Toefl Speaking Tasks Summary

15 seconds to prepare

45 seconds to speak.

Task 1 Question Styles:

● Personal experience
○ Share past experiences, or asks you to talk about things you like
■ What is the most memorable experience you have had while on vacation? Why was this
experience so memorable? Include details and examples to support your explanation.
● Giving advice
○ You will be given a situation and will then be asked to offer advice for it.
■ Your friend is studying engineering and has room for one extra course in her schedule.
What sort of course would you recommend she take and why?
● Three choices
○ Three choices' question is to pick only one choice and talk about it. ​DO NOT talk about all three
options​ because you won't have enough time to do that.
■ Which of these methods do you think is the best way to prepare for a test :1) studying
alone 2) studying with friends 3) asking a teacher for help?
● Stating opinions
○ You are asked to state your opinion on a certain topic 
■ Your university has decided to reduce the amount of money it spends to support sports 
activities. What is your opinion and why?

How to Structure a Response

Main Idea Supporting Idea 1 Supporting Idea 2 Conclusion

How to write it Rephrase the question Support for your main Support for your main Rephrase the opening
idea idea sentence

Vocabulary
First Of All In addition Therefore

First Besides Hence

To begin with Furthermore So

Moreover So for this two

reasons
Also
To wrap Things up
Additionally
To Sum up

● It's more important to have 2 slightly developed supporting ideas with a short conclusion then it is to have
only 1 supporting idea.

 
Task 2 Question Styles:

Agree or Disagree 

Example Question  Vocabulary 

Do you agree or disagree that students  ● I agree/disagree that 

should bring their cellphones to school?  ○ I agree that​ students should bring their cellphones to 
Use details and examples to support  school. 
your explanation.  ● I agree/disagree with the idea that 
○ I agree with the idea that​ students should bring their 
cellphones to school. 
● I agree/disagree with S + Verb-ing 
○ I agree with students bringing​ their cellphones to 
school. 
● Some people believe that …, but I disagree 
○ Some people believe that​ students should bring their 
cellphones to school, b
​ ut I disagree​. 

Preference 

Example Question  Vocabulary 

Do you prefer finding information by  ● I prefer to ___ (V + O). 

reading books or searching the  ○ I prefer to​ find information by reading books. 
Internet? Use details and examples to  ● To me, ____(X) is far preferable to ____(Y) 
support your explanation.  ○ To me​, eating at restaurants i​ s far preferable to​ eating 
at home.  
● I prefer ____(X) to/over ____(Y) 
○ I prefer​ having a higher-paying job with longer hours ​to 
having a lower-paying job with shorter hours. 
● I would rather ____(V + O) than ___ (V + O) 
○ I would rather​ work in a team ​than​ work alone. 

Here in the third sentence, many students use "than" instead of "to" as in the following 
sentence Incorrect! I prefer having a higher-paying job with l​ onger hours than having a 
lower-paying​ job with shorter hours.  

That is wrong! R
​ emember the pattern: ​"prefer X to Y" or "prefer X over Y".  

correct! I prefer having a higher-paying job with longer hours to having a lower-paying job 
with shorter hours.  

If/Imaginary 

Example Question  Vocabulary 

If you had a small amount of money,  ● Conditional Sentence Type 2 

would you spend it right away or save   
it? Use details and examples to support  ○ If + Subject + simple past, Subject + would/could/might 
your explanation.  + verb  
■ If we all recycled more, there would be a lot less 
waste in the world.  
■ If I had ____ I would. 
 
○ When using p ​ ronoms use w ​ ere i​ nstead of ​was. 
■ If I w
​ ere​ you, I ​would. 
 
