AN EXCLUSIVE GUIDE BY

Test of English as Foreign TOEFL scores to evaluate

Language (TOEFL) measures
the ability of non-native
speakers of English to use
and understand North
American English as it is
spoken, written and heard
in college and university
settings. TOEFL test is
required for admission at
colleges and universities
where medium of
instruction is English. TOEFL
scores are accepted by over
8,500 colleges, universities
and agencies in more than
130 countries, including
Australia, Canada, UK and
the US. Apart from the
academic purposes, many
government agencies,
scholarship programs, and
certification agencies use
English proficiency.
TOEFL test is conducted
round the year and has
more than 50 test dates
per year. There are around
4,500 TOEFL test centres
in 165 countries. You can
retake the test as many
times as you wish, but to
take a re-test you have to
wait for a 12-day period
after attempting the first
test.
The TOEFL test is developed
and administered by
Educational Testing Service
(ETS), which sets the
questions, conducts the test,
and sends each examinee
the score report.
ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA
There TOEFL exam is
open for all and there
are no specific eligibility
criteria. The only minimum
requirement is that a
candidate should have
passed 10+2 level of a
recognised examination
board. The respective
institutes may have a
different eligibility criteria
but the TOEFL has no
specific criteria of selection.

INSTITUTES ACCEPTING
TOEFL
Click here to see the list of all the institutes across the world, which
accept TOEFL scores for different courses. For Australian and UK visa
requirements, immigration departments use them to issue residential
and work visas. A lot of medical and licensing agencies the world
over use TOEFL scores for professional certification purposes. Some
individuals also use them to measure their progress in learning English.
Universities including the likes of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Oxford, and
Cambridge, all accept TOEFL scores.

2
HOW TO REGISTER
The The candidates have the liberty of taking the exam anytime in the year as
per their convenience. The important thing to note is that the candidates can
reschedule their next attempt only after 31 days of taking the first attempt. A
candidate is only allowed five attempts in one year.
Online – You need to click here and create an online profile. Then you’ll be
required to pay the exam fee. Online registration on the ETS website is the fastest
and easiest method. Through the online method, you can register anytime and on
any day. Be sure to spell your name exactly as it appears on the identification you
will bring on the test day, which for Indian students is their Passport. You will be
required to pay with a credit/debit card.

In person – By mail –
You can register in person at a master Download and print the registration form.
TOEFL Resource Center. Here is the address: Then fill out the form. Spell your name
Prometric exactly as it appears on the identification
2 Floor, DLF Infinity Tower-A you will bring on the test day. Send the
Sector-25, Phase-II form with your payment to the address on
DLF City the form or to the Gurgaon centre address,
Gurgaon - 122002 mentioned above. Forms must be received
Haryana at least four weeks before your test date.

By phone –
Go through the registration form before
you call. Spell your name correctly and
exactly as it appears on your passport. Call
the Regional Registration Center on this
number – 91-124-4147700. Pay with credit/
debit card as directed. Registration closes
seven days before your test date.
TOEFL
TOFEL FEE
The application fee for
TOEFL is $170, which
would roughly translate
to Rs 11,000-11,500.
TEST CENTRES
The TOEFL test dates are subject to change but
usually the test takes place every Saturday and
Sunday at 30 test centres in India. You can retake
the test as many times as you wish, but you
cannot take it more than once in a 12-day period.
TOEFL FEE
ADMIT CARD
The registration number you receive will act
like a kind of admit card. Registration number is
on your Registration Confirmation. Go to your
online profile a day before the test. You will need
to print the Registration Confirmation and bring
it along to the test centre. Test pattern & format

3
 TEST PATTERN & FORMAT
The TOEFL test provides scores in four skill areas — Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing
— along with the total score.
The total score is the sum of the scores of the four skill areas. Scores will be posted online
approximately 10 days after the test date. ETS will send up to four official score reports
directly to the institutions the student selects.

TOEFL FORMAT
SECTION TIME LIMIT QUESTIONS TASKS
Reading 60–80 minutes 36–56 questions Read 3 or 4 passages
from academic texts and
answer questions
Listening 60–90 minutes 34–51 questions Listen to lectures,
classroom discussions and
conversations, and then
answer questions
Break 10 minutes - -
Speaking 20 minutes 6 tasks Express an opinion on
a familiar topic; speak
based on reading and
listening tasks

