Imagine you hear this line once:
“The library will push the workshop back from Tuesday to Thursday, but registration will still close Monday.”
A weak note says: workshop / Thursday / registration changed. The last part is wrong. The workshop date changed; the registration deadline did not.
In the TOEFL iBT format in use from January 2026, Listen to an Announcement uses an academic or campus announcement. ETS names speaker purpose, key information, implied meaning, and likely next actions. The key lexical decision is to separate four layers: the earlier plan, the change, what remains unchanged, and what the listener must do.
Later is not cancelled. Reduced is not removed. An announced plan is not a completed action. A transfer of control is not proof that the new holder finished the work.
The two announcements below are original. The vocabulary is practice material, not a prediction of test content. Continue in the TOEFL vocabulary practice hub or browse the full Exam English hub.
Six change-and-action words
1. Push back
In scheduling, push + event + back means move it to a later time: “push the workshop back to Thursday.” It does not mean move earlier or cancel. Postpone overlaps; both can describe a later date. The firm facts to track are direction and survival: the new event is later and still planned.
Push back on has another core use—challenge or resist a proposal. The grammar reveals which move is present: push the deadline back changes a date; push back on the deadline challenges it.
2. Phase out
To phase out a system or practice is to withdraw it gradually, in stages, until it is gone. End is broader and can be immediate. A final date alone does not prove gradualness; the announcement must give a transition, such as fewer stations each week.
The phrasal verb is separable: phase out the kiosks or phase the kiosks out; with a pronoun, phase them out.
3. Roll out
To roll out a product, service, policy, or system is to make it available or usable for the first time. Launch overlaps broadly. A rollout is often staged, but staging is not required: a full release can also be rolled out.
Do not confuse announcing a service with making it usable. An announcement can come days before the rollout.
4. Scale back
To scale back something is to reduce its size, scope, or amount. It does not mean cancel it. If six help desks become two, service continues on a smaller scale. Cancel would remove the service.
The expression does not promise that the reduced activity will later grow again. It simply records reduction. Scale down is an overlapping variant, not a rival answer.
5. Carry out
To carry out a plan, check, test, or task is to perform it. Plan names intention; carry out names action. Aspect still matters: “will carry out checks” is future action, while “carried out checks” reports performance.
Complete may emphasize reaching the end. Carry out can describe work while it is underway, so do not automatically infer completion from a progressive form.
6. Hand over
To hand over an object, control, responsibility, or authority is to transfer it to another party. With a full noun, both hand over the desk and hand the desk over work; with a pronoun, use hand it over.
Delegate means assign work for someone else to do and can overlap. The useful factual boundary is continuing control. If the old office transfers full control and the new office becomes the sole contact, hand over fits. If a manager assigns a task but retains ownership and review, delegate fits. Do not treat that tendency as a rigid word-only rule; use the stated facts.
Announcement 1: library service transition
Good morning. This is an update about the library’s research-help service. We originally planned to roll out the new booking portal on Monday, October 5, and close all three walk-up desks that day. The portal launch has been pushed back to Wednesday, October 7, after final accessibility checks. Starting Wednesday, we will phase out the walk-up service over three weeks: three desks will operate in week one, two in week two, and one in week three. Evening hours will remain 6 to 9 p.m. Students should create a portal account by Tuesday and bring their student ID to any walk-up visit. Library staff will carry out the accessibility checks; students do not need to report test results.
It gives an earlier plan, an explicit later date, an unchanged schedule, a staged reduction, and two listener actions.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →Announcement 2: arts-festival handover
Attention, student organizations. The fall arts festival was originally scheduled for Saturday, November 14, with eight outdoor performance areas managed by the Student Activities Office. Because two stages are being repaired, the office will scale the festival back to five performance areas; the event is not cancelled. The date and the 10 a.m. opening time are unchanged. On Monday, November 9, Student Activities will hand over full control of performer check-in to the Arts Council, which will become the only contact for arrival questions. Group leaders must email final performer lists by Friday and collect check-in packets from the council on Monday. Facilities staff will carry out the stage repairs after the festival.
It gives the old scope, a reduced scope, unchanged timing, a transfer of control, and two required listener actions.
Before, change, unchanged, action
| Announcement | Earlier plan | Explicit change | Unchanged detail | Listener actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library | Portal Monday; all walk-up desks close that day | Portal pushed back to Wednesday; desks phased out over three weeks | Evening hours remain 6–9 p.m. | Create an account by Tuesday; bring student ID to walk-up visits |
| Festival | Eight outdoor areas managed by Student Activities | Scale back to five areas; check-in control handed over to Arts Council Monday | Saturday, Nov. 14 and 10 a.m. opening | Email lists by Friday; collect packets Monday |
The actor matters. Library staff carry out accessibility checks, not students. Facilities staff carry out repairs after the festival, not group leaders. The timing matters too: Student Activities will hand over check-in control on Monday; that statement does not say the Arts Council has already finished check-in.
