at the end of paragraph 2 b. at the beginning of paragraph 3 at the end of paragraph 3 d. at the beginning of paragraph 4

T h e T O E F L E x a m S t r u c t u r e S e c t i o n : W h a t t o E x p e c t Section II: Structure does not require you to actually write grammatically and stylistically correct sentences. You will have that opportunity in Section IV: Writing or the Test of Written English™ [TWE®] if you take the paper-based exam. Instead, Section II presents you with a series of sentences in which you have to cor- rectly fill in the blank or identify a grammatical mistake. These sentences will cover a wide range of topics, including history, biology, culture, and art. But you do not need background knowledge in the subject to answer the questions correctly. The sentences will pro- vide enough context to make their meaning clear, but the actual subject of the sentence is not important. What matters is that you can recognize and correct errors in English grammar and style. K i n d s o f S t r u c t u r e Q u e s t i o n s o n t h e T O E F L E x a m On both the computer-based and paper TOEFL exams, you will find two types of questions: Type 1: Incomplete sentences. These sentences will have a blank and ask you to select the correct word or phrase to put in that blank. On the paper-based TOEFL exam, these questions are called Structure questions. Examples: 1. It is illegal _________ cars on a two-lane road when there is a solid yellow dividing line.

a. passes b. passing

c. to pass d. when passing

2. After a female seahorse produces eggs, she gives them to her mate, _________ fertilizes them and carries them in his pouch until they are ready to be born.

a. he b. who

c. which d. while

Answers: 1-c, 2-b. Type 2: Sentences with underlined words or phrases. These sentences will have several underlined words or phrases. You will be asked to choose which of the underlined words or phrases is incorrect. On the paper-based TOEFL exam, these questions are called Written Expression questions. – S T R U C T U R E : G R A M M A R A N D S T Y L E – 5 2 Examples: 3. Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Manhattan’s Central Park, wanting the park to be a “democratic A B C playground” where everyone was equal. D

a. A b. B

c. C d. D

THERE are a few important differences between the structure sections of the new computer-based TOEFL exam and the old paper-based exam. The kinds of questions are the same, but the computer-based test offers fewer questions. More important, the questions on the computer exam will be selected according to your level of pro- ficiency. Your first question will be “average” in difficulty. The next question will be easier or harder, depending upon how you answered the first question. The rest of the questions will follow this pattern. Throughout the struc- ture section on the computer-based test, the level of difficulty of each question will be based upon your answer to the previous question. This chart compares the structure sections of the two tests: Computer-Based TOEFL Exam “Structure” Supplemental Paper-Based TOEFL Exam “Structure and Written Expression” 15–20 minutes 25 minutes 20–25 questions 40 questions Question types see “Kinds of Structure Questions” below Question types are divided into two sections: Part A are not divided into sections. Incomplete sentence and consists of 15 incomplete sentences “structure” sentences with underlined words and phrases will be questions and Part B consists of 25 sentences with presented at random. underlined words and phrases “written expression” questions. The computer selects questions based on your level All test-takers answer the same questions. of proficiency. Once you submit an answer, you cannot go back to You can return to previous questions and change previous questions. your answer. Your score on this section is combined with your score Your score on this section is not combined with your on the essay in the writing section. score on the essay in the writing section Test of Written English™. Source: Barron’s Passkey to the TOEFL ® , 4th ed., 2001. – S T R U C T U R E : G R A M M A R A N D S T Y L E – 5 3 Computer-Based Test vs. Paper-Based Test