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1. The Format of the TOEFL ® iBT
2. What Is New about the TOEFL ® iBT?
(1) The TOEFL ® iBT is delivered through the Internet in secure test centers around the world at the same time.
(2) It tests all four language skills and is taken in the order of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing, with a 10-minute break in the middle.
(3) The test is 3 hours long, and all of the four test sections will be completed in one day.
(4) Note-taking is allowed throughout the entire test, including the Reading section. At the end of the test, all notes are collected and destroyed at the test center.
(5) In the Listening section, one lecture may be spoken with a British or Australian accent.
(6) There are integrated tasks requiring test takers to combine more than one language skill in the Speaking and Writing sections.
(7) In the Speaking section, test takers wear headphones and speak into a microphone when they respond. The responses are recorded and transmitted to ETS’s Online Scoring Network.
(8) In the Writing section, test takers must type their responses. Handwriting is not possible.
(9) Official scores are reported both online and by mail. All score reports sent after August 1, 2019 automatically include MyBest™ scores along with the traditional scores from your selected test date. This new feature combines your best scores for each section from all of your valid scores in the last two years to give you a way to show your best overall test performance.
The Reading section of the TOEFL ® iBT measures test takers’ ability to understand university-level academic texts. This section has 3~4 passages, and the length of each passage is about 700 words. Some passages may have underlined words or phrases in shade. Test takers can click on them to see a definition or explanation. Test takers have to answer 10 questions per passage. 54~72 minutes are given to complete this section, including the time spent reading the passages and answering the questions.
1. Types of Reading Passages
(1) Exposition – Material that provides an explanation of a topic
(2) Argumentation – Material that presents a point of view about a topic and provides evidence to support it
(3) Historical narrative – An account of a past event or of a person’s life, narrated or written by someone else
Basic Comprehension Questions
(1) Vocabulary (1~2 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you to identify the meanings of words and phrases in the reading passage.
(2) Reference (0~2 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you to identify the referential relationship between the words in the passage.
(3) Factual Information (2~5 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you to identify specific information that is explicitly stated in the passage.
(4) Negative Factual Information (0~2 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you to check what information is NOT mentioned in the passage.
(5) Sentence Simplification (0~1 question per set)
_ This type of question asks you to choose the sentence that best paraphrases the essential information in the highlighted sentence.
Inference Questions
(6) Inference Questions (1~2 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you to identify an idea that is not explicitly stated in the passage.
(7) Rhetorical Purpose Questions (1~2 questions per set)
_ This type of question asks you why the author uses particular words, phrases, or sentences.
(8) Insert Text Questions (1 question per set)
_ This type of question provides an example sentence and asks you to decide where the best place for that sentence would be in the passage.
Reading to Learn Questions
(9) Prose Summary (1 question per set)
_ This type of question asks you to complete a summary chart with major ideas from the passage.
_ This question is worth up to 2 points, and partial credit is given.
_ This type of question does not occur with a Fill in a Table question in a same passage.
(10) Fill in a Table (1 question per set)
_ This type of question asks you to identify and organize the major ideas of the passage into table categories.
_ This question is worth up to 2 points for tables with 4 correct answers and 3 points for tables with 5 correct answers. Partial credit is given.
_ This type of question does not occur with a Prose Summary question in one passage.
2. Question Formats
There are three question formats in the Reading section:
(1) Four-choice questions with a single answer in traditional multiple-choice format
(2) Four-choice questions with a single answer that ask test takers to insert a sentence where it fits best in a passage
(3) “Reading to learn” questions with more than four choices and more than one answer