TOEFL Reading Overview
The reading section tests your ability to understand academic texts, including topics like science, history, business, economics, and geography. This lesson gives you an overview of this section. You can see the video lesson first and the written lesson after that.
Here’s the video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMST_S7KnIU&feature=youtu.be
TOEFL Reading
The TOEFL reading passages are 600-800 words. Each passage has 12-14 questions.
There are two options for the reading section:
A: 60 minutes to read 3 passages
B: 80 minutes to read 4 passages
You do not get to choose which option you take. In both options, you have 20 minutes per passage. However, the passages are not divided, so you have 60 minutes to complete all passages. You must manage your time.
If you have 60 minutes to complete 3 passages, you have 60 minutes for approximately 40 questions. This is 1.5 minutes per question not including reading time. You should take about 3-5 minutes to read. This leaves you with about 1 minute per question.
Reading Passages
There are 3 types of reading passages:
Exposition
- An explanation or description of a topic
Narrative/Historical
- Stories, past events, or biographies
Argument
- Opinions with evidence and support
TOEFL Reading Questions
There are 10 question types:
Multiple Choice (12-13)
- Factual Information (3-6)
- Negative Factual Information (0-2)
- Vocabulary in Context (3-5)
- Inferences (0-2)
- Reference (0-2)
- Rhetorical Purpose (0-2)
- Essential Information (0-1)
- Insert a Sentence (0-1)
Learn more about multiple choice questions and the strategies for increasing your score here:
TOEFL Multiple Choice Questions
Reading to Learn (1)
- Prose Summary
- Table
Learn more about the reading to learn questions here:
TOEFL Reading to Learn Questions
Preparing for the Reading Section
The best way to practice for the reading section is to read. Read a variety of texts, but focus on academic topics that are found on the TOEFL.
There are many sources of reading:
- Internet
- Newspapers
- Books
- Magazines
- Academic Journals
Use the library system at your school or in your city to help you prepare.
Improve the reading skills used on the TOEFL:
Skimming
- Quickly reading an article to understand the organization and location of important info
Scanning
- Finding required information within an article
Reading for Detail
- Finding details like dates, names, locations, etc.
Reading for Main Idea
- Recognizing the overall idea of the article
Understanding Vocabulary in Context
- Knowing the meaning of a new word by the surrounding words and sentences
Making Inferences
- Making assumptions or predictions based on the information given
That was on overview of the TOEFL reading section. It’s now time to start learning the strategies you need to increase your score. Click on the links below for the lessons:
TOEFL Reading Multiple Choice Questions
TOEFL Reading to Learn Questions
TOEFL Reading Strategies