Sections
Reading Comprehension
The questions following the reading passages can be classified into ten different types ranging from factual information, pronoun reference and sentence paraphrasing, through vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and inference, on to the construction of “prose summaries” and the filling in of tables.
In addition to the traditional multiple-choice format, questions may require using the computer mouse to mark where additional text could conceivably be inserted within a passage, or to drag answer choices into the correct spots in partially completed classification tables based on information on the passage.
Listening
Sets of either five or six questions follow one-time-only hearings of either conversations or lectures, in both cases involving academic or campus-related contents.
The content of the lecture material reflects that presented in freshman-level college courses, and is drawn from four major sources:
- the arts (featuring topics taken from fields such as architecture, industrial design, city planning, music history, folk art, and photography);
- life science (featuring topics taken from fields such as public health, biochemistry, animal behavior, nutrition, medical techniques, and the physiology of sense organs);
- physical science (featuring topics taken from fields such as oceanography, particle physics, astronomy, environmental policy, inorganic chemistry, and computer science); and
- social science (featuring topics taken from fields such as anthropology, early writing systems, historical linguistics, child development, education, and modern history).
(The Reading section also draws its material from these four sources).
In the recording of the lectures and conversations, an attempt has been made to imitate “real-life” academic-environment use of language, with the inclusion of false starts, misspeaks with self-corrections, pauses, hesitations, and repetitions.
Note-taking is allowed here in the listening section as in all other sections.
In addition to traditional multiple-choice questions, the Listening Section includes the following types of questions:
- multiple-choice questions with more than one answer (for example, two answers out of four or more choices);
- ordering events or steps in a process;
- matching objects or text to categories in a table.
These different question formats are aimed at examining the critical listening skills required in the academic milieu, i.e., not only gathering the gist of what is said, in terms of both content and purpose, but also identifying the speaker’s stance and the organizational structure used by the speaker to present the material.
Speaking
The speaking section takes a total of 20 minutes, distributed among time involved in receiving input and prompts, preparation time (scarce: 15 seconds for each of the first two tasks, and 30 seconds for each of the remaining four tasks), and the time actually speaking into the microphone to record responses (responses are digitally recorded and sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network).
The first two tasks are “independent”, that is, involve only the skill of speaking. They consist of answering short questions on general topics, expressing the test taker’s own opinion on the topic supplied.
The remaining four tasks are “integrated”: in the first two, test takers read, listen, prepare and then respond in a way that shows understanding of the material presented and the ability to articulate that understanding. In the last two, the response consists of answering questions about a discussion and a short lecture heard by the test taker.
The responses from each test taker are scored “by at least three different human raters”, on a scale of 0 to 4. Then, the sum of all six ratings is converted to a score scale of 0 to 30, as on the other three iBT sections. Raters evaluate topic development, delivery, and language use.
Writing
The writing section comprises two different writing tasks:
(20 minutes allowed): an “integrated” task in which test takers read a short passage for about 3 minutes (roughly 230 to 300 words), then listen to a short lecture that directly addresses the points made in the reading (2 minutes), then write a summary of what the speaker said about the reading passage.
Judged on:
- The quality of the writing (organization, appropriate and precise use of grammar and vocabulary);
- The completeness and accuracy of the content.
(30 minutes allowed): a personal essay of approximately 300-450 words expounding on a given topic.
Judged according to the canons that govern good expository writing in English.
Each of the tasks is woth fifty percent of the Writing Section Score.