TOEFL iBT flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Prose Summary Question

Six answer choices, choose three that express the passage's main ideas. Worth up to two points; wrong choices are minor details or distortions of the passage.

Negative Factual Question

Asks which option is NOT stated in the passage. Three choices are verifiable in the text; the correct answer is either contradicted or never mentioned.

Vocabulary Question

Tests a word as used in one sentence. The correct option preserves the sentence's meaning there, not the word's most common dictionary definition.

Sentence Simplification Item

Four restatements of a complex sentence. The correct one keeps the original's core meaning and logical relationship while dropping minor details and examples.

Insert Text Question

A sentence must be placed at one of four marked squares. Use pronoun, transition, and vocabulary links to the sentences before and after.

Inference Question

The answer is a necessary conclusion from stated facts. It is never stated directly, and it never requires outside knowledge or opinion.

Rhetorical Purpose Question

Asks why the author mentions something. The answer names its function, such as to illustrate, contrast, or concede a point, not the content itself.

Reference Question

Identify the noun a pronoun replaces. Check singular or plural agreement and whether that noun makes logical sense in the sentence.

Section Score Range

Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing each score 0-30; the four add to a 0-120 total. Wrong answers are not penalized.

Listening Section Format

Two conversations and three lectures, 28 questions, about 36 minutes. Each recording plays once and note-taking is allowed throughout.

Function Question

Asks what a speaker is doing with a remark, such as agreeing, correcting, or clarifying. The answer names the action, not the words' literal content.

Gist-Purpose Question

Usually the first question on a listening passage. It asks the speaker's purpose or the main topic, not a supporting detail.

No Backtracking Rule

Listening questions must be answered in order and cannot be revisited once confirmed. Reading allows returning to earlier questions within a passage.

Attitude Question

Infer the speaker's feeling from intonation and word choice, such as doubtful, amused, concerned, or enthusiastic, rather than the literal content of the statement.

Organization Question

Asks how a lecture is built, for example problem then two solutions, or a sequence of chronological examples supporting one theory.

Verbatim Distractor Pattern

Wrong answers frequently reuse exact words from the audio but reverse or distort the relationship between those ideas.

Note-Taking Cue

Professors signal testable content by stressing words, repeating a point, or correcting themselves mid-sentence; digressions are usually untested.

Integrated Writing Task

Twenty minutes. Read a short passage, hear a lecture that challenges it, then write 150-225 words explaining how the lecture responds.

Academic Discussion Task

Ten minutes. Read a professor's question and two student replies, then contribute at least 100 words stating and supporting your position.

Integrated Body Structure

Write one paragraph per reading point: state the lecture's counterpoint, then add the specific detail or example the professor used.

Copied Text Penalty

Text lifted from the reading passage is excluded from the word count. Restate the points in your own words to earn credit.

Discussion Task Engagement

Name or paraphrase a classmate's post and extend or challenge it; a response that ignores the other students limits the score.

Writing Rubric Scale

Each of the two tasks is scored holistically 0-5; the averaged score is converted to a 0-30 section score.

Integrated Content Priority

Accurate, complete coverage of the lecture's points drives the Integrated score; strong grammar cannot compensate for a missed or misread point.

Discussion Word Target

Aim for 150-200 words in about eight minutes, keeping the last two minutes to fix grammar and complete unfinished sentences.

Independent Speaking Task

Fifteen seconds to prepare, 45 seconds to speak. Give a clear preference or opinion and support it with one or two specific reasons.

Campus Situation Task

Read a campus notice, hear a student react, then state that student's opinion plus the two reasons given, in 60 seconds.

Academic Term Task

Define the concept as the reading presents it, then apply it to the situation the professor describes, usually one example.

Lecture Summary Task

Listening only: 20 seconds to prepare, 60 seconds to speak. Explain the concept using the two examples the professor gives.

Speaking Rubric Scale

Each of the four tasks is scored 0-4 on delivery, language use, and topic development; the average converts to a 0-30 score.

Preparation Time Limits

Preparation is 15 seconds for Task 1, 30 seconds for Tasks 2 and 3, and 20 seconds for Task 4; responses run 45 to 60 seconds.

Delivery Scoring Criteria

Raters judge fluency, intelligibility, and pace. Steady, clear speech with few long pauses scores above fast speech that listeners must strain to follow.