Exam

TOEFL

The purpose of the test is to evaluate the English proficiency of non-native speakers of English. This test is required to be taken by all the students whose national language is not English and wish to study in colleges and universities where English is the language of instruction.Candidates desirous of pursuing further studies at undergraduate or graduate levels are required to take TOEFL to demonstrate their English proficiency.

The test format

Sections Timelimit Questions Tasks
Reading 60–80 minutes 36–56 questions Read 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions.
Listening 60–90 minutes 34–51 questions Listen to lectures, classroom discussions and conversations, then answer questions.
Break 10 minutes -
Speaking 20 minutes 6 Tasks Express an opinion on a familiar topic; speak based on reading and listening tasks.
Writing 50 minutes 2 tasks Write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks; support an opinion in writing.
  •  Reading : Reading tests candidates' ability to read and comprehend the passages, and answer the questions based on the same. It consists of 3 – 4 passages, and each passage having 13 – 15 questions on it. It lasts for approximately 60 – 80 minutes.
  •  Listening : Listening tests candidates' ability to understand spoken English that is typical of interactions in academic environment. It comprises the talks and lectures of generally American speakers. Listening has two formats i.e. Short Format (SF) and Long Format (LF), one of which appears in the test. SF comprises 6 talks of which three are conversations and three are lectures. LF has 9 talks of which three are conversations and 6 are lectures. SF will last for approximately 45 – 55 minutes, whereas LF lasts approximately 70 – 80 minutes.
  •  Speaking : Speaking tests a candidate's ability to converse in English. Speaking has 6 question prompts which include independent speaking questions, as well as integrated speaking questions. Candidates are given a few seconds to think and the time allotted to speak keeps changing as per the question format. Approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute is the time limit, per question in speaking. Overall speaking test lasts for 20 minutes.
  •  Writing : Writing tests a candidate's ability to express himself through written text. It comprises of 2 tasks. In Task 1 i.e. Integrated Writing, candidates are required to read a passage, listen to a lecture and compose a technical essay based on the passage and the lecture. Time allotted is 20 minutes. In Task 2 i.e. Independent Essay, students are given a general topic to write an essay on. Time allotted is 30 minutes.

Each section of TOEFL is graded on a scale of 0-30 in 1 point increment. Composite score is addition of all the scores. TOEFL is scored out of 120. 100+ is considered to be a good score.

IELTS

International English Language Testing System.

The purpose of the test is to evaluate the English proficiency of non-native speakers of English. This test is required to be taken by all students whose native language is not English and wish to study in College or Universities where English is the language of instruction.

IELTS has two types of modules - Academic and General Training.

Academic Module is required to be given by students who plan to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels. While, General Training Module is generally a prerequisite for the people who either want to pursue vocational studies or plan to immigrate.

Sections Questions Time
Listening 40 questions 40 minutes
Reading
Academic Module 3 passages ( 40 questions) 60 minutes
General Module 3 sections (40 questions) 60 minutes
Writing
Academic Module 2 tasks (Diagram Prompt/Argument Prompt) 60 minutes
General Module 2 tasks (Letter Prompt/Essay Prompt) 60 minutes
Speaking 3 parts 11 – 15 minutes
  •  Listening : It has 4 sections and 40 questions in all. It lasts for 40 minutes including the time one gets for transferring the answers to the main answer sheet.
  •  Reading : Reading has 3 passages, 40 questions in all. Candidates are given only 1 hour to complete reading, which means that time management is very important. One must give 20 minutes per passage.
  •  Writing : Academic Module

    It has 2 writing tasks. Task 1 is primarily Report writing (explaining diagrams and charts). Essay on task 1 must not be less than 150 words.

    Students are advised to spend 20 minutes on this task. Task 2 is Argumentative essay.

    Essay on task 2 must not be less than 250 words. Students are advised to spend 40 minutes on the same. In all, time allotted for writing is 1 hour. General Training Module It also has 2 writing tasks. Task1 presents a Letter Prompt (formal or informal). Students must write at least 150 words for the same. Task2 is same as that of Academic Module.

