TOEFL IBT Reading

1. TOEFL IBT Reading

2. Reading • First section of test • 3-5 passages (Expository, Narrative, Persuasive) • 12-14 questions per text • 20 minutes per passage • Academic topic • Arts • Sciences • Applied Sciences • Social Sciences

3. Strategies • Be familiar w/ instructions and skip them • Recognize standard outline • Introduction (Hook, Background info, Thesis) • Body (Topic sentences, details) • Conclusion (restate thesis) • Read actively / don’t skim • Pay attention to modifying phrases • Pay attention to sequence (not always chronological) • Take notes

4. Modifying phrases • Cancerous cells can be removed surgically. • Often an incorrect response will alter the significance of the modifying phrase. • If they are concentrated in a small enough area, cancerous cells can be frequently removed surgically despite possible complications to avoid the spread of the disease.

5. Question 1 • Detail or Fact questions test your ability to comprehend key facts in the passage • Multiple Choice

6. Identify key idea in the question • Read the question carefully • Identify the key idea in the question • Look for a paraphrased idea not necessarily the same vocabulary from the passage

7. Locate the section of the passage • If the question tells you the paragraph, start there. • If not use your notes to identify which paragraph. • Scan the paragraph to find the sentence containing the correct information

8. Read the information closely and carefully • Read the sentence and the surrounding sentences carefully

9. Look for accurate paraphrasing in the response • Most correct responses will be paraphrased in some way or used with a different sentence structure.

10. Choose response stated explicitly in passage • Don’t choose an answer that you might know is true, but the passage doesn’t say it. • All detail questions are stated in the passage / not inferred.

11. Distracters • Unmentioned information • Ideas mentioned with a different key point • Ideas rearranged incorrectly • Reverses idea (positive-negative)

12. Question 2 – Not / Except questions • Identify the question as not • Identify key idea in question • Identify key idea in answers if none in question • Scan passage • Read relevant information carefully • Choose answer with missing, altered, or contradictory ideas

13. Distracters • Paraphrasing can make answers confusing • Paraphrase 2 or more ideas together

14. Question 3 Referent Question

15. Overview • Identify the correct antecedent of the referent (pronoun) • The sun changes color as it sets. • Sun – antecedent • It- referent • There are at most 2 referent questions per passage.

16. Referents

17. Grammar Rules - Personal Pronouns • Form matches function ( Subject pronouns are subject of sentence) • It refers to singular animals, places, things • They refers to all plural subjects • Self reflexive is used when the object and subject are the same. (A bear looking for food in the garbage might attack someone to protect itself.)

18. Grammar Rules – Relative Pronouns • Who / Whom – Person • Which – nouns other than people, clauses • That – person, animal, or thing • Can’t replace a noun on the other side of the verb. (Some people believe that U.S. voters may not approve of candidates who smoke cigarettes.)

19. Demonstrative Pronouns • This and that don/t usually replace a person, only an idea or clause • These and those can replace any plural nouns, ideas, opinions • Always refer backward

20. Grammar rules – Adjectives • Each / every / another / the other – singular noun • Few / many / others – plural noun • Little / much – uncountable noun • Some / all / most – any nouns