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o prepare effectively for the TOEFL, you need to understand the TOEFL exam pattern: how the test is structured, what kinds of questions it’ll ask you, and how you can ultimately use this information to get a high score on test day.
In this guide, we go over the TOEFL pattern, for the test as a whole and for each section. Along the way, we provide you with key tips for using the TOEFL test pattern to your advantage and give you a rundown of the TOEFL structure for the paper-delivered test as well.
What Is the Overall TOEFL Exam Pattern?
The TOEFL iBT is a four-hour, computerized test with four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. You’ll use one main skill for each section (so on Reading you’ll read passages and on Listening you’ll listen to audio clips), with some questions or tasks requiring the use of multiple skills.
All sections are timed. You’ll always have 20 minutes on Speaking and 50 minutes on Writing.
However, the Reading and Listening sections vary in length due to unscored, experimental questions. Reading ranges from 60 to 80 minutes long, while Listening ranges from 60 to 90 minutes long. There will be no indication telling you which questions are experimental and which ones aren’t, so don’t spend too much time worrying about this—just try your best on all questions!
Finally, you’ll have one 10-minute break in the middle of the test, between the Listening and Speaking sections. This break is mandatory, meaning you must take it. You may take other breaks during the test, but you will not be able to pause the timer for these.
The following table highlights the overall TOEFL test pattern, including the order of the sections, how long each section is, and how many questions each section contains:
Section Order Time # of Questions Details
Reading 1 60-80 mins 36-56 questions Read 3-4 passages and answer questions
Listening 2 60-90 mins 34-51 questions Listen to 4-6 lectures and 2-3 conversations and answer questions
Break 3 10 mins — —
Speaking 4 20 mins 6 tasks Answer prompts about familiar topics, campus situations, and academic course content
Writing 5 50 mins 2 tasks Compare a passage and a lecture; write about your opinion
TOTAL About 4 hrs — —
You may take notes on all sections of the exam. A test center administrator will give you scratch paper and pencils to use. You’ll also get a headset with a microphone to use for listening to audio clips and recording your Speaking responses.
Each section is scored out of 30 points and then combined for a total TOEFL score out of 120. For more information about TOEFL scoring, check out our guide. You’ll receive your scores in your official score report online about 10 days after your test date.
Now, let’s look at the TOEFL pattern section by section.
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Reading Section
The first section you’ll have on the TOEFL iBT is the Reading section. As mentioned above, this section can vary in length. So if you don’t get any experimental questions, Reading will be 60 minutes long and contain 36-42 questions. If you do get experimental questions, it’ll be 80 minutes long and contain 48-56 questions.
Your main task is to read passages and answer questions about them. Each reading passage is long—usually about 700 words—and you’ll have three or four passages in total (if you get four, one will be an experimental passage).
Passages deal with a variety of academic topics, from history and art to science and psychology. Each passage also comes with 12-14 questions (or a “question set”). You are not timed on each passage and question set, so it’s important to manage your time wisely. (We go over this more in tip #1 below.)
Reading is first scored in raw points (i.e., the number of points you get per question) and then converted to a scaled score out of 30. A good Reading score varies depending on where you’re applying, but generally anything above 22 (the 50th percentile) can be considered good.
TOEFL Reading Question Types
There are three Reading question types: multiple choice, Inserting a Sentence, and Reading to Learn. We explain each of these below.
Multiple Choice
Most Reading questions are standard multiple choice. These questions are each worth 1 raw point and give you four answer choices to choose from.
For this question type, you may have to define a vocabulary word in the text or answer a question about the content or form of the passage.
Inserting a Sentence
You’ll get one Inserting a Sentence question, worth 1 raw point, with each passage. This question is always the second-to-last question in a question set (right before the Reading to Learn question, which we discuss more below).
With this question, you get a new sentence and four possible places to insert it in the passage.
Reading to Learn
This is perhaps one of the most unique question types on the TOEFL. The Reading to Learn question requires you to arrange the main points of the passage in a chart or summary by clicking and dragging sentences.
