Looking for a one-month TOEFL study schedule? This plan gives you a day-by-day breakdown for four weeks of focused TOEFL prep, covering all four sections—Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing—with lessons, practice, and review built into each day.
Before diving in, a few important notes:
Is one month enough time? If you’re concerned about your overall English level, one month may not be sufficient. This schedule assumes you already have solid English fundamentals and primarily need to learn the TOEFL format and question types. If your English skills need more development, consider taking some time to strengthen your grammar, vocabulary, and core language skills before starting intensive test prep.
Practice English outside of test prep, too. While this schedule focuses on TOEFL-specific skills, you’ll benefit from immersing yourself in English throughout your day—reading articles, watching videos, or having conversations in English. The more exposure you get, the more natural the test will feel.
Take a rest day each week. This schedule covers six days per week, leaving one day for rest. Don’t skip your rest day! Recovery is an essential component of effective studying. Your brain needs time to consolidate what you’ve learned.
Pro Tip: Schedule your rest day strategically. Many students find that taking a break after the weekly practice test (Day 3 or Day 5) helps them return refreshed for the review session.
Want a printable version? Download our free one-month TOEFL study schedule PDF to track your progress offline, mark off completed days, and keep your study plan handy wherever you go.
Download the Free 1-Month TOEFL Study Schedule PDF
Table of Contents
About This Study Schedule
Here’s how this schedule is designed:
- Balanced skill coverage: You’ll practice Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing each week, so no skill area gets neglected.
- Task-focused days: Each day is generally structured around a specific task type, allowing you to go deep on one area before moving on. Starting in Week 2, you’ll also do Additional Practice of other skill areas.
- Manageable daily workload: Days are designed to take between 1.5 and 1.75 hours, for a total of roughly 9–11 hours per week.
- Weekly practice tests: You’ll take a full practice test each week to build stamina and track your improvement across specific task types.
- Official ETS content: Work is kept within Magoosh as much as possible since Magoosh uses 100% official ETS content questions and provides detailed explanations.
What content does this schedule use?
- All Magoosh video lessons
- All 4 Magoosh reserved practice tests
- Roughly 50% of Magoosh student-response Custom Practice prompts (Speaking and Writing tasks)
- Roughly 30% of Magoosh multiple-choice Custom Practice prompts
- 1 ETS Interactive Sample question set
- Magoosh TOEFL Flashcards
A note about time estimates: Lesson times are based on normal playback speed with some padding for pausing and note-taking. Your actual time may vary, especially if you watch videos at a different speed. Review time may also be shorter or longer depending on how well you perform on practice tasks. Practice time can also serve as your time limit when you’re studying using Quiz Mode, but be sure to make adjustments based on your own personal strategies (such as intentionally spending more time on Complete the Word tasks if you find that question type challenging).
TOEFL Prep Resources
You’ll need the following resources for this study schedule:
- A computer with a microphone, speakers, and internet access
- Magoosh TOEFL Premium subscription
- Magoosh TOEFL Flashcards (free app)
You’ll also use these external resources during Week 4:
- ETS TOEFL Interactive Sample — Official practice questions from ETS
- TOEFL Overview PDF — Contains sample responses for Speaking and Writing
Recommended: Keep an error log to track patterns in your mistakes. This will help you identify which areas need the most attention.
Pro Tip: Your error log is one of the most powerful tools for score improvement. After each practice session, note not just what you got wrong, but why you got it wrong. You’ll start to see patterns—and those patterns tell you exactly where to focus.
Week 1
Week 1, Day 1 — Get a Feel for the Exam Part 1: Reading and Speaking — 98 minutes
In today’s lessons, you’ll start learning about the structure of the TOEFL.
For practice, you’ll try out 1 of each Reading and Speaking question type in Custom Practice. Don’t worry about getting questions right or wrong. The goal right now is for you to experience the kinds of questions that are on the test since you’ll be taking a full mock test on Day 3.
Another goal of today is to see if studying vocabulary through TOEFL flashcards will be helpful to you. You’ll start by determining which level is appropriate for you. (See specific instructions in the ‘Flashcards’ section below.)
