Although the writing section of the TOEFL has not changed since the last edition of the Official Guide, there are a few changes in the book worth mentioning.
Page 187: There is a new warning for students: “be sure to use your own words rather than memorized sentences and examples in your essays. Essays that include memorized text will receive a lower score.”
Page 200: The book repeats the old warning about memorized examples, but adds “and your response will receive a lower score.”
Page 201: This warning is expanded upon. I won’t repeat the whole thing here, but it adds to the above: “extended stretches of memorized text do not represent the writer’s true academic writing skills. Responses that include memorized examples, arguments, or formulaic references to sources will receive considerably lower scores than essays containing the writer’s own words.“
It also adds an example of what it is referring. The example is a long body paragraph that summarizes a fictional poll conducted by the New York Times, which it describes as “not genuine development.”
This matches the advice I have long given students to not use fake research to support their arguments.
Those are all of the changes I could spot, but it is worth mentioning that the book still contains the following misleading parts:
An inaccurate integrated sample question on page 188 (the reading only has two paragraphs in total)
A reference to supporting lectures on page 190
A poor list of sample questions on page 210 (some of them are styles of prompts no longer used on the real test)
I’ll wrap this series of articles up tomorrow with a few words about the sample tests.
Moving along, here are changes to the fourth chapter of the new Official Guide to the TOEFL. Of course the old question types (1 and 5) have been removed, but that’s not what this series is about!
Page 165 – 176: The four speaking questions are all given actual names now. They are: Paired Choice, Fit and Explain, General/Specific, Summary. That’s nice, and I will likely modify my guides to refer to the official names of each question. That said, I don’t really know why they call the second one “Fit and Explain.”
Page 165: The description of the first speaking question has been modified slightly. It now specifically mentions that you might be asked if you agree or disagree with a prompt, and a sample of that is given. This is a great change.
Page 166: The “tip” has been expanded. The new part is: “But don’t try to write out a full response because you won’t have time, and the raters scoring your response want to hear you speaking, not reading aloud.“
Page 167 (important): There is a new tip. This one will be controversial. It says: “Do not memorize responses before the test, especially ones that you get from the Internet, or from test preparation instructors who say this is a good idea. It is not a good idea, and it will lower your score. Raters will recognize a memorized response because the rhythm, intonation, and even the content of the response will be very different from a spontaneous response. Memorized responses are easy to identify.”
Page 185 (important): The SpeechRater is mentioned: “SpeechRater primarily measures features described in the Speaking rubrics under Language Use and Delivery.” Pay attention to the “primarily” weasel word. This means that the SpeechRater does, to some extent, grade your topic development as well!
Just a word of warning about the new Official Guide.
You must use an access code from the book to download the audio files and software. The code can only be used two times.
If you enter the code right now, you will get a message that the downloads are not ready. That will count as one use of the code. If you enter the code again tomorrow and the files are still not ready, that will count as a second use of the code.
After that you will have no more uses left. You will not be able to get the files.
I will try, somehow, to get confirmation of when it is safe to use the download code.
Okay, this will be a quick entry in this series, since chapter three is largely unchanged. But a few things are worth mentioning.
Page 119 (important): The 5th edition says that “each lecture or conversation is 3-6 minutes long.” The 6th edition says that “each lecture or conversation is approximately 4-5 minutes long.” I guess the conversations are trending longer, while the lectures are trending shorter nowadays.
Page 119: The old edition says “you should take notes.” The new edition says “you may take notes.” I like that change.
Everything else, including the practice sets, seems to be exactly the same.
Alright, I’ll continue my examination of the new edition of the Official Guide to the TOEFL by looking at all of the changes in chapter two.
Page 38 (important): The chart depicting question types now reflects the fact that there are fewer questions in total.
The specific changes are (old –> new)
Factual Information questions: 3-5 per set –> 2-5 per set
Vocabulary questions: 3-4 per set –> 1-2 per set
The other question types are unchanged. This confirms our earlier speculation that vocabulary questions have been heavily reduced.
Page 55 (important): As discussed earlier, the “table” questions can be worth 2 or 3 points. Tables with four correct answers are worth two points, and those with five correct answers are worth three points. Partial points are possible for both.
