Listening Comprehension
36%of exam
Structure + Written Expression
29%of exam
Reading Comprehension
36%of exam
Core Grammar Rules
29%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- TOEFL ITP
- L1 Questions
- 140
- L1 Time
- 115 min
- L1 Score
- 310-677
- L2 Score
- 200-500
- Body
- ETS
- Pass
- Institution-set
- Validity
- 2 years
Listening Strategy
- Short conversations
- Test idiom, inference
- Second speaker
- Holds the answer
- Speaker purpose
- Why they say it
- Attitude / tone
- Listen for emotion
- What happens next
- Likely next action
- Sound-alike trap
- Reject repeated words
- Idiom meaning
- Not literal words
Coordinators
FANBOYS joins two clauses
ForAndNorButOrYetSo
Error-ID Approach
- Underlined verb→Check agreement, tense(Most common)
- Two nouns joined→Check parallelism
- Adjective near verb→Should be adverb
- Pronoun present→Check reference, number
- Comparison words→Check -er vs -est
- Two subjects/connectors→Delete the extra
- Nothing wrong found→Recheck word form
Subject-Verb Agreement
- Find real subject
- Ignore intervening phrases
- Each / every
- Takes singular verb
- Neither / either
- Singular verb
- There is/are
- Verb matches real subject
- Collective nouns
- Usually singular verb
- And-joined subjects
- Plural verb
- Quantity + noncount
- Singular verb
Error-ID Scan
Verb-Word-Parallel-Pronoun first
Verb: agreement/tenseWord formParallelismPronoun reference
Completion Item Picker
- Blank at start→Likely subject/clause
- No main verb→Choose verb option
- Two clauses, no link→Add connector
- After preposition→Use gerund/noun
- Read whole sentence→Then test options
Verb + Tense Rules
- Present perfect
- Past to now
- Simple past
- Finished time
- Time clause
- Present, not future
- After modal
- Base verb
- After 'to'
- Base verb
- Passive
- be + past participle
- Sequence of tenses
- Match main clause
Section Order
Listen-Structure-Read, in order
Listening 50Structure 40Reading 50L1 total 140
Structure Patterns
- Parallel structure
- Match coordinated forms
- Correlatives
- both...and, not only...but
- Double subject
- Avoid: my brother he
- Double connector
- Avoid: although...but
- Word form
- Right part of speech
- Adjective vs adverb
- Modifies noun vs verb
- Need subject+verb
- Every clause requires both
Clauses + Modifiers
- who
- Refers to people
- which
- Refers to things
- that
- Defining clauses
- whose
- Shows possession
- Noun clause order
- Subject before verb
- Reduced modifier
- -ing or -ed phrase
- Dangling modifier
- Must match subject
Skim vs Scan
Skim
- Get main idea
- Read fast
- Topic + structure
Scan
- Find detail
- Hunt keyword
- Specific fact
Gist vs detail
Reading Question Picker
- 'mainly about'→Main idea(Whole passage)
- 'according to'→Scan detail
- 'NOT mentioned'→Eliminate three true
- 'infer / suggest'→Read between lines
- 'refers to'→Find nearest noun
- 'why does author'→Rhetorical purpose
- 'closest meaning'→Substitution test
Reading Strategy
- Main idea
- Whole-passage scope
- Detail
- Stated fact, scan
- NOT / EXCEPT
- Wrong is three-true
- Inference
- Implied, not stated
- Reference
- What pronoun points to
- Rhetorical purpose
- Why author wrote it
- Passage only
- Ignore outside knowledge
Vocabulary in Context
- Substitution test
- Swap option for word
- Surrounding clues
- Use sentence context
- Synonym match
- Same meaning preserved
- Watch nuance
- Positive vs negative
- Level 2 focus
- Vocabulary + reading
Adjective Order
Opinion-Size-Age-Shape-Color-Origin-Material
OSASCOM ordernice small oldround red Italianwooden table
Since vs For
since
- Start point
- since 2020
- Perfect tense
for
- Duration
- for five years
- Length of time
Point vs length
Articles + Nouns
- a / an
- Singular, nonspecific
- the
- Specific or known
- No article
- Plural/noncount general
- much
- Noncount nouns
- many
- Count nouns
- few / fewer
- Count nouns
- little / less
- Noncount nouns
Few vs Little
few / fewer
- Count nouns
- few books
- Plural
little / less
- Noncount nouns
- little water
- Mass
Count vs noncount
Prepositions
- at
- Time/clock, place point
- on
- Days, dates, surfaces
- in
- Months, years, areas
- interested in
- Fixed verb phrase
- depend on
- Dependent preposition
- different from
- Fixed adjective phrase
- capable of
- Fixed adjective phrase
Gerund vs Infinitive
Gerund
- enjoy, avoid
- After preposition
- -ing form
Infinitive
- want, decide
- Purpose 'to'
- to + base
Verb decides form
Comparatives + Conditionals
- Comparative
- -er / more, two items
- Superlative
- -est / most, the
- as...as
- Equal comparison
- the same as
- Equality phrase
- Real conditional
- If present, will future
- Unreal present
- If past, would base
- Unreal past
- If had, would have
Make vs Do
make
- Create, produce
- make a decision
- make progress
do
- Perform action
- do homework
- do research
Produce vs perform
Gerund vs Infinitive + Pronouns
- enjoy / avoid
- Take gerund
- want / decide
- Take infinitive
- After preposition
- Use gerund
- Pronoun agreement
- Match noun number
- Clear reference
- One obvious antecedent
- Frequency adverb
- Before main verb
Level 1 vs Level 2
Level 1
- 140 Q, 115 min
- Reading Comprehension
- 310-677
Level 2
- 95 Q, 70 min
- Reading + Vocabulary
- 200-500
Advanced vs beginner
Scoring + Format
- L1 total
- 310-677 range
- L1 section
- 31-68 scaled
- L2 total
- 200-500 range
- L2 section
- 20-50 scaled
- Four options
- One answer each
- No pass mark
- Institution sets cut
- Valid 2 years
- From test date
Common Traps
Its vs It's
Its = possessive ≠ It's = it is
Affect vs Effect
Affect = verb ≠ Effect = noun
Few vs Little
Few = count ≠ Little = noncount
Since vs For
Since = start point ≠ For = duration
Sound-alike distractor
Repeated word = trap ≠ Meaning, not sound
Infer vs Stated
Inference = implied ≠ Detail = stated
Outside knowledge
Answer from passage ≠ Not your opinion
Last Minute
- 1.No guessing penalty—answer all
- 2.L1 = 140 Q, 115 min
- 3.L1 score 310-677
- 4.L2 score 200-500
- 5.Find real subject first
- 6.Each/every = singular verb
- 7.Time clause = present tense
- 8.Parallel structure in lists
- 9.Few = count; little = noncount
- 10.Reference = nearest noun
- 11.Answer from passage only
- 12.No universal passing score
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