Main Lessons — 33 minutes
Main Practice — 20 minutes
Reading Practice:
- 1 Academic Passage Task
- 1 Complete the Words Task
- 1 Read in Daily Life – Short Task
- 1 Read in Daily Life – Long Task
Speaking Practice:
Main Review — 20 minutes
Flashcards — 25 minutes
- Magoosh TOEFL Flashcards: Start with the ‘Medium Words 1’ deck. After the first dozen words, if you know some of the words but don’t know others, stay at the Medium level. However, if you already know most or all of the words, jump up to ‘Hard Words 1’ to see if that’s a better level for you. On the other hand, if you don’t know most of those first dozen words, jump down to ‘Easy Words 1’ to see if that’s a better level for you. The main goal is to determine what’s a good starting point. Once you’ve found that level, work through 20 words today.
Week 1, Day 2 — Get a Feel for the Exam Part 2: Listening and Writing — 105 minutes
In today’s lessons, you’ll continue learning about the structure of the TOEFL.
For practice, you’ll try out 1 of each Listening and Writing question type in Custom Practice. Don’t worry about getting questions right or wrong. The goal right now is for you to experience the kinds of questions that are on the test since you’ll be taking a full mock test on Day 3.
This is also a good point in the schedule to evaluate your grammar skills. For the Grammar lessons, you’ll work through part of the Sentence Basics module. We’re starting here because the TOEFL is largely about being able to construct complete sentences. If you already understand these lessons, you can probably skip the grammar lessons in this study schedule. But if the material is new to you (or useful as a refresher), we do recommend that you complete the Grammar lessons throughout this study schedule.
Main Lessons — 31 minutes
Main Practice — 24 minutes
Listening Practice:
Writing Practice:
Main Review — 24 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 26 minutes
Week 1, Day 3 — Take a Practice Test — 90 minutes
Now that you’ve gotten a feel for what the test is like, you’ll be taking a full practice test today. This will give you good experience for what taking the whole test is like and, most importantly, provide you with a baseline score so that you know where you currently stand.
Main Practice — 90 minutes
Week 1, Day 4 — Review your Practice Test — 102 minutes
You’ll be spending a lot of time today reviewing your practice test. Why? Now is the time to learn what your strengths and weaknesses are. The better you understand where you struggle, the better you can focus your studies on that area. With that in mind, for any question you get wrong, be sure to read the Text Explanation and, when there is one, watch the Video Explanation as well. Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep an error log so that you can spot patterns in the kinds of errors that you make.
Main Review — 90 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 12 minutes
Week 1, Day 5 — Speaking: Listen and Repeat — 90 minutes
We’ve included extra review time because you can get your speaking instantly evaluated on Magoosh. You’ll receive a report that analyzes different aspects of your speech, such as accuracy, pace, and pronunciation. So, when you do one Listen and Repeat task, you’ll want to do it again (likely multiple times!) to specifically work on the categories that you didn’t score as high in.
Main Lessons — 25 minutes
- Speaking Task – Listen and Repeat
- How to Practice Speaking
- Other People Talking at the Test Center
- Speaking Skill: Pronunciation
Main Practice — 10 minutes
Main Review — 25 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 15 minutes
Flashcards — 15 minutes
- Keep working on flashcards; once you’ve mastered a deck, move on to the next.
Week 1, Day 6 — Writing: Write an Email Task — 96 minutes
As with Speaking, your Writing essays will be instantly evaluated on Magoosh. Afterwards, you’ll receive a report on where your writing could be improved. Be sure to look over that commentary and note common issues and patterns that you struggle with.
Main Lessons — 41 minutes
- How to Practice Writing
- Writing Task – Write an Email
- Write an Email: Organization
- Write an Email: Timing
- Write an Email: Inventing Details
- Write an Email: Tone and Register
Main Practice — 15 minutes
Main Review — 19 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 21 minutes
Week 2
Week 2, Day 1 — Listening: Conversation and Announcement — 102 minutes
Main Lessons — 48 minutes
- How to Practice Listening
- Listening Task – Daily Life Conversation
- Listening Task – Daily Life Announcement
- Listening Question Type: Purpose
- Listening Question Type: Detail
- Wrong Answer Trap: The Wrong Detail
- Listening Question Type: Inference
- Wrong Answer Trap: Don’t Go Too Far
Main Practice — 11 minutes
Main Review — 14 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 19 minutes
Flashcards — 10 minutes
- Keep working on flashcards; once you’ve mastered a deck, move on to the next.
