TOEFL iBT
The TOEFL iBT measures English proficiency for academic settings across reading, listening, speaking, and writing, widely required for university admission.
Difficulty
Moderate
Popularity
66%
Past questions
6
Study tips
10
Key Topics
Exam Format & Dates
Year-round (frequent dates)
~2 hours
0–120 (30 per section)
80+ average | 100+ for top universities
| Section | Duration | Content | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 35 minutes | 20 questions | 0–30 |
| Listening | 36 minutes | 28 questions | 0–30 |
| Speaking | 16 minutes | 4 tasks | 0–30 |
| Writing | 29 minutes | 2 tasks | 0–30 |
Exam Breakdown & Insights
Difficulty · Challenging
Popularity score
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Study Tips
- 1
Learn the marking rubrics for writing and speaking tasks so you can target the criteria directly.
- 2
Practice a little every day — 20 minutes daily beats a 3-hour session once a week for language retention.
- 3
Use spaced-repetition flashcards for vocabulary, and always learn words inside full example sentences.
- 4
Take full-length, timed practice tests under real conditions — stamina and pacing matter as much as content.
- 5
Review every wrong answer until you can explain why the right answer is right and yours was wrong, then log the mistake.
- 6
Learn the recurring question types — the SAT and ACT reuse the same patterns every administration, so familiarity is free points.
- 7
Master pacing: know your per-question time budget and practice skip-and-return so you never leave easy points behind.
- 8
Use aggressive elimination — rule out wrong choices on every question before you commit to an answer.
- 9
Attack your weakest section with focused drills between full tests; a few points per section compound fast into a big composite gain.
- 10
Simulate test day exactly — same start time, same breaks, no phone — so the real thing feels routine.
Past Exam Questions
Write a short structured response on the theme of Academic Reading, using a range of tenses and topic-specific vocabulary.
Read/listen to a passage about Academic Listening and answer comprehension questions in the target language, justifying your answers with evidence from the text.
Give a presentation and respond to questions on Integrated Speaking, expressing and defending your own opinion with accurate, varied language.
Write a short structured response on the theme of Independent Speaking, using a range of tenses and topic-specific vocabulary.
Read/listen to a passage about Integrated Writing and answer comprehension questions in the target language, justifying your answers with evidence from the text.
Give a presentation and respond to questions on Academic Writing, expressing and defending your own opinion with accurate, varied language.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ✕
Leaving listening practice to the last minute — it is the slowest skill to improve.
- ✕
Learning vocabulary in isolation rather than inside full sentences.
- ✕
Losing easy marks on agreement rules: genders, endings, and accents.
Official Resources
Free, official study material for TOEFL iBT — always start with the source your exam board publishes.
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