Obtaining a passing English language score is a necessary step in the application process, but many students face a problem:
Should I choose IELTS or TOEFL?
Since the vast majority of universities in most countries now recognize both TOEFL and IELTS, it is important to start withRecognitionIn fact, there is not much difference between the two.
However, TOEFL is generally taken when applying to American universities, and IELTS is generally taken when applying to British universities.
A small number of schools may have a large difference in the score requirements for TOEFL and IELTS. This is a specific analysis of specific problems, and it will be more advantageous to see which one will be more advantageous to take the test.
fromDifficultyLooking at it, TOEFL and IELTS have different emphases, so it's hard to say which TOEFL or IELTS will be more difficult.
TOEFL will be a little more academic, while IELTS will be a little more flexible.
Therefore, TOEFL is easier in terms of a high score (TOEFL 110+, IELTS 8+), so some universities, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, require IELTS 75, while the requirement for TOEFL is 110. (However, a TOEFL score of 110 cannot be fully benchmarked to IELTS 7.)5）
From the perspective of a more basic score, IELTS will be slightly simpler.
Let's talk about IELTS and TOEFLIELTS and TOEFLExam question types, formats, and scoring mechanismsThe differences:
.Exam question types
1.1 IELTS2.Exam format1. Listening. Basic question type: 4 monologues and dialogues (including matching questions, map questions, process questions, multiple choice questions, multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, etc.).
Exam time: 30 minutes, with 10 minutes to transcribe the answers to the answer sheet.
2. Read. Basic question type: 3-paragraph essay and corresponding questions (including multiple choice questions, true or false questions, information matching questions, abstract fill-in-the-blank questions, etc.).
Exam time: 60 minutes in total.
3. Writing. Basic question type: a small essay (task 1), 150 words, which requires the candidate to analyze, describe or illustrate a **, curve chart, bar chart or schematic diagram + a large essay (task 2), an argumentative essay of 250 words.
Exam time: 60 minutes in total.
4. Speaking. Basic question type: part1 (brief answer) + part2 (description......There is 1 minute preparation time) + part3 (extended by part2).
Exam duration: 11-14 minutes in total.
1.2 TOEFL
1.Hearing.
Basic composition: 2 dialogues and 3 lectures, each with 5 questions and each lecture with 6 questions.
The listening section consists of four question types:
Multiple choice questions: 4 options with only 1 correct answer.
Multiple-choice questions: Multiple options with more than 1 correct answer.
Sort questions: Arrange the order of time, or the steps of a process.
Collocation: Match some objects or text with categories in a chart, or tick a cell.
Exam duration: 36 minutes.
2.Read.
Basic composition: 2 articles, each with 10 questions.
Reading Article Type:
Exposition
Argumentation
Historical
The 4 question types examined in the Reading section:
Traditional multiple-choice, i.e., a question with 4 options and only 1 correct answer.
Multiple-choice questions, i.e. questions with multiple options and more than one correct answer.
The questions come with 4 options and only one correct answer, requiring the candidate to "insert a sentence" in the most appropriate place in the passage
In-depth comprehension questions, i.e., questions with more than 4 options and more than 1 correct answer.
Exam duration: 35 minutes in total.
3.Colloquial.
Basic question type: 4 questions, the first question is an independent speaking task, and the content of the question covers a topic that the test taker is familiar with. This question requires candidates to respond based on their own thoughts, opinions, and personal experiences, as well as any ideas, opinions, or experiences related to the question. The other 3 questions are integrated speaking tasks. To answer these questions, candidates must use a combination of multiple language skills. Candidates are asked to read, listen, and then answer in spoken English. Candidates can take notes and use these notes to answer questions.
Exam duration: 16 minutes.
4.Writing.
Basic question type: 2 writing questions. A synthesis essay and an academic discussion essay.
In Integrated Writing, candidates must:
Take notes on the material you hear and see, and use the notes to organize the information before writing.
Accurately summarize, paraphrase, and cite information from the source material.
Write about how the information you hear relate to what you read.
In Academic Discussion Writing, candidates are asked to present their views and provide arguments on a given topic:
Respond to or base your opinion on the content of the topic material.
