TOEIC Part 3 Conversations: How the 39 Questions Work and How to Answer Them

What is TOEIC Part 3?

TOEIC Part 3 is the conversations section of the Listening test: 39 questions on 13 conversations, three per conversation, according to the IIBC format page. Two or three people speak. Each conversation is played once, and only the questions and their four options are printed in the test book, never the conversation itself.

Part 3 grew in the update described in ETS's 2017 document on the updated test, which raised it from 30 questions on 10 conversations to 39 questions on 13 and added three things: conversations with more than two speakers, questions that use a printed graphic, and questions about what a speaker means by a particular line. A book or free PDF with only 10 conversations in Part 3 is the old format.

Part 3 comes after the one-line items of Part 1 (photographs) and Part 2 (question-response), and before the single-speaker talks of Part 4. For where it sits in the full 200-question exam, see the TOEIC test guide. This article covers Part 3 only.

What do TOEIC Part 3 questions ask?

They ask about the situation, then about details. Of the 78 Part 3 questions in eng-test.com's practice bank, 10 ask about the situation (topic, purpose, location or workplace), and most of the rest ask for details: 11 requests, 11 stated details, 9 reasons, 8 next steps and 7 problems. Graphic and implied-meaning questions add 15 more.

These counts describe eng-test's practice bank, not an official breakdown; ETS does not publish one. The pattern matches the real test, though: in the ETS sample test, three of the four Part 3 conversations open with a situation question: "Why is the woman calling?", "Where do the speakers work?" and "What is the conversation mainly about?".

So expect one situation question per conversation, often the first. For the other two, listen the way you would scan in Part 7: for one specific request, reason, problem or next step that the printed question has already told you to expect.

Do Part 3 questions follow the order of the conversation?

Almost always. In 24 of the 26 conversations in eng-test's Part 3 bank, the clues arrive in question order: the first question's clue first, the third question's clue last. All four conversations in the ETS sample test follow the same order. So you can answer question one while the conversation is still playing, then move on to question two.

In the two exceptions, a clue for a later question arrived early; in one of them, the fact that a graphic question depends on was in the opening line. So keep all three questions in mind rather than only the next one, and never wait for the end of the conversation to start marking answers.

A common mistake is to listen to the whole conversation and then try to remember three facts. Mark each answer as soon as you hear its clue. If you miss one, guess, move on, and catch the next clue instead of chasing the one you lost.

How should you read ahead in Part 3?

Use the silence after each conversation. In the ETS sample test script, the narrator reads each of the three questions aloud and then leaves 8 seconds, so roughly 24 seconds of silence follow every conversation, or 28 when one question uses a graphic. If your answers are already marked, that time is for reading the next three questions.

1. 1Before the conversation, read the three question stems, not all twelve options. Make a mental note of who each question is about: the man, the woman or the men.
2. 2Spot the special questions. "Look at the graphic" means study the graphic now; a quoted line means listen for those exact words.
3. 3While it plays, mark each answer as its clue arrives, in question order.
4. 4When the narrator starts reading the questions, check that all three are marked, then move straight to the next set's stems.

On eng-test.com the three questions are printed on screen with the audio player, as in the test book, so you can read them and practise this routine before you press play.

Read the options in advance only when they are short and concrete, such as places, times or prices. Skimming twelve long options before every conversation usually costs more time than it saves.

How do graphic questions work in Part 3?

A graphic question starts with "Look at the graphic" and refers to a small table, schedule, map or chart printed beside the questions. The ETS sample script allows 12 seconds for it instead of 8. The catch is that the options come from one part of the graphic, while the speakers talk about another part.

eng-test's Part 3 bank has 7 graphic conversations: a training schedule, a price list for meeting rooms, a bar chart of museum visitors, a train timetable, an invoice, a weekly weather forecast and a floor plan. In all 7, the room number, price, platform, month or day in the correct option is never spoken. The speakers describe something else, such as a session, a destination or the weather, and you read across the graphic to find the matching room, platform or day.

Here is a new example in the same style. The graphic is a printing price list:

• Woman: Last time we printed black-and-white flyers, but for the store opening let's do them in color.
• Man: Good idea. I'll place the order this afternoon.
• Question: Look at the graphic. How much will the speakers pay per 100 copies? (A) $8 (B) $15 (C) $25 (D) $40

The answer is (B) $15. Nobody says "fifteen", or even "color flyers": the woman says "let's do them in color", and you find the color row. Option (A) is the first option mentioned, then replaced, a trap that appears in 6 of eng-test's 7 graphic questions. Options (C) and (D) are simply other rows, and a wrong row of the graphic accounts for 11 of the 234 wrong options in the bank.

When you see "Look at the graphic", decide before the audio starts which part of the graphic the options come from. Then listen for the other part.