 Description or Explanation 

Example Question  Vocabulary 

Should using cell phones be permitted  ● In my opinion, _____ 

while driving? Use details and examples  ○ In my opinion​, not all university students should be 
to support your explanation.  required to read the same book before entering their first 
year of study. 
● I strongly/firmly believe that _____ 
○ I firmly believe that​ the use of cellphones should be 
prohibited while driving. 
● In my view, _____ 
○ In my view​, bicycles will become obsolete due to the 
emergence of other means of transportation 
● As far as I am concerned, _____ 
○ As far as I am concerned​, the most important benefit that 
an employer can offer to make sure employees are happy 
and healthy is a great health care package. 
● It is my belief that _____ 
○ It is my belief that​ it should not be a requirement that all 
college students take at least one philosophy class. 

Advantage or Disadvantage 

Example Question  Vocabulary 

Should universities allow students to  ● Advantages and disadvantages 

watch TV in their dormitories? What is  ○ Living in a small city has a
​ dvantages and 
your opinion and why? What are the  disadvantages 
advantages and disadvantages of  ● Upsides and downsides 
watching TV in dormitories? Include 
○ Living in a small city has u​ psides and downsides 
reasons and examples to support your 
response.  ● Benefits and drawbacks 
○ Living in a small city has b ​ enefits and drawbacks​. 
● pros and cons 
○ Living in a small city has p ​ ros and cons​. 
● Positive aspects and negative aspects 
○ Living in a small city has p ​ ositive and negative aspects​. 
● Advantage Vocabulary: 
○ Our company h ​ as an advantage over​ our competitors. 
○ Our company i​ t at an advantage over​ our competitors. 
○ Our company h ​ as a competitive advantage​ over google. 
■ You can ____ an advantage: 

➔ Gain ➔ Win ➔ Develop   

■ You can t​ ake advantage. 

 
 The TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 3 

Structure of the question 

read a passage about  Next, you will hear a  Example of question: 

campus announcement​ or a
​   conversation between two 
student's letter.  students discussing their  ● The man expresses his opinion 
opinions on the passage you just  about the announcement. State his 
read.   opinion and explain the reasons 
that he gives for holding that 
opinion. 

How to Answer 

Take Notes  Organize your answer 

  30 seconds (preparation) 
● use this time to organize the notes you took from the reading and the 
two columns one for each  listening. 
speaker) 
15 seconds 
  ● Summarize the main point of the reading passage and state the 
student's opinion. 

20 seconds 
● Present the first reason of the student. 

20 seconds 
● Present the second reason of the student. 

5 seconds 
● restate the student's opinion again as a conclusion. (optional) 

Example Responses 

  Agree  Disagree 

Synonyms   ● agree with   ● disagree with  

● support    ● oppose 
● be in favor of  ● be against  
● to approve of  ● be in opposition to 
● be opposed to 

Main  The man/girl agrees with the  The man/girl disagrees with the 
Idea/Student's  announcement/letter/article, which is  announcement/letter/article, which is about  
Opinion  about  

Introduction of  There are two reasons why the man/girl  There are two reasons why the man/girl 
Supporting Ideas  supports the  opposes the announcement/letter/article  
announcement/letter/article  

First Reason  One reason is that   One reason is that  

Second Reason  Another reason is that   Another reason is that  

Conclusion  Therefore, these reasons are why the  Therefore, these reasons are why the man/girl 
man/girl believes that ... is a good idea.  believes that ... is not a good idea. 
 
 The TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 4 

Structure of the question 

read a passage about an  short lecture from a  Example of question: 

academic topic  professor to explain the 
topic further. and provide  ● Using the main points and examples 
one or two examples.  describe the Audience effect. 

How to Answer 

Take Notes  Organize your answer 

● Takes notes on the  ● Describe the academic topic combining the textbook passage and the 
main idea of the  lecture.  
reading passage.  ○ Explain the topic 
○ Use your own words to explain the examples given in the 
  lecture. 

● Take notes on the 

examples of the  Example Answer 
Lecture. 
Reading Passage  From the reading passage, X is described as... 

Lecture  The professor illustrates/demonstrates X by 

giving one/two examples. 
 