  •  Speaking : Speaking has 3 parts and lasts for 11-14 minutes. It is done on one-to-one basis with the student. This is usually done on another day.

    Part1: Examiner asks general questions to the student, which relates to his/her work, studies, hobbies etc. This part lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.

    Part2: The candidate is given a topic to speak, which is printed on a task card.

    Students have to speak for 1 minute at least and are given one minute to think and write down some points. This part lasts between 3 and 4 minutes.

    Part3: It's a two way discussion with the examiner (questions mostly related to part 2 topic will be asked).The discussion lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.

IELTS is graded on a scale of 0 – 9, known as Band Scale. Generally, a score of at least 6 bands for UG & 6.5 bands for PG is required in each section. The result is available in 15 working days.

PTE

PTE Academic is a computer-based test which assesses the Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing abilities of non-native speakers of English 

There are 20 different types of tasks. Some tasks will test integrated skills (e.g. reading AND speaking).

Introduction Untimed Self introduction this part is not assessed.
Speaking and writing 77 - 93 minutes
Reading 32 - 41 minutes
Break the break is optional. 10 minutes
Listening 45 - 57 minutes
The timings shown are variable. The test will always last 3 hours in total.
Overall score is a mark out of 90. The good score of 65 which is a good indication of your English language ability in real-life academic situations.
Score Validity: 2 years Official Website : www.pearsonpte.com
Registration Mode : Edwise Centres or Online Rescheduling Fee : 25% of the test fees
Mode of Payment: Credit card / PTE Voucher (cash) Test Administration Frequency : On fixed date
Test Fee: Rs. 10,900/- Test Repetition policy : Next available date
Score reporting time : Approximately 5 days Extra Score Reporting Fee : No fee
Nature of Test : Computer based test

GRE

Graduate Record Examination, required to be given by the candidates desirous of taking admission to graduate programs primarily in the areas of engineering and sciences at education institutions in USA. The GRE is designed to help graduate schools assess the qualifications of applicants for advanced study in technical fields. GRE scores are used by more than 3,000 graduate programs throughout the world

GRE - General Test is required to be taken by students who want to pursue any graduate degree (Masters) other than an MBA.

Sections Questions Time
Analytical Writing 2 60mins
Analyze an issue 1 30mins
Analyze an arguement 1 30mins
Quantitative Reasoning (2 sections) approximately 20 questions each section 35mins each section
Verbal Reasoning (2 sections) approximately 20 questions each section 30mins each section
Unscored (Experimental) Varies Varies
Research Varies

The Analytical Writing Assessment section of the test measures your ability to think critically and communicate complex ideas through writing.

The Quantitative section of the GRE exam measures your ability to reason Mathematically, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphic data.

    This section contains the following types of questions:
  • Problem Solving
  • Quantitative Comparison
  • Numeric Entry

The Verbal Reasoning section of the test measures your ability to understand and evaluate what you read and to recognize basic conventions of standard written English.

    The section contains the following types of questions:
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Text Completion
  • Sentence Equivalence
Scoring

Essays are scored on a scale of 0 - 6 in 0.5 increments.

Quantitative Reasoning section is scored on a scale of 130 - 170 in 1 point increment.

Verbal Reasoning section is scored on a scale of 130 - 170 in 1 point increment. good score is 300 / 340

Score Validity: 5 years Score Reporting Time: Approximately 2 weeks
Registration Maode: Telephone/Mail/Online/Fax Extra Score Reporting Fee: $25
Mode of Payment: Demand Draft/Credit card Official Website: www.gre.org
Test Fee: $205 Rescheduling Fee: $50
Nature of Test: Nature of Test Test Administration Frequency: Daily
Test Repetition policy: Once calendar month. maximum 5 times a calendar year

GMAT

Graduate Management Admission Test

GMAT is required to be taken by students who want to pursue graduate degree in Management (MBA).

CET (MBA). The GMAT is designed to help graduate schools of business assess the qualifications of applicants for advanced study in business and management. GMAT scores are used by more than 3,000 graduate management programs throughout the world.

