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How To Approach A TOEFL iBT® Reading Passage: While You Skim, Pay Attention

The document discusses techniques for approaching a TOEFL reading passage including skimming the introduction and first sentences of paragraphs to understand the main topic and key ideas, paying attention to the passage structure and taking notes in an outline form, carefully reading the entire passage while filling in the outline, and scanning the passage when looking at questions to find relevant information.

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LUISA FERNANDA HERAZO DUVA
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71 views

How To Approach A TOEFL iBT® Reading Passage: While You Skim, Pay Attention

The document discusses techniques for approaching a TOEFL reading passage including skimming the introduction and first sentences of paragraphs to understand the main topic and key ideas, paying attention to the passage structure and taking notes in an outline form, carefully reading the entire passage while filling in the outline, and scanning the passage when looking at questions to find relevant information.

Uploaded by

LUISA FERNANDA HERAZO DUVA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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4 How to Approach a TOEFL iBT® Reading Passage

1. - Today we're going to talk about how to approach the TOEFL iBT Reading passage.
Good reading techniques will give you the best chance to do well on the TOEFL reading
section. It's a good idea to begin by focusing on the big picture. What topic is going to be
discussed in the passage? Before you begin to read, take a look at the title, and the illustration
at the beginning of the passage. If there is one. Then, for the text, you can use the technique
called skimming. Take a glance at the first few sentences of the first paragraph. These
sentences form the introduction and usually give the reader an idea of what is to come . Then
take a look at the first sentence of each of the other paragraphs. These sentences often
provide information about the main point, or points, in each paragraph . At this stage, you
should have an impression of what the main topic of the passage is. As well as an
understanding of some of the key ideas to be discussed. You should also have an impression
about the author's intent. Is the author explaining a phenomenon, or presenting opposing
points of view? What is the main purpose of the text you're reading?

2. While you skim, pay attention to the structure, or organization of the passage. You
may want to take notes in the form of an outline. Here's an example. …

Now you're ready to carefully read the passage from beginning to end. As you read, you can fill
in more of the outline. Such as the specific details that support some of the key ideas.
Remember to just jot down phrases. The outline, or notes, are only meant to help you
remember what you've read.

3. You shouldn't spend a lot of time writing. Don't worry if you don't understand
everything in the passage. It's not necessary to understand every detail. What is
important is that you understand the main idea being discussed. It's also important to think
about why the author has included pieces of information. Is a piece of information an example
of a phenomenon? A supporting detail for an argument? Or, perhaps the introduction of a new
idea.

4. After reading through the passage, begin to look at the questions. Once you read each
question, you can go back to the passage to look in a targeted way for the information you
need to answer that question. This is called scanning. For instance, if a question asks about
climate in the Middle Ages, then look for those words in the passage. After you've located
them, re-read the phrases and sentences containing those words. You should be able to find
the information you need to answer the question.

5. Remember, that as you look at each question you'll be able to see the paragraph, or
paragraphs, that the question refers to on one side of your computer screen. You will also be
able to scroll through the entire passage. So, if you keep these things in mind, you should be
able to move through all the questions for each reading passage at a reasonable pace. Just
remember to answer all the questions the best you can.

Managing Your Time

During the Reading section, you should spend no more than 18 minutes on each
passage and its related questions. You can use free practice materials such
as TOEFL iBT  ® Quick Prep(opens new window) to time yourself. As you practice,
you will see how much time you typically need to read each passage and how
much time you typically need to answer the questions. Once you figure this out,
you can adjust how much time you need to give yourself.

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