TOEFL Reading: Read an Academic Passage

Reading for structure, once

The old approach — read closely, then return to the passage for each question — assumed time this section no longer has. Read once for structure: the claim, where it turns, what each paragraph is doing. That is usually enough to answer and to locate anything you need to check.

• Note the turn — however, by contrast, more recently. Questions cluster around it.
• Note whose view is being reported, and whether the writer shares it.
• Do not annotate heavily. Marking everything is marking nothing, and it costs time you do not have.

Answering

1. Answer in your own words before reading the options.
2. Eliminate on grounds you can name — not supported, too broad, true but not asked.
3. Treat heavy word overlap with the passage as a warning rather than a signal; correct answers usually paraphrase.
4. Commit and move. There is no penalty and no time to deliberate.

Subject knowledge is not required and is a liability. Passages cover unfamiliar fields deliberately, and everything needed is on the screen.