There is only one Reading to Learn question per passage, and it’ll always come at the end of a question set.
In addition, this is the only Reading question type worth 2-3 raw points, meaning you can get partial credit if you only get some of the answers correct.
3 Tips for Attacking the TOEFL Reading Pattern
#1: Learn to Manage Your Time
Reading lasts 60-80 total minutes, but because there’s no timer for each passage and question set, you’ll need to practice managing your time so that you don’t accidentally run out at the end.
Here’s the best way to divide your time on Reading:
Task Time
Read a passage About 5 mins
Answer a question About 1 min each
Complete a question set About 15 mins in total
TOTAL (passage + question set) About 20 mins
To recap, spend around 20 minutes total on each passage and question set. Ideally, you’ll spend five minutes reading the passage and 15 minutes answering the questions for that passage (or about one minute per question). Note that some questions, such as the Reading to Learn question, will take a little longer to complete, while others will take less time.
Try to stick to a one-minute pace per question as best you can. This prevents you from spending too much time on a single question and falling behind.
#2: Choose a Passage-Reading Strategy Ahead of Time
To do well on TOEFL Reading, you must know how to approach the passages so that you’re using your time wisely and are clearly comprehending the main points of the text.
There are a few ways you can approach Reading section passages:
Read the entire passage first (recommended)
Skim the passage and then answer the questions
Answer the questions paragraph by paragraph
Read the questions first (not recommended)
In general, the best method is to read the passage in its entirety. If you choose this strategy, spend no more than five minutes reading each passage. Be aware, though, that this method works well only if you’re highly proficient in English.
Ultimately, choose the passage-reading strategy that works best for you. To figure out which one you like the most, try out each of the four strategies above using different Reading practice tests. When finished, go with the strategy that gives you the highest score.
#3: Skip Difficult Questions and Return to Them Later
The Reading format doesn’t require you to answer a question before moving on, so use this feature to your advantage by skipping difficult questions. This way you can keep moving and answering questions on the test, even if you get stuck. You’ll also avoid spending too much time on one difficult question.
Just remember to go back and answer any unanswered questions before time runs out. Even if you have to guess, it’s better to choose a random answer than to choose nothing at all since there are no penalties for wrong answers on the TOEFL.
TOEFL Prep Online Guides and Tips
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Test Structure and Scoring, Explained
Author Hannah MunizPosted onSeptember 3, 2017CategoriesTOEFL General InfoTagsstudying for toefl, toefl format
feature_color_pattern
To prepare effectively for the TOEFL, you need to understand the TOEFL exam pattern: how the test is structured, what kinds of questions it’ll ask you, and how you can ultimately use this information to get a high score on test day.
In this guide, we go over the TOEFL pattern, for the test as a whole and for each section. Along the way, we provide you with key tips for using the TOEFL test pattern to your advantage and give you a rundown of the TOEFL structure for the paper-delivered test as well.
What Is the Overall TOEFL Exam Pattern?
The TOEFL iBT is a four-hour, computerized test with four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. You’ll use one main skill for each section (so on Reading you’ll read passages and on Listening you’ll listen to audio clips), with some questions or tasks requiring the use of multiple skills.
All sections are timed. You’ll always have 20 minutes on Speaking and 50 minutes on Writing.
However, the Reading and Listening sections vary in length due to unscored, experimental questions. Reading ranges from 60 to 80 minutes long, while Listening ranges from 60 to 90 minutes long. There will be no indication telling you which questions are experimental and which ones aren’t, so don’t spend too much time worrying about this—just try your best on all questions!
Finally, you’ll have one 10-minute break in the middle of the test, between the Listening and Speaking sections. This break is mandatory, meaning you must take it. You may take other breaks during the test, but you will not be able to pause the timer for these.
The following table highlights the overall TOEFL test pattern, including the order of the sections, how long each section is, and how many questions each section contains:
By the way: we have built the world's best online TOEFL course. Get online practice (TPO-sytle!) and individual grading and feedback on Speaking and Writing.
To be fair, it's possible to get a good TOEFL score studying alone. But PrepScholar is the world's most effective TOEFL course if you are worried about the TOEFL and are struggling to improve your score.