Question deletions in the practice sets are as follows:
Set 1: Factual information, Inference, Vocabulary
Set 2: Vocabulary, Negative factual, Inference
Set 3: Vocabulary, Factual information, Vocabulary
Set 4: Factual information, Vocabulary, Vocabulary
Set 5: Vocabulary, Vocabulary, Reference
Set 6: Reference, Vocabulary, Vocabulary
Indeed, vocabulary questions are far less common than before. Note that only three questions were deleted from each set as these sets did not have enough questions in the previous version of the book.
My copy of the sixth edition of “The Official Guide to the TOEFL” has finally arrived! Starting today, I will describe all of the changes in this edition. I’ll begin, of course, with chapter one, “About the TOEFL iBT Test.” After I have finished with all of the chapters, I will provide a general review of the book.
Page 1-2: The description of the test in this edition makes it sound a lot more prestigious than before.
Page 5 (important): The book now mentions that “for the speaking and writing responses, ETS uses both certified human raters and artificial intelligence (AI) scoring to provide a complete and accurate picture of a test taker’s ability.”
Page 5 (important): The book now mentions that “after finishing the test, test takers will be able to view their unofficial scaled scores for the Reading and Listening sections.”
Page 5: The “test format” chart now reflects the current number of questions in each section. The charts for each section later in this chapter do as well, and I won’t mention them below. But see the END of the article for a possible discrepancy.
Page 5 (important): The book now mentions that “you may hear some native English-speaker accents that are not from North America, such as British or Australian.” It includes as link to some samples, but I couldn’t find them.
About the Reading Section
Page 7: As indicated, the chart here reflects the current number of questions. Which is “10 questions per passage.” This probably misleading/incorrect information. See my final note in this article for more information about this.
Page 9 (important): In the reading section “category chart” questions have been renamed “category table” questions. The book indicates that “some table questions are worth up to 2 points and others are worth up to 3 points, depending on the number of correct answers expected.” In the past, these questions were always worth 3 points.
Page 10: A new question is used to illustrate the reading “table” question. The sample is worth 3 points.
About the Listening Section
Page 12 (important): The lectures are described as being “4-5 minutes long.” Previously, they were described as being “3-5 minutes long.”
About the Speaking Section
Page 17: The book now refers to the updated number of questions in this section (4) and the duration of the section (about 17 minutes). It also refers to the fact that the section is partially scored by “the automated scoring system.”
About the Writing Section
No changes.
About Test Scores
Page 21: The book indicates that each speaking response will be scored by a different rater. Previously, the same rater might have scored two of your responses.
Page 22-23: The book now mentons MyBest scores, and that score reports are received after 6 days (instead of 10). It makes clear that “Official Score reports will be sent directly to your designated recipients within eleven days after you take the test.” It is nice to have that in writing now.
Page 24-25: The new (and less detailed) score report is depicted.
General Skill-Building Tips
Page 33: The previous edition says “do not panic.” The new book says “do not become overwhelmed.” I LOLed.
Test Delivery
Page 36 (important): Page 7 says that the reading section has 3-4 passages, with 10 questions per passage. Page 36 says that the reading section has 27-40 questions. Those descriptions do not match. However, this reflects my earlier comments on this blog about how sometimes there are just nine questions in a reading passage. This happens when the “table” question is worth 3 points. Indeed, this is the case in several of the practice reading sets later in the book!
It looks like the release of the new edition of the Official Guide to the TOEFL (and the two new iBT Tests editions) has been pushed back to August 28. That’s what Amazon says, anyways. Sad.
There is now an Amazon listing for an updated edition of the Official Guide to the TOEFL. According to the guide, the sixth edition of the guide will be published on July 10. This will be the first version of the guide to reflect the changes to the test that were introduced in August of 2019.
Update: The Amazon release date is now August 28
Update: Amazon listings for KINDLE versions of new books have been removed.
The listing does not indicate much about what else has changed in the book, but fortunately the audio and software content will be provided online instead of on a DVD. It is also mentioned that the book will still contain just four tests. Previously, updated editions of the book included a new practice test.
In addition, there are also listings for updated editions of both Volume 1 (4th ed) and Volume 2 (3rd ed) of the “Official TOEFL iBT Tests” books.
