TOEFL iBT Outline and Strategies

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TOEFL iBT OUTLINE AND STRATEGIES
READING
Quick facts:
35 texts = 60100 min./20 min. per passage.  Each passage has 1214
questions.
Readings are of an academic nature, from science to art and literature.
Strategies:
Do not take more than 5 minutes to read the passage.  Either read fast or
skim/scan.
Always be aware of the time.
Make sure you answer all of the questions.
Skip the difficult questions and come back to them later, but MAKE SURE
YOU ANSWER EVERYTHING.
Guess the meanings of the words from context.  If that doesn’t work, think
of a similar word in Spanish / your mother tongue.
Figure out which reading subjects are hardest for you and concentrate on
those types of readings when you are practicing, looking for extra reading
material online.
Nova Language uses Conduit Toolbar to feed handpicked quality online
resources. Our toolbar can be downloaded from http://www.nlc.cl/novaonline.php
LISTENING
Quick facts:
23 conversations = 8 – 12 minutes total—4 minutes per conversation and 5
questions per conversation.
46 lectures = 2030 minutes—5 minutes per lecture and 6 questions per lecture.
6090 minutes to complete this section.
Strategies:
28 minutes are devoted just to listening.
That means you have 32 min. to answer 34 questions. Take no more and
1 min. per question. (For some questions you will hear part of the

conversation or lecture again.  These questions, therefore, take a little
longer).  The clock starts when the first conversation starts and from there
until the end of the section you need to budget your time so you can
answer all of the questions.
Use tree diagrams to take notes.  Make sure you look at the screen when
you take notes because it gives important information on the screen,
especially regarding vocabulary words that you might not have heard
before.  The listening questions must be answered in order. You cannot
skip or go back and change an answer.
If you had a long reading section (five readings) you will have a short
listening section (60 min.)

SPEAKING
Quick facts:
QUESTION
TYPE
READING
INPUT
AUDIO
INPUT
PROMPT PREP
TIME
SPEAKING
TIME
Q1 x x
A
descriptive
question:
familiar
topic
15 sec 45 sec
Q2 x x
A paired
option
15 sec 45 sec
Q3
Reading
campus
situation
Conversation
campus
situation
Question 30 sec 60 sec
Q4
Reading –
academic
topic
Listening –
academic
lecture
Q5 x
Conversation
campus
situation
Q6 x
Listening –
academic
lecture
Questions 1 and 2 are independent with 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds
to respond. Give your opinion. READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY and
make sure you give details and examples.  MAKE SURE YOU ANSWER THE
QUESTION. Generally these questions have three parts—stating your position,
backing it up with two quick reasons, and then giving a final example.
Sometimes for these two questions it’s easiest to take a position not based on
you own personal belief, but rather on what the average person would think and
why.  That way you keep it simple and clear and don’t get too philosophical.  It’s
your choice.
Questions 3 and 4 are integrated, which means that you read a passage (45
sec.) then it disappears and you never see it again.  After, you listen to a related
conversation or lecture and then must relate what you heard and read somehow.
The lecture elaborates much more on the reading.  You simply need to restate, in
one sentence, the basic information from the reading when you begin your
response. Then you provide an answer to the question according to the
information provided in the listening.  Question 3 is about a campus conversation

