TOEFL iBT Exam 2025: Preparation Tips and Strategies

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is one of the most widely accepted English proficiency tests that are available to students who seek to study at reputed universities in English-speaking countries. Conducted by ETS, the TOEFL iBT exam has helped many students improve their English vocabulary and linguistic skills. To help you crack your TOEFL iBT exam, we have compiled a set of preparation tips and strategies, and we believe that with these at your disposal, you too will ace your exam. 

TOEFL Exam Preparation Tips 2025

You can begin your TOEFL exam preparation with the materials that you can get from the official TOEFL iBT Preparation Test Ready app and their official ETS TOEFL iBT website. As with any endeavour, to help you sharpen your skills in English, we advise you to follow these simple steps that can help you further your journey in preparation for your English proficiency test:

• Plan in advance: Like any preparation, the TOEFL iBT exam is not an overnight process. It is best practice that you start preparation for your TOEFL iBT exam months in advance based on your level of English proficiency so that you can put in quality time and yield positive results.
• Know your exam: You should know about the TOEFL iBT syllabus and pattern and how the TOEFL iBT exam is scored, along with the required cut-off marks for your preferred universities.
• Try multiple practice tests: Never shy away from taking multiple practice tests. This is because the more you practise, the more you will adapt to what is expected of you in the TOEFL iBT tests. You will also be familiar with the university score requirements and will be at ease on the day of your TOEFL iBT exam.
• Master your vocabulary: As you will be tested on your English proficiency and vocabulary during your TOEFL iBT exam, it is imperative that you know a healthy mix of complex and simple words and their usage to ensure that you ace your test without issues. This is because, with this in practice, you will be able to easily convey your thoughts and words in an easier and also more effective way.
• Set your target score: Remember that each university has its own minimum score requirements, so work your way through to ensure that you get a satisfactory score that you set for yourself.
• Learn from your mistakes: Keep an error log of the mistakes that you make during your practice and mock tests so that you can work and improve on them to ensure that you avoid all the possible mistakes that you may make on your test day.

TOEFL Exam Preparation Plan by Section

Following the aforementioned steps can help you build your foundation for your TOEFL iBT exam, through which you can start your way to upskilling yourself with the English language. To help you further, here are some simple steps that can help you formulate your own approach to design your own TOEFL iBT Preparation Plan by Section:

TOEFL iBT Preparation: Speaking Tips

• Make a list of familiar topics (both academic and non-academic), and practice speaking on them
• Collect pictures from magazines and newspapers, and practice describing them under 1 minute, and gradually work on increasing your difficulty with multiple adjectives, and more details
• Making a habit of reading newspapers and articles online can also help you improve at expressing your opinions on current affairs with others.
• Work on your pronunciation, including word stress, intonation patterns, and pauses to develop your speaking skills
• Practice formulating an idea on what you will speak in your mind before you begin speaking so you have a steady flow of ideas as you speak
• Use signal words that can help you bring impact and emphasis to what you are saying (E.g., 'what that means is…', 'the first reason is…', 'another contrast is…')

TOEFL iBT Preparation: Writing Tips:

The TOEFL iBT Writing section test is designed to see how well you are able to present your ideas in English in a neatly organised way. The TOEFL iBT Writing section consists of 2 writing tasks. To help you improve your writing skills and make you excel in your TOEFL iBT Writing section, here are some valuable tips:

• Listen to short passages or readings and write a summary on it. This exercise will help you understand how well you are able to express your interpretation of the recording based on the opinions given in them in detail.
• Learn idiomatic speech patterns and use them appropriately
• Learn the grammatical structures clearly enough for you to use them naturally
• Practice writing answers to questions from reading through a textbook with questions at the end of its chapters
• Read and make summaries of articles of 300-400 words long, including major points and important details, by clearly communicating them with sufficient paraphrasing using different grammatical structures

TOEFL iBT Preparation: Listening Tips:

The TOEFL iBT Listening section is designed to test your ability to listen and understand the lectures given in an academic setting in an English-speaking environment. This section will require you to listen to 3 lectures and 2 conversations and answer 6 questions per lecture and 5 questions per conversation, and you will be scored based on the number of correct listening answers. Here's what you need to do to prepare for the TOEFL iBT Listening section:

• Make accurate notes when you are dictated to by someone
• Improve your listening abilities, as this is a life skill that you will require, especially during your academic period at your university, in order to absorb information constantly at varying durations of time.
• Understanding the genre of the conversation – Listen clearly so that you are able to understand the crux of the conversation and what is being said and discussed so you can make an informed decision on what is being spoken about.
• Listen to words that have connections and relationships between ideas, identify them and recreate them based on your understanding of them.
• Assess the purpose of the speech or dialogue and understand what it is about – for e.g., a suggestion, complaint, requirement, apology, etc.
• Recognise the tone of the voice of the speaker and respond proactively to the scenario.

TOEFL iBT Preparation: Reading Tips:

• Read regularly and as much as possible, preferably university textbooks and other study materials that cover a variety of subject areas (e.g., science, arts, business, etc.) that are written in an academic format.
• Practice reading short passages and skimming long passages to ensure that you are versatile enough to read through multiple variations of the paragraphs that you read and make clear impressions and answers as to what is being informed in them
• Practice regular reading habits to ensure that you are capable of understanding the varying vocabulary and words that are used in different texts
• Practice making passages into questions and answers to clearly understand what is being said in the read passages.

TOEFL Study Materials

There are several study materials given by the official ETS TOEFL website, which can help you prepare well, enabling you to get a remarkable score on your TOEFL exam. These study materials can be bought either in digital format or paperback format and are available on their official website.

Best TOEFL Preparation Books

• The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test
• Official TOEFL iBT Tests, Volumes 1 & 2

TOEFL TestReady App:

Provided by ETS, the TOEFL TestReady App combines the best TOEFL iBT Prep materials with its exclusive features containing deeper insights that can enhance your English communication skills. To get this app, you can easily register and create your free ETS-Account for the TOEFL iBT exam and get the app at your fingertips.

YouTube Videos:

There are many YouTube videos that have many TOEFL iBT Test Preparation information and resources that are available for you at no cost. You can also go through them to get an understanding of how the TOEFL iBT exams are and get some tips and strategies from them at your convenience.

TOEFL iBT Sample Tests

ETS offers its official TOEFL iBT Sample Test, through which you can gain a comprehensive experience and become familiar with the modes of the TOEFL iBT exam, its content, structure, and how it evaluates your English competency, where you will be able to experience the full-length, under 2-hour TOEFL iBT test within a 40-minute journey.

TOEFL Self-Study vs. Coaching

Deciding whether to choose Self-Study or Coaching for the TOEFL iBT exam falls on your individual choice. However, you should be able to make an informed decision, weighing their Pros and Cons, so that you can have a clear plan and understanding of how you can approach the TOEFL iBT test.

Here are some things you can expect from choosing either to Self-Study or to attend Coaching for your TOEFL iBT exam