The TOEFL Reading section can be challenging for many students. It requires both technical skills and time management, especially since you only have 35 minutes to complete the test. But don’t worry! With just a little preparation, along with the right tips and tricks, you can score over 25/30 on the Reading section. In this article, we’ll guide you through the structure of the test, the different question types, and some essential preparation tips to help you succeed.

Structure of Reading Section

The Reading section is a 35 minutes test, in which you will be provided with 2 academic reading passages. These passages are usually taken from books, and research articles. They test your ability to understand, and comprehend advanced level English language that you will have to use in educational and Professional environments.

In many cases, the second paragraph will be slightly more complicated than the first because of its complex structure, and English language use!

Question Types

How To Prepare TOEFL Reading Section?

The TOEFL reading section can be a little tricky if you are not familiar with academic text, or do not have a reading habit. If you are familiar with this type of texts it may be easier for you to understand the reading test. However, this does not mean that you will not need preparation. Here are a few important preparation strategies for TOEFL reading.

1. Build Your Reading Habit

For the TOEFL reading test, you should start reading academic papers, book chapters and articles across the web two months before the test if you do not interact with such material regularly. For those who engage with such reading content twice or thrice a week, you should start directly with targeted reading practice for the test.

2. Read Sample Reading Passages

Once you have established a good reading habit, you should start reading sample TOEFL passages that you can find across the web. Start reading these passages at least a month before your test date. For two weeks read one such passage every day and do the following practice,

a. Understand the purpose of text

Understand the flow of text. You have to see if the passage is showing a chronological events, if it is a comparison, or if it is a story. Questions like this will be asked in the passages.

1. Keep an eye on underlined or difficult words

2. Keep an eye on factual information

3. Keep an eye on the key ideas of the passages

b. Solve the Questions for Each Passage

Once you have read the passage, now it’s time to answer the questions. Practice answering these questions. In your practice identify the kind of questions you are getting wrong and work on those areas

c. Repeat the Practice Passages

Many people who prepare with sample tests, do not attempt the same sample passages they have already done. However, repeating a sample passage 2 or 3 days later can help you track your progress, and boost your motivation as you observe yourself improve over time.

What to do differently on the test?

For the practice, you should read full passages and understand their structure. However, on the test day you will only have half an hour for two reading passages. Each reading passage will be at least 7 paragraphs long. So, reading the whole passage before you start answering may not be a very good idea.

Instead, read the first two paragraphs and read the first question. You will most likely find your first answer between these paragraphs. Next, read the question before you read the paragraph. Questions are ordered according to the order of paragraphs. This means that each question will be placed such that you find its answer after the answer of the previous paragraph. During your practice you should solve at least 3 to 4 passages using this method so that you will be more familiar with it on the test date.

Tips and Tricks for TOEFL Reading Test

Do you know there are easy ways to nail the difficult questions on the TOEFL exam. All you know is a few tips and tricks.

1. Read all the options before selecting your answer

2. Use the elimination method. This means that cancel out the impossible options first.

3. Read the questions first and find answers as you read the passage.

4. Try to complete the first passage in 13 minutes, as the second passage is usually more complicated.

5. If you aren’t sure about an answer, click on the most likely option and move to the next question. You can come back to these questions once you have solved all the other questions. This will save your time. However, you should also avoid being too hasty as you solve the questions. Give at least one minute to every question you find tricky.

So, what are you waiting for! Register for your test and start practicing now!