Know About Key Questions You Can Expect in TOEFL Reading

Author: Vishabh Raheja

Do you know India has seen 59% growth in TOEFL test takers? The percentage has increased due to the popularity of studying abroad. However, it has also been noted that many students fail to score well. This happens because they don't practice for each section: TOEFL reading, writing, speaking and listening. Further, it is also important that you increase your familiarity with each section. It helps to score well because you can attend each section with confidence. Also, you can take TOEFL exam practice test that are available online. It will help you attain strong scores on the exam. Here are the details of questions that you can expect in the reading section.

Types of Questions in Reading Section

The reading section checks your ability to read and understand the language. Thus, it includes two passages that have 700 words. This test lasts 35 minutes and includes 10 questions per passage. Here is the list of different questions that can asked in the reading section.

Negative Factual Information

In the TOEFL reading, you will face questions that include false information. In this, students need to identify the wrong factors and note them. It tests your ability to recognize details that were included in the passage. These questions start with phrases such as "Which of the following is not correct or true?

Factual Information

It is the most common type of question that you will answer in the TOEFL reading section. These questions aim to identify facts and precise details of the passage. It may include phrases like "The author mentions" or "According to the passage". Further, they can ask you about events that were mentioned in the passage.

References

This question type shows relations between topics and the questions using two distinct words. You can answer these questions correctly by identifying words that can connect these two. Further, you will face questions like what the words refer to by indicating a highlighted word.

Inference

Inference questions assess your skills to draw rational conclusions. This information is not directly used in the passage. However, it includes sentences that have similar meanings. Thus, you need to make assumptions and connect ideas. For this section, you will need reasoning skills.

Reading Vocabulary

These questions check your knowledge about the meaning of specific words. Moreover, they are picked from the information in the passage. You will face questions with highlighted phrases or words. Therefore, you need to choose the correct synonym. The questions are presented in the form of multiple-choice questions.

Rhetorical Purpose

In this test, students are required to find why the passage includes specific details. Further, they need to identify the author's intent behind the information. Hence, to solve this, they will not need to identify the main idea of the passage.

Fill The Table

You will need to organize the given data from the passage into a table. You can see categories of 2 to 3 tables in this question. Moreover, it includes 7 to 9 choices for selecting the answer. You will need to match the options with the correct category.

Insert Text

These question types are designed to identify your reasoning skills. It helps the examiner to check that you understand the logical and correct order of ideas. Moreover, these are correction-based questions and need you to find the correct part of the passage. In this section, you will also need to find grammatical errors, if any.

Summary

The TOEFL reading section includes these questions to assess your knowledge about the passage's main idea. In this, you will need to select the best option from three sentences and pick one that summarizes the passage. Hence, you need to be focused while reading the passage.

Paraphrasing

It is also identified as sentence simplification and asks aspirants to recognize the best paraphrase. You will get a highlighted sentence in the passage to answer this. The main crux of these questions is to identify the sentence with a similar sense.

Tips to Ace Reading Section

To ace the reading section, it is vital to enhance your familiarity with the questions in the reading section. Further, you can use strategies to answer the questions quickly. Many websites also offer free TOEFL exam practice test to help the candidates for the exam. Here are some more tips that will help you to gain good marks.

Regular Practice

Practice is the key to success, so with regular practice, you can ace the exam. You should focus on enhancing your speed and knowledge. Also, you should read a different variety of information from academic articles or newspapers. It will help you to increase your reading speed.

Use Strategic Approach

Use strategies such as skim and scan to read the information. It helps you to identify the ideas of the passage while reading. Further, remember to underline the crucial details while reading the passage. It will offer you a better understanding of the main idea.

Strengthen Vocabulary

You can use a journal to write the vocabulary and note unfamiliar words and their meanings. It will aid in strengthening your vocabulary. Further, you should give more attention to the usage of words in sentences. Also, learn suffixes and prefixes to develop more knowledge of vocabulary.

Conclusion

Summing up, students can ace the TOEFL reading section through constant practice. Besides this, you must give equal time to each part for practice. It will increase your understanding of the TOEFL exam pattern. Further, it will aid you to attempt each section with perfection. You can also use the TOEFL reading practice test, available on Gradding. Along with this, it is required that candidate keep their practice regular. Hence, make sure that you practice every day before taking the exam.