Exam Pattern
TOEFL Exam Pattern
Test of English as a Foreign Language iBT: Reading
The official Reading section changed on 21 January 2026 and this practice does not reproduce the new shape. Up to 50 scored items can now appear in roughly 27 to 30 minutes, because the section adapts in two stages and draws on three different task types. Complete the Words, where a candidate types missing letters, accounts for about 30 of those items on its own. What is built here is a fixed set of 30 questions in 30 minutes across the two comprehension task types. Use it for the reading itself rather than as a rehearsal of the format.
Reading
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 30 |
| Total marks | 30 |
| Duration | 30 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Read in Daily Life, Read an Academic Passage |
| Test | Qs | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Read in Daily Life | 15 | 15 |
| Read an Academic Passage | 15 | 15 |
Timing: Single composite 30-minute timer for both task types combined: no sectional lock. This is a TakeMockTest-defined duration for a fixed practice set, not a replica of the official adaptive router-plus-module timing.
Since 21 January 2026, the official TOEFL iBT Reading section uses a two-stage adaptive design with three task types worth up to 50 scored items across roughly 27-30 minutes: Complete the Words (a vocabulary/word-completion task where you type missing letters, worth about 30 of the 50 items), Read in Daily Life (short practical texts with comprehension questions), and Read an Academic Passage (short academic texts with comprehension questions). Complete the Words is not a multiple-choice format, so it is not included here. This practice mock uses a fixed, non-adaptive set of multiple-choice questions covering only Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage, scored on raw correct count rather than the official 1-6 CEFR-aligned section score.
Official source · checked 14 August 2026The TOEFL Reading exam pattern is 30 questions carrying 30 marks, to be answered in 30 minutes. That works out to about 60 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 2 sections are Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage. All 2 sections carry 15 marks each, so none of them repays disproportionate preparation and a weakness anywhere costs the same. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
TOEFL Reading marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- There is no negative marking, so leaving a question blank can only cost you: an unattempted question and a wrong one score the same zero. Attempt everything.
- Worked example: attempt 24 of the 30 questions and get 18 right and 6 wrong, and you score 18 out of 30.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 60 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free TOEFL mock test to see where your time actually goes.
TOEFL exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in TOEFL?
TOEFL has no negative marking. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in TOEFL?
TOEFL has 30 questions. That leaves about 60 seconds per question in TOEFL.
What are the total marks in TOEFL?
TOEFL is out of 30 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question.
How long is the TOEFL exam?
TOEFL runs for 30 minutes.
Does TOEFL have a sectional time limit?
No. TOEFL runs every section on one composite timer of 30 minutes, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.