TOEFL Strategies : Reading and Structure

Reading Comprehension

There are many different kinds of reading. For instance, you might study a chapter in a textbook, or skim a magazine article. The question is, how should you read on the TOEFL?

Since time is limited, you have to read efficiently. Reading efficiently on the TOEFL is a three-step process:

Step 1 – Strategically Skim

Imagine you are reading a newspaper. You don’t have a lot of time to spare, but you still want to see what is in the news. So what do you do? You probably read over the headlines, look at the photos, and skim the lead paragraphs. You certainly do not start at the top of the newspaper page and read every single word until you get to the bottom of the page. You can find out what’s in the news without reading every word on the page.

You need to employ a similar strategy when reading a TOEFL passage. Skimming is a quick techinique – it takes only a few seconds. It gives you a general idea of the passage and the important topics that will be discussed. It puts you in the right frame of mind when you begin Step 2.

How you skim depends on the passage type:

If the passage type is one long paragraph – You should skim the first two sentences and the last sentence.

If the passage type is two or more paragraphs – You should skim the first sentence of each paragraph and the last sentence of the last paragraph.

Step 2 – Read Ideas

How you handle Step 2 is crucial. If you read too closely, you may run out of time. If you read superficially, your comprehensioan of the passage might be poor. So how should you read on the TOEFL?

1. Read Ideas, Not Words

To pace yourself accurately on the TOEFL, you need to read ideas, not words. Compare reading to eating a bowl of rice. It would take forever to eat the whole bowl one grain at a time. Similarity, It would take forever to read a whole book, or reading passages in the TOEFL, if you read every single word.

What you should read are clumps of words. A skilled reader reads phrases, sentences, and ideas; recognizes subjects, their actions, and their result; and finds main ideas and sees how they are supported and organized.

2. Handle Confusion

One of greatest challenges in reading is dealinb with confusion. The TOEFL’s passage are supposed to be confusing. Most likely, there are going to be sentences in the passages that don’t make any sense to you. Chances are, you’re not going to be the only test-taker that confused. However, what will set you apart from the other test-takers is the way you handle your confusion.

A skilled reader reads a confusing sentences and figures, “I’ll keep reading – that sentence in either unimportant or the next few sentences will explain it better”. The unskilled reader reads the same sentence and panics. “Oh I don’t know what the sentence means! I better read it over and over until it makes sense”.

When you’re faced with a confusing sentence on the TOEFL, keep reading the passage. The topic discussed in that sentence will probably make more sense once you’ve read the entire passage, or you might find that the topic is not important to your overall understanding of the passage

3. Stay Focused

Have you ever been reading a book and, after you’ve complete  page, forgotten what you have just read? It happens to all of us when we lose focus.

Since time is limited, don’t loe your focus on the TOEFL. As you’re reading the passages, do not think about time running out, how you’re doing on the test, or how you’re going to celebrate when the TOEFL is over. You concentration will suffer, you will not understand the passage, and you may have to waste precious time re-reading it.

Step 3 – Scan for Key Words

Scanning is not the same as reading. When you scan, your eyes move very quickly over the sentences and paragraphs. You have only one purpose: find the key word. Once you find the key word, you can read around that word for information you need to answer that question. So how can you tell which words are key word? It’s easy. They are usually the main nouns and action verbs of the question.

Example for Reading Comprehension:

The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage. Especially by comparison with Britain, Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood. (Paragraph 1)

The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent covered by a climax forest. Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken at many points. Nevertheless, all sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early colonial period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests. By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities, but wood was still

extremely abundant. (Paragraph 2)

The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated. Wood was a foundation of the economy. Houses and all manner of buildings were made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain. Secondly, wood was used as fuel for heating and cooking. Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industrial compounds, such as potash, an industrial alkali; charcoal, a component of gunpowder; and tannic acid, used for tanning leather. (Paragraph 3)

The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well. Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal. Because Britain was so stripped of trees, she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines. But the American colonies had both iron ore and wood; iron production was encouraged and became successful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the Colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal iron was stronger than coke iron. Coke smelting led to technologic innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. In the early nineteenth century, the former colonies lagged behind Britain in industrial development because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron. (Paragraph 4)

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The advantages of using wood in the colonies

(B) The effects of an abundance of wood on the colonies

(C) The roots of the Industrial Revolution

(D) The difference between charcoal iron and coke iron

Answer: B

2. The word strikingly in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to

(A) realistically.

(B) dramatically.

(C) completely.

(D) immediately.

Answer: B

3. Which of the following is a common assumption about the forests of North America during the colonial period?

(A) They contained only a few types of trees.

(B) They existed only along the Atlantic seaboard.

(C) They had little or no economic value.

(D) They covered the entire continent.

Answer: D

4. According to the passage, by the end of the colonial period, the price of wood in eastern cities

(A) rose quickly because wood was becoming so scarce.

(B) was much higher than it was in Britain.

(C) was slightly higher than in previous years.

(D) decreased rapidly because of lower demand for wood.

Answer: C

5. What can be inferred about houses in Britain during the period written about in the passage?

(A) They were more expensive than American houses.

