TOEFL iBT® Exam Pattern and Syllabus 2025

Feature

Details

Official Website

www.etsindia.org/toefl-ibt

Exam Mode

Computer-Based Test (at Test Center or at Home)

Number of Sections

4

Exam Duration

2 hrs

Skills Measured

Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing

Overall Score Range

0 - 120 (Each section ranging from 0-30)

Score Validity

2 years

Factors

Overview

Objective

The primary objective of the Reading section is to measure the candidate's proficiency in understanding written English material commonly encountered in university-level studies.

Number of Questions

20 questions

Passage Types

Excerpts from academic texts related to various disciplines such as natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities

Question Formats

Multiple-choice Questions, Summary Completion, and Identifying Information, etc.

Skills Assessed

• Comprehension: Understanding the main ideas, supporting details, and implied meanings in the passages.
  
  
• Vocabulary: Recognising the meaning of words and phrases in context.
  
  
• Inference: Making connections between information, identifying the writer's perspective, and understanding the organisation of the text.
  
  
• Critical Thinking: Analysing the text's structure, purpose, and argumentative techniques.
  
  

Duration

approximately 35 minutes

Score Range

0 - 30

Factors

Overview

Objective

The primary aim of the Listening section is to gauge the candidate's capability to comprehend audio heard commonly on topics of academic settings, including lectures and conversations.

Number of Audio Clips

5 audio clips (3 lectures and 2 conversations)

Audio Types

It comprises various audio clips, including lectures and conversations.

Question Formats

Multiple-choice Questions, Summarising information, etc.

Skills Assessed

• Comprehension: Understanding the main ideas, supporting details, and specific information conveyed in the audio clips.
• Vocabulary and Context: Identifying the meaning of words and phrases based on the context of the audio.
• Inference: Making connections between pieces of information, and understanding speakers' attitudes, purposes, and implied meanings.

Duration

approximately 36 minutes

Score Range

0 - 30

Factors

Overview

Objective

The primary objective of this section is to assess the test-taker's ability to communicate effectively in English within academic settings.

Number of Tasks

4 (1 Independent Task and 3 Integrated Tasks)

Types of Tasks

• Independent Task: It focuses on individual expression and opinion. Test-takers are prompted to share personal viewpoints, experiences, or preferences without relying on external academic content.
  
  
• Integrated Task: It requires test-takers to combine multiple language skills, such as reading, listening, and speaking, to respond to the academic content that is provided.
  
  

Question Formats

Listen and Answer; Listen, Read and then Answer; Express an Opinion

Skills Assessed

• Pronunciation: Clarity, accuracy, and intonation of speech.
  
  
• Fluency: Smooth and coherent speech without undue hesitation.
  
  
• Vocabulary Usage: Range and appropriateness of vocabulary.
  
  
• Grammar and Syntax: Correct grammatical structures and sentence construction.
  
  
• Content and Organisation: Relevance, coherence, and organisation of ideas.
  
  

Duration

approximately 16 minutes

Score Range

0 - 30

Factors

Overview

Objective

The primary objective of the Writing section is to assess the test-taker's capability to convey ideas clearly, coherently, and with precision in written English, demonstrating skills essential for academic and professional environments.

Number of Tasks

2 (1 Integrated Task and 1 Writing for an Academic Discussion Task)

Types of Tasks

• Integrated Task: It requires test-takers to combine multiple language skills, such as reading, listening, and speaking, to respond to the academic content that is provided.
  
  
• Writing for an Academic Discussion Task: It requires the test taker to write an opinion in response to the academic discussion provided.
  
  

Question Formats

Reading passages and related lectures, Write opinions for Academic Discussion

Skills Assessed

• Accurate development: The raters are looking for how well you're able to select important information from the lecture, and then clearly present it in relation to the relevant information from the reading.
  
  
• Organisation: This basically means the reader can read your essay from beginning to end without becoming confused.
  
  
• Language use: Raters look for things like sentence structure, word choice, and vocabulary. It's also important that your use of grammar is strong and consistent, though it doesn't have to be perfect to get a top score.
  
  

Duration

approximately 29 minutes

Score Range

0 - 30

Section

Syllabus Covered

Reading

• Academic texts from various disciplines, including Social Sciences, Biology, Psychology, History, etc.
  
  
• Academic text types include passages from textbooks, articles, essays, research studies, and lecture transcripts.
  
  

Listening

• Conversations and lectures in academic settings, covering topics from the same disciplines as the reading section.
  
  
• The audio types include conversations between students and professors, classroom discussions, academic lectures, guest speakers, etc.
  
  

Speaking

Independent task

• Expressing opinions on familiar topics
  
  

Integrated tasks

• Summarising information from reading and listening passages
  
  
• Explaining connections between ideas
  
  

Writing

Independent task

• Writing an essay that summarises information from a reading passage and provides a relevant opinion.
  
  

Writing for an Academic Discussion Task

• Writing an opinion on an Academic Discussion.