice -- used about 20% of the time

  • Paired Choice -- used about 20% of the time

  • “Good Idea” -- used about 10% of the time

Below are samples of each question type.

Sample TOEFL Independent Essay Questions

1. Agree/Disagree Style Prompt:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Overall, the wide use of the internet has a mostly positive effect on life in today’s world.

2. Multiple Choice Style Prompt:

Neighbors are the individuals who live near us. In your opinion, what kind of neighbor is the best?

  • A quiet neighbor

  • A neighbor who is similar to us

  • A supportive neighbor

Use specific details and examples in your answer.

3. Paired Choice Style Prompt

Some people like living in a big city while others prefer a small town. Which place would you choose? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

4. “Good Idea” Essay Prompt

The administrators of a university have decided to change which campus areas are prioritized as they revise their budget. They will now budget more money on sports and athletic facilities than on campus libraries. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your position.

In this module we will look at some approaches that can help you start and plan your essay when you answer any independent writing task. We will also go over some useful templates that will save you time. However, remember that these templates are merely suggestions that can help you save time and are by no means the only accepted way to write your essay.

Before you proceed, please follow the link below to read more about this task. There is a seven-minute video which summarizes these points as well. The information is available on ETS.org and explains what the task looks like and what you are expected to do. Independent transcript

Finally, after watching the videos, come back to this reading and click on the following link. It will take you to a website that has more than 100 topics to choose from. Next, pick the topic of your choice, time your writing for 30 minutes, and write an essay on that topic. 104 TOEFL Independent Writing Topics. When you finish writing your essay, check it against the rubric to make sure that your essay answers the question properly. If you need a high-score sample answer to help you get ideas, check the following link:


Writing Exam Practice


Mock TOEFL iBT

Once you have practiced each of the four sections to the point that you are consistently score 25 points or higher per section, take a complete TOEFL iBT test. Imitate exam conditions. You should be in a room alone, without your phone, with a timer, sheets of blank paper, pens or pencil, and the exam, eiter on your computer or on paper. The actual TOEFL iBT is not a paper-based exam.

  1. TOEFL iBT Mock Exam for no money offered by ETS -- https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/free-practice/start.html

  2. TOEFL iBT Mock Exam --Download the TOEFL iBT Paper Edition Practice Test (zip)

  3. You’ll take the Speaking section of the Paper Edition test at home on your computer. You can practice for the Speaking section using the TOEFL iBT Speaking Practice Sets (PDF)

  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmZmdDC_r3

Other Resources

  1. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19_BcFtwugXoPK2Mg9kq84keFQQwivv1U

  2. List of institutions that accept TOEFL iBT Home Edition scores.

  3. TOEFL Talks Seminars Turkey: toeflibt.com.tr

  4. Performance Descriptors for the TOEFL iBT® Test (PDF)

  5. Speaking Rubrics—https://www.ets.org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-speaking-rubrics.pdf

  6. Writing Rubrics –https://www.ets.org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-writing-rubrics.pdf

  7. Performance descriptions, ie. how to interpret numeric scores. https://www.etsrg/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-performance-descriptors.pdf

  8. https://bettertoeflscores.com/

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Reading

Listening

Speaking

Writing (60 minutes)

Writing Task 1 (Suggested time 20 minutes)

Writing Based on Reading and Listening

Here you will read a passage about an academic topic. Then you will listen to a lecture about the same topic. You are permitted to take notes while you read and listen. You will be asked a question that relates to both the text and the listening. Your response should be 150-225 words. Hint: Look for three many points that are related. Your score will depend on the quality of your writing as well as how well you answer the question. After you have heard the lecture you will have twenty minutes to plan and write your response.

Example:

Reading ( minutes, take notes)

In a vote that took place at the International Astronomical Union Conference on August 24th, 2006, Pluto lost its status as a planet in our solar system. Pluto was originally discovered in 1930 when scientists were searching for something that was interfering with Uranus's orbit. Though Pluto was estimated to be similar in size to Earth, it was later discovered that it was even smaller than our own moon, as well as many other moons. It is now known that there are thousands of planetary objects similar to Pluto, including Eris which is slightly larger than Pluto. Choosing to reclassify Pluto to a dwarf planet honors the fact that science is about making new discoveries. While it was a sad day for Pluto lovers, people in general have accepted the idea, and the next generation of children will grow up knowing only eight planets and thinking nothing of it. As Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered Eris, noted following the IUC's decision, "science is self-correcting."

Next you will listen to part of a lecture on the same subject. The reading will disappear. The listening is 1 to 2 minutes. Take notes.

https://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-writing.php (You will find the audio at this link; scroll down once you arrive on the the linked page.)


After the reading you will see the prompt. The reading will reappear.


Summarize the points made in the lecture, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading passage.


Sample Response

Pluto lost its status as a planet in our solar system at the International Astronomical Union Conference in 2006. The decision has been wrapped in controversy ever since. The reading suggests that the decision was generally accepted and was based on the new scientific information that has been learned since Pluto's original discovery. However, the lecture refutes this idea, suggesting that the astronomy community was not fairly represented in the vote to demote Pluto to dwarf status, and that many people disagree with the decision. According to the reading, Pluto was demoted due to its size. However, the professor points out that the reason Pluto was demoted was because it doesn't fit the new definition of a planet. According to the new definition, a planet must clear the neighborhood around its orbit. While Pluto does not, neither do other planets including Earth. Technically speaking, many planets have asteroids as neighbors, therefore, they do not clear their orbit. Finally, the reading implies that people will soon forget that Pluto was ever a planet. In contrast, the professor talks of petitions and special ways that citizens are honoring the beloved planet Pluto. While the reading notes that children will not know any differently when they grow up without Pluto in their solar system, the professor claims that the lost planet will always have a place in children's hearts as it did from the very beginning..