Learn how you can improve your TOEFL score by 15 points today.
Section Order Time # of Questions Details
Reading 1 60-80 mins 36-56 questions Read 3-4 passages and answer questions
Listening 2 60-90 mins 34-51 questions Listen to 4-6 lectures and 2-3 conversations and answer questions
Break 3 10 mins — —
Speaking 4 20 mins 6 tasks Answer prompts about familiar topics, campus situations, and academic course content
Writing 5 50 mins 2 tasks Compare a passage and a lecture; write about your opinion
TOTAL — About 4 hrs — —
Source: ETS.org
You may take notes on all sections of the exam. A test center administrator will give you scratch paper and pencils to use. You’ll also get a headset with a microphone to use for listening to audio clips and recording your Speaking responses.
Each section is scored out of 30 points and then combined for a total TOEFL score out of 120. For more information about TOEFL scoring, check out our guide. You’ll receive your scores in your official score report online about 10 days after your test date.
Now, let’s look at the TOEFL pattern section by section.
body_people_reading
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Reading Section
The first section you’ll have on the TOEFL iBT is the Reading section. As mentioned above, this section can vary in length. So if you don’t get any experimental questions, Reading will be 60 minutes long and contain 36-42 questions. If you do get experimental questions, it’ll be 80 minutes long and contain 48-56 questions.
Your main task is to read passages and answer questions about them. Each reading passage is long—usually about 700 words—and you’ll have three or four passages in total (if you get four, one will be an experimental passage).
Passages deal with a variety of academic topics, from history and art to science and psychology. Each passage also comes with 12-14 questions (or a “question set”). You are not timed on each passage and question set, so it’s important to manage your time wisely. (We go over this more in tip #1 below.)
Reading is first scored in raw points (i.e., the number of points you get per question) and then converted to a scaled score out of 30. A good Reading score varies depending on where you’re applying, but generally anything above 22 (the 50th percentile) can be considered good.
TOEFL Reading Question Types
There are three Reading question types: multiple choice, Inserting a Sentence, and Reading to Learn. We explain each of these below.
Multiple Choice
Most Reading questions are standard multiple choice. These questions are each worth 1 raw point and give you four answer choices to choose from.
For this question type, you may have to define a vocabulary word in the text or answer a question about the content or form of the passage. Here’s an example of one (from the TOEFL iBT Interactive Sampler):
body_toefl_reading_multiple_choice
Inserting a Sentence
You’ll get one Inserting a Sentence question, worth 1 raw point, with each passage. This question is always the second-to-last question in a question set (right before the Reading to Learn question, which we discuss more below).
With this question, you get a new sentence and four possible places to insert it in the passage. Your task is to put the sentence in the area of the passage where it makes the most sense.
body_toefl_reading_inserting_sentence
Reading to Learn
This is perhaps one of the most unique question types on the TOEFL. The Reading to Learn question requires you to arrange the main points of the passage in a chart or summary by clicking and dragging sentences.
There is only one Reading to Learn question per passage, and it’ll always come at the end of a question set.
In addition, this is the only Reading question type worth 2-3 raw points, meaning you can get partial credit if you only get some of the answers correct.
body_toefl_reading_reading_to_learn
body_attack_eagle
3 Tips for Attacking the TOEFL Reading Pattern
Here are our top tips for dealing with the TOEFL Reading pattern.
#1: Learn to Manage Your Time
Reading lasts 60-80 total minutes, but because there’s no timer for each passage and question set, you’ll need to practice managing your time so that you don’t accidentally run out at the end.
Here’s the best way to divide your time on Reading:
Task Time
Read a passage About 5 mins
Answer a question About 1 min each
Complete a question set About 15 mins in total
TOTAL (passage + question set) About 20 mins
To recap, spend around 20 minutes total on each passage and question set. Ideally, you’ll spend five minutes reading the passage and 15 minutes answering the questions for that passage (or about one minute per question). Note that some questions, such as the Reading to Learn question, will take a little longer to complete, while others will take less time.
