Chapter 21: Making the Grade: Handling Exam Classes 303
✓ Reading: You have to read three to five passages on academic themes
and then answer comprehension questions. It lasts 60 to100 minutes.✓ Listening: You listen to two conversations involving at least two speakers
and four classroom based lectures. Then you have to answer multiple
choice comprehension questions. It lasts 60-90 minutes.
✓ Speaking: Candidates speak about 6 questions based on what they have
heard or read for about 20 minutes in total. The information for the six
questions is presented during the Speaking test.✓ Writing: There are two writing tasks in this section, one of which
involves reading and listening. So after reading or listening to a lecture
you write about it. The second is an essay of about 300 words reflecting
your opinion on a given topic. The duration of the test is 50 minutes.Each part attracts a score of 0-30, so the total score is 0-120.The PBT is a little different from the IBT and involves:✓ Reading: This test lasts 55 minutes and has 50 questions based on
general English.
✓ Listening: The duration of the test is 30-40 minutes.
✓ Structure and Written Expression: This test lasts 25 minutes and is
based on using the appropriate language for standard written English.
✓ Writing: There is only one topic and candidates have 30 minutes to
complete it.
Candidates can take the Test of Spoken English separately.In TOEFL PBT each paper can attract a score of 31-68 so the total is up to 677.The CBT papers are:✓ Listening: You get 40 -60 minutes to answer a maximum of 49 questions.
✓ Structure and Written Expression: There is an allocation of 20 minutes
for this.
✓ Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension: This is a 90 minute test.
✓ Essay Writing: You get 30 minutes to write one essay.
The score is averaged out so the total is a maximum of 300.