Six questions
1. What is the main purpose of Announcement 1?
A. To cancel research help
B. To explain a changed portal date and transition from walk-up service
C. To ask students to perform accessibility tests
D. To shorten evening hours
Answer: B. The portal moves later, while walk-up service decreases in stages.
2. Which library detail remains unchanged?
A. The Monday portal launch
B. The immediate closure of all desks
C. Evening hours from 6 to 9 p.m.
D. The number of walk-up desks each week
Answer: C. The announcement explicitly says those hours remain.
3. What should a student do by Tuesday?
A. Create a portal account
B. Carry out accessibility checks
C. Close a walk-up desk
D. Report test results
Answer: A. The account deadline belongs to students. Staff perform the checks.
4. What changed about the festival?
A. It moved to a later Saturday.
B. It was cancelled.
C. Its scope fell from eight areas to five.
D. Its opening time moved earlier.
Answer: C. Scale back marks reduction. The date and opening time stay fixed.
5. What does the Monday handover mean?
A. Student Activities assigns one check-in task but remains the only contact.
B. The Arts Council receives full control and becomes the only arrival contact.
C. All performer check-ins will be complete Monday morning.
D. Facilities receives control of performer lists.
Answer: B. Full control and sole-contact status establish the transfer. They do not establish completion.
6. Which pair of actions belongs to group leaders?
A. Repair stages and reduce performance areas
B. Email final lists by Friday and collect packets Monday
C. Hand over the festival and run accessibility checks
D. Create portal accounts and bring student IDs
Answer: B. Both actions are explicitly assigned to group leaders.
Weak keyword-only notes
- library: Monday, Wednesday, close desks, evening
- festival: stages, Monday, lists, repairs
These notes collect nouns but lose relationships. They do not say what Monday refers to, who performs repairs, or whether closing is immediate or gradual.
Repaired notes
| Actor | Timing | Scope/change | Obligation or status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library | Portal Wed., Oct. 7 | Rollout moved from Monday | Make portal available Wednesday |
| Library | Three weeks from Wednesday | Walk-up desks 3 → 2 → 1 | Phase out service gradually |
| Students | By Tuesday / each visit | No scope change | Create account; bring ID |
| Student Activities | Mon., Nov. 9 | Leaves check-in control | Hand full control to Arts Council |
| Arts Council | From Monday | Sole check-in contact | Take control; answer arrival questions |
| Group leaders | Friday / Monday | Five-area festival | Email lists; collect packets |
| Facilities | After festival | Two stages under repair | Carry out repairs later |
The repaired notes preserve four things: actor, timing, scope, and obligation. That is enough to reject attractive but false summaries such as “The festival was postponed” or “Students must test the portal.”
Weaker versus more precise summary
Weaker: “The library changed everything, and the festival stages were cancelled.”
More precise: “The library pushed the portal rollout back two days and will phase out walk-up desks over three weeks, while evening hours stay the same. The festival keeps its date but scales back from eight areas to five, and the Arts Council takes full control of performer check-in on Monday.”
The repair tracks direction, scope, unchanged facts, and control.
Common mistakes
- Hearing
push backand assuming cancellation or an earlier date. - Treating
phase outas an immediate ending. - Assuming every rollout must be staged.
- Treating a smaller service as no service.
- Treating a plan to carry out work as proof that it is finished.
- Treating delegation and full transfer as interchangeable without checking retained control.
- Assigning an action to the nearest noun instead of the named actor.
- Losing an unchanged detail because the announcement contains several changes.
Quick check
“The clinic will reduce Saturday appointments from 20 to 12, but it will remain open from 9 a.m. to noon.” Which note is accurate?
A. Saturday service cancelled
B. Hours reduced
C. Appointments scaled back; hours unchanged
D. Clinic phased out immediately
Answer: C. The count falls, but the service and hours remain.
Fresh practice prompt
Draft an original campus announcement of 90–130 words about a shuttle change. Include an earlier route plan, one explicit change, one unchanged stop, and two actions for riders. Then make a four-column note grid: actor, timing, scope, obligation. Write two wrong answers—one that turns a delay into cancellation and one that turns a handover into completed work—and defeat each with a stated fact.
Sources
Related
- Push Back vs. Postpone
- Sunset vs. Phase Out
- How to Write a Formal Sunset Announcement
- Break Down vs. Fall Through vs. Stall
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