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TOEFL ITP
Institutional Testing Program

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 TOEFL ITP OVERVIEW

► SECTION 1

LISTENING SECTION

Part A ( 30 Questions )
There will be 30 Short dialogues between 2 people ( Man vs Woman ) and followed by a person
called “ Narrator “ who will question about the dialogues presented, and this is the easiest part of the
Listening which offers the biggest chance to score.
Part B ( 8 Questions )
There will be two (2) long dialogues which are followed by a number of questions at once. You will
hear them on a recording. They aren’t written in your test book. The dialogues are often about aspect
of school life such as “ How hard a class is, how to write a paper and so forth “, in short, they will be
about kinds of news in the U.S.A.
Part C ( 12 Questions )
There will be three (3) talks/ monologues followed by a number of questions. You will hear them on
a recording. They aren’t written in your test book. The dialogues are often about aspect of school life
such as “ How hard a class is, how to write a paper and so forth “, it is also very common for the talks
to be shortened versions of lectures from courses taught in American Universities.

The time allocated is 30 – 35 minutes depends on the length of the dialogues.

► SECTION 2

STRUCTURE

There are 15 questions for the structure from 1 – 15 that we have to choose the most correct answers.

Ahmad ... to school every morning.

A. go
B. goes
C. going
D. be going
WRITTEN EXPRESSION

There are 25 questions in the written expression from 16 – 40 which we have to analyse and choose
the most incorrect answers.

Ali, he will leave for Europe by himself tomorrow afternoon.

A B C D

The time allocated for this section is 25 minutes.

► SECTION 3

READING SECTION

There are 5 reading passages in this section followed by 10 – 12 questions each. There are about 7
types of questions used to ask in this section. Those types of reading questions will be discussed
further at the end of this presentation.

The overall questions of this TOEFL is 140 questions with 115 minutes to spend. No extra time
given at the end of the test, so it is highly recommended if you always transfer your answers into the
answer sheet immediately. As there is no penalty for wrong answers, it would be well advised if you
always answer every single question given.

The time allocated for this section is 55 minutes.

LISTENING TIPS AND TRICKS

PART A ( 30 Questions )

1. Focus on the second/ last speaker.

Man Can you tell me if today’s matinee is a comedy, romance, or western?

Woman I have no idea.
Narrator What does the woman mean?

A. She has strong ideas about movies.

B. She prefers comedies over westerns and romances.
C. She doesn’t like today’s matinee.
D. She doesn’t know.

2. Choose answers with synonyms

Man Why is Sofia feeling so happy?

Woman She has just started working in a big company.
Narrator What does the woman mean?

A. She always liked her work in a big company.

B. She began a new job.
C. She has just bought a company.
D. She bought a big company.

3. Avoid similar sounds

Man Why couldn’t Mark come with us?

Woman He was searching for a new apartment.
Narrator What does the woman say about Mark?

A. He was in the department office.

B. He was looking for a place to live.
C. He was working on his research project.
D. He had an appointment at church.

4. Draw conclusions about “ Who, What, Where “

Woman Can you tell me assignments did I miss?

Man You missed one homework and a quiz.
Narrator Who is the man?

A. A newspaper editor
B. A police officer
C. A teacher
D. A student
5. Listen for WHO and WHAT in passives

If the dialogue contains a passive statement, the answer to the question is often in an active one and
on the other hand.

Man Did Sally go to the bank this morning?

Woman Yes, She did. She got a new checking account.
Narrator What does the woman say about Mark?

A. She wrote several checks.

B. She wanted to check up on the bank.
C. A new checking account is opened.
D. She checked on the balance in her account.

6. Listen for WHO and WHAT with multiple nouns

When there is more than a noun in a sentence in short dialogues, it’s common for the answer to
confuse which noun does what.

Man Do you know who is in the band now?

Woman I heard that Mara replaced Robert in the band.
Narrator What does the woman say about the band?

A. Robert became a new member of the band.

B. Robert took Mara’s place in the band.
C. Mara didn’t have a place in the band.
D. Mara took Robert’s place in the band.

7. Listen Negatives with comparatives

A sentence with a negative and a comparative statement will be a superlative one.

Woman What do you think of the new student in a math class?

Man No one is more intelligent than she is
Narrator What does the man say about the new student?

A. She is not very smart.

B. He is smarter than she is.
C. She is the smartest student in the class.
D. Other students are smarter than she is.

8. Listen for expressions of agreement

Woman I don’t think that our new history teacher is interesting?

