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Practice literature for the TOEFL iBT

Practice literature for the TOEFL iBT: how the test is built, what each section really asks of you, and full original practice material with answers explained — two reading passages, two listening sets, four speaking tasks and both writing tasks, with the rubrics examiners actually use.

🧭 Start here📖 Reading🎧 Listening🎙️ Speaking✍️ Writing📝 Words

This is independent study material written for this site. It is not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by ETS, who own and administer the TOEFL test. Every passage, lecture and question here was written for these pages; none is taken from a real test. Formats change — check the official ETS website for the current structure and fees before you book.

📋 What the test is

The TOEFL iBT measures academic English for university admission. It is taken on a computer at a test centre or at home, takes about two hours, and is scored 0–30 in each of four sections for a total out of 120. Scores are valid for two years.

🎯 What score you need

Most universities in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and many other countries accept it. Typical requirements: around 60–70 for a foundation or community college, 79–90 for most undergraduate courses, 90–100 for competitive universities, and 100+ for the most selective. Always check the specific course page — the number is set by the department, not by the country.

The four sections

📖 ReadingAbout 35 minutes

Two academic passages of roughly 700 words each, with ten questions per passage. The subjects are university-level but no outside knowledge is needed — everything required is in the passage.

What it asks → 🎧 ListeningAbout 36 minutes

Two or three academic lectures (some with student discussion) and one or two campus conversations. You hear each recording once, may take notes throughout, and see the questions only afterwards.

What it asks → 🎙️ SpeakingAbout 16 minutes, four tasks

Task 1 is independent — your own opinion, 15 seconds to prepare and 45 to speak. Tasks 2, 3 and 4 are integrated: you read, or listen, or both, and then summarise in 60 seconds with 20 or 30 seconds to prepare.

What it asks → ✍️ WritingAbout 29 minutes, two tasks

Task 1 is Integrated: read a passage for three minutes, hear a lecture that challenges it, then write 150–225 words in 20 minutes explaining how the lecture responds to the reading. Task 2 is Writing for an Academic Discussion: a professor's question and two students' replies, and you have 10 minutes to contribute at least 100 words of your own.

What it asks →

An eight-week plan

  1. Eight weeks out — find your baseline. Take one full practice test under real conditions: one sitting, no pauses, headphones on, a timer running. The score matters less than the pattern of where you lose marks. Write that pattern down; it is your syllabus.
  2. Weeks 7–5 — build the slow skills. Reading speed and vocabulary cannot be crammed. Read one academic article a day in English — science journalism is ideal — and keep a list of every unfamiliar word with the sentence you met it in. Listen to one lecture a day with notes, then summarise it aloud in sixty seconds.
  3. Weeks 4–3 — drill the templates. Speaking and writing both reward having a structure ready. Practise each of the four speaking tasks until you never spend preparation time deciding how to organise. Write four integrated essays and four discussion posts, strictly timed.
  4. Week 2 — full tests. Two complete tests under exam conditions, at the same time of day as your real appointment. Fatigue in the last section is a real and trainable problem.
  5. Final week — taper. Light review, vocabulary lists, and no new material. Confirm your identity document, your test centre and your start time. Sleep is worth more than another practice set.
  6. Throughout — record yourself speaking. Most candidates never hear themselves and never discover that they speed up when nervous, or trail off at forty seconds. Three recordings a week fix more than three hours of reading about technique.
Ask GuruAcharya Samayeshwar