The 10 Best TOEFL Books To Get The Score You Need

So you've chosen between TOEFL vs IELTS and you're taking the TOEFL iBT test!

And now you're wondering – what is the best TOEFL book to prepare for the test? 

Here's a TOEFL book review to give you a few suggestions.

1. The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test by ETS (Educational Testing Service)

Wouldn’t you want to be guided in your exam preparation directly by Educational Testing Services, the organisation that offers the TOEFL test? 

Then I recommend that you get yourself a copy of their Official Guide to the TOEFL.

It’s a great guide that contains real TOEFL questions taken from recent exams, clear explanations of every section of the test, and information on what you’re expected to do for every speaking and writing task.

It also includes:

• 4 full-length practice tests (also available online for download).
• Hundreds of authentic TOEFL test questions and essay topics.
• Test-taking strategies suggested directly by the creators of the exam.
• Answer keys and self-scoring guides.

This TOEFL book is over 700 pages long and has great reviews on Amazon.

Check out The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT here.

Best for

The Official Guide to the TOEFL is the best TOEFL prep book for you if you’re looking for thorough exam preparation that covers all aspects of the exams. 

2. Kaplan’s TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2020-2021 by Kaplan Test Prep

Kaplan’s TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2020-2021 is a guide to help you develop the most important language skills and strategies you need to get the score you desire on the TOEFL exam.

This TOEFL book includes:

• 4 practice tests.
• More than 450 practice questions.
• Focused practice for each section of the exam.
• Over 95 minutes of audio for the listening, speaking, and writing sections. 
• Complete transcripts.
• Tips and strategies for each language skill (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).
• Video lessons for each section of the exam.

I’ve checked it out on Amazon and discovered the book has plenty of great reviews. 

Have a look at Kaplan’s TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2020-2021.

Best for

Kaplan’s TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2020-2021 is the perfect book for you if you want expert TOEFL guidance from one of the leading and most trusted institutions in education.

3. Collins English for the TOEFL Test – Skills for the TOEFL iBT® Test by Louis Harrison

Collins Skills for TOEFL iBT® Test can help you feel less overwhelmed by the exam. This is a two-book series (Listening and Speaking plus Reading and Writing).

Each book is fully updated to match the new test from July 2023 and helps you improve your skills and test-taking times for specific sections of the test.

Each book includes:

• A quick guide to give you an easy reference to the format of each question type.
• “Challenges and Solutions” sections to help you learn how to overcome the most common challenges you might face.
• A quick overview of the most important steps for answering each question type.
• Useful vocabulary and expressions.
• Review test sections to help you practise what you’ve learned.
• Audio online.

Another great thing about this series is that it prepares you for all 3 options of the TOEFL iBT® test – on a computer at a test centre, the Home Edition, and the TOEFL iBT Paper Edition.

Check out the Collins Skills for TOEFL iBT® Test series on the Collins website.

Best for 

Collins English for the TOEFL Test – Skills for the TOEFL iBT® Test is for you if you’re looking to work on a specific language skill in preparation for the exam.

4. Collins English for the TOEFL Test – Vocabulary and Grammar for the TOEFL iBT® Test by Ingrid Wisniewska

This is a TOEFL book to help you master the advanced English vocabulary and grammar you require to get a high score on the exam.

This book also helps you practise the task types you’ll find in the test. 

The book includes:

• An overview of each part of the test.
• 20 units of vocabulary.
• 20 units of grammar practice.
• Online audio content.
• Full audio script and answer key. 
• An academic word list that contains the key vocabulary you need for the test.
• Practice questions and tips.
• A sample answer for the new Writing question 2: Academic discussion.

The units in the book are very well organised. Each one includes: 

• An overview of the core vocabulary or grammar you’ll find in the unit.
• Study tips to help you remember what you’ve learned and improve your study technique.
• Test practice activities to help you familiarise yourself with all aspects of the test.
• Test tips to help you improve your test performance.
• A vocabulary building section.

A great thing about this TOEFL book is that the exam materials have been written using COBUILD, the world’s largest database of the English language!

Check out Vocabulary and Grammar for the TOEFL iBT® Test.

Best for

The Collins English for the TOEFL Test – Vocabulary and Grammar for the TOEFL iBT® is a great book for you if you want to improve, extend, and revise your English grammar and vocabulary in preparation for the exam.

5. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL® Test

The Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test by Jolene Gear and Robert Gear helps you master the language skills for the exam.

The book includes:

• Hundreds of skill-building exercises covering all the question types in the exam.
• 4 practice tests. 
• Sections to help you improve grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and note-taking skills.
• An online component where you can take 3 additional practice tests.
• 4 section tests to check your progress in Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing.
• Answer keys to help you understand the answers to all exercises.

Check out Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL® Test on the Cambridge website.

Best for

The Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test is recommended if you need thorough preparation for the exam.

6. TOEFL iBT EXPRESS by Leroi Gilbert and  Dorothy Zemach

This TOEFL book helps you develop the skills, strategies, and knowledge to improve your test scores and academic English.

You can use this as a course book or self-study book. 

The guide includes:

• Complete explanations and computer screen pictures of each question type.
• Skill lessons that teach you the most important skills and strategies for each question type.
• Authentic practice tasks.
• Nearly 100 tips on grammar, vocabulary, self-study, and test-taking strategies.
• 2 full practice tests that simulate the test, both in content and length.
• Answer keys with answer explanations for all questions. 
• Samples for Speaking and Writing answers.
• Audioscripts.

You can find the digital version of the book on the accompanying Express Digibooks platform, too. 

Check out TOEFL iBT EXPRESS on the publisher’s website (Express Publishing), where you’ll also find a sample unit.

Best for

TOEFL iBT EXPRESS is ideal for you if you’re looking for a concise study guide that covers all test sections—Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing.

7. Official TOEFL iBT Tests (Volume 1 and 2) by Educational Testing Service (ETS)

These books, like The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test (number 1 on this list), are published by the creators of the exam (ETS) and give you 5 full-length TOEFL practice tests and answer explanations.

They include:

• Authentic reading, listening, speaking, and writing questions. 
• Real TOEFL essay-writing prompts.
• Sample responses for the speaking and writing test sections.
• Downloadable audio for all the listening and speaking sections.
• Answer keys and self-scoring guides.

Check them out on Amazon. 

Here’s Volume 1 of Official TOEFL iBT Tests and here’s Volume 2.

Best for

Each test you’ll find in these books is exactly like the real TOEFL test. You won’t find exam tips or strategies in these books, so the Official TOEFL iBT Tests volumes are perfect for you if you want to prepare by taking tests that simulate the real one.

8. TOEFL iBT ® Test Prep Planner by Educational Testing Services (ETS) 

The TOEFL iBT® Test Prep Planner is a free e-book (PDF) that the makers of the exam offer you to help you prepare for the exam.

This is an 8-week preparation guide designed to help you build all the necessary skills you need.

Here’s what it includes:

• A week-by-week study plan to help you set goals and give you the resources to guide your preparation.
• An overview of the test format
• Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing chapters that focus on one specific section of the test.
• Detailed explanations of each question type.
• Activities to help you build your skills.
• Sample questions with answers.
• Tips to improve your test performance.
• Scoring guides.
• Sample score reports.

You can download the planner for free here.

Best for

TOEFL iBT ® Test Prep Planner is a great resource not only because it’s free (!) but also because it helps you systematically prepare for the exam in 8 weeks.

9. TOEFL Prep Books by Jackie Bolen

This is a mini-series of books written by Jackie Bolen, a TOEFL tutor.

The collection includes 4 books:

• TOEFL Vocabulary Builder: Ace the TOEFL with 500+ Essential Vocab Words, Phrases, Expressions, Idioms & More
• TOEFL iBT Vocabulary Builder for Score 90+: Higher-Level TOEFL Words, Expressions, Phrases & Idioms
• TOEFL Collocations Vocabulary Builder: Idioms, Expressions, Phrasal Verbs & More
• Essential Words for TOEFL iBT: Key Vocabulary for the TOEFL Exam

These TOEFL books include key expressions, phrasal verbs in English, and English idioms as well as examples of TOEFL questions from previous exams.

Check out Jackie Bolen's TOEFL Prep Books on Amazon.

Best for

As you can see, this is a collection of books to help you improve your vocabulary and learn essential words for the TOEFL in preparation for the test.

10. Any Language You Want by Fabio Cerpelloni

Every time I talk about books for language learners I can’t help but recommend Any Language You Want: 18 Conflicting Lessons for a New Kind of Language Learner by Fabio Cerpelloni.

This isn’t a TOEFL preparation book but one that will give you the motivation to keep improving your English skills. 

You need that too to get the TOEFL score you want, right? 

Fabio has been an English language learner like you and this is his language learning autobiography where he tells 18 short stories about everything he did to master his second language.

What I like about the book is that each chapter shows you the best way to learn another language. But there’s a twist: each story disagrees with the next. 

It’s an interesting, humorous read I’m sure you’ll like.

You can check out Any Language You Want on Fabio’s website. 

Best for 

Any Language You Want is great for TOEFL candidates who want to read interesting language learning stories written by a fellow English language learner (and teacher).

TOEFL Book FAQ

Final Thoughts On The Best TOEFL Book

All of these test prep books will help you with the strategies and skills you need to develop for the exam. I hope you’ve found at least TOEFL book you’d like to buy!

Reading and listening are also two excellent ways to improve your general English skills, which you’re going to need if you want to do well in the exam.

The StoryLearning method will help you with those.

You’ll expose yourself to a lot of English in the context of engaging short stories in English that will help you improve your receptive skills as well as your grammar, and vocabulary.

Whether or not you try the StoryLearning method, I wish you the best of luck in the TOEFL exam!