TOEFL Syllabus and Pattern | TOEFL iBT Pattern for Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking

Get here complete TOEFL Syllabus and Pattern for all test sections like Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. TOEFL iBT Syllabus and TOEFL iBT Pattern is given below.

TOEFL Syllabus and Pattern: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is administered by ETS (Educational Testing Service) and is available at more than 4,500 locations in 165 countries. It is a widely-taken test, with TOEFL scores being accepted by over 9,000 colleges, agencies and other institutions in over 130 countries.

TOEFL iBT (Internet Based Test) has a wide outreach in terms of universities and agencies within and outside India. In ETS terms, The TOEFL iBT test “measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.”

TOEFL Syllabus and Pattern:

TOEFL iBT is a 120-mark test divided into four parts (each of 30 marks). Get here TOEFL Syllabus and Pattern in four sections. These are:

  • Reading
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Writing

Though there is no specific prescribed TOEFL iBT syllabus per section, the Reading Section contains 3 or 4 readings from introductory university textbooks and there are 12-14 questions per reading, pertaining to main ideas/key fact, references, inferences, vocabulary, excerpts etc. The passages cover a variety of different subjects. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the topic of a passage. All the information you need to answer the questions will be included in the passage.

The Listening Section will consist of 4-6 lectures plus 2-3 conversations, each lasting 3-5 minutes. The questions typically ask about the main idea and supporting details. Some questions ask about a speaker’s purpose or attitude. You are allowed to make notes while listening to the conversations/lectures. Notes will not be scored.

The Speaking Section consists of 6 questions/tasks. In questions 1 and 2, your response will be scored on your ability to speak clearly and coherently about familiar topics. In questions 3 and 4, you would first read a short text and then listen to a talk on the same topic. You would have to combine appropriate information from the text and the talk to provide a complete answer. Your response would be scored on your ability to accurately convey information, and to speak clearly and coherently. In questions 5 and 6, in an actual test, you would listen to part of a conversation or lecture. Then, you would be asked a question about what you have heard. Your response would be scored on your ability to accurately convey information, and to speak clearly and coherently.

The Writing Section will consist of 2 writing tasks. In the first writing task, you will be required to a read a text and then listen to a conversation/lecture. After that you’ll be asked a question and you’ll have 20 minutes to write your response. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. In the second writing task,  you will demonstrate your ability to write an essay in response to a question that asks you to express and support your opinion about a topic or issue.

Section Time Limit Questions Tasks
Reading 60–80 minutes 36–56 questions Read 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions.texts and answer questions.
Listening 60–90 minutes 34–51 questions Listen to lectures, classroom discussions and conversations, then answer questions.discussions and conversations,then answer questions.
Break 10 minutes
Speaking 20 minutes 6 tasks Express an opinion on a familiar topic; speak based on readingand listening tasks.
Writing 50 minutes 2 tasks Write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks;support an opinion in writing.

Also Check:

What is a Good TOEFL Score?

Different universities demand varying test score ranges as admission criteria. Minimum overall TOEFL iBT score required for admission is 79 out of 120 in less known universities. Good universities may ask for a score of 102 or higher.

Ensure that you do not confuse between TOEFL iBT test score and TOEFL PBT (paper based test) score while submitting your score to the university/organization.

For a broad overview of sample questions, check this link.

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