Writring Task 2 (Suggested time 40 minutes)

Prompt: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Students should take out student loans to avoid working while studying. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

ORIGINAL

I agree that students should take out loans while they are studying.

 

The first reason is that students should focus on only one thing at a time and this should be their classes. If they don't work in another place, they spare their whole time in order to study which is their main responsibility. Otherwise, they will have to divide their time and it won't be effective. It is too hard to handle many things at the same time. It will be too much burden for the students and they will be demotivated. When they think that they are not able to catch all the things they start to lose motivation in school.


The second reason is this money will cover their expenses such as dormitory, books, food, etc. These people will be more independent from their families and they use their own money. After their teenage times, students can be freer with the loan and they do not need to take economical support from their parents.

The third reason is that it is a better idea to work after school is finished. Because they will have expertise on a topic so that they can find a job related to their specialty and they can improve themselves in that major.


Lastly, taking loans while they are studying is beneficial for the students in terms of independence, time management, and having expertise in one major.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


My initial comments

Avoid using “it”.

State your reasons for your position. Don’t simply state your reasons.

Improve your cohesion by making sure your reasons are crystal clear and stated in the first sentence of the body paragraphs.

Do not use the word “spare”. You are using it consistently incorrectly. This is at least the second time I have seen or heard you mis-use the word.

Your use of "lastly" makes your audience thing that a fourt reason is comiong up.


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

5

An essay at this level largely accomplishes all of the following:

• Effectively addresses the topic and task

• Is well organized and well developed, using clearly appropriate explanations, exemplifications and/or details

• Displays unity, progression and coherence

• Displays consistent facility in the use of language, demonstrating syntactic variety, appropriate word choice and idiomaticity, though it may have minor lexical or grammatical errors

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

4

An essay at this level largely accomplishes all of the following:

• Addresses the topic and task well, though some points may not be fully elaborated

• Is generally well organized and well developed, using appropriate and sufficient explanations, exemplifications and/or details

• Displays unity, progression and coherence, though it may contain occasional redundancy, digression, or unclear connections

• Displays facility in the use of language, demonstrating syntactic variety and range of vocabulary, though it will probably have occasional noticeable minor errors in structure, word form or use of idiomatic language that do not interfere with meaning

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 3

An essay at this level is marked by one or more of the following:

• Addresses the topic and task using somewhat developed explanations, exemplifications and/or details

• Displays unity, progression and coherence, though connection of ideas may be occasionally obscured

• May demonstrate inconsistent facility in sentence formation and word choice that may result in lack of clarity and occasionally obscure meaning

• May display accurate but limited range of syntactic structures and vocabulary

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

2

An essay at this level may reveal one or more of the following weaknesses:

• Limited development in response to the topic and task

• Inadequate organization or connection of ideas

• Inappropriate or insufficient exemplifications, explanations or details to support or illustrate generalizations in response to the task

• A noticeably inappropriate choice of words or word forms

• An accumulation of errors in sentence structure and/or usage


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Let me simplify the 5 paragraph structure:


Hook. Background. Thesis


Reason 1. Clarification of Reason 1. Detailed example of Reason 1.


Reason 2. Clarification of Reason 2. Detailed example of Reason 2.


Reason 3. Clarification of Reason 3. Detailed example of Reason 3.


Restate the thesis.


I recommend that you write the most important parts first. Make sure the skeleton demonstrates cohesion and even what you feel is redundancy.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The score is not quite 4, however it may not be as low as 3. So I would score this 3.5


In terms of your minimum TOEFL iBT

100/130 = 0.769231


Your Writing Task 2 is

3.5/5 = 0.7


You are very close. Next time we will use the hour to do Writing Task 1 + Writing Task 2.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////


This is my edit of what you wrote. The boldface is the skeleton that I suggest you write first.

I agree that students should take out loans to avoid working while they are studying for three reasons.

 

The first reason students should borrow money to finance their education is that students need to focus on their classes without the burden of dividing their time and energy between school and work. If students divide their attention between school and work, their performance in school will probably be worse than it would have been. Going to school to get a degree and working to get income at the same time is very hard. Students who study and work may become discouraged because they may not have the time and/or the energy to their best at school. Working while in school is too much of a burden for the students.


The second reason that students who need to fund their education should borrow money they will have a greater degree of financial independence from their families. In other word, students who get student loans have their “own” money, so they will get practice handling their expense including food, housing, tuition books, other school supplies and other minimum living/academic expenses. Being more financially independent from one’s parents by borrowing money and managing one’s own money helps one transition from teenage years to young adulthood.


The third reason that students should borrow money if they need money for school is that students armed with more knowledge and skills after graduation will likely be more qualified for a higher paying job than any job they might do while they are still students. Of course this makes sense. A student who focuses on doing well in school is going to do better acadmically than a student who must a signifiant part of her attention to a job.

In summary, people who are in school should take out loans while they are studying because (1) they won’t be drained in terms of time, energy and attention by a job; (2) they will learn to manage their money independently of their family; and (3) they will have more expertise in their area of study and therefore have a better job after graduation than they would have if they had not been able to focus on their studies due to the need to work while in school.



 
 
 

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