TOEFL Reading - Key Points
When you sit down to do the reading test, you will encounter some reading passages and some questions about those passages. The following is a recommended approach to answering those questions, involving both skimming and scanning.Step 1
Read the title of the reading passage and any headlines or captions that appear within it. This will give you clues to what it is about and help your brain prepare for the reading that will follow.
Step 2
Skim the passage. As we discussed above, this means reading quickly in order to get the main idea of the article. Read from start to finish very fast, not worrying about any particular words. Focus on the start and end of the article and the first and last sentence of each paragraph. These contain the most pertinent information.
Step 3
Read the questions. Go through them one by one, thinking of synonyms for each of the important words within the sentence. Remember that you may not find exactly the same words within the text, so this is essential.
Step 4
For each question, you must now scan the passage. Keep in mind the main idea of the question and the synonyms that you have noted down. Read quickly until you find the part of the text that contains these words, and then when you find it, stop. You now have to finally read more carefully and slowly. Don’t read too much. Just read the part that you need to find the answer to the question.
Step 5
Repeat these steps for each of the questions. Once you have finished, you can check your answers again if you still have any available time left. If you have left any answers blank, you can review the text and take an educated guess at anything you were unable to specifically find.
