TOEFL iBT case studies
TOEFL iBT · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The TOEFL iBT test is ETS's academic English proficiency credential, used by universities and other institutions to judge whether a non-native speaker can handle coursework taught in English. It is aimed primarily at applicants to English-medium programs, but anyone who needs documented proof of academic English can sit it. The TOEFL iBT case studies are 5 cases and about 3,290 words.
1Both Answers Are True: Separating Content From Function
Priya has finished six practice Reading sets. On factual-information items she is at 91%; on rhetoric-purpose items ('Why does the author mention X?') she is at 38%.
671 words, about 3 min2Six Minutes, Four Items: Triage at the End of a Reading Section
Marcus is at question 26 of 30 with 6 minutes 10 seconds left in the Reading section. Four items remain: a vocabulary-in-context item ('sanction'), a negative-factual item ('all of the following are mentioned EXCEPT'), a prose-summary item worth 2 points (partial credit for 2 of 3 correct), and an inference item about the author's attitude.
649 words, about 3 min3Transcribing Instead of Listening: Notes That Miss the Pivot
During a five-minute lecture on Roman concrete, Dana writes 41 lines of notes. Thirty-two of them are full sentences copied nearly verbatim, mostly about the composition of pozzolana ash.
657 words, about 3 min4Ten Minutes, 215 Words, No Engagement: The Discussion Post
A Writing for an Academic Discussion prompt asks whether a city should fund free public Wi-Fi downtown or subsidize home broadband for low-income households. Two classmates have posted: Ji-woo argues that subsidized home broadband matters because students study at night when libraries are closed; Rafael argues public Wi-Fi reaches people who cannot afford any connection at all, including the unhoused.
663 words, about 3 min5Forty-Five Seconds, Eighteen Wasted: The Preamble Problem in Speaking
On a 45-second independent Speaking response, Elena speaks 128 words. Her first 18 seconds describe her high school's recycling program; her actual position ('schools should require an environmental science course') does not appear until 0:19.
650 words, about 3 min