The first section you will encounter when you take the TOEFL® iBT exam is the Reading section.
The Reading Section measures your ability to read and understand academic texts in English. Reading is a critical skill in an academic environment.
The Reading Section in the TOEFL® iBT consists of 4 texts and each text is about 800 words long.
Each reading text is followed by 12 – 14 questions related to the text.
You will have 80 minutes to read and answer all the questions for each text.
Therefore, you must be not only good at reading but also read fast.
There are three main purposes for academic reading in the TOEFL® iBT:
Reading to find information
Basic comprehension
Reading to learn
There are different types of questions in the TOEFL® iBT:
You will have to answer questions about the vocabulary from the text.
The answers for these questions are not in a dictionary. They are right there in the text.
What you have to do is infer and deduce the meaning according to the context. That is, according to how the word is being used in the text you are reading.
Inferring and deducing is something we do in all languages. If you go to a dictionary, you are going to find 2 or 3 definitions of the word.
So which is the right definition? The answer is not in the dictionary. It is in the same text you are reading.
90% of the time you will be correct!
Isn´t that logical! Some other types of questions are called Sentence, Inference, Detail, and Summary Questions. They are all different in their own way, but if you know how to approach the reading of the text with good strategies, you will definitely be able to answer all of these to the best of your ability, and within the time limit that you have for this section of the exam.
Preparation Strategies
The academic texts on the TOEFL® iBT are from university textbooks and focus on a variety of subjects – science, social science, business, arts, geography, history, economics, and others. The TOEFL® iBT is designed to test how well you can read and understand these texts and not to test how much you know about the subjects. This is what a a proficiency exam is for; to test how well you understand the texts you read.
Take notes! You should take notes and organize your ideas on paper during the reading section of TOEFL® iBT. It is a crucial component for success. It is difficult to remember all facts and details from a reading text in order to answer the questions. Also, You don’t have enough time to search for those again in the text. So, the solution is called note taking. When skimming and reading the texts, you should write down all important facts and details in order to find them fast and easily when you need them.
So which is the right definition? The answer is not in the dictionary. It is in the same text you are reading.
90% of the time you will be correct!
Isn´t that logical! Some other types of questions are called Sentence, Inference, Detail, and Summary Questions. They are all different in their own way, but if you know how to approach the reading of the text with good strategies, you will definitely be able to answer all of these to the best of your ability, and within the time limit that you have for this section of the exam.
Learn how to skim the text!
Skimming and scanning means reading the text quickly to get a general impression of what the text is about. You should develop your ability to skim and scan quickly, but at the same time, identify all major points in the passage.
Read after skimming! Skimming and scanning is not enough. Read the passage again. This time read it more carefully but don’t forget that you have limited time. Take notes!
Relax! You don’t have to be familiar with the topics of the TOEFL® iBT Reading passages. Once again, all the information needed to provide the correct answer is in the text.
