TOEFL · Guides · October 30, 2026 · 14 min read

TOEFL sample questions 2026: one example of every task type, with answers

The new TOEFL iBT, used since 21 January 2026, has 12 task types: three in Reading, four in Listening, three in Writing and two in Speaking. Below is one sample question for each, in the order the sections appear on the test, with the answer and a short explanation of why it is right. All twelve are our own examples written in the shape of the real tasks; they are not ETS questions. The listening scripts are printed here, but on the test you hear them once and never see the text. Each example links to a practice set with the real timing.

A quick map before the examples:

More on the structure: New TOEFL format 2026.

Reading

1. Complete the Words

Type the missing letters to complete each word.

Many desert plants store water in thick leaves or stems. The best kn___ example i_ the cac___, whose rib___ stem c__ expand af___ rain a__ shrink ag___ during lo__ dry per____.

Answers: known, is, cactus, ribbed, can, after, and, again, long, periods.

Why: the first sentence is complete; after it, every second word loses its second half, and each blank shows how many letters are missing. Grammar narrows the choice before vocabulary does: after “The best” comes a participle (known), and “c__ expand” needs a modal (can). Read the whole sentence before typing, not word by word. Guide: Complete the Words. Practice: Complete the Words.

2. Read in Daily Life

Riverside Housing: laundry update From Monday 3 March, the washers in Block C will take card payments only. Coins will still work in Blocks A and B until the end of the month. You can top up your student card at the front desk or in the housing app. Machines 4 and 7 in Block C are out of order; a repair is booked for Wednesday.

Q1. What is the notice mainly about? A. A new laundry room opening in Block C B. A change in how residents pay for laundry ✓ C. The cost of repairing two machines D. New opening hours of the front desk

Q2. A Block C resident has only coins. What should she do before using a washer in her block? A. Wait until Wednesday B. Use machine 4 or 7 C. Add money to her student card ✓ D. Ask the front desk for a refund

Why: Q1 asks for the purpose, and most of the notice is about payment. Q2 is an application question: Block C machines take cards only, and the notice says where to top up. Option B uses words from the text but those machines are broken. Guide: Read in Daily Life. Practice: Read in Daily Life.

3. Read an Academic Passage

Flowers of the night Most flowers open in daylight, when bees and butterflies are active. A smaller group opens only at dusk, and these night-blooming flowers tend to share three features. Their petals are usually white or pale, which makes them easier to see in low light. They often release a strong, sweet scent after sunset, because moths find food mainly by smell. And many have long, narrow tubes with nectar at the bottom, a shape that suits the long tongues of hawk moths but keeps out most other insects.

This specialisation has a cost. If the local moth population falls, few other animals can pollinate the plant. For this reason, some botanists treat a decline in night-blooming flowers as an early warning that moths are in trouble.

Q1. Why does the author mention the long tongues of hawk moths? A. To compare moths with bees B. To explain why the flower’s shape favours moths ✓ C. To show that moths are larger than other insects D. To describe how moths find flowers in the dark

Q2. What can be inferred about night-blooming flowers? A. They produce more nectar than daytime flowers. B. They depend heavily on one group of pollinators. ✓ C. They can survive without pollination. D. They are becoming more common.

Why: Q1 is a purpose question: the tongues explain why a long tube suits moths and keeps others out. D is true of moths but is said about scent, not tongues. Q2 is an inference from “few other animals can pollinate the plant”. On the test, each passage has five questions. Guide: Read an Academic Passage. Practice: Academic Passage.

Listening

4. Listen and Choose a Response

You hear (once): “Would you mind if I borrowed your notes from Tuesday’s lecture?”

A. Sure, I’ll send you a photo of them tonight. ✓ B. No, the lecture was on Tuesday. C. I didn’t mind the lecture at all. D. Yes, I borrowed them last week.

Why: “Would you mind if…” asks for permission, and “Sure” agrees. B and C reuse words you heard (Tuesday, mind) without answering; D reverses who is borrowing. Echoed words are the most common trap in this task. Practice: Choose a Response.

5. Listen to a Conversation

You hear a student and a library assistant:

Student: Hi, I booked a group study room for Thursday at four, but two of my teammates have a lab then. Assistant: No problem. Do you want to move it or cancel it? Student: Move it. Is anything free on Friday? Assistant: Friday at two, or Thursday at six. Student: Our slides are due Friday at noon, so Friday’s too late. I’ll take Thursday at six. Assistant: Done. The building locks at nine, so you’ll have three hours. Student: That’s plenty. Thanks.