(B) They were generally built with imported materials.

(C) They were typically smaller than homes in North America.

(D) They were usually built from materials other than wood

Answer: D

Structure and Written Expression

Examples for Part A - Structure 

Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. The North Pole___________ a latitude of 90 degrees north.

A. it has

B. is having

C. which is having

D. has

Answer: D

2. The city of Beverly Hills is surrounded on ________ the city of Los Angeles.

A. its sides

B. the sides are

C. it is the side of

D. all sides by

Answer: D

3. ________ greyhound, can achieve speeds up to thirty-six miles per hour.

A. The

B. The fastest

C. The fastest dog

D. The fastest dog, the

Answer: D

4. Marmots spend their time foraging among meadow plants and flowers or ________ on rocky cliffs.

A. gets sun

B. sunning

C. the sun

D. sunny

Answer: B 

5. The greenhouse effect occurs ________ heat radiated from the Sun.

A. when does the Earth’s atmosphere trap

B. does the Earth’s atmosphere trap

C. when the Earth’s atmosphere traps

D. the Earth’s atmosphere traps

Answer: C

Examples for Part B – Written Expression

Identify the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.

6. Guppies are sometimes call rainbow fish because of the males' bright colors

                                         A                 B        C                            D                                                                                     

Answer: A

7. On the floor of the Pacific Ocean is hundreds of flat-topped mountains more than a mile 

                  A                                  B                          C                               D                                                           

beneath sea level.

Answer: B

8. Because of the flourish with which John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence,

                                                 A                                                                                                           

 his name become synonymous with signature.

 B                  C                D                                                                                                                                 

Answer: C

9. Segregation in public schools was declare unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1954.

                                A                        B                   C                                                         D      

Answer: B

10. Sirius, the Dog Star, is the most brightest star in the sky with an absolute magnitude about

                                                        A                                                     B                                                             

twenty-three times that of the Sun.

           B                  D                                                                                                                                       

Answer: A

Sources:

Bailey, Richard X. 2002. The Very Best Preparation Testbuster for the TOEFL CBT: Research and Education Association.

Gear, Jolene and Robert Gear. 2006. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test: Cambridge University Press

Hinkel, Eli. 2004. TOEFL Test Strategies: Barron’s Educational Series.

Tips and Strategies for Listening Section on TOEFL Test

The listening comprehension section of the TOEFL tests your knowledge of spoken english. The english is delivered at normal conversational speed by a speakers. The vocabulary and grammatical patterns are typical of those used by an educated speaker in a relaxed situation. 

The listening comprehension section is the first section of the TOEFL. It takes approximately forty minutes to complete all the items. All the questions are spoken only once. The test, however, is preceded by a very complete introduction, which includes sample item from every part. It is important to pay close attention to this introduction, even if you are familiar with the format of the test. Careful listening will help you determine if your seating is satisfactory for comfortable listening.

There are three parts in the Listening Comprehension Section of the test, and you are faced with three different listening tasks:

• Part A : Responding to one question that follows a short exchange between two speakers.

• Part B : Answering several questions about a longer conversation between two speakers.

• Part C : Answering specific questions about information contained in a short lecture, which is similar to task you have perform when listening to a professor in a lecture class.

Strategies to Use for the Listening Section of the TOEFL Test

• Take notes. 

Taking notes will help you concentrate on and remember what is being said. You can use your notes to help you answer the questions. Try to write what you hear in a rough outline form that organizes the main ideas and details of the conversation or lecture.

• Identify the main idea and the important details that support it. 

The main idea is usually found at the beginning of the listening passage. Details may be found throughout the passage. The language in the conversations is often informal and concerns topics common to the everyday lives of young adults studying at a university.

• Pay attention to stance.

Listen for clues to help you understand the speaker’s stance. Stance refers to the speaker’s purpose, attitude, or degree of certainty. Being aware of these features will help you answer some of the questions on the test.

• You cannot leave a question unanswered.

There are no penalty for wrong answers on the TOEFL test. Even if you are not sure what the correct answer is, try to select the answer that you think is the best and fill in the corresponding circle on your answer sheet. If you have no idea which answer is correct, guess. Remember that responses (B) and (C) are the most often correct.

• Look for the responses to the next question.

When working with the listening comprehension tasks, you should try to figure out what the next listening section will be about. To do this, you need to look at the multiple-choice responses to the next question in your test booklet before the speakers begin the section.

• Pay attention when someone in the conversation asks a question.

Often it is a clue that information is about to given. However, this is not always true so be careful for responses that sound a lot like the answer to a question. Listen carefully as these responses are often there to your test your ability to understand the context of what you heard.

Strategies to Use for Building Listening Skills

• Listen to spoken English as much as possible.

The more you practice listening, the better listener you will become. There are many ways in which you can practice your listening skills. If you don’t have the opportunity to listen to native English speakers in person, you can hear English spoken in movie, on TV, on the radio, or on the internet. Try to understand unfamiliar words in context. Write down any words you don’t understand so you can look them up in in the dictionary later.