Man Neither do I.
Narrator What does the man mean?

A. He disagrees with the woman. C. He shares the woman’s opinion.

B. He thinks that the history teacher is interesting. D. He doesn’t think that the woman’s idea is good.
PART B ( 8 Questions )

There will be two (2) long dialogues/ conversations followed by 4 questions each. Here are some tips
and tricks taken :

1. Preview the answers to the questions to find out what the dialogue will be about.
2. While looking at the answers, you should try to do the following :

- Anticipate the topics of the conversation you will hear.

- Anticipate the questions of each of the groups of answers.

3. Listen carefully to the first and second line of the conversation as they will often contain main
ideas, subjects or topic of the conversation which will often be asked to answer such questions.

4. As you listen to the conversation, draw conclusions about the situation of the conversation :

- Who is talking ...

- Where the conversation is ...
- When it takes place ...

5. As you listen to the conversation, follow along with the answers in your the test book and try to
determine the correct answers.
6. Detailed questions are generally answered in order in the conversation, and the answers often
sound the same as what is said in the recording.
7. You should guess even if you are not sure. Never leave any answers blank.
8. Use any remaining time to look ahead at the answers to the questions that follow.

PART C ( 12 Questions )

In this part, the listening has exactly the same tips as it does in Part B. the only different is that there
will be 3 – 4 long talks/ monologues followed by a number of questions.
STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESION TIPS AND TRICKS

Here are some quick steps in understanding grammatical tips and tricks :

A sentence in English must have at least a subject and a verb

► SUBJECT in each question. There are some parts of speech which stand for it :

Based on it’s existence

1. Noun : Concrete
: Common Book ...
: Material Water ...
: Proper Any Names ...
: Collective Family ...

Abstract ( No division ) Sadness ... ( They will always be “ Singular “ )

2. Noun Phrase : My book, The water ...

3. Gerund : Swim → Swimming ...
4. Gerund Phrase : Getting a high score...

5. Compound Noun : Newspaper, Waterfall , Football...

6. Pronoun : Person Singular / Plural
1 I We
2 You You
3 He, She, It They
7. To infinitive : To study English ...
To sleep regularly ...
8. Noun Clause : What she said ...
Whether he understands the case or not ...
9. Possessive pronoun : Mine, yours ...
10. Indefinite pronoun : Someone, anyone, somebody ...
Based on it’s sum

1. Countable : Book → books ...

2. Uncountable : Water, Money ...
3. Mixed : Can be both countable and uncountable ; light ...

Based on it’s gender

1. Masculine : Father ...

2. Feminine : Mother ...
3. Common : Baby ...
4. Neuter : Bag ...

► VERB

Based on it’s form

1. Present Bare infinitive do, be, go...

Additional infinitive does, ( is/ am/ are), going ...

2. Past Verb 2 did, was - were, went ...

3. Participle Present Verb ( be + verb 1 + ing ) :

The boy is studying TOEFL.

Adjective ( verb 1 + ing ) :

The boy studying TOEFL is my son.

Past Verb ( be + verb 3 )

The letter is written by Ahmad.

Adjective ( verb 3 )

The letter written by Ahmad is lost

Based on it’s change

1. Regular : ”ed” call – called – called

2. Irregular : buy – bought – bought

Based on it’s position

1. Ordinary Transitive Monotransitive : buy, read ...

Ditransitive : give, send ...

Intransitive Complete : cry, stand ...

Incomplete : look, seem, is, am ...

2. Auxiliary Primary Be Present : is, am, are, being, do..., have ...

Past : was, were, being, did, had ...

Perfect : been, being, had ...

Modal Present : Can, May ...

Past : Could, Might ...

► OBJECT OF PREPOSITION

An Object of Preposition is a noun, pronoun, gerund or noun clause that comes after one of
prepositions such as
A. Simple preposition ( in, on, at, after, before, with ...),
B. Complex preposition ( because of, in spite of, as a result of ...) that form a prepositional phrase.

Example : After his exams, Tom will go home by train.

► APPOSITIVE

An Appositive is a noun or noun phrase which comes before or after another noun and has the same
meaning.
It is normally written either in the front or in the middle of a sentence :

Example : An excellent basketball player, Sally seldom misses her basketball shots.
Sally, An excellent basketball player, seldom misses her basketball shots.

Note : Both Objects of Prepositions and Appositives will never stand for Subjects.

EXERCISE

1. A pride of lions ... up to forty lions, including one to three males, several females, and cubs.

A. it contains
B. can contain
C. contain
D. containing

2. A computerised map of the freeways using information gathered by sensors embedded in the
pavement ..... on a local cable channel during rush hours.

A. air
B. airs
C. airing
D. is airing

3. The loaves of bread was baked in a brick oven a low temperature for many hours.
A B C D

4. The chapters were taught by the professor this morning will be on next week’s exam.
A B C D

5. For the last three years at various hospitals in the country, they has been practicing medicine.
A B C D
READING TIPS AND TRICKS

► QUESTION TYPES

1. MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

How to identify the questions

What is the Topic of the passage?

What is the Subject of the passage?
What is the Main idea of the passage?
What is the author’s Main point in the passage?
Which of the following would be The best title?
......... primarily/ mainly discussed, concerned?

How to find the answers

1. Read the first line of each paragraph.

2. Look for a common theme or idea in the first line(s).
3. Pass your eyes quickly over the rest of the passage to check that you really found the topic
sentences.

2. STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS

How to identify the questions

According to the passage .................

It is stated in the passage that ..........
The passage indicates that ...............
Which of the following is true ........

How to find the answers

1. Choose a key word in the question.

2. Skim in the appropriate part of the passage for the key word or idea.
3. Read the sentences that contain the key word or idea.
3. UNSTATED DETAIL QUESTIONS

How to identify the questions

Which of the following is not stated ........?

Which of the following is not mentioned ...?
Which of the following is not discussed ....?
All of the following are true except ....?

How to find the answers

1. Choose a key word in the question.

2. Scan the appropriate place in the passage for the key word or idea.
3. Read the sentence that contains the key word carefully.
4. Look for answers that are definitely true according to the passage and eliminate the those.
5. Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed in the passage.

4. PRONOUN REFERENTS

How to identify the questions

The pronoun “ ......... “ in line ....... refers to which of the following?

How to find the answers

1. Locate the pronoun in the passage.

2. The noun is generally found before the pronoun.
3. Try each of the nouns in the contexts in place of the pronoun.

5. IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS

How to identify the questions

It is implied in the passage that .....

It is inferred from the passage that .....
It is most likely that .......
What probably happened ..........
 How to find the answers

1. Choose a key word in the question.

2. Scan the passage for the key word.
3. Carefully read the sentence that contains the key word.
4. Look for an answer that could be true according to that sentence.

6. VOCABULARY QUESTIONS

How to identify the questions

What is the meaning of ........ in line .....?

The word “........” in line ...... is closest in meaning to?
The word “........” in line ...... could best be replaced by ...

How to find the answers

1. Find the word in the passage.

2. Locate any structural clue(s).
3. Read the part of the passage after the structural clue carefully.

7. OVERALL REVIEW QUESTION

How to identify the questions

Where in the passage .....?

How to find the answers

1. Choose a key word or idea in the question.

2. Skim the appropriate part of the passage looking for the key word or idea.
3. Choose the answer that contains the key word or idea.
READING PRACTICE

The hippopotamus is the third largest land animal, smaller only than the elephant and the
rhinoceros. Its name comes from two Greek words which mean “river horse”. The long name of
this animal is often shortened to the easier to handle term “ hippo “.
The hippo has natural affinity for the water. It does not float on top of the water; instead, it
can easily walks along the bottom of a body of water. The hippo commonly remains under water
for three to five minutes and has been known to stay under for up to half an hour before coming
up for air.
In spite of its name, the hippo has relatively little in common with the horse and instead has
a number of interesting similarities in common with the whale. When a hippo comes up after a
stay at the bottom of a lake or river, it releases air through a blowhole, just like a whale. In
addition, the hippo resembles the whale in that they both have thick layers of blubber for
protection and they are almost completely hairless.

1. The topic of this passage is

A. The largest land animals

B. The derivations of animal names
C. The characteristic of the hippo
D. The relation between the hippo and the whale

2. The possessive “its” in line 2 refers to

A. Hippopotamus
B. Elephant
C. Rhinoceros
D. Horse

3. It can be inferred from the passage that the rhinoceros is

A. Smaller then the hippo

B. Equal in size to the elephant
C. A hybrid of the hippo and the elephant
D. One of the two largest types of land animal

4. According to the passage, what to the maximum time that hippos have been known to stay
underwater?

A. Three minutes
B. Five minutes
C. Thirty minutes
D. Ninety minutes

5. The passage states that one way in which a hippo similar to a whale is that

A. They both live on the bottoms of river

B. They both have blowhole
C. They are both named after horse
D. They both breathe underwater