TOEFL iBT Reading Overview

Section Content Time Score

Reading 3─5 700-word 20 minutes per /30
passages passage

11─13 60─100 total

questions with minutes
a total score of
14
 2. Reading Passages
• Reading passages are from first-year college and
university textbooks.
 academic content
 information dense
• 12th grade reading level
• Readings contain low-frequency vocabulary.
• 36–73 very difficult words per reading
3. Reading Screen
 4. Answers in Reading Passages
• The order of the questions follows the order of the
information in the passage.
• The answer for question one is before the answer for
question two.
 5. Reading Toolbar Buttons
• NEXT
 see the next question
• BACK
 see the previous question
• REVIEW
 see a list of answered and unanswered questions
• VIEW TEXT
 view the entire passage
 6. Review Screen
• Click on REVIEW button in the Reading section to see
the review screen.
• Review screen has a list of answered and unanswered
questions
 GO TO QUESTION: see the question GO TO
QUESTION
highlighted in the list
 RETURN: go back to before you
clicked REVIEW button
RETURN
 7. Multiple Choice Questions
• Multiple Choice Questions have four answers.
• Vocabulary Questions
 identify meaning of words and phrases in context
• Reference Questions
 identify subject nouns
• All Multiple Choice Questions are worth one point.
 8. Multiple Choice Questions
• Paraphrase Questions
 recognize simplified and rephrased sentences with same
meaning as sentences from the passage
• Factual Information Questions
 identify true information
• Inference Questions
 draw a conclusion from stated facts
• Negative Factual Information Questions
 identify a fact that is not true or not mentioned in passage
• Purpose Questions
 identify why author included a highlighted word or phrase
 9. Insert Text Questions
• Click on one of four squares to indicate best placement
for new sentence.
 worth one point
 10. Prose Summary Questions
• Drag and drop answers to one of three summary
positions.
 You don’t have to put answers in order.
 worth two points • ____________________
• ____________________
• ____________________
11. Schematic Framework Questions
• Drag and drop answer choices into the correct
category.
 more answers than slots—some answers do not fit under either
category
 worth three or four points
 12. Common Distractors
• Distractors are incorrect answers.
• Several types of distractors:
 repeat words from the reading but incorrectly answer the
question
 are not mentioned in the reading
 contradict information in the reading passage
 do not answer the question
 are incomplete
 13. Helpful Tips
• Correct answers
 are usually restatements from the reading passage.
• If you don’t know the answer,
 use process of elimination.
 select the most logical answer.
• If time is running out,
 answer the easy questions first.
 guess for remaining questions.
• You don’t lose points for guessing.
 14. More Helpful Tips
• If you finish early,
 continue checking your answers.
• Your first choice is usually correct.
• Answer all the questions in one passage before you
move on to the next.
 focus will change when you read the second passage.