The TOEFL iBT Free Practice Test seems to be the same as Quick Prep Volumes 3 and 4, but modified to match the new version of the test. The second speaking question, though, is new. This is probably because the Quick Prep version referred to students using a “Walkman” in the cafeteria. That’s a pretty old reference!
The iBT Practice Sets include SOME of the content from the TOEFL Quick Prep volumes 1 and 2. Like the Quick Prep sets, they include no audio tracks… you can merely read transcripts of the spoken parts.
The New PDFs are a combination of stuff from the Quick Preps, the TOEFL edX class and the old PDFs. Of course there are no audio files.
It is great that ETS has provided some updated materials, but is is disappointing that the free test is a less accurate simulation of the test center experience than the old TOEFL Sampler program. There are no timers in the listening and reading sections, and in the speaking section a sample answer is played before students even get a chance to deliver their OWN response.
I want to finish off my series on the 5th edition of the Official Guide to the TOEFL by listing everything in the book that is wrong or just misleading.
This is the kind of information that I think is very important for both students and teachers. I remember when I started preparing students for the TOEFL and put too much trust in textbook publishers. I ended up teaching useless lessons with inaccurate material.
While I have noted quite a few problems with this book, it is worth noting that the Official Guide is still the most accurate prep book for the TOEFL. Yes, the stuff from third-party publishers is way worse. I’ve considered writing lists of all the stuff wrong with those books, but it seems like it might be a waste of both my time and my money.
Anyways… here’s what I spotted:
Chapter 2: Reading
Each of the practice sets (Page 60-67, 69-73) have 13 questions. On the real test there are 14 questions per set. Students using these sections to time their ability to complete a set should adjust their clocks accordingly.
Chapter 4: Speaking
The description of speaking question 1 (page 166) says that students “will be asked to speak about a person, place, object or event that is familiar to you.” The example question fits this description. However, the real test includes at least three other styles of questions which are not mentioned. Descriptions can be found here.
Likewise the description of speaking question 2 (page 168) insists that students “will be presented with two possible actions, situations or opinions… and will be asked to say which of the actions or situations you think is preferable.” The example question fits this description. However, the real test includes at least three other styles of questions which are not mentioned. Descriptions can be found here.
Notably, the “advantages and disadvantages” styles in questions one and two are not mentioned anywhere. They are described at the links above.
Chapter 5: Writing
The sample integrated writing question (page 196-198) does not match the structure used on the real test. On the real test the reading will have four paragraphs. In the book it has two. On the real test the lecture will have four “paragraphs.” Here it has three. On the real test the reading points and lecture counter-points are presented in a “mirror” style and come in the same order. Here that is not the case. Students can consult this guide for a proper depiction of the integrated writing question.
Page 198 suggests that sometimes the lecture will support the argument made in the reading. On the real test that never happens.
Pages 217-220 contain a collection of 40 sample independent writing questions. About 12 of them are of a style that does not match what is used on the real test. Since the book does not describe the three main styles, students should read this blog post that does.
The Practice Tests
The integrated writing question in practice test one does not match the real test. Again, the structure does not match what is used by ETS nowadays. The reading contains just three paragraphs, and the lecture does not rebut the reading’s arguments in the proper order.
This will be the last in my series about updates to the Official Guide to the TOEFL (5th Edition).
Let’s start with chapter 4 (speaking):
Page 171: The reading part of speaking question 3 is now described as 80-110 words long. In the fourth edition it was described as 75-100 words long.
Page 175: The reading part of speaking question 4 is described as 80-110 words long. In the fourth edition it was described as 75-100 words long.
Flannel shirts have been removed from many of the illustrations in this chapter.
Next, chapter 5 (writing):
It must be noted that the sample integrated writing question on page 196 is still wrong. It does not match the structure used on the real test.
Page 207: The warning “be sure to use your own words. Do not use memorized examples” has been added to the end of the sample independent writing question/
Page 208: Same as above.
Page 208: The following tip is given (to explain the warning used above):
“When you develop your response, do not use examples or reasons that you memorized word-for-word previously (at school, for example). Raters will not consider examples or reasons expressed in a completely memorized language to represent your own writing.”
Page 212: The warning is also given.
Page 217-220: This is interesting. The 4th edition contained 185 sample independent writing prompts that were described as being used on the test. These were likely from the old CBT version of the test, as they were also in the first edition of the guide, which was written even before the iBT version had been given 185 times.
