Oxford Test of English Advanced

Trust in a fair, reliable and valid test endorsed by the University of Oxford and developed by Oxford University Press. The Oxford Test of English Advanced is a personalized 100% online, flexible, fast English assessment solution for test takers who want to prove their English proficiency at a higher level (B2—C1) for professional or academic opportunities. It is available at Approved Test Centres worldwide.

• Four modules: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing
• Take or re-take as a full test, single modules, or in any combination – whatever your English proficiency needs!
• Results are valid for life
• Recognized by a growing number of institutions around the world

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Overview of the Oxford Test of English Advanced

The Oxford Test of English, Oxford Test of English for Schools, and Oxford Test of English Advanced consist of four modules: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. The Listening and Reading modules are computer-adaptive, whereas the Speaking and Writing modules are randomized with questions selected at random from the item bank. The Speaking and Writing modules are marked by trained, expert assessors.

The table below shows the approximate length, number of parts, structure and content in each module for the Oxford Test of English Advanced.

Speaking Listening Reading Writing

Speaking

The Speaking module has five parts. It takes approximately 15 minutes.

Part	Task type	Number of questions	Task format	Testing focus	Detailed timing
Part 1	Interview	6 (first 2 questions not marked)	Answer questions on everyday topics	giving information, advice, and descriptions expressing opinions, preferences, feelings, and attitudes narrating, comparing, hypothesizing, and speculating	2 questions x 10 seconds; 4 questions x30 seconds to answer
Part 2	Voice message	1	Leave a voice message to respond to a difficult or sensitive situation	negotiating complex or sensitive transactions expressing disagreement diplomatically using persuasive language	10 seconds to prepare, 40 seconds to answer
Part 3	Summary	1	Summarize and synthesize the main ideas expressed by two different speakers talking about the same topic	summarizing structuring discourse distinguishing main points and supporting detail	40 seconds to prepare, 50 seconds to answer
Part 4	Debate	1	Put a case for or against a proposition using two or three of the ideas provided	developing an argument sustaining an argument concluding an argument	45 seconds to prepare, 2 minutes to answer
Part 5	Follow-up questions	4	Respond to questions to expand on the topics raised in the debate	justifying opinions and attitudes speculating about the past or future describing experiences comparing and evaluating alternatives	4 questions x 40 seconds to answer

Listening

The Listening module has four parts. It takes approximately 35 minutes. Test takers can listen to each audio twice.

Part	Task type	Number of questions	Task format	Testing focus	Detailed timing
*Part 1	Multiple choice with picture options OR text options	5	Short monologues or dialogues each with one 3-option multiple-choice question with picture options OR with text options	identifying gist identifying specific information understanding attitude/feeling/opinion understanding implied meaning identifying function/reason/purpose identifying type, speaker relationship, topic understanding rhetorical purpose (exemplification, comparison, exaggeration)	time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 10 seconds
*Part 2	Note- completion	5 or 6	Longer monologue with a note-completion task with five 3-option multiple-choice questions OR with six gaps to fill	identifying specific information	time to read the task = 30 seconds; time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 15 seconds
*Part 3	Matching	5 or 6	Longer dialogue with multiple-choice questions to match opinions to the people who express them	identifying stated opinion identifying implied meaning	time to read the task = 30 seconds; time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 15 seconds
Part 4	Multiple-choice with text options	5	Short monologues/dialogues, each with one 3-option multiple-choice question with text options	identifying gist identifying specific information understanding attitude/feeling/opinion understanding implied meaning identifying function/reason/purpose identifying type, speaker relationship, topic understanding rhetorical purpose (exemplification, comparison, exaggeration)	time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 10 seconds

* In these parts of the Listening module the task type and number of questions that the test taker gets will depend on their level.

Reading

The Reading module has four parts. It takes up to 35 minutes.

Part	Task type	Number of questions	Task format	Testing focus	Detailed timing
Part 1	Multiple-choice questions on short texts	6	Multiple-choice questions on short texts from a variety of sources, including adverts, blogs, emails, letters, notices, literary extracts, and journal extracts	Careful local and global reading: identifying main message, purpose, detail, and implied meaning	6 questionsx 1 minute20 seconds
*Part 2	Multiple- matching	6 or 7	Multiple-matching task with six profiles to match to four longer texts OR seven questions to match to three longer texts	Expeditious search reading at local and global levels: identifying specific information, opinion and attitude, and implied meaning	8 minutes
Part 3	Gapped text	6	Gapped text task with extracted sentences to be inserted into a longer text	Careful global reading: identifying text structure and organizational features of a text	11 minutes
*Part 4	Multiple-choice questions on a longer text	4 or 5	Multiple-choice questions on a longer text	Careful local and global reading: identifying attitude/opinion, purpose, reference, the meanings of words in context and global meaning understanding implication and exemplification	8 minutes

* In these parts of the Reading module the task type and number of questions that the test taker gets will depend on their level.

Writing

The Writing module has two parts. It takes up to 50 minutes. The tasks in both parts are compulsory.

Part	Task type	Number of questions	Task format	Testing focus	Detailed timing
Part 1	Essay	1	Write an essay of 220–280 words in response to an essay question, including at least two out of three ideas provided	structuring and developing an argument giving reasons against or in support of a particular point evaluating different ideas or solutions to a problem highlighting salient issues	30 minutes
Part 2	Summary	1	Write a summary of 80–100 words synthesizing the main ideas from a textbook extract and a lecture transcription the same subject	summarizing and synthesizing information from two sources identifying relevant information and reorganizing ideas distinguishing main from supporting information paraphrasing	20 minutes

Module-by-module overview