TOEIC Test Cheatsheet

Part 1: Photos

Question Type: See a picture, choose the statement that best describes it. Tests understanding of position and direction.

Before listening, think of the theme and brainstorm related nouns and verbs.
Predict possible statements about activities, general situations, or spatial relationships.
While listening, listen carefully to check that the verb relates to the picture.
Echo the sentence silently and compare the verb used with what you see.
Select answers quickly; hold your pencil over choices and move only if a better one is heard.
Listen for every detail as incorrect choices may use some correct words but others wrong.
Listen for SVO (Subject, Verb, Object) words and compare them to the picture.
Listen for the wrong main subject, verb, and object; if you hear an incorrect one, ignore the choice.
Listen for prepositions carefully, especially wrong ones.
Be careful of similar sounds; a word sounding similar to something in the picture or imagined may be a distractor.

Question Type: Hear a question or statement and choose the best response from three options.

Correct answers won't usually be Yes, No, or Don't know; look for options using different words to express these meanings.
The question and answer choice often have different verb tenses; don't expect the grammar to match.
Distractors often use the same or similar-sounding words as the question; be careful of these.
Short-term memory is important; repeat each response silently to check if it answers the question or has distractors.
Be familiar with common marker words for time and location questions.
Listen for very short or indefinite answers for time and location questions.
Learn to identify "Where" questions (often contain "where", but can ask for directions) and "When" questions ("How long," "When," "What time").
Be aware of language common in requests, offers, and opinions.
For factual questions, listen for answers with related details or explanations, as they don't always answer directly.
Listen for keywords (nouns, verbs, question words) to avoid distractors.

Question Type: Listen to conversations and answer questions based on them.

Before listening, skim questions and answer choices to predict the context. Use keywords to make a rough guess.
Be careful of word distractors; the recording might use the same or similar words as answer choices but with different meanings.
Correct answers often use different words from the recording.
Listen to who says what; answer choices may have keywords used by a speaker, but it might not be the speaker specified in the question.
Answers are often not stated directly; use knowledge of related vocabulary and context to choose.
Think of other words related to the answer choices before listening and listen to infer the general meaning.
Look for inference markers like "What can be said/implied/inferred...?".
Be familiar with the language of negative responses (denial and refusal) and listen carefully to the information that follows.
Listen carefully to the first exchange (question or request and response), as it may relate to the first question.

Question Type: Listen to short talks (like announcements, reports) and answer questions.

Before listening, skim questions and answer choices to predict the context and identify key parts of the talk.
Imagine other ways answer choices might be said as the test often uses different words.
Note keywords from answer choices to predict what you will hear and focus your listening.
Answer questions as soon as you hear the answer; don't wait. Answer quickly and use time between conversations to skim the next questions.
For "What" questions, listen for information about the speaker, location, and topic for the main idea.
Answers usually appear in the order in which they appear in the talks.
Mark answers as you listen if they are definitely correct.
For questions with numbers and quantities, read the question carefully, note what it asks, quickly read answer choices, and decide if a number heard answers the question.
Be careful of sound distractors in numbers ending in -teen or -ty (e.g., 13 vs. 30).
For "How" and "Why" questions, brainstorm related vocabulary before listening.
Listen for related words and restatements; the correct answer might be a restatement of wording in the recording.

Question Type: Choose the correct word or phrase to fill in a blank in a sentence. Focuses on grammar and vocabulary.

Identify the correct part of speech needed (adjective, adverb, noun, verb).
Find the answer choice of the correct part of speech type.
Determine if a gerund or infinitive is needed by looking at the verb in the sentence.
Familiarize yourself with common phrases including gerunds and infinitives.
Learn common prefixes to guess word meanings (e.g., "il" before L, "im" before B, P, M).
Learn common suffixes to identify nouns (e.g., -tion/-sion, -ment, -ance/-ence) and verbs (e.g., -(i)fy, -ise/-ize).
Identify the type of pronoun needed (subject, object, possessive adjective, possessive pronoun).

Question Type: Choose the correct word or phrase to fill blanks in a short passage.

Use the context of the sentence or the whole passage to decide the correct verb form (tense).
Look for signal words for tenses (e.g., "now" for present continuous, "since/for" for present perfect).
Decide what part of speech is needed in the blank.
For prepositions, be familiar with common usage (e.g., "at" for precise time, "in" for months/years, "on" for days/dates).
For conjunctions, compare the two halves of the sentence and consider their relationship to choose the correct one.

Question Type: Read single passages, or sets of double or triple passages, and answer questions.

Scanning is important for specific information questions.
Read questions and underline keywords.
Scan the passage to look for the needed information.
For vocabulary questions, read sentences around the target word to guess meaning.
For main idea questions, skim the passage to confirm the most likely answer.
For inference questions, look for words or ideas in the passage related to answer choices.
Leave "NOT" questions for last; answering others might help locate the answer.
For questions about names, numbers, dates, and times, scan the passage to find the answer.
For charts, tables, and forms, understand the parts to quickly locate information.
Be careful of "small print" (notes or extra information at the bottom of charts/tables/forms).
For double and triple passages, read all texts before answering questions.