How do you handle three speakers and implied-meaning questions?

Both are announced in advance. In the ETS sample script the narrator introduces "the following conversation with three speakers", and an implied-meaning question prints the exact words, such as: Why does the woman say, "I can't believe it"? In eng-test's bank, 5 of the 26 conversations have three speakers and 8 of the 78 questions ask about implied meaning.

Three speakers

With three voices, the questions separate people by gender, by role or, less often, by name: "the men", "the woman", "the manager". In the ETS sample, one woman talks with two men, and one question asks what "the men" imply. Before the audio starts, note who each question is about, then tie each voice to a role as people speak. Accents can help you keep them apart: the ETS script labels American, British, Canadian and Australian speakers.

Implied-meaning questions

The quoted line is printed, so you know exactly what to wait for. The answer is what the line does in the conversation, not what the words mean on their own. "The van is already full" could be a refusal, a warning or a reason to wait, depending on what came just before it.

The traps are the usual ones, plus a literal reading. Of the 24 wrong options in eng-test's 8 implied-meaning questions, 10 were never said, 6 are contradicted, 4 misread the line in context and 2 take it literally. Ask yourself what the speaker wants the other person to understand.

Why do wrong options in Part 3 sound right?

Because they sound like something you half-remember. Of the 234 wrong options in eng-test's 78 Part 3 questions, 125 (53%) were never mentioned at all, and another 35 (15%) only sound likely for the setting. Just 12 reuse a word you actually heard. Familiar is not the same as said.

Two habits follow from the table. First, an option is not right because it sounds familiar: check that someone actually said it, and expect it in different words. Second, when you are torn between two options, distrust the one you reached by guessing from the setting ("they are at a bank, so it must be about a loan").

Paraphrase is why workplace vocabulary matters in Part 3: knowing that "reschedule" and "move the meeting" mean the same thing does half the work. The 100 most common TOEIC words are a good place to start.

TOEIC Part 3 sample questions with answers

Here are 3 TOEIC Part 3 sample questions with answers, on a new two-speaker conversation of about 90 words written for this article in the real test's format. Read the questions first, then the transcript, and commit to your answers before you look at the key.

1. 1What problem does the woman mention? (A) A client has canceled a visit. (B) Some equipment is not working. (C) A room has been booked twice. (D) A file has been lost.
2. 2Why does the woman say, "Room D only seats six"? (A) To ask for a bigger screen (B) To explain why a room is not suitable (C) To suggest inviting fewer clients (D) To report a booking mistake
3. 3What does the man say he will do? (A) Call a technician (B) Book Room D (C) Borrow a projector (D) Move the meeting to tomorrow

Transcript

• Woman: Marcus, the projector in Meeting Room B won't turn on, and the clients from Halden Foods arrive at two.
• Man: The technician isn't in until tomorrow. Room D has a screen built into the wall, though. That one works.
• Woman: Room D only seats six. There'll be eight of us.
• Man: Then let's borrow the portable projector from the sales team. I'll ask Ji-won if we can have it this afternoon.
• Woman: Great. Could you also bring an extension cord? The outlet in Room B is in the far corner.
• Man: Sure. I'll bring both by one-thirty.

Answers and why

• 1 (B). The projector "won't turn on". (A) is contradicted: the clients arrive at two. (C) and (D) are never mentioned.
• 2 (B). Eight people need a room that seats six, so Room D will not work. (A) is never said; Room D's screen works. (C) is not suggested; she simply states there will be eight. (D) is never mentioned.
• 3 (C). "Let's borrow the portable projector ... I'll ask Ji-won." (A) reuses "technician", who is not in until tomorrow. (B) is his first suggestion, dropped after line three. (D) reuses "tomorrow"; nobody moves the meeting.

The clues came in lines one, three and four, in question order, and every wrong option is one of the traps in the table above.

How can you practise TOEIC Part 3 for free?

eng-test.com has 78 Part 3 practice questions in 13 sets. Each set is two conversations with three questions each, 6 questions in all, with each conversation's questions printed on screen. After you submit, you get the transcript, the recording, the answer key and an explanation for every question. Practice is free with an account.

1. 1Do one set with one play per conversation, as on the test. The player allows a second play, so skip it when you want test conditions.
2. 2Open the transcript and find the sentence that answers each question. Check whether the clues came in question order.
3. 3For every wrong answer, name the trap from the table above: never mentioned, fits the setting, contradicted, repeated word or wrong row.
4. 4Listen once more with the transcript, then do a fresh set the next day.

Part 3 is 39 of the 100 Listening questions, more than any other Listening part. The TOEIC score guide explains the 5–495 section scale, and the TOEIC difficulty analysis shows that test takers from Thailand average 316 in Listening in ETS's 2024 report. To start a free set, go to the eng-test.com home page.