What task types has Reading included since January 21, 2026?
ETS describes the Reading section as measuring your ability to read and understand English in everyday campus life and in academic settings. It includes three task types, which ETS calls “Complete the Words,” “Read in Daily Life,” and “Read an Academic Passage.” According to the ETS technical manual, it is also the first test section, before Listening, Writing, and Speaking.
ETS’s test-content page lists 50 items for the section and an “Approx. Base Time” of 30, without specifying the unit, adding that the duration and number of items may vary because the test is adaptive. The following table summarizes what ETS says each screen asks you to do; passage lengths and question counts come from its technical manual.
ETS adds that everything needed to answer is in the passages, with no prior subject knowledge required, and that, according to its specifications document, the passages remain visible throughout each task. In its April 2026 report, ETS also says the January 2026 update introduced new task types, so an older prep book may not cover them.
| Task | Passage | What the screen asks you to do |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the Words | A paragraph from authentic sources, with the first sentence intact; 10 truncated words per passage | Enter the missing letters in partially erased words |
| Read in Daily Life | A short, nonacademic text (sign, email, menu, series of text messages, etc.), 15 to 150 words long | Two or three multiple-choice questions, depending on passage length: main idea, details, and implied meaning |
| Read an Academic Passage | An expository passage of about 200 words on history, art and music, business and economics, life sciences, physical sciences, or social sciences | Typically five questions: main idea, details, vocabulary in context, inferences, relationships between ideas, and the purpose of part of the passage |
How does the section adapt to your level, and how many questions does it include?
ETS designed the Reading and Listening sections as two-stage adaptive tests. The first module, the “router,” contains tasks of moderate difficulty at CEFR level B1 or B2. The second is a “lower” or “upper” module, depending on your performance in the first: each candidate follows one path, router then lower or router then upper. ETS calls these the “easy path” and “hard path.” The cutoff for routing to one or the other does not appear in the ETS documents we reviewed.
ETS specifies that adaptation happens at the section level, not the question level: an entire module changes, not the next question. The table below summarizes the scored questions listed in the technical manual, by stage and path.
ETS says Reading modules may include 15 unscored questions—trial questions used for quality control and other operational purposes. Its specifications document lists 50 items and 35 raw points for the section, and notes that the items include unscored questions; that accounts for the difference between 50 and 35. In the materials we reviewed, ETS does not explain how to identify them on screen, so treat every question as if it counts.
For timing, the same document gives estimates in minutes: 18 to 21 minutes for the first stage and 9 minutes for the second. These are estimates—ETS itself says the duration may vary—and the document notes that its specifications may be revised slightly before the official test launch. Treat them as a rough guide, not a stopwatch.
The instructions in ETS Practice Test 1 let you move between questions using Next and Back within the same Reading module. Once you start Module 2, you cannot return to Module 1. This PDF is adapted for paper and does not exactly reproduce the live test; use it to understand this navigation limit.
- Both paths score the same number of questions, 35; what changes is the mix: the lower path has more Read in Daily Life questions, while the upper path has more Read an Academic Passage questions.
- Complete the Words accounts for 20 of the 35 scored questions on both paths.
| Task | Stage 1 (router) | Stage 2 lower | Stage 2 upper | Lower path | Upper path |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete the Words | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 |
| Read in Daily Life | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
| Read an Academic Passage | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Total | 20 | 15 | 15 | 35 | 35 |
How is the Reading section scored?
Since January 21, 2026, Reading has received a score from 1 to 6 in half-point increments, like the other three sections. The overall score is the average of all four, rounded to the nearest half band (ETS gives 5.25 rounded to 5.5 as an example). On this scale, ETS maps scores of 4 to 4.5 to CEFR level B2 for Reading, the other three sections, and the overall score.
In the ETS technical manual, each scored question is worth one point for a correct answer and zero otherwise. The section’s raw-point total is converted to a score through a statistical procedure called equating (making results comparable across test versions), which accounts for the difficulty of the module received at Stage 2. ETS draws three conclusions: the reported score is neither the number nor the percentage of raw points earned; it cannot be derived through a simple linear conversion; and a given score reflects the same language proficiency regardless of the Stage 2 module received or when the test was taken.
Two details from the 2026–2027 Bulletin. To receive scores, you must answer at least one Reading and one Listening question, and complete at least one Speaking and one Writing task. At the end of the test, ETS displays unofficial Reading and Listening scores, which may differ from the official scores later posted to your account because of the statistical analysis conducted after the test.
The score calculation, in the TOEFL guide GuideHow do you reconstruct truncated words in Complete the Words?
ETS describes the format this way: after an intact first sentence, the second half of every other word is erased, and you must supply the missing letters; each passage has 10 truncated words. This is known as the “C-test” format, which the ETS technical manual presents as a measure of the ability to process a text for both meaning and form.
Here is a strategy based on that format; it is ours, not ETS’s.
- Read the entire passage first without filling anything in: the intact first sentence gives you the topic and register.
- For each truncated word, use the surrounding words to identify its function (verb, noun, preposition, adverb) before thinking about the letters.
- Check that the visible beginning fits the word you have in mind, then enter the missing letters. In the exercise below, we ask for the complete words to make checking easier.
- Reread the complete passage with your answers: if a sentence does not read naturally, revisit a word.
Complete the Words. The second half of ten words has been removed: each underscore is one missing letter. Write the ten complete words, in order, separated by commas. Text: Some towns now lend tools the way libraries lend books. Members si__ up onl___, then bor___ equipment fr__ a sha___ shed. Ea__ loan en__ after fo__ days, whi__ lets ma__ families use the same ladder.