Clearly state and state a position or argument.
Use a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary accurately and meaningfully in an academic setting.
Exam time: Approximately 29 minutes.
2.1 IELTSThe IELTS test can be computer-based or paper-based The paper-based test will be more suitable for students who usually like handwriting, slow typing, and like to make annotations But the computer-based test also has its advantages:
2.2 TOEFL
Unlike the IELTS test, which can be either paper-based or computer-based, the TOEFL test is currently only computer-based in mainland China.
3.Scoring mechanism
3.1 IELTSThe total score of the IELTS score is the average of the sections.
The sub-score and the total score of each part are 9 points, and half a point is allowed in the grading, and 025-point rounding system, if the decimal place of the average grade is 025, rounded to the next half bracket; If the decimal place of the grade point average is 075, round to the next whole bin.
For example: Listening 65. Read 70, writing 60, Spoken 60 - The total score of the four parts is 255, with an average score of 6375, then the total score on the report card is 65
Listening 70, read 80, writing 70, Colloquial 70 - The total score of the four sections is 29, with an average score of 725, then the overall score on the transcript is 75
For different IELTS scores, IELTS officials have also given different explanations:
After talking about the score mechanism of the total score, Xiao Yue will introduce it to youListening, speaking, reading, writingDifferent grading criteria for each section:
Listening & Reading:
IELTS Listening and Reading are both standard fixed answers, and the score is calculated according to the number of correct answers There are a total of 40 IELTS Reading and Listening questions, and each correct answer is worth one point. The original score of the full score is 40 points, and the test taker converts it into a band score of 1-9 points according to his original score.
Writing & Speaking:
In the Writing and Speaking sections, the examiner marks candidates based on a detailed performance grading scale, i.e. the examiner assesses which grade on a 9-point scale based on the candidate's performance in the Writing and Speaking exams.
Writing: The examiner will give the grade according to the four criteria:
Task 1: Completion of writing tasks, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary richness, grammatical diversity and accuracy
Task 2: Response, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary richness, grammatical diversity and accuracy in writing tasks
The scores of different tasks are the average of the four criteria, and the weight of the scores of Task2 is twice that of Task1.
Speaking: The IELTS test scores the speaking component from four dimensions: fluency and coherence, vocabulary diversity, grammatical diversity and accuracy, and pronunciation.
3.2 TOEFL
The TOEFL test consists of four sections: Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing, each of which has a full score of 30 points, for a total score of 120 points. Each section has its own grading criteria. Here's an overview of the grading criteria for each section:
Since there are standard answers for both listening and reading, I won't explain much here. Let's talk about the grading criteria for speaking and writing.
Colloquial.
Each speaking question will be given a starting score of 0-4 by the examiner, and the scoring criteria are as follows:
A score of 4 indicates that the answer to the question is complete, the structure is clear, the language is accurate, the expression is clear, and there may be slight pronunciation and intonation problems.
A score of 3 indicates that you can express relevant information, the structure is incomplete, the language is limited, there may be minor grammatical and lexical errors, and the phonetic and intonation problems are not serious.
A score of 2 indicates that the answer is pertinent, the structure is incomplete, the language ability is low, there are grammatical and vocabulary errors, and there are more phonetic and intonation problems.
A score of 1 indicates vague opinions, confusing structure, poor grammar and vocabulary use, and serious phonetic and intonation problems.
Finally, the arithmetic average of the initial scores of all speaking questions is taken and converted into a 30-point scale
The detailed scoring criteria given by the official are as follows:
Writing.
The TOEFL writing score consists of two parts: machine scoring and human grading.
Machine scoring mainly uses e-rater to score whether the candidate's essay is grammatically correct, whether the words are appropriate, and whether the spelling and capitalization of the words are accurate.
Manual grading is scored by ETS graders, and two graders are given scores for comprehensive writing and academic discussion writing.
The TOEFL writing raw score is 0-5, and the test taker score is divided into three levels: good (4.)0-5.0)，fair(2.5-3.5)，limited(1.0-2.0), the final score is averaged by the scores of the two subjects, and then converted to a 30-point scale.