Q1. Why does the student go to the desk? A. To book a room for the first time B. To change the time of a booking ✓ C. To complain about a lab schedule D. To ask when the building closes

Q2. Why does the student turn down Friday at two? A. The room is too small. B. Her teammates have a lab then. C. The group’s work is due before then. ✓ D. The building is closed on Friday.

Why: Q1: the booking already exists and she wants to move it. Q2: “due Friday at noon” means Friday afternoon is after the deadline; B is the reason for Thursday at four, not Friday. Guide: Listen to a Conversation. Practice: Conversation.

6. Listen to an Announcement

Listen to an announcement in a chemistry class.

Before we start, a quick change for next week. Tuesday’s lab won’t be in Room 214 as usual, because the fume hoods there are being inspected. We’ll meet in Room 108 on the ground floor, same time. Room 108 has fewer benches, so you’ll work in groups of three instead of pairs. Please read the safety sheet on the course page before you come, and bring your own goggles.

Q1. What is the main purpose of the announcement? A. To cancel next week’s lab B. To tell students about a change of room ✓ C. To explain a new safety rule D. To form new project groups

Q2. Why will students work in groups of three? A. Some students have no goggles. B. The inspection takes extra time. C. The new room has fewer places to work. ✓ D. The experiment is more difficult.

Why: the room change is the news; groups, goggles and the safety sheet follow from it. For Q2, listen for “so”: “fewer benches, so… groups of three”. Guide: Listen to an Announcement. Practice: Announcement.

7. Listen to an Academic Talk

Listen to part of a talk in a psychology class.

Let’s talk about something you’ve all done: studying everything the night before an exam. It feels efficient, and the next morning it often works. The problem shows up a week later. Memory research has found again and again that material studied in one long session fades quickly, while the same amount of study spread over several shorter sessions lasts much longer. This is called the spacing effect. Why would spacing help? One explanation is that each time you come back to something you’ve half forgotten, your brain has to work to retrieve it, and that effort strengthens the memory. Review something you saw five minutes ago, and there’s no effort, so there’s little gain. Now, I’m not saying a final review is useless. It’s fine, as long as it isn’t the first time you’ve seriously looked at the material.

Q1. What is the talk mainly about? A. How to prepare for a psychology exam B. Why spaced study is remembered longer than cramming ✓ C. How memory changes as people get older D. Why reviewing the night before is useless

Q2. What is the professor’s attitude toward a review the night before an exam? A. It is the most effective way to study. B. It is harmful and should be avoided. C. It is acceptable if earlier study was done. ✓ D. It works only for short-term tests.

Why: Q1: the talk defines the spacing effect and explains it. Q2 is about attitude, signalled by “Now, I’m not saying…”: the professor accepts a final review with one condition. D in Q1 is the overstatement the professor rejects. On the test, each talk has four questions. Guide: Listen to an Academic Talk. Practice: Academic Talk.

Writing

8. Build a Sentence

Classmate: I’m going to the career fair tomorrow. You: ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ? Tiles: whether / interns / could / are hiring / you / they / find out / do

Answer: Could you find out whether they are hiring interns?

Why: the request starts with “Could you”; after “find out whether” the question is indirect, so it takes statement word order (they are hiring), not question order. That makes do the extra tile. The whole sentence must be right to score the point. Guide: Build a Sentence. Practice: Build a Sentence.

9. Write an Email (7 minutes)

You signed up for a weekend volunteer trip run by the campus environmental club and paid a deposit. You have just learned that your sister’s graduation is on the same Saturday. Write to Daniel Okafor, the club’s trip coordinator. In your email:

• explain why you cannot join the trip;
• ask whether your deposit can be moved to the next trip;
• offer to help with the trip in another way.

A model answer (about 130 words):

Dear Daniel,

I’m afraid I won’t be able to join the river clean-up trip on 14 November. I’ve just found out that my sister’s graduation ceremony is that Saturday, and my family is expecting me to be there.

I already paid the $20 deposit. Would it be possible to move it to the next trip instead of getting a refund? I saw on the club page that there’s a park restoration day planned for early December, and I’d love to take part in that one.

I’d also like to help with this trip, even if I can’t be there. I could make the sign-up sheet for the equipment or put up posters around the library this week.

Thank you for understanding, and sorry for the short notice.