The problem with this list has always been that it contains questions that don’t match the three main styles used on the test (agree/disagree, preference, multiple-choice).
The list of 40 now contains 20 questions from the 4th edition, and 20 new questions.
22 of the questions are agree/disagree style questions, which is the most common style nowadays. The remaining 18 are a mix of preference, multiple choice, and incorrect styles. Two of the questions are really long prompts, which is a recent trend. These are both new.
Moving on, a quick look at the practice tests included with the 5th edition:
The new test included in this edition is TPO 18. That means it is a very, very old test. That sucks.
The order of listening questions has been adjusted. This is mostly to stick “why does the professor say” questions to the end of each set, but there are other changes as well.
The new warning has been added to each independent writing question.
The sample integrated writing question in test one is still an incorrect style. That drives me crazy. It has been 14 years since the first edition of the book came out!
Alright, here’s a list of changes to Chapters 2 and 3 of the Official Guide to the TOEFL (fifth edition).
Starting with Chapter 2 (reading):
Page 37: the book now mentions that you can skip questions and come back to them later.
Page 38: The 5th edition says there are 12-13 “Basic Information and Inference Questions” per set. The 4th edition said that there were 12-14.
Page 38: The 5th edition says there are 3-5 Negative Factual questions per set. The 4th edition said there were 3-6.
Page 38: The 5th edition says there are 1-2 inference questions per set. The 4th edition said there were 1-3.
Page 38: The 5th edition says there are 3-4 vocabulary questions per set. The 4th edition said there were 3-5.
Next, lets move to Chapter 3 (listening):
Page 127: There is a slightly different explanation of the answer to the sample type 3 question.
Page 132: The tips for solving the organization questions are phrased slightly differently.
Page 139: Some 1990s style hair and clothes have been removed from the picture.
Page 140, 150, 157, 161: The “why does the professor say this” question has been moved to the end of each practice set. I’m told that this is how the real test is currently designed.
Today I want to start a series of posts that list all of the changes to the 5th edition of the Official Guide to the TOEFL (compared to the 4th edition, of course).
ETS doesn’t really publicize changes to the test, but a careful examination of their resources is a good way to discover what is new, and how to help students best prepare for their big day.
Today’s post will be about changes to the first chapter of the book (titled “About the TOEFL iBT Test.”)
First, regarding the part of that chapter about the reading section:
Page 9: Under the heading “Reading Question Formats” a new format is mentioned which is: “multiple choice questions with more than one answer (for example, two correct answers out of four choices)“
Page 10: Under “features” the “paraphrase questions” section has been removed. It used to read: “Questions in this category are multiple-choice format. They test your ability to select the answer choice that most accurately paraphrases a sentence from the passage.“
Page 10: Under “features” the “summary question” is now called the “prose summary question.”
Next, regarding the part of that chapter about the speaking section:
Page 18: The reading part of question three is now described as 80-110 words. Formerly, it was 75-100 words. The listening part no longer has a word count mentioned (formerly it was 150-180 words).
Page 18: The reading part of question four is now described as 80-110 words. Formerly, it was 75-100 words. The listening part no longer has a word count mentioned (formerly it was 150-220 words)
Page 18: The listening part of question five no longer has a word count mentioned (formerly it was 180-220 words).
Page 18: The listening part of question six no longer has a word count mentioned (formerly it was 230-280 words).
Next, regarding the part of that chapter about the writing section:
Page 20: The article for question one is now described at 250-300 words. Formerly it was 230-300 words. The lecture for question one is now described as 250-320 words. Formerly it was 230-300 words.
Finally, regarding the rest:
Page 22-24: The score report is described differently, and the newer score report is pictured.
Page 25: The tips for reading skill building are rephrased.
Page 29: The tips for speaking practice are rephrased. There is a typo here. Come on, ETS. Get your head in the game.
Page 35: The TOEFL Sampler is now free for everyone. Fun fact: ETS actually emailed me back in the day when they wanted to promote this. The TOEFL sampler kind of sucks.
Page 36: The book now mentions that you might not get a QWERTY keyboard at the test center. It says you might get a local keyboard and a separate template to show you where all the keys are. That also kinda sucks.