Try to stick to a one-minute pace per question as best you can. This prevents you from spending too much time on a single question and falling behind.
Want to improve your TOEFL score? We have the world's leading TOEFL course.
Built by world-class instructors from Harvard and MIT, the course offers individual review, interactive lessons, and realistic online praactice, at an affordable price! It's the fastest way to get your target TOEFL score.
Try our 5-day full access trial for free:
Get the TOEFL score you need.
#2: Choose a Passage-Reading Strategy Ahead of Time
To do well on TOEFL Reading, you must know how to approach the passages so that you’re using your time wisely and are clearly comprehending the main points of the text.
There are a few ways you can approach Reading section passages:
Read the entire passage first (recommended)
Skim the passage and then answer the questions
Answer the questions paragraph by paragraph
Read the questions first (not recommended)
In general, the best method is to read the passage in its entirety. If you choose this strategy, spend no more than five minutes reading each passage. Be aware, though, that this method works well only if you’re highly proficient in English.
Ultimately, choose the passage-reading strategy that works best for you. To figure out which one you like the most, try out each of the four strategies above using different Reading practice tests. When finished, go with the strategy that gives you the highest score.
#3: Skip Difficult Questions and Return to Them Later
The Reading format doesn’t require you to answer a question before moving on, so use this feature to your advantage by skipping difficult questions. This way you can keep moving and answering questions on the test, even if you get stuck. You’ll also avoid spending too much time on one difficult question.
Just remember to go back and answer any unanswered questions before time runs out. Even if you have to guess, it’s better to choose a random answer than to choose nothing at all since there are no penalties for wrong answers on the TOEFL.
body_headphones
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Listening Section
Like Reading, Listening varies in its length and number of questions due to the possibility of getting unscored, experimental questions. This section can range from 60 minutes and 34 questions long to 90 minutes and 51 questions long.
Listening tests you on your English-listening skills. In total, you’ll listen to four to six lectures and two to three conversations. Each lecture lasts three to five minutes and comes with six questions, while each conversation lasts about three minutes and comes with five questions. You will hear each audio clip only once.
In this guide, we go over the TOEFL pattern, for the test as a whole and for each section. Along the way, we provide you with key tips for using the TOEFL test pattern to your advantage and give you a rundown of the TOEFL structure for the paper-delivered test as well.
What Is the Overall TOEFL Exam Pattern?
The TOEFL iBT is a four-hour, computerized test with four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. You’ll use one main skill for each section (so on Reading you’ll read passages and on Listening you’ll listen to audio clips), with some questions or tasks requiring the use of multiple skills.
All sections are timed. You’ll always have 20 minutes on Speaking and 50 minutes on Writing.
However, the Reading and Listening sections vary in length due to unscored, experimental questions. Reading ranges from 60 to 80 minutes long, while Listening ranges from 60 to 90 minutes long. There will be no indication telling you which questions are experimental and which ones aren’t, so don’t spend too much time worrying about this—just try your best on all questions!
Finally, you’ll have one 10-minute break in the middle of the test, between the Listening and Speaking sections. This break is mandatory, meaning you must take it. You may take other breaks during the test, but you will not be able to pause the timer for these.
The following table highlights the overall TOEFL test pattern, including the order of the sections, how long each section is, and how many questions each section contains:
Section Order Time # of Questions Details
Reading 1 60-80 mins 36-56 questions Read 3-4 passages and answer questions
Listening 2 60-90 mins 34-51 questions Listen to 4-6 lectures and 2-3 conversations and answer questions
Break 3 10 mins — —
Speaking 4 20 mins 6 tasks Answer prompts about familiar topics, campus situations, and academic course content
Writing 5 50 mins 2 tasks Compare a passage and a lecture; write about your opinion
TOTAL About 4 hrs — —
You may take notes on all sections of the exam. A test center administrator will give you scratch paper and pencils to use. You’ll also get a headset with a microphone to use for listening to audio clips and recording your Speaking responses.
