TOEFL iBT reading section description
TOEFL iBT Reading section
The Reading section is the first section of the TOEFL.In this section,you must read three or five passages of approximately 700 words, and answer questions that test your comprehension after each passage.All the reading passages are about the same length,but the number of passages,questions,and the total amount of time for this section can vary.On any TOEFL administration,you can receive between three and five passages,and you have anywhere from 60 to 100 minutes to read passages and answer the questions,depending on the number of passages.Also,each passage can have 12 to 14 questions,and the time is divided as follows:
- 20 minutes for the first passage
- 40 minutes for the second and third passages
- 40 minutes for the fourth and fifth passages
However,not all tests will have five passages;some have only three
The variation in the number of passages,questions,and amount of time is due to the curriculum development of the test writers for exam.The test writers sometimes include new passages and/or questions in order to assess their level difficulty.You are not graded on these passages or questions,but your performance on them is used to modify the questions for later tests.The problem is,you are not told which passages or questions are counted toward your mark,so you must read all passages and answer all questions as well as you can.In other words,you must assume that all of your answers will be used to calculate your score.
All of the reading passages have academic topics from fields commonly found in North American colleges and universities.The fields include the arts,the hard science(physics,chemistry,biology,math,etc.),the applied sciences(engineering,architecture,etc.), and the social sciences(psychology,sociology,etc.).You are not required to have any specialized or advanced knowledge in these fields.The reading passages and questions test your ability to read about an unfamiliar topic,comprehend,and learn.
The passages fall into one of three types:exposition,narrative,or argument.An exposition,or expository passage, is a description and explanation of a topic.A narrative is a story,and usually an academic narrative is really a type of exposition since it describes and explanation what happened.An argument,however,is an opinion or point of view about the topic,usually a position for or against a particular theory or plan.Unlike an exposition,an argument is persuasive,which means that the writer wants to persuade-or to convince-the reader to agree with his opinion.
After you read a passage,you must answer to questions.These questions test your comprehension of the writer`s explanation or argument by asking about the detail,vocabulary,organization,key points,and implication,in the passage.Each question type is examined thoroughly below,but there is a review of basic reading strategies.
The variation in the number of passages,questions,and amount of time is due to the curriculum development of the test writers for exam.The test writers sometimes include new passages and/or questions in order to assess their level difficulty.You are not graded on these passages or questions,but your performance on them is used to modify the questions for later tests.The problem is,you are not told which passages or questions are counted toward your mark,so you must read all passages and answer all questions as well as you can.In other words,you must assume that all of your answers will be used to calculate your score.
All of the reading passages have academic topics from fields commonly found in North American colleges and universities.The fields include the arts,the hard science(physics,chemistry,biology,math,etc.),the applied sciences(engineering,architecture,etc.), and the social sciences(psychology,sociology,etc.).You are not required to have any specialized or advanced knowledge in these fields.The reading passages and questions test your ability to read about an unfamiliar topic,comprehend,and learn.
The passages fall into one of three types:exposition,narrative,or argument.An exposition,or expository passage, is a description and explanation of a topic.A narrative is a story,and usually an academic narrative is really a type of exposition since it describes and explanation what happened.An argument,however,is an opinion or point of view about the topic,usually a position for or against a particular theory or plan.Unlike an exposition,an argument is persuasive,which means that the writer wants to persuade-or to convince-the reader to agree with his opinion.
After you read a passage,you must answer to questions.These questions test your comprehension of the writer`s explanation or argument by asking about the detail,vocabulary,organization,key points,and implication,in the passage.Each question type is examined thoroughly below,but there is a review of basic reading strategies.
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