We will now discuss two approaches to ace reading passages on the TOEFL.
Those two approaches, used in conjunction, will prepare you to read and understand passages on the TOEFL in the limited time you are given. The time limit, about 1.5 minutes per question, is one of the greatest obstacles for a TOEFL taker. Therefore, the primary goal is to complete the two tasks above as quickly as possible. That is why the key to a high TOEFL score is skimming.
Think of the main idea as the combination of two things: On the one hand it is the main point that the passage is communicating, and on the other, the purpose of the passage or its type - to explain, to argue, or to report.
Once you scroll down to the bottom of the passage, you will be able to view the first question. You can also page forward and back to see other questions. We recommend you to quickly scan through the first few questions and answers to develop a general sense of the focus of the questions and reinforce your understanding of the main idea of the passage.
Finding key information requires you to understand the structure of a passage. Let's start with the conclusion.
The conclusion of a passage or an essay usually repeats everything that was said in the beginning and the middle - it leaves out all the unimportant stuff. Reading the conclusion first won't tell you exactly what the passage says, but it will give you a pretty good idea.
The passages on the TOEFL are typically shortened versions of longer passages. The conclusion may refer to points or contain information that seems irrelevant based on the rest of the passage. A good conclusion will end with a final thought that can apply to the whole passage.
When reading the concluding paragraph, observe these two rules:
The introduction of the passage presents you with the topic and in most cases the purpose of the passage. Just like the conclusion, you need to be aware of what to pay close attention to.
The directions for reading the introduction paragraph are somewhat similar:
The body of the passage typically contains the most detail and therefore the least amount of key information. You don't want to completely skim or even skip the body though, because here is where a lot of points are made and a lot of information is given although these may not be the main ideas of the passage. Many questions on the TOEFL will ask about a certain group of points but not the main idea.
Here are some rules for reading the body paragraphs:
To find key information within the paragraphs in general, you should pay special attention to keyword signals.
Keyword Signals
You need to pay attention to certain words or phrases that will alert you to where key information is in the passage. Sometimes the author may change direction or begin to emphasize a different point. Some of these key words are the following:
Therefore
For Example
Because
Those words all support a particular notion or introduce a main point. Next are some words that introduce a point that is contrary to the point made before the word occurs:
Although
However
Despite
On the other hand
Keeping an eye out for those words, both positive and negative, will alert you to points the author is trying to make, and to information the author is trying to present.
As far as finding the main point of the passage, there are a number of techniques that can be used:
1. Read the beginning of every paragraph closely, and skim the rest of the paragraph. When you skim, you should look for certain signals that new information is coming. The signals will be discussed in the next section.
2. Focus on the last sentence of the conclusion paragraph. The author will usually repeat the main idea there.
3. The first sentence of each paragraph plus the end of the conclusion will form a skeleton of the main idea of the passage. See if you can boil it down to one statement.