Best regards, Lucía

Why it works: each of the three tasks has its own paragraph, the tone is polite but direct, and the details are concrete (a date, an amount, two specific offers). Missing one of the three points costs more than a small grammar slip. Guide: Write an Email. Practice: Write an Email.

10. Write for an Academic Discussion (10 minutes)

Professor Lin (Sociology): Some universities require all first-year students to live in campus housing. Supporters say it helps students build friendships and settle in; critics say it is expensive and limits choice. Should universities require first-year students to live on campus? Why or why not?

Maya: Yes. Living on campus is the easiest way to meet people outside your classes. Students who live at home or off campus often miss evening events and study groups.

Jonas: I disagree. Campus housing costs more than a shared flat in many cities. A rule like this pushes some students into debt in their first year.

A model contribution (about 125 words):

I see both points, but I think a full-year requirement goes too far, and a shorter one would keep most of the benefits Maya describes. The first few weeks are when students form friendships and learn how the university works, so a one-semester requirement would cover the period that matters most. After that, students who are struggling with costs, which is Jonas’s concern, could move to cheaper housing. For example, at my cousin’s university, first-year students live in a residence hall until January and then choose. She told me that most of her friends from the first semester stayed close even after half of them moved out. A flexible rule protects both the social side and students’ budgets.

Why it works: it takes a clear position, refers to both classmates by name, and adds something new (a one-semester compromise) rather than repeating Maya or Jonas. A reason and a short example support the idea. Guide: Academic Discussion. Practice: Academic Discussion.

Speaking

11. Listen and Repeat

You are visiting a campus history museum. Listen to the guide and repeat each sentence exactly.

1. Welcome to the museum.
2. Please leave large bags at the front desk.
3. The first room shows the campus in the 1920s.
4. Photos are allowed, but please turn off the flash.
5. The map on the wall was drawn by one of the first students.
6. If you look closely, you can see that the library used to be a farmhouse.
7. Before you leave, you can add your own memory of the campus to the book next to the exit.

What scores well: every word in the right order, with natural stress and pausing. Missing small words (the, of, to) costs points; so does changing can to could. The sentences grow from a few words to nearly twenty, so listen for meaning chunks (“Before you leave / you can add your own memory / of the campus / to the book / next to the exit”) rather than single words. Guide: Listen and Repeat. Practice: Listen and Repeat.

12. Take an Interview

You are taking part in a university study about how students use their phones for learning. 45 seconds per answer, no preparation time.

1. Thanks for joining us. To start, which apps on your phone do you use most for your studies?
2. Can you describe a time when your phone helped you learn something quickly?
3. Some students say phones are a distraction in class. What has your experience been?
4. Some people think universities should ban phones in lectures. Do you agree? Why or why not?

A model answer to question 4 (about 85 words):

I don’t think a complete ban is a good idea. Many students use their phones for useful things in lectures, like checking a definition or photographing a diagram on the board. In my statistics class, for example, we answer quick polls on our phones, and it keeps everyone involved. But I do understand the concern about social media. A better rule, in my view, would be to let each lecturer decide, and to ask students to keep notifications off. That way the phone stays a tool, not a distraction.

Why it works: the first sentence answers the question, then come a reason, a specific example and a balanced conclusion, with no long silence. The questions move from personal facts to a broader opinion, so save your strongest reasoning for the last one. Guide: Take an Interview. Practice: Take an Interview.

How to use these samples

Try each example once with a timer, then practise the task types you got wrong with fresh items. Nomto’s TOEFL room has all 12 types with the test timing, and audio plays once. Reading, Listening and Build a Sentence are checked instantly with explanations in English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Turkish or Indonesian; speaking and writing are scored 0–5 on the official rubrics by AI, marked as an estimate. When you can do each type comfortably, take an adaptive mock test for a 1–6 band per section and the 0–120 total. A study plan: how to prepare for TOEFL.

Common questions

Are these real TOEFL questions? No. They are original examples written in the format of the 2026 test. ETS publishes its own official practice material on ets.org.

How many questions are on the TOEFL in 2026? About 120 items: Reading about 50, Listening about 47, Writing 12 and Speaking 11. Reading and Listening adapt to your answers, so the number varies a little.

Which task type is the most common? Listen and Choose a Response is the most frequent Listening task, and each Complete the Words item in Reading has ten gaps. Both are short, so speed on them matters.

Is there an essay on the new TOEFL? No long essay. The longest writing is the Academic Discussion post, written in 10 minutes.

TOEFL® and TOEFL iBT® are registered trademarks of ETS. Nomto is not endorsed or approved by ETS.

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