• Listen to natural speech

Most of what you hear in movies, documentaries, and TV or radio news reports is scripted speech. Although these sources provide good listening practice, they do not contain many of the natural speech features that will be heard in TOEFL listening passage. By listening to unscripted interviews, discussions, or debates, you can improve your ability to understand natural speech

• Listen to different accents.

Speakers from different English-speaking countries may be featured in the Listening section of the TOEFL test. To become familiar with different accents and speech patterns, watch movies and TV shows and listen to radio programs from various English speaking areas of the world.

• Listen to authentic academic lectures.

Try to attend lectures given in English and take notes. If you have access to the internet, the websites of some universities and research institutions provide free lectures and discussions that you can listen to as may times as you want. These lectures and discussions are useful for several reasons. First, you can improve your ability to listen to longer discourse. You have a choice of lectures and discussions on different topics. And you have the opportunity to hear different accents and speech patterns.

•  Listen for stance.

When you listen to lectures and conversations in English practice listening for clues that will help you understand the speaker’s purpose, attitude, and degree of certainty.

Example:

In part A, you will hear 30 short dialogues between two speakers. The purpose in Part A is to test your ability to understand conversations on common, everyday topics. Academic topics seldom appear in this part of the TOEFL. Because exchanges between the two speakers are very informal and social, in Part A you will hear many contractions and idioms.

Example of a short dialogue in Part A:

Woman          : Could you tell me what time the next train is due to arrive?

Man                : At six. I think it’s a little behind schedule

Question        : What does the man mean?

The conversationally polite expression Could you and the contraction. It’s again indicate the conversational style of the exchange. The phrase due to arrive in woman’s question means is supposed to arrive. In the man response, the most important information is behind schedule meaning the train is late.

The multiple choice items for this short dialogue might be:

(A)The train is behind the station

(B) The next train is due in six hours

(C) The train may arrive late

(D)The schedule is wrong

(A) is not correct because the man said behind schedule, not behind the station, (B) is also wrong because nothing was said about the train being due in six hours, (C) is correct, (D) is not correct because the man did not say anything about the schedule is wrong.

In Part B you will hear two types of listening tasks, long dialogues between two (and sometimes three) speakers, and short lectures given by one speaker.

Example of a longer dialogue in Part B:

Man              : This beach is really dirty. Look at all these pieces of plastic and litter  everywhere.

Woman          : It’s terrible. I’m sure some of it has washed up from the ocean. Plastic trash from ships has been dumped into the ocean for years.

Man                : I’m surprised that waste can just be dumped into the ocean. Essentially, the ocean has become a receptacle for both industrial and city garbage. It is a disaster for sea birds and all forms of marine life.

Woman          : You can say that again. Birds get caught in the plastic bags and packing materials that are dumped in the water. Why is such pollution allowed to happen?

Man             : You should have seen what the sea water looked like just five years ago. The pumping of wate water into the ocean had continued for decades. Finally, new laws prohibit dumping industrial or city waste in the ocean. So, hopefully, over time, both the water and the beaches will become cleaner.

Woman        : It’s a good thing. Who knows, the entire marine environment could have been spoiled by garbage

The dialogue is followed by several questions, each spoken only once. In your test book, you will see the multiple choice selections for each question. The question and the answer choices for the preceding dialogue might be:

Question: What is said about the condition of the ocean waters?

(A)They are stormy

(B) They are unpopulated

(C) They are polluted

(D)They are deep

(A) is not correct because neither speaker mentioned stormy weather or waters. (B) is not correct because “sea birds and all forms of marine life” were mentioned. (C) is a possible answer, (D) is clearly incorrect because the dialogue does not discuss the ocean depth. Therefore, the correct answer is (C)

Example of a short lecture in part C :

            If you need to buy a good lock, there are several things you should keep in mind. Locks differ in price and quality. You can make a decision about which lock you want to buy if you know how they work. Let me show you what we have here and quickly explain how basic locks work. When the correct key is inserted into the door lock, the notches on the key make metal plates align. Once the plates are aligned, the key pushes the bolt inside the lock between the door and the frame. Spring bolts are considered more convenient because you don’t need to use a key to lock them. When the door closes, they snap into the door frame and stay locked until a key is used to open them. However, spring locks are not as hard to do; you can see for yourself. On the other hand, dead bolts work from inside  the door, and they need a key to unlock them. Dead bolts are called “dead” because they don’t move until you move them with a key. Spring locks and dead bolts are the two types of locks we sell most.

Question: Why are dead bolts called “dead”?

(A)They are no longer used

(B) They are poorly designed

(C) They are difficult to maintain

(D)They are require a key to open them

A is not correct because the speaker said that spring locks and dead bolts are commonly used. Nothing was mentioned regarding the design of dead bolts or their maintenance, so both (B) and (C) are wrong, (D) is the correct answer.

Sources:

Gear, Jolene and Robert Gear. 2006. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test: Cambridge University Press

Hinkel, Eli. 2004. TOEFL Test Strategies: Barron’s Educational Series.

King, Carol and Nancy Stanley. 1989. Building Skills for the TOEFL. Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara.