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TOLC-I · English section

TOLC-I English section: timing, scoring and levels

Thirty questions in fifteen minutes, half a minute each. English is the separate section of the TOLC-I: it has its own score and does not penalise mistakes, so you never leave a question blank.

At a glance

Questions
30
Minutes
15
Average time per question
about 30 seconds
Scoring
+1 correct, 0 wrong or blank
Where this section sits in the TOLC-I
SectionQuestionsMinutes
Mathematics 20 50
Logic 10 20
Sciences 10 20
Reading comprehension 10 20
English 30 15

Each section has its own time limit: finishing early does not give minutes to the others, and you cannot go back to a closed section. Universities use the score with their own thresholds, so read the call of the degree you are applying to.

Structure and scoring from the official CISIA page: TOLC-I structure and syllabus (cisiaonline.it). Compared with the official page on 19 October 2026.

What this section measures

English follows the four main sections. CISIA shows it as a separate section, with a level guide: universities use it to suggest an English course if the level is low, and how each one uses it is up to the university in its own call.

In our bank the questions cover grammar, vocabulary and reading, in English, with the solution explained in Italian.

Topics in the official syllabus

  • CISIA level guide: up to 6 points a beginner course (A1), 7 to 16 a first-level course (A2), 17 to 23 an intermediate course (B1), 24 to 30 you can take the B1 exam directly without a course.

Summarised from the CISIA page above; the 2026 syllabus PDF has the exact wording.

Where points are lost

  • Leaving questions blank

    There is no penalty in English: a wrong answer is worth the same as a blank. All thirty questions should be answered, even by guessing, before the fifteen minutes end.

  • Choosing the wrong tense

    «She has lived in London since 2018»: since and for ask for the present perfect when the action continues. An Italian speaker instinctively translates with the present, and that is the choice the options exploit.

How to prepare

  • Set half a minute per question and mark the doubtful ones too: you can return to the section as long as its own time lasts.
  • Revise the recurring structures: verb tenses, conditionals, prepositions, articles.
  • Read one short scientific text in English a day to get your eye used to the vocabulary.
  • Redo the wrong questions and note the rule in one line.

Our bank holds 145 questions for this section.

A solved question from our bank

A grammar question with since: remembering the rule in one line is worth more than many exercises.

Topic: Grammar · difficulty 1/3

Choose the correct option: She ___ in London since 2018.

  • A lives
  • B lived
  • C has lived correct
  • D is living
  • E was living

Guided solution

Regola. Since seguito da un punto preciso nel passato introduce un'azione iniziata allora e ancora in corso ora, e richiede il present perfect.

Perché qui. 'since 2018' indica il momento di partenza di un'azione che continua nel presente: 'she ___ in London' diventa quindi 'has lived', non un tempo semplice.

Perché le altre non vanno: - 'lives' (present simple): un italiano tradurrebbe istintivamente 'vive' con il presente, ma questo tempo non comunica la continuità dal 2018 a oggi. - 'lived' (past simple): implicherebbe che l'azione è conclusa, in contraddizione con 'since 2018', che mostra continuità fino a ora. Ricorda: since + punto nel tempo e for + durata si usano entrambi col present perfect.

The question comes from our own TOLC-I practice bank, written on the CISIA syllabus: it is not a real exam question. The questions in our bank are in Italian, also on this English page.

The other TOLC-I sections

Five pages, one per section: each section has its own tactics.

FAQ

Questions about this section

Does English count in the main TOLC-I score?

It is a section separate from the four main ones. How its result is used is decided by each university, so the final answer is in the call of the degree.

Is there a penalty for wrong answers?

No: +1 for each correct answer and 0 for a wrong or blank one. Always mark an answer.

What do the level bands mean?

Up to 6 points: beginner course A1; 7 to 16: first-level A2; 17 to 23: intermediate B1; 24 to 30: you can take the B1 exam directly. Source: the level guide on the CISIA page.

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