and question 4 is academic.  Question 3 tends to be easier for students and 4
more difficult because a professor is lecturing on a subject in question 4.
Question 4 is similar to the Integrated Essay you will later have to write.  You
have 30 sec. to prepare and 1 min. to respond for both questions.
Questions 5 and 6 are also integrated, but just listening.  The listening for these
questions, however, is longer than in questions 3 and 4. Question 5 is a
conversation and YOU MUST GIVE YOUR OPINION. Finally, question 6 is
academic/no opinion.  You have 20 sec. to prepare and 1 min. to respond.
Strategies:
Take good notes during the listening parts for the integrated speaking.  Generally
there are not more than three points you need to be aware of in each question so
always try to actively listen for three points/reasons, even though sometimes
there may only be two principal points.  Missing a key point automatically brings
your score down, even if your response is nearly perfect in delivery and language
use.
You will be graded on Delivery, Language Use, and Topic Development.  1/3 of
the grade is delivery which primarily focuses on proper pronunciation, intonation
and fluidity.  Language use not only means correct grammar, but it also means
proper word choice, automaticity, variety of word choice and complexity of overall
language. The last 1/3 of the grade is topic development which refers to the
clarity of your ideas, if they make sense, proper transitioning and organization
and, very importantly, IF YOU ANSWER THE PRECISE QUESTION ASKED
AND ANSWER ALL OF IT.  And remember that your grade is not just grammar;
that is only 1/3 of the grade.
Speak clearly, develop your ideas, but within the ability of your English.  If you try
to make your ideas sound very scientific or complicated, it often is hard to
understand.
Familiarizing yourself with this section and then mastering is, in our experience,
most difficult for the majority of students for two reasons.  First of all, the time
allotted to answer everything you have to answer is not a lot, even for a native
English speaker.  The second reason is that you are speaking into a machine
that provides no feedback. Therefore, improving this section requires an
instructor to guide verbal frameworks with which to answer each question and to
analyze the response with the student. Generally there are two types of
students.  The first never corrects him/herself and needs to be more conscious of
the mistakes s/he is making.  The other is the student who hypercorrects and in
doing so makes it very difficult to understand what s/he is saying and has trouble
completely answering the question.  With a teacher, the student’s specific needs
will be addressed.  But you must record all of your speaking practice questions
and return to them.  It is not enough to just go over them once with a teacher.

You need to listen to your mistakes again, as a way to internalize the corrections
to the errors you have made.

WRITING
Quick facts:
Two essays: Integrated Writing Task (20 min.) and Independent Writing Task (30
min.)
Integrated Task (Report Writing)
You will have 20 minutes to write 150225 words. You get 3 minutes to read a
passage.  Find the three main ideas and take notes.  But the reading reappears
so your notes don’t have to be great.  Then, you listen to a lecture that is related
to the reading (either by contrasting, casting doubt or adding information to the
reading).
Strategies for the integrated task
Take good notes on the lecture and try to find three ideas that relate to the three
main ideas of the reading. Take 23 minutes to make a very brief outline to help
organize the essay.  Keep an eye on the clock.
Type your essay right in your outline.  Then, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT,
leave 2 minutes to proof read it for mistakes.  Use variety when writing.  Be clear
and don’t write sentences with many commas in them.  Also remember to use
transitions.  However, only use the transitions that you know.  Don’t guess.  It
would be better not to use a transition than to guess and use an incorrect one.
This essay does not want your opinion and does not want to know what you
think.  Finally, remember to give credit to the sources, using expressions such as
“according to the author in the text”, or “the speaker in the lecture claims that”,
etc.
Listen closely to the listening for 3 key concepts and then return to the reading
and see which points in the reading correspond. Write a 23 sentence
introduction. The first sentence is a general paraphrasing of the topic being
discussed in both sources (common topic). The second sentence relates the
reading to the lecture as indicated by the question.  The second paragraph then
begins “Firstly,” and articulately speaks about both the reading and the lecture
mentioning both (either the “reading” and “lecture” or the “passage” and the
“professor”). You must mention them both in this paragraph. The third
paragraph begins “Secondly,” and same is true as for the second paragraph. The
last paragraph is not a conclusion and begins “Finally” and compares the
readings and the lecture for the third time.  It is important that you mention the
“reading” and the “lecture” explicitly in all 4 paragraphs of the essay.
Independent Task (Essay Writing)