Enter your answer before viewing the review.
The solution, step by step
sign, online, borrow, from, shared, Each, ends, four, which, many.
The method in action
- Read the whole passage first: it is about neighbors lending tools, which rules out unrelated words. Then check each word by its function. After “Members,” “si__ up” is a verb followed by “up”: “sign.” “onl___” completes “sign up” with an adverb: “online.” After “then,” “bor___ equipment” is a present-tense verb whose subject is still “Members”: “borrow.”
- You can infer the short words from their position. “fr__” is a preposition before “a shared shed”: “from.” “Ea__ loan” is a determiner: “Each.” “en__ after” is the verb for “loan”: “ends.” “fo__ days” is a number: “four.”
- Three words need a second look. “sha___ shed” might suggest “shaped,” but only “shared” fits a shed for tools lent among neighbors. “whi__ lets” connects the previous clause to the next: “which,” not “while,” which does not fit this construction. “ma__ families” is “many,” a determiner that fits both the plural noun and the meaning. Finally, reread the complete passage: if it sounds natural, all ten answers fit.
How should you read an everyday text and then an academic passage?
For Read in Daily Life, ETS says questions cover the main idea, details, and implied meaning; its technical manual adds that you should be able to skim a text and locate information in it. Since the text stays visible, there is no need to memorize it. Our strategy: identify the type and purpose of the text (announcement, request, warning), read the question, then return to find the relevant sentence.
For Read an Academic Passage, the passage is short—about 200 words—and ETS says no prior subject knowledge is required. Our strategy: read once for structure, noting what each sentence does (definition, example, qualification), then answer the questions one at a time by returning to the passage. To answer a question about a detail’s function, ask what the sentence containing it does, not what it says.
Read in Daily Life. Read the e-mail, then answer the question. Subject: Laundry room closed on Thursday. Hi all, the ground-floor washers will be out of use all day this Thursday while a technician replaces the water pipes. The third-floor laundry room stays open as usual, but it has only four machines, so it may be crowded. Residents who need to wash bedding before the weekend are welcome to use the ground floor on Wednesday evening or Friday morning. Dana, Residence Office. Question: Why does the writer mention that the third-floor room has only four machines?
Choose an answer.
The solution, step by step
C : To explain why it may be crowded on Thursday.
The method in action
- The text is an informational email from a residence office. To answer a question about a detail’s purpose, reread the sentence containing it: “it has only four machines, so it may be crowded.” “So” connects the number of machines to the possibility of crowds, making C the answer.
- A is incorrect: nothing says a machine is broken; the email mentions plumbing work on the ground floor. B is incorrect: the pipes are being replaced on the ground floor, and the number of machines on the third floor has nothing to do with that reason. D is incorrect: the email says nothing about using machines simultaneously; it only offers alternative times for washing bulky items.
Read an Academic Passage. Read the passage, then answer the question. Dendrochronology, the study of tree rings, is best known as a way of dating wooden beams, but researchers have also found that the rings record climate. In a year with plentiful rain, a tree usually adds a wide ring; in a dry year, the ring is narrow. By comparing the patterns in living trees with those in old timber, scientists can build a ring sequence that extends back several thousand years. Such sequences are not perfect archives, however. A narrow ring can result from drought, but also from insects, frost, or crowding by neighboring trees. For this reason, researchers rarely rely on a single tree. They sample many trees at a site and look for the pattern that all of them share. Question: Why does the author mention insects, frost, and crowding by neighboring trees?
Choose an answer.
The solution, step by step
B : To give other possible causes of a narrow ring.
The method in action
- The question asks what role a list plays in the passage’s reasoning. The three factors follow “A narrow ring can result from drought, but also from…”: they are other possible causes of a narrow ring, as B states. The passage then draws a conclusion: “For this reason, researchers rarely rely on a single tree.”
- A overgeneralizes: the passage says these sequences are not perfect archives, not that they are useless for dating. C reverses the meaning: insects, frost, and competition explain narrow rings, not wide ones. D misreads the list: these factors are mentioned as causes of a narrow ring, not as dangers facing living trees.
The pitfall
Can you guess your score from how difficult the second module felt?
A common claim goes like this: if the second module felt easy, you must have done poorly on the first; if it felt hard, you must have done well. ETS does say the second module depends on your performance in the first, but nothing it publishes lets you infer your score from that. The final score combines correct answers across both modules and the difficulty of the path taken through equating. The ETS documents we reviewed give neither the cutoff that routes you to one module or the other nor the conversion from raw points to a score. A feeling is not a measurement.
What you can control is simpler: take every question seriously in both stages, since the raw-point total across both modules contributes to your score; and do not slow down or rush your reading based on an impression. On test day, ETS displays an unofficial Reading score at the end and warns that it may differ from the official score.
Key takeaways
- The Reading section includes three task types—Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage—and is the first test section.
- It is adaptive across two stages: a moderately difficult first module, then a lower or upper module based on your performance. Each path scores 35 questions out of the 50 listed items.
- The score ranges from 1 to 6 in half-point increments; ETS specifies that it is neither the number nor the percentage of raw points earned.
- Complete the Words accounts for 20 of the 35 scored questions: read the entire passage before filling in the words, then reread it with your answers.
- Do not infer your score from how difficult the second module felt: the ETS documents reviewed here provide neither the routing cutoff nor the conversion from raw points to a score.