TOEFL exam pattern comprises English reading, writing, speaking, and listening. TOEFL Reading and listening section consists of MCQs and total number of MCQs in these two sections is 58-79. The tasks of TOEFL writing section are descriptive. In the speaking section, the candidates need to provide short to long answers to the questions asked. The total duration of the TOEFL exam is around 3 hours. TOEFL measures the candidate’s performance by mixing the four distinctive language skills through:
- Reading a passage, listening to a recording/lecture, and responding by speaking to a specific question;
- Listening to a recording/lecture and responding by writing the answer to a specific question;
- Reading a passage, listening to a recording/lecture, and responding by writing to a specific question.
As TOEFL is a language proficiency test, mostly the ETS TOEFL measures the language skills of the candidates through the following given TOEFL exam pattern as per sections below :
TOEFL Reading
In TOEFL Reading, candidates will have to read 3-4 passages of 700 words and answer 30-40 questions that include 10 types of questions. The TOEFL reading section is intended to evaluate candidates’ reading and understanding abilities. The reading passages in the TOEFL cover a variety of different subjects. Candidates get 54 to 72 minutes to solve the TOEFL reading passages. This section is scored on a range of 0 – 30.
TOEFL Writing
The TOEFL Writing section comprises two tasks – TOEFL integrated and TOEFL independent tasks. The duration of this section is 50 minutes and the candidates need to write 500-600 words compositely in two writing tasks. TOEFL writing is the last section of the TOEFL exam pattern and is the hardest one as well since candidates are simultaneously tested on their listening, speaking, and reading skills. The raw score range of TOEFL writing is 0-5 and is again converted to a scale of 0-30.
TOEFL Listening
TOEFL Listening section there are basically two aspects – lectures and conversations. After each conversation or lecture, there is a set of questions asking about the information that was being presented. Candidates will get 20 minutes to answer each set of questions. This section includes 4-6 academic lecture excerpts each 3-5 minutes in length and 2-3 conversations on a variety of general topics relevant to university life.
TOEFL Speaking
In TOEFL Speaking section, comprises one independent and three integrated speaking tasks. There are one independent task and 3 integrated tasks. TOEFL Speaking is measured on a range of 0 – 30. There is a total of 6 questions, the first two are about familiar topics and the rest are lectures, short readings, and conversations.
| Sections |
Time Duration |
No. of Questions |
Details |
| Reading |
60-80 minutes |
36-56 questions |
3-4 reading passages to answer questions |
| Listening |
60-90 minutes |
34-51 questions |
Audio clips of 4-6 short lectures and 2-3 long conversations |
| Break |
10 minutes |
– |
– |
| Speaking |
20 minutes |
6 Tasks |
Need to speak on familiar topics or any academic-related issues |
| Writing |
50 minutes |
2 Tasks |
Articulate opinion, logic, and argument after a comparison between a reading passage and classroom lecture |
TOEFL Reading Pattern
In the TOEFL test pattern, the reading section appears at first. The main focus of the TOEFL reading is assessing how capable the candidate is in understanding English and also provide an accurate response to it.
- TOEFL test pattern of reading is related to academic study materials;
- 3-4 reading passages of around 700 words is provided as prompts;
- 10 questions will be asked from each passage
- Time allotted for the TOEFL iBT pattern of reading is 54 – 72 minutes
- Excerpts derived from university-level textbooks
- TOEFL reading passages cover various subjects
- Scores will be given in raw points and later will be converted to a scale of 30
TOEFL Listening Pattern
Since listening is one of the most significant skills required to reside abroad, TOEFL listening concentrates on evaluating the aspirant’s ability to understand not only the English language but also the different accents used across the globe. Universities will have lectures, workplaces will require constant communication – TOEFL listening measures every aspect while taking the test. With proper TOEFL Listening Preparation Tips, candidates can easily score above 25 on the scale of 30.
The TOEFL new exam pattern of listening has two categories – Lectures and Conversations:
- 3 – 4 lectures having 3 – 5 minutes duration accompanied by 6 questions per lecture;
- 2 -3 conversations with 2 speakers, each having 3 minus duration accompanied by 5 questions per conversation;
More points to be noted about the TOEFL new pattern of listening are:
- The total time period is 60-90 minutes;
- While playing audio clips, speakers of audio will appear on the screen
- The test taker can find specific term written on-screen taken from audio clip
- Test takers can also hear different accents of English in audio clips
- The listening score will be calculated as the total of raw points later it will be scored on a scale of 0-30.
TOEFL Speaking Pattern
While attending a lecture, enquiring about a topic, or presenting a PPT, speaking in English becomes the most essential skill and the TOEFL speaking test assesses the necessary skills to ensure fluency. The main motive of the TOEFL speaking pattern is determining the candidate’s convenience in speaking English in educational instances. Experts suggest to get a hold of TOEFL Speaking Topics from latest years to understand the question format.
TOEFL Writing Pattern
To excel in the university, or workplace writing a proper answer or report is a necessity. English-speaking nations are very strict about English writing as well. Therefore, the TOEFL writing pattern places all its focuses on not only testing through an essay but also similar cross-functional tasks like integrated writing.