Each section is scored out of 30 points and then combined for a total TOEFL score out of 120. For more information about TOEFL scoring, check out our guide. You’ll receive your scores in your official score report online about 10 days after your test date.
Now, let’s look at the TOEFL pattern section by section.
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Reading Section
The first section you’ll have on the TOEFL iBT is the Reading section. As mentioned above, this section can vary in length. So if you don’t get any experimental questions, Reading will be 60 minutes long and contain 36-42 questions. If you do get experimental questions, it’ll be 80 minutes long and contain 48-56 questions.
Your main task is to read passages and answer questions about them. Each reading passage is long—usually about 700 words—and you’ll have three or four passages in total (if you get four, one will be an experimental passage).
Passages deal with a variety of academic topics, from history and art to science and psychology. Each passage also comes with 12-14 questions (or a “question set”). You are not timed on each passage and question set, so it’s important to manage your time wisely. (We go over this more in tip #1 below.)
Reading is first scored in raw points (i.e., the number of points you get per question) and then converted to a scaled score out of 30. A good Reading score varies depending on where you’re applying, but generally anything above 22 (the 50th percentile) can be considered good.
TOEFL Reading Question Types
There are three Reading question types: multiple choice, Inserting a Sentence, and Reading to Learn. We explain each of these below.
Multiple Choice
Most Reading questions are standard multiple choice. These questions are each worth 1 raw point and give you four answer choices to choose from.
For this question type, you may have to define a vocabulary word in the text or answer a question about the content or form of the passage.
Inserting a Sentence
You’ll get one Inserting a Sentence question, worth 1 raw point, with each passage. This question is always the second-to-last question in a question set (right before the Reading to Learn question, which we discuss more below).
With this question, you get a new sentence and four possible places to insert it in the passage.
Reading to Learn
This is perhaps one of the most unique question types on the TOEFL. The Reading to Learn question requires you to arrange the main points of the passage in a chart or summary by clicking and dragging sentences.
There is only one Reading to Learn question per passage, and it’ll always come at the end of a question set.
In addition, this is the only Reading question type worth 2-3 raw points, meaning you can get partial credit if you only get some of the answers correct.
3 Tips for Attacking the TOEFL Reading Pattern
#1: Learn to Manage Your Time
Reading lasts 60-80 total minutes, but because there’s no timer for each passage and question set, you’ll need to practice managing your time so that you don’t accidentally run out at the end.
Here’s the best way to divide your time on Reading:
Task Time
Read a passage About 5 mins
Answer a question About 1 min each
Complete a question set About 15 mins in total
TOTAL (passage + question set) About 20 mins
To recap, spend around 20 minutes total on each passage and question set. Ideally, you’ll spend five minutes reading the passage and 15 minutes answering the questions for that passage (or about one minute per question). Note that some questions, such as the Reading to Learn question, will take a little longer to complete, while others will take less time.
Try to stick to a one-minute pace per question as best you can. This prevents you from spending too much time on a single question and falling behind.
#2: Choose a Passage-Reading Strategy Ahead of Time
To do well on TOEFL Reading, you must know how to approach the passages so that you’re using your time wisely and are clearly comprehending the main points of the text.
There are a few ways you can approach Reading section passages:
Read the entire passage first (recommended)
Skim the passage and then answer the questions
Answer the questions paragraph by paragraph
Read the questions first (not recommended)
In general, the best method is to read the passage in its entirety. If you choose this strategy, spend no more than five minutes reading each passage. Be aware, though, that this method works well only if you’re highly proficient in English.
Ultimately, choose the passage-reading strategy that works best for you. To figure out which one you like the most, try out each of the four strategies above using different Reading practice tests. When finished, go with the strategy that gives you the highest score.
#3: Skip Difficult Questions and Return to Them Later
The Reading format doesn’t require you to answer a question before moving on, so use this feature to your advantage by skipping difficult questions. This way you can keep moving and answering questions on the test, even if you get stuck. You’ll also avoid spending too much time on one difficult question.
Just remember to go back and answer any unanswered questions before time runs out. Even if you have to guess, it’s better to choose a random answer than to choose nothing at all since there are no penalties for wrong answers on the TOEFL.