Examples  ● In the first example,... 

● In the second example,... 

Conclusion  (Optional) In summary/So/Therefore, .....these 

examples demonstrate/show X 
 

The TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 5 

Structure of the question 

listen to two people talking  explain with  Example of question: 

about a problem that one of  reasons which 
the speakers has  solution you  ● The two people talk about the man's problem. 
would  Describe the problem then state which of the two 
recommend.   solutions you prefer and why. 

How to Answer 

Take Notes  Organize your answer 

● When you take notes  ● Describe the problem the student is facing and the two suggested 
on a conversation,  solutions. 
use a ​two-column  ○ The man's problem is that h ​ e accidentally deleted his research 
approach​.   paper. 
○ The man has a problem with​ his research job. He accidentally 
deleted his research paper. 
○ The problem the man faces is that​ he accidentally deleted his 
research paper. 
 ● Provide one to three sentences of explanation.  
○ His professor wants the student to email the paper that night, 
but the man is not able to make that. He doesn't know what he 
should do. 
○ He has two solutions.​ O ​ ne solution​ is to call the technical 
department to retrieve his work from the computer. A ​ nother 
solution is to​ call the professor in the morning to explain his 
situation. 
● State which solution you prefer. 
○ In my opinion, the man should​ contact the technical 
department for help. 
○ I think the man had better​ contact the technical department for 
help. 
○ The best solution for the man is​ to contact the technical 
department for help 
● Provide reasons why you choose this solution. (come up with you own 
reasons) 
○ Comparison 
■ Compared to Verb-Ing, Verb-ing 
● Compared to talking to the professor, contacting 
the technical department won't be embarrassing for 
the man. 
■ In comparison to Verb-Ing, Verb-ing 
● In comparison to talking to the professor, 
contacting the technical department won't be 
embarrassing for the man. 
○ Consequence 
■ If + then 
● "If the man can get his paper back, then his 
professor won't even know that anything bad 
happened."  

How to organize your timing 

● 20-25 seconds 
○ Describe the problem the student is facing and the two 
suggested solutions 

● 10 seconds  
○ State which solution you prefer 

● 20-25 seconds 
○ Provide reasons why you choose this solution 

Example Answer 

Description  The man's/woman's problem is that he/she... 

Solutions  He/She has two solutions.  

One solution is... 
The other solution is... 

Preference  ● I think the man/woman should... 

Reasons  One reason is that... 

Another reason is that... 
 
 The TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 6 

Structure of the question 

Lecture from a professor  short lecture from a  Example of questions: 

professor to explain the 
topic further. and provide  ● lectures where two different aspects or 
one or two examples.  subtopics of a bigger topic are discussed:
 
○ Using the main point and examples 
from the lecture, describe the two 
ways of discovering an invention. 
● explain the concept mentioned in the 
lecture together with the two examples 
provided by the professor: 
○ Using two examples from the lecture, 
describe camouflage. 

How to Answer 

Take Notes  Organize your answer 

● Take notes on the  ● The explanation of the topic 

main idea  ● The first example or the first concept 
● Take notes of the  ● The second example or the second concept 
examples   ● A conclusion 

you are discussing an academic topic and not an opinion. 

avoid using sentences like “I think…” or “In my opinion...” 

Example Answer question Type 1 (describe using your own words) 

Main Topic  ● Rephrase the question 

○ The lecture is about  
○ The professor talks about two 
adaptations 
○ The professor talked about two 
adaptations 
○ The lecture is talking about _______and 
mentions two examples for this”.  

First Example  The first adaptation_______ 

Second Example  The second adaptation ______ 

Conclusion  Therefore / So 

Example Answer question Type 2 (describe using the examples of the lecture) 

Main Topic  The lecture is about... and the professor uses two 
examples to demonstrate...  

First Example  In the first example,...  

Second Example  In the second example,...  

Conclusion  ● In summary 
● Therefore 
● Ultimately,...