HOW TO READING PASSAGE ON THE TOEFL TEST

I will show you just some skills how to read passage on the TOEFL Test.

1.       ANSWER MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

Almost every reading passage on the TOEFL test will have a question about the main idea of a passage. Such a question may be worded in a variety of ways; you may for example, be asked to identify the topic, subject, title, primary idea, or main idea. These questions are all really asking what primary point the author is trying to get across in the passage, since TOEFL passages are generally written in a traditionally organized manner, it is not difficult to find the main idea by studying the topic sentence, which is most probably found at the beginning of a paragraph.

If a passage consists of only one paragraph, you should study the beginning of that paragraph to determine the main idea.

The following chart outlines the key information that you shouldremember about main idea questions :

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	What is the topic of the passage? What is the subject of the passage? Wjat is the main idea of the passage? What is the author’s main point in the passage? With what is the author primarily concerned? Which of the following would be the best tittle?
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	The answer to this type of question can generally be determined by looking at the fisrt sentence of each paragraph.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1.       Read the first line of each paragraph 2.       Look for a common theme or idea in the first lines 3.       Pass your eyes qickly over the rest of the passage to chech that you really have found the topic sentences 4.       Eliminate any definitely wrong answer and choose the best answer from the remaining choices.

2.       RECOGNIZE THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS

In the Reading Comprehension section of the TOEFL test, there will sometimes be questions about the organization of ideas in a passage. In this type question, you will be asked to determine how the ideas in one paragraph (or paragraphs) relate to the ideas in another paragraph (or paragraphs).

The following chart outlines the key information that you shouldremember about main idea questions :

ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	How is the information in the passage organized? How is the information in the second paragraph related to the information in the first paragraph?
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	The answer to this type of question can generally be determined by looking at the fisrt sentence of the appropriate paragraph.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1.       Read the first line of each paragraph 2.       Looking for words that show the relationship between the paragraphs. 3.       Choose the answer that best expresses the relationship.

3.       ANSWER STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

A stated detail question asks about one piece of information in the passage rather than the passage as a whole. The answer to these question are generally given in order in the passage, and the correct answer is often a restatement of what is given in the passage. This means that the correct answer often expresses the same idea as what is written in the passage, but the words are not excactly the same.

The following chart outlines the key information that you shouldremember about main idea questions :

STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	According to the passage…. It is stated in the passage… The passage indicates that…. The author mentions that…. Which of the following is true….
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	The answer to these questions are found in order in the passage.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1.       Choose a key word in the question. 2.       Skim in the appropriate part of the passage for the key word or idea. 3.       Read the sentence that countains the key word or idea carefully. 4.       Look for the answer that restates an idea in the passage. 5.       Eliminate the definitely wrong answers and choose the best answer from the remaining choices.

4.       FIND “UNSTATED” DETAILS

You will sometimes be asked in the Reading Comprehension section of the TOEFL find answer that is not stated or not mentioned or not true in the passage. This type of question really means that three of the answer are stated, mentioned, or true in the passage, while one answer is not. Your actual job is to find the three correct answers and then choose the letter of the one remaining answer.

You should note that there are two kinds of answer to this type of question.

1.       There are three true answers and one answer that is not discussed in the passage

2.       There are three true answers and one that is false according to the passage.

The following chart outlines the key information that you shouldremember about main idea questions :

“UNSTATED” DETAIL QUESTION
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	Which of the following is not stated? Which of the following is not mentioned? Which of the following is not discussed? All of the following are true except?
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	The answer to these questions are found in orded in the passage.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1.       Choose a key word in the question. 2.       Scan in the appropriate place in the passage for the key word(or related idea). 3.       Read the sentence that countains the key word or idea carefully. 4.       Look for the answers that are definitely true according to the passage. Elliminate those answers. 5.       Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed in the passage.