Writing 50 minutes 2 tasks Write essay responses

based on reading and
listening tasks; support an
opinion in writing

4
TOEFL SCORING • The Reading section is scored by the
computer and the score range is from
For TOEFL, both human raters and
0 to 30. This section has 36–56 tasks
automated scoring methods are
based on reading passages from texts
used. This is done in order to offer a
and answering questions.
complete and accurate picture of the
• The Listening section is scored
candidate’s ability. While automated
by computer with a score range
scoring method has the advantage of
from 0 to 30. This section has
being unbiased, it does not measure
34–51 tasks based on listening to
the effectiveness of the language and
lectures, classroom discussions and
content. Human raters are required
conversations, then answering
to attend to a wider variety of
questions.
features, such as the quality of ideas
• In the Speaking section, all six tasks
and content as well as form.
are rated from 0 to 4. The sum is
converted to a scaled score of 0 to
Here is how section-wise
30. This section is scored by human
scoring is done:
scorers, and they rate responses and
Reading: 0–30
evaluate how well you develop your
Listening: 0–30
topic argument and deliver your
Speaking: 0–30
message in English.
Writing: 0–30
• The Writing section is scored by
evaluating the integrated writing
task for development, grammar,
vocabulary, accuracy and completeness.
Human raters score tests anonymously.
Two tasks are rated from 0 to 5. The
sum is converted to a scaled score of 0
to 30.

TOEFL RESULT
You will receive an email when your scores are available, which would be
approximately 10 days after your test date. You can log in to your TOEFL iBT account
on the TOEFL Registration website to see your scores. Printed score reports will be
mailed approximately 13 days after your test date. Your scores are valid for two
years and can be sent to other higher education institutions during that time.

5
 TOEFL SYLLABUS
READING
COMPREHENSION
In this section, you will read 3-5
passages and answer 12-14 questions
about each passage. The section is
scored based on the number of correct
reading comprehension responses.
Question type: 3–5 passages, 12–14
questions each
Total no. of questions: About 50
Total time: 60–100 minutes
LISTENING
COMPREHENSION
In the test section, you will hear
short conversations as well as long
conversations. After the short
conversation, you will be asked
one question and multiple choices
of answers will be given. You have
to choose one answer. In the long
conversations, you will be asked
multiple questions based on the
conversation.
Question type:
a) 4–6 lectures (3-5 minutes long, about
500-800 words), 6 questions each;
About 30 questions in total
b) 2–3 conversations (about 3 minutes
long, about 12-25 exchanges), 5
questions each; About 12 questions
in total
Total no. of questions: 40+
Total time: 60–90 minutes
6
SPEAKING
For you to earn the highest scores in the
Speaking Section, your responses must
fulfill the demands of the task given with
only minor mistakes or lapses. The test
graders are looking for a highly intelligible
and sustained conversation. There are three
main factors that comprise scoring for the
this section.
Question type:
a) 2 independent tasks (prep time: 15 sec;
response time: 45 sec)
b)2 integrated tasks – Read/Listen/Speak
(prep time: 30 sec; response time: 60 sec)
c) 2 integrated tasks – Listen/Speak (prep
time: 20 sec; response time: 60 sec)
Total no. of questions: 6
Total time: 20 minutes
WRITING
The essay should effectively address
a topic. The response should be well-
organised and well-developed using
relevant explanations and detailed support.
Furthermore, it should also display unity,
progression, and coherence. If you want
to achieve a high writing score, make sure
that you demonstrate syntactic variety
and appropriate word choice with minor
grammatical errors.
Question type:
a) 1 integrated task – Read/Listen/Write (20
minutes) (reading time: 3 min; listening
time: 2 min; writing: 15 min)
b) 1 independent task (30 minutes)
Total no. of questions: 2
Total time: 50 minutes
HOW TO PREPARE
There are two ways students prepare for TOEFL: Self study and
coaching classes. Both these options have unique benefits and no
one method of studying may be considered better than the other.
These two methods can’t be compared as they both serve different
audiences.
If money is a consideration or one is confident of preparing well
without support from a tutor or external supervision, then self-study
may be the better option. You could save money on personal tuitions
and classes, but you need to keep in mind other factors too. To be
able to study on your own effectively, you need a good resource of
books and study material, along with motivation and self-discipline.
On the other hand, if time is a constraint and one feels the need for
professional guidance to gear up for the test, then coaching classes
are the better option. You will have access to a structured resource
of study material, and will have a team of experts guiding you. Your
time will be better managed as being regular to classes will become
part of your routine. Moreover, being around other students will
increase your motivation levels.
To choose the best method of study, you first need to look at your
criteria and decide accordingly.
Sample questions
The official website, ETS, has provided sample question paper in
both Word and PDF format. Note that these files do not contain
audio directions, which are essential for the Listening and Speaking
sections. To download the interactive TOEFL iBT test sample questions
with audio directions, Click Here to visit the page. The download is a
74MB .EXE file.

7
 SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
The official website, ETS, has
provided sample question paper
in both Word and PDF format.
Note that these files do not
contain audio directions, which
are essential for the Listening
and Speaking sections. To
download the interactive TOEFL
iBT test sample questions with
audio directions, Click Here to
visit the page. The download is
a 74MB .EXE file.

You will require to take TOEFL if you are considering:

MBA MS B.E./B.Tech

Did you find this guide useful?

We would love to hear from you. Write to us at
studyabroad@shiksha.com