Week 2, Day 2 — Reading: Complete the Words — 93 minutes
Starting this week, the schedule now includes ‘Additional Practice and Review.’ This is content outside of the current day’s focus. (For example, this is a Speaking day, but you’ll also do Reading practice.) This helps keep your skills in other areas and question types sharp. Plus, on test day, you’ll be answering questions from all 4 areas, so it’s good to get used to context switching now.
Main Lessons — 23 minutes
- Reading Section – Structure and Timing
- Reading Task – Complete the Words
- Using Clues in ‘Complete the Words’
Main Practice — 12 minutes
Main Review — 20 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 24 minutes
Additional Practice — 6 minutes
Additional Review — 8 minutes
Week 2, Day 3 — Speaking: Interview — 107 minutes
Today focuses on a new Speaking task: the Interview Task. Again, reviewing and redoing your interview will be a worthwhile exercise.
Main Lessons — 36 minutes
- Speaking Task – Interview
- Interview: Choosing the Easiest Answer
- Interview: Giving Examples
- Interview: Pacing Your Speech
- Interview: Conversational Tone and Vocabulary
- Interview: Using Transition Words
Main Practice — 5 minutes
Main Review — 15 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 19 minutes
Additional Practice — 12 minutes
Additional Review — 20 minutes
Week 2, Day 4 — Writing: Academic Discussion Part 1 — 97 minutes
Remember what you learned in the ‘How to Practice Writing’ lesson: set aside a time next week to return to your essay and edit it.
Main Lessons — 35 minutes
- Writing Task – Academic Discussion
- Academic Discussion: Organization
- Academic Discussion: Making an Argument
Main Practice — 10 minutes
Main Review — 18 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 23 minutes
Additional Practice — 5 minutes
Additional Review — 6 minutes
Week 2, Day 5 — Take a Practice Test — 90 minutes
Main Practice — 90 minutes
Week 2, Day 6 — Review your Practice Test — 101 minutes
Main Review — 90 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 11 minutes
Week 3
Week 3, Day 1 — Listening: Academic Talk — 100 minutes
Main Lessons — 38 minutes
- Listening Task – Academic Talk
- Listening Question Type: Main Idea
- Main Purpose vs Main Idea
- Listening Skill – Taking Notes
- Listening Skill – Notes: Abbreviations and Symbols
Main Practice — 10 minutes
Main Review — 13 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 18 minutes
Additional Practice — 7 minutes
Additional Review — 14 minutes
Week 3, Day 2 — Reading: Read in Daily Life — 98 minutes
Main Lessons — 39 minutes
- Reading Task – Daily Life Passages
- Reading Question Type: Detail
- Wrong Answer Trap: The Wrong Detail
- Wrong Answer Trap: Not in the Text
- Reading Question Type: ‘Except’
- Wrong Answer Trap: Distorted Meaning
Main Practice — 9 minutes
Main Review — 11 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 19 minutes
Additional Practice — 5 minutes
Additional Review — 15 minutes
Week 3, Day 3 — Writing: Academic Discussion Part 2 — 101 minutes
Main Lessons — 31 minutes
- Academic Discussion: Contributing to the Discussion
- Academic Discussion: Supporting Opinions
- Writing Skill – General vs Specific Structure
Main Practice — 10 minutes
Main Review — 18 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 24 minutes
Additional Practice — 3 minutes
Additional Review — 5 minutes
Flashcards — 10 minutes
- Keep working on flashcards; once you’ve mastered a deck, move on to the next.