TOEFL Prep Online Guides and Tips
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Test Structure and Scoring, Explained
Author Hannah MunizPosted onSeptember 3, 2017CategoriesTOEFL General InfoTagsstudying for toefl, toefl format
feature_color_pattern
To prepare effectively for the TOEFL, you need to understand the TOEFL exam pattern: how the test is structured, what kinds of questions it’ll ask you, and how you can ultimately use this information to get a high score on test day.
In this guide, we go over the TOEFL pattern, for the test as a whole and for each section. Along the way, we provide you with key tips for using the TOEFL test pattern to your advantage and give you a rundown of the TOEFL structure for the paper-delivered test as well.
What Is the Overall TOEFL Exam Pattern?
The TOEFL iBT is a four-hour, computerized test with four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. You’ll use one main skill for each section (so on Reading you’ll read passages and on Listening you’ll listen to audio clips), with some questions or tasks requiring the use of multiple skills.
All sections are timed. You’ll always have 20 minutes on Speaking and 50 minutes on Writing.
However, the Reading and Listening sections vary in length due to unscored, experimental questions. Reading ranges from 60 to 80 minutes long, while Listening ranges from 60 to 90 minutes long. There will be no indication telling you which questions are experimental and which ones aren’t, so don’t spend too much time worrying about this—just try your best on all questions!
Finally, you’ll have one 10-minute break in the middle of the test, between the Listening and Speaking sections. This break is mandatory, meaning you must take it. You may take other breaks during the test, but you will not be able to pause the timer for these.
The following table highlights the overall TOEFL test pattern, including the order of the sections, how long each section is, and how many questions each section contains:
By the way: we have built the world's best online TOEFL course. Get online practice (TPO-sytle!) and individual grading and feedback on Speaking and Writing.
To be fair, it's possible to get a good TOEFL score studying alone. But PrepScholar is the world's most effective TOEFL course if you are worried about the TOEFL and are struggling to improve your score.
Learn how you can improve your TOEFL score by 15 points today.
Section Order Time # of Questions Details
Reading 1 60-80 mins 36-56 questions Read 3-4 passages and answer questions
Listening 2 60-90 mins 34-51 questions Listen to 4-6 lectures and 2-3 conversations and answer questions
Break 3 10 mins — —
Speaking 4 20 mins 6 tasks Answer prompts about familiar topics, campus situations, and academic course content
Writing 5 50 mins 2 tasks Compare a passage and a lecture; write about your opinion
TOTAL — About 4 hrs — —
Source: ETS.org
You may take notes on all sections of the exam. A test center administrator will give you scratch paper and pencils to use. You’ll also get a headset with a microphone to use for listening to audio clips and recording your Speaking responses.
Each section is scored out of 30 points and then combined for a total TOEFL score out of 120. For more information about TOEFL scoring, check out our guide. You’ll receive your scores in your official score report online about 10 days after your test date.
Now, let’s look at the TOEFL pattern section by section.
body_people_reading
TOEFL Exam Pattern: Reading Section
The first section you’ll have on the TOEFL iBT is the Reading section. As mentioned above, this section can vary in length. So if you don’t get any experimental questions, Reading will be 60 minutes long and contain 36-42 questions. If you do get experimental questions, it’ll be 80 minutes long and contain 48-56 questions.
Your main task is to read passages and answer questions about them. Each reading passage is long—usually about 700 words—and you’ll have three or four passages in total (if you get four, one will be an experimental passage).
Passages deal with a variety of academic topics, from history and art to science and psychology. Each passage also comes with 12-14 questions (or a “question set”). You are not timed on each passage and question set, so it’s important to manage your time wisely. (We go over this more in tip #1 below.)
Reading is first scored in raw points (i.e., the number of points you get per question) and then converted to a scaled score out of 30. A good Reading score varies depending on where you’re applying, but generally anything above 22 (the 50th percentile) can be considered good.
TOEFL Reading Question Types
There are three Reading question types: multiple choice, Inserting a Sentence, and Reading to Learn. We explain each of these below.
