So you have decided for some reason or another to take the TOEFL exam; and you may have many ideas or assumptions as to what the exam entails and measures. So before we go any further, lets define and put the TOEFL exam into context by looking at what the exam is, and is not.
- The exam is primarily designed for students who desire to study at an English speaking university.
- It tests your overall understanding, knowledge and use of the English language in an academic environment.
- You are not required to have any prior knowledge of the academic subjects used in the exam.
- Unlike other exams there is no easy, automatic route to success; Success can only be obtained with hard work and by listening to the advice of your teacher.
The next step is to see what we are faced against. The TOEFL IBT is divided into four sections each worth a total of 30 points. Let’s look at what these sections are made up of.
THE READING SECTION
- Three academic based reading passages.
- Each passage averages 700 words.
- Each passage consists of 12-14 questions.
- There are three basic types of passage: Exposition, Argumentation and historical.
- These three passages are divided into two sections.
- In the first section the student has 20 minutes to complete the first reading passage whilst in the second reading section the student has 40 minutes to complete the final two.
- Any time left over in each section can be used to check and change answers if need be. This time, however, cannot be carried over to any other section.
THE LISTENING SECTION
- 6 dialogs divided into two sections.
- Each section consists of one campus based dialog and two academic based dialogs
- Campus based dialogs are followed by 5 questions and academic based dialogs 6
Dialogs can be anywhere between 4-6 minutes long. - Students only have ten minutes to answer all the questions in any one section.
- Students are unable to check or change previously answered questions.
THE SPEAKING SECTION
- You will be asked a total of 6 questions
- Question 1=Independent. You will be asked to speak about a place, person, object or event. Once the question has been read you will be given 15secs to plan and prepare and then 45secs to make your response.
- Question 2=Independent. You will be presented with two possible actions or situations and then asked to say which of them is more preferable or which opinion is more justified. The timing for this question is the same as question 1.
- Question 3=Integrated/campus. You will be presented with a reading passage about a particular aspect of university life. Then you will listen to two people discussing this subject. Once the listening is over you will be asked a question on what you have read and listened to. You will have 40-50secs to read the passage, depending on its length; 30secs to plan and prepare your response and then 1min to make your response.
- Question 4=Integrated/academic. You will be presented with a passage on a particular academic subject. Then you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture on the same subject. You will then be asked a question about the materials that you were presented with. The timing is the same as question 3.
- Question 5=Integrated/campus. In this question, you will listen to a short dialog between two people discussing a particular campus related problem. You will then be asked to summarize this problem and give your opinion as to what you think would be the best possible solution. After being read the question, you will be given 20secs to plan and prepare your response and 60secs to make your response.
- Question 6=Integrated/academic. In this question you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture and then you will be asked a question about what you have just heard. The timing for this question is the same as question 5
THE WRITING SECTION
- Question 1=Intergrated. In this question you will be given 3mins to read a passage of an academic nature and then you will listen to a professor give a brief excerpt from a lecture on the same subject. You will then be given 20mins to write a summary of the information that you have read and listened to.
- Question 2=Independent. In this part of the writing section you will be presented with a traditional styled essay question. You will be given 30mins to write a response, which should average around 300 words.
