TOEFL Speaking Test Section
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01 Dec 2020, 02:56
The speaking section is the third section you'll face in the TOEFL iBT test and it takes about 20 minutes to complete. There are a total of six speaking tasks: two independent speaking questions and four integrated speaking questions. Let's have a look at the table below for details about each task.
Speaking Type Details
Independent Speaking Question 1 You are asked a general question about your life.
Preparation: 15 seconds
Response: 45 seconds
Independent Speaking Question 2 You are asked to choose between two options and explain your preference or state your opinion on a topic.
Preparation: 15 seconds
Response: 45 seconds
Integrated Speaking Question 3 You read a campus announcement or a student letter and then hear two students discussing their opinions on the written notice. You then state one student’s opinion and explain the reasons he or she gives for having that opinion.
Reading time: 50 seconds
Preparation: 30 seconds
Response: 60 seconds
Integrated Speaking Question 4 You read a passage from a textbook or an academic article about a general concept. Next you hear a lecture about a specific example of this concept. You then summarize the reading and lecture and discuss the relationship between the two.
Reading time: 50 seconds
Preparation: 30 seconds
Response: 60 seconds
Integrated Speaking Question 5 You hear two students discussing a problem that one of them has and two possible solutions to this problem. You then summarize the problems and explain which of the two solutions you prefer.
Preparation: 20 seconds
Response: 60 seconds
Integrated Speaking Question 6 You hear a lecture. You then summarize the main points of the lecture.
Preparation: 20 seconds
Response: 60 seconds
If you want to learn more in depth details, examples, and tips and practice with free TOEFL sample tests and speaking practice questions, go to our main TOEFL speaking guide page
TOEFL Writing Test Section
The writing section is the fourth section of the TOEFL iBT test and takes about 50 minutes to complete. Have a look at the table below for details about each task.
Writing Task Details
Integrated Writing Task you are given 3 minutes to read an academic passage. After reading the passage, you then listen to a lecture on the same topic. You then write an essay summarizing the lecture and the reading passage and showing the relationship between them. You should not express your own opinion of the issues and you should not bring in any information form outside the passage and the lecture.
Reading: 3 minutes
Writing: 20 minutes
Independent Writing Task You read a prompt (a topic) and express your opinions in your response. Your response is based entirely on your own knowledge and experience.
Writing: 30 minutes
When you complete your TOEFL test, your writing must be evaluated. This is done by a combination of human readers and a computer program called e-rater®. Each of your essays is given a score from 0 to 5. Your combined essay scores are converted to a section score of 0 to 30.
Let's see how the TOEFL raters and e-rater® determine your score for the TOEFL Independent Writing Task. There are four basic criteria on which your essay is evaluated. These four criteria are:
How well you address the topic.
How well you develop and support your ideas.
How well you organize the essay and connect your ideas.
How well you use the English language, including grammar, vocabulary, and writing conventions.
Writing conventions are the special rules of writing in English, including spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
As for the TOEFL Integrated Writing Task, here are four basic criteria on which your essay is evaluated. These four criteria are:
How well you select important information from the lecture.
How well you relate the lecture points to the reading points.
How well you organize the essay and provide details
How well you use the English language, including grammar, vocabulary, and writing conventions.
A great technique to improving your writing skills is to compare your essay with high-scoring essays to see how they're structured and answered the same question. Your goal should be to model these sample essays, but that is easier said then done.
If you want to learn more in depth details, examples, and tips and practice with free TOEFL sample tests and writing practice questions, go to our main TOEFL writing guide page