Hello. Maybe you are one of the candidates for the English language exams, and you want to know more about them and their sections. This article talks about the TOEFL test and one of its parts, reading. The TOEFL test, like the IELTS test, has four sections, one of which is reading. This is the first and most important part of the TOEFL test, which takes about 60 to 80 minutes. Response time depends on the number of passages, which is 3 or 4.
Structure of reading questions
The reading test has 3 to 4 passages that contain about 700 words. The number of TOEFL reading test questions is between 30 and 56 questions. That is, between 10 and 14 questions are designed for each passage.
The subjects of passages are also academic and scientific. For example, passages may be about topics published daily in magazines and newspapers worldwide.
But these texts can be explained in three ways:
- Narrative
The first category of texts are narratives in which one usually speaks of a famous historical event or the story of an important person. In another way, a famous subject is narrated.
- Exposition
The second category is exposition texts. These passages are for a particular topic and are usually fully explained and interpreted, which you should read carefully.
- Argumentative
The next category is Argumentative texts. This type of text talks about an essential and famous scientific subject. The question designer then writes an opinion on the subject and tries to prove it with logical reasons. You should read this text along with the arguments and answer the questions accordingly.
Practical strategies for answering questions
Now that you are familiar with the general format of the TOEFL Reading test, here are some strategies to answer the questions.
1. Read the questions and passages in general
First, try to read all the passages quickly to answer the questions. Then read the questions and write the number for each passage in front of the question. Finally, go back to the passages and answer the questions related to that paragraph by reading each paragraph. This is a convenient way to answer questions that can help you. But you have to practice a lot.
2. Manage your time
Time is the main point that you should pay attention to in this test. First, after knowing the number of passages, divide your time. As you know, you will be given about 20 minutes for each passage. Take the first 10 minutes to read the passages and questions. Then take the next 8 minutes to find the answers and transfer them to the answer sheet. Finally, don’t forget to dedicate about 2 minutes of exam time to review. This way, you can manage the entire time of your test.
Conclusion
This article introduced the TOEFL reading test and reviewed the overall format and important response strategies.
Reading is one of the most difficult TOEFL tests, and you must practice a lot. Success in TOEFL reading requires careful planning as well as an extensive vocabulary.