Week 3, Day 4 — Reading: Academic Passage Part 1 — 100 minutes
Main Lessons — 42 minutes
- Reading Task – Academic Passage
- Reading Question Type: Main Idea
- Reading Question Type: Inference
- Wrong Answer Trap: Too Extreme
- Reading Skill – Skimming and Scanning
- Reading Skill – Difficult Sentences
Main Practice — 7 minutes
Main Review — 14 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 21 minutes
Additional Practice — 7 minutes
Additional Review — 9 minutes
Week 3, Day 5 — Take a Practice Test — 90 minutes
Main Practice — 90 minutes
Week 3, Day 6 — Review your Practice Test — 97 minutes
Main Review — 90 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 7 minutes
Week 4
Week 4, Day 1 — Listening: Choose a Response — 88 minutes
Main Lessons — 23 minutes
- Listening Task – Choose a Response
- Choose a Response: Using Question Words
- Choose a Response: Content and Tone
Main Practice — 9 minutes
Main Review — 11 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 10 minutes
Additional Practice — 5 minutes
Additional Review — 15 minutes
Flashcards — 15 minutes
- Keep working on flashcards; once you’ve mastered a deck, move on to the next.
Week 4, Day 2 — Writing: Build a Sentence — 93 minutes
Main Lessons — 31 minutes
- Writing Task – Building Sentences
- Building Sentences: Using the Clues
- Building Sentences: SVO Ordering
- Building Sentences: Word Agreement
Main Practice — 10 minutes
Main Review — 20 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 18 minutes
Additional Practice — 6 minutes
Additional Review — 8 minutes
Week 4, Day 3 — Reading: Academic Passage Part 2 — 102 minutes
Main Lessons — 40 minutes
- Reading Question Type: Vocabulary in Context
- Reading Question Type: Purpose
- Big Picture Purpose
- Reading Question Type: Reference
- Reading Question Type: ‘Insert Text’
Main Practice — 7 minutes
Main Review — 14 minutes
Grammar Lessons — 20 minutes
Additional Practice — 7 minutes
Additional Review — 14 minutes
Week 4, Day 4 — Listening (Various) and Test Day Preview — 102 minutes
The ETS Interactive Sample is here so that you can experience every question type on ETS’s official interface. (Magoosh’s interface is similar, but not identical, so it’s a good idea to preview what your test day will be like.) To start the Interactive Sample, click on the link, then scroll down to ‘Free Products’ and click ‘Try It Now!’ underneath the Interactive Sample.
Once you finish the Interactive Sample, there will be a PDF that you can download. We’ve included the ETS TOEFL Overview PDF here since it’s basically the same document. Note that either document only has answers to SOME of the questions. It also contains sample responses for Speaking and Writing, so we recommend that you look over those and compare them to your own.
Main Lessons — 26 minutes
- Listening Question Type: Function
- Wrong Answer Trap – Watch Out for Idioms
- Listening Question Type: Attitude
- Wrong Answer Trap: Strong Emotions
Main Practice — 45 minutes
Main Review — 15 minutes
Additional Practice — 6 minutes
Additional Review — 10 minutes
Week 4, Day 5 — Take a Practice Test — 90 minutes
Main Practice — 90 minutes
Week 4, Day 6 — Review your Practice Test — 90 minutes
Main Review — 90 minutes
Personalizing Your Schedule
Finishing faster than expected? If you’re getting through the days much faster than the estimated times, you may want to supplement with additional Custom Practice or flashcards. Since this schedule doesn’t use all of the Custom Practice content, you can easily increase the amount of practice you do. We recommend practicing content from a different skill area than the day’s focus (for example, if it’s a Speaking day, also do some Reading practice). However, keep in mind that what’s most important is the quality of study you do, not the quantity. It’s far better to spend time in careful review of your practice than to blitz through as much practice as possible.
Taking longer than expected? That’s okay! If you’re limited on time, you may want to scale back on some of the lessons (particularly the Grammar lessons) or even the amount of practice. However, if your test is further down the road, keep in mind that you can space this schedule out over more days (for example, taking two days in real life for each day on the schedule) or follow a longer-term study schedule, such as our Two-Month Study Schedule.
Adjust based on your strengths and weaknesses. Though this schedule focuses on each skill area every week, that may not be what’s best for you! You’ll learn a lot about your strengths and weaknesses during the first week. And from that, you may want to alter what you do and when. For example, if you’re really strong in Listening but weak in Writing, you may want to skip some of the Listening lessons and Listening practice so that you can do the Writing lessons sooner and work in more Writing practice.