Multiple Choice
Most Reading questions are standard multiple choice. These questions are each worth 1 raw point and give you four answer choices to choose from.
For this question type, you may have to define a vocabulary word in the text or answer a question about the content or form of the passage. Here’s an example of one (from the TOEFL iBT Interactive Sampler):
body_toefl_reading_multiple_choice
Inserting a Sentence
You’ll get one Inserting a Sentence question, worth 1 raw point, with each passage. This question is always the second-to-last question in a question set (right before the Reading to Learn question, which we discuss more below).
With this question, you get a new sentence and four possible places to insert it in the passage. Your task is to put the sentence in the area of the passage where it makes the most sense.
body_toefl_reading_inserting_sentence
Reading to Learn
This is perhaps one of the most unique question types on the TOEFL. The Reading to Learn question requires you to arrange the main points of the passage in a chart or summary by clicking and dragging sentences.
There is only one Reading to Learn question per passage, and it’ll always come at the end of a question set.
In addition, this is the only Reading question type worth 2-3 raw points, meaning you can get partial credit if you only get some of the answers correct.
body_toefl_reading_reading_to_learn
body_attack_eagle
3 Tips for Attacking the TOEFL Reading Pattern
Here are our top tips for dealing with the TOEFL Reading pattern.
#1: Learn to Manage Your Time
Reading lasts 60-80 total minutes, but because there’s no timer for each passage and question set, you’ll need to practice managing your time so that you don’t accidentally run out at the end.
Here’s the best way to divide your time on Reading:
Task Time
Read a passage About 5 mins
Answer a question About 1 min each
Complete a question set About 15 mins in total
TOTAL (passage + question set) About 20 mins
To recap, spend around 20 minutes total on each passage and question set. Ideally, you’ll spend five minutes reading the passage and 15 minutes answering the questions for that passage (or about one minute per question). Note that some questions, such as the Reading to Learn question, will take a little longer to complete, while others will take less time.
Try to stick to a one-minute pace per question as best you can. This prevents you from spending too much time on a single question and falling behind.
Want to improve your TOEFL score? We have the world's leading TOEFL course.
Built by world-class instructors from Harvard and MIT, the course offers individual review, interactive lessons, and realistic online praactice, at an affordable price! It's the fastest way to get your target TOEFL score.
Try our 5-day full access trial for free:
Get the TOEFL score you need.
#2: Choose a Passage-Reading Strategy Ahead of Time
To do well on TOEFL Reading, you must know how to approach the passages so that you’re using your time wisely and are clearly comprehending the main points of the text.
There are a few ways you can approach Reading section passages:
Read the entire passage first (recommended)
Skim the passage and then answer the questions
Answer the questions paragraph by paragraph
Read the questions first (not recommended)
In general, the best method is to read the passage in its entirety. If you choose this strategy, spend no more than five minutes reading each passage. Be aware, though, that this method works well only if you’re highly proficient in English.
Ultimately, choose the passage-reading strategy that works best for you. To figure out which one you like the most, try out each of the four strategies above using different Reading practice tests. When finished, go with the strategy that gives you the highest score.
#3: Skip Difficult Questions and Return to Them Later
The Reading format doesn’t require you to answer a question before moving on, so use this feature to your advantage by skipping difficult questions. This way you can keep moving and answering questions on the test, even if you get stuck. You’ll also avoid spending too much time on one difficult question.
Just remember to go back and answer any unanswered questions before time runs out. Even if you have to guess, it’s better to choose a random answer than to choose nothing at all since there are no penalties for wrong answers on the TOEFL.
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TOEFL Exam Pattern: Listening Section
Like Reading, Listening varies in its length and number of questions due to the possibility of getting unscored, experimental questions. This section can range from 60 minutes and 34 questions long to 90 minutes and 51 questions long.
Listening tests you on your English-listening skills. In total, you’ll listen to four to six lectures and two to three conversations. Each lecture lasts three to five minutes and comes with six questions, while each conversation lasts about three minutes and comes with five questions. You will hear each audio clip only once.
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