Give your opinion. You must write 300 words minimum. Read the question
carefully and make sure you answer the question.  Take a position.  Don’t try to
answer both sides. Use an outline again to decide what your two main reasons
for your opinion are.  Then add the supporting details or reasons for each of the
two main reasons. Make sure you have relevant examples for each reason.  The
conclusion should not discuss new information.  In your conclusion make sure
you restate your thesis (your opinion) and your arguments. You can also add a
recommendation, but make sure it is based on your arguments. No new ideas go
here, nor should you add new details or examples.
Strategies for the independent task
This is also a 4 paragraph essay.  First, your introductory paragraph starts by
giving a nice broad introduction to the topic and perhaps how it is related to
human life in general.  Then you give your specific opinion, or position, about the
topic saying “I strongly believe…In my opinion…I adamantly feel…I truly
think…etc.” After stating your position clearly you then need to finish this
paragraph with a sentence giving your two general reasons that support your
position.
The next two paragraphs are about your two respective reasons for your opinion.
Sentence 1 in Paragraph 2 restates your first reason in a slightly different way.
Sentence 2 is further explanation of this reason…more details, in other words.
Sentence three and four consist of elaborating a relevant example that supports
your reason. Many times an example from you life or about your society is
sufficient.  And you can make this example up.  It doesn’t need to be true, just
believable. Paragraph 3 is the same format as paragraph 2 and explains your
second reason that supports your opinion. Your last paragraph is your
conclusion.  You are simply restating your position and your two reasons, but in a
different way than you did in the introduction.  Your conclusion should start with
something like: “In closing, for the reasons mentioned above it is my
opinion/conviction that…”  Do not put any new information in the conclusion.
Tips
Remember to plan your essay in about 2 or 3 minutes. This way, when
writing you will only be focused on HOW you write and not on WHAT you’ll
write next.
After writing your introduction, you can immediately you can write your
conclusion.
Leave time to proof read! (2 minutes). You can increase your writing
score by 34 tenths of a point just through proof reading and catching
subject/verb agreement mistakes, pronoun mistakes, collocation mistakes,
SPELLING MISTAKES, irregular verb mistakes, among the more
important mistakes.

Sometimes for this essay it’s easiest to take a position not based on your
own personal belief, rather on that of what the average person would think
and why. That way you keep it simple and clear and don’t get too
philosophical.
Remember that similar to the speaking section, both essays are graded on
Development, Organization and Language Use. And your scores on
these essays are averaged together. If you know you didn’t do the best
on the integrated writing, concentrate extra hard on the independent
essay.
GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR THE TAKING THE TEST:
Read the questions carefully to know how to answer them precisely.
Make sure you answer the questions! (you won’t be penalized for wrong
answers)
Always be aware of the amount of time you have left.
Focus on what you are doing—the test is reasonable so you will finish it.
Practice substantially prior to taking the test and always time yourself for
all tasks.
In order to gain all the stamina you need for the test, practice mockup full
tests regularly.
GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR PREPARING FOR THE TEST
Keep a vocabulary journal with the following sections:
Words that you always spell wrong on your essays, words that you frequently
pronounce wrong on the speaking section, transition words that you need for the
essays such as although, therefore, on the other hand, likewise, etc. Words
according to topic that are new to you and you did not know when you did a
speaking or essay section.
You can keep a word list in Excel (recommended) with the following columns
Word Related
topic
(astronomy,
botany,
math, etc)
Context
(sentence
where
lexical
item was
found)
Definition
(Eng)
Part of
Speech
(noun,
verb,
adjective,
adverb)
Function
( ie,
conjuction)
Spanish
(ONLY if
necessary)
1
2

Start reading all different kinds of material, newspapers, books,
magazines, and the internet.
You will eventually need stamina to take this 4 hour test! When practicing
try to do at least two sections at a time and not each section separately.
Ideally you will eventually be doing many full tests, without interruption or
breaks, before the official test.
Work with a good grammar book. It is not sufficient to simply keep
practicing and practicing just TOEFL oriented exercises.  You will quickly
hit a wall if you don’t work with a good grammar book such as grammar in
use or grammarway.
Work with the texts you read and the listenings you listen to in such a way
that you explore them in depth after practicing your speed.  In other words,
don’t just take a practice test or quiz, evaluate your final score, and then
move on.  You need to return to examine the new words and grammatical
constructions in the readings and listenings in detail.  If you do not, it is
likely that you will not do much better on the next practice quiz or test you
do.
By Eli Trowbridge etrowbridge@gmail.com
TOEFL iBT & EFL/ESL Trainer – Nova Language Consultants
Edited by Mauricio Miraglia mmiraglia@nlc.cl
TOEFL iBT Teacher Trainer – Nova Language Consultants
March 2010
Santiago de Chile
Nova Language Consultants
Leading School in International Exams Preparation since 1993
www.nlc.cl
Santiago de Chile
Versalles 3069, Las Condes.
Tel: (562) 2429504
Email: admin@nlc.cl
If you wish to use this document, cite the source. Feel free to email us for further inquiries.

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