TOEFL iBT® · Reading · 2026
TOEFL Read in Daily Life: how the task works
Read in Daily Life is one of the three Reading task types in the 2026 TOEFL iBT® test. It uses short, everyday texts — the kind you meet outside the classroom — and checks whether you can find the point quickly. Here's the format, a worked example, and tips — then try it in a free full-length mock.
What the task is
Read in Daily Life uses the short, everyday texts you run into outside the classroom — the kind you'd read anywhere in the world. Each text is about 15–150 words and is followed by two or three multiple-choice questions, depending on its length.
The texts come in many everyday formats, such as:
- a poster, sign or notice
- a menu
- a social media post or web page
- a schedule
- an email
- a chain of text messages
- an advertisement
- a short web article or review
- a form, invoice or receipt
A worked example
This is our own illustration of the format (not an official test item).
Notice — Greenfield Community Pool
The pool will be closed all day on Monday 14 April for its yearly deep clean. It reopens at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Members booked into a Monday class can take the same class on Wednesday at no extra charge — just show your booking. Questions? Message the front desk through the app.
1. Why will the pool be closed on Monday?
- A. for a public holiday
- B. for its annual cleaning ✓ correct
- C. for a private event
- D. for staff training
2. What can a member with a Monday class do?
- A. get a refund
- B. attend the class on Wednesday for free ✓ correct
- C. book a private session
- D. cancel their membership
Question 1 checks a main detail; question 2 needs you to read a specific condition ("show your booking… at no extra charge"). Longer texts may add a third question.
How many items, and how it's scored
- 5–15 items — the Reading section includes 5 to 15 Read in Daily Life questions (out of 50 Reading items overall).
- Machine-scored multiple choice.
- CEFR A1–C1 — the widest level range of the Reading task types, in an everyday, social-interpersonal context.
- It sits in the Reading section, which comes first, takes about 30 minutes, and is two-stage adaptive.
What the questions ask you to do
Across the texts, the questions require you to:
- pull information out of texts that aren't read straight through — tables, forms, schedules;
- spot the main point of a written message;
- cope with informal wording, including everyday idioms;
- make inferences from what the text implies;
- make sense of clipped, abbreviated writing (the shorthand of notes and posts); and
- skim for the gist or scan for a single detail.
How to prepare
- Notice the text type first. A menu, a schedule and a text-message chain are read differently — the format tells you where to look.
- Ask "what's the point?" Many questions turn on what the writer is really trying to say.
- Scan for the exact detail the question asks about rather than reading every word — these texts reward speed.
- Get comfortable with informal English — idioms, abbreviations and clipped, note-style writing appear here more than in the academic texts.
- Read everyday English widely — signs, adverts, emails, apps — so real formats feel familiar on test day.
- Practise under timing. A free full-length mock includes Read in Daily Life in the 2026 format.
Practise Read in Daily Life free
Take a full-length practice mock built to the 2026 TOEFL iBT® format — including Read in Daily Life — and get a predicted 1–6 band. No card required.
Avermond Test Prep is an independent preparation service. TOEFL® is a registered trademark of ETS. This product is not endorsed or approved by ETS. Task descriptions and item counts reflect ETS's published January-2026 TOEFL iBT test specifications and may be subject to minor revision before launch.