The GMAT test measures general verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills that are developed over a long period of time and are associated with academic success in the core courses of graduate management programs. GMAT now has a new section called Integrated Reasoning in place of 'Analysis of an issue' Essay topic. The GMAT examination does not presuppose any specific knowledge of business or of other specific content areas, nor does it measure achievement in any particular subject area.

Sections Questions Time
Analytical Writing Assessment (Analysis of an Argument) 1 30mins
Integrated Reasoning 12 30mins
Optional Break
Quantitative 37 75mins
Optional Break
Verbal 41 75mins
Total Duration about 4 hours inclusive breaks and tutorial

The Analytical Writing Assessment section of the test measures your ability to think critically and communicate complex ideas through writing.

The Analysis of an Argument task tests your ability to formulate an appropriate and constructive critique of a specific conclusion based on a specific line of thinking.

Integrated Reasoning section will assess the data analysis skill of a candidate. It will consist of four types of questions:

  •  Graph analysis
  •  Table analysis
  •  Two way analysis
  •  Multi source analysis

The Quantitative section of the GMAT exam measures your ability to reason mathematically, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphic data. This section contains the following types of questions:

  •  Problem Solving
  •  Data Sufficiency

The Verbal section of the test measures your ability to understand and evaluate what you read and to recognize basic conventions of standard written English. The section contains the following types of questions:

    In a computer-adaptive test, questions are chosen from a very large pool of test questions categorized by content and difficulty and presented one at a time.

    The test is constantly targeting your individual ability level. In each section, your answer for each question will determine the level of your next question.

    Consequently, you must enter an answer for each question and you may not go back to make changes. If you answer a question incorrectly by mistake or correctly by lucky guess, your answers to subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at the appropriate level of difficulty for you.

    Scoring:

    Essays are scored on a scale of 0 - 6 in 0.5 increments.

    Integrated Reasoning section is scored on a scale of 1 - 8 in 1 point increment.

    Quantitative section is scored on a scale of 0 - 60 in 1 point increment.

    Verbal section is scored on a scale of 0 - 60 in 1 point increment.

    Scaled scores of Quantitative and Verbal sections are added to create a score on the scale of 200 - 800 in 10 points increment. 650+ score is considered good score.

    Score Validity: 5 years Official Website : www.mba.com
    Registration Mode : Telephone/Mail/Online/Fax Rescheduling Fee : $50
    Mode of Payment: Demand Draft/Credit card Test Administration Frequency : Throughout the year
    Test Fee: $250 Test Repetition policy : Once a calendar month, maximum 5 times a calendar year
    Score reporting time : Approximately 2 weeks Nature of Test: Computer Based Test
    Extra Score Reporting Fee : $28

    SAT

    SAT or Scholastic Assessment Test is a world renowned admission test required to be given by the candidates desirous of taking admission to undergraduate programs primarily in USA and Singapore.

    Sections Questions Time
    Reading 52 Questions 65mins
    Writing and Language 44 Questions 35mins
    Maths (2 Sections)
    Section 1 20 Questions 25 minutes (No calculator allowed)
    Section 2 38 Questions 55 minutes (No calculator allowed)
    Optional Essay (1 Topic ) Only 1 Topic 50mins

    Section Wise Brief

    The reading section of the test measures your ability to understand what you read and to recognize basic conversations of standard written English.

    •  The Math section of SAT exam measures your ability to reason mathematical approaches, solve Math problems and interpret graphical data.
    •  The writing section of the test measures your knowledge of grammar and conversations of standard and written expressions.
    •  Essay- The optional essay sections measures your ability to think critically and communicate complex ideas through writing.
    Score Validity: 5 years Score Reporting Time : Approx 17 days
    Registration Mode : Telephone/Mail/Online/Fax Extra score reporting Fee : $11.25
    Mode of Payment: Demand Draft/Credit card Official Website : www.collegboard.org
    Test fee with essay : $103.5 Rescheduling Fee : $26
    Test fee without essay : $92.5 Test Administration Frequency : 6 times a year