TOEFL Reading Section

The Reading section of TOEFL focuses on assessing test-takers' ability to understand and comprehend passages they have provided within the stipulated time. This determines the test taker's reading pace and the time it takes them to understand university-level textbooks since that is where most excerpts are often taken from, as well as non-academic texts. The selected passages will cover various topics, allowing evaluators to determine whether test-takers comprehend the text due to their language proficiency or general knowledge of the subject matter.

TOEFL Reading Section Test Structure

The Reading section contains passages, either academic or non-academic, based on the type of test the test-taker is taking.

TOEFL iBT: The test-takers will be given 2 passages, each 700 words long. Each passage will have 10 questions that test-takers must answer after carefully perusing the text. The passages provided will be excerpts from university-level textbooks of various disciplines. Test-takers aren’t required to be familiar with the disciplines they refer to. The test-takers are graded according to the understanding they gain from reading the text. The time allotted to this section is 35 minutes, during which the test-taker will have to attempt all 20 questions.

TOEFL Essentials: TOEFL Essentials focuses on academic and non-academic reading skills. There are 4 different types of tasks that have 30-45 questions, which take 22-33 minutes to complete.

• Choose the word from a list of four words most similar in meaning to the word in the question.
• Reading a non-academic text from daily life and answering 2-4 multiple choice questions based on this text. The text can be up to 150 words long.
• Reading 50-85 words long academic text presented in a grid format and answering 4 questions. Each question will have three options- True, False, and Not Stated.
• Reading an academic passage approximately 200 words long and answering 6 questions.

How is TOEFL Reading Section Scored?

The Reading section iBT score is scaled on a range of 0-30, while the total score is the sum of all the section scores and ranges from 0-120. TOEFL Essentials has a score scale of 1-12 for this section.

The Reading section can be broken down into 4 or 5 proficiency levels, and each proficiency level indicates the degree of the test-taker's knowledge of English. No grade equals a failing, but a 0 indicates they do not know enough language to adapt to an English-speaking country.

Proficiency Level	iBT Score	Essentials Score	General Description
Advanced Level	24-30	10-12	can understand low-frequency vocabulary; comprehend inter-related information and synthesize information in passage.
High-Intermediate Level	18-23	7-9	can understand common academic terms; can distinguish ideas based on importance; can synthesize information with difficulty.
Low-Intermediate Level	4-17	4-6	can understand basic grammar and high-frequency words; can identify the purpose of the text but has difficulty synthesizing information.
Below Low-Intermediate Level	0-3	1-5	shows very low proficiency in understanding the language.

Tips to Ace TOEFL Reading Section

The Reading section is one of the sections that demands preparation specific to time. In this section, the trick is to read the entire text in as little time as possible and then move on to the questions. This requires strategic planning and practice since test-takers only receive a maximum of 35 minutes to read the passages and questions and then answer all the questions accordingly.

• Practice Reading for Speed- Though test-takers are sure to have read articles/blogs/books in the required language, it is possible that they were never rushed in completing the text within a stipulated time. Test-takers must practice reading fast and absorbing as much content as they can. This requires a lot of practice in reading texts from various disciples.
• Develop Comprehension Speed- When test-takers have learned the art of reading as fast as they can, they should focus on understanding the content they read through without missing any key points. Reading fast can make them ignore important content, affecting their score adversely during the test. Every word test-takers read in the passage may come in handy while answering the questions; hence, comprehending text while reading through it as fast as possible will help them in the test and academically.
• Pick Low-Frequency Vocabulary- One of those rubrics in the Reading section for TOEFL is how the High-Intermediate and Advanced Level grades focus on the ability to understand low-frequency academic words. So, while practicing reading skills, take up academic books and read through introductory passages, which are bound to have words that are not commonly used. Focus on these words. Test-takers should return to the passage, find the meaning of the word they couldn’t understand, and learn it as they read. Also, they should habitually place the word in random sentences to confirm whether they know the perfect usage of the term.
• Keep Reading- When test-takers are not reading to increase their speed, or when they get bored of trying to read fast and comprehend at the same time, they can just read. Read both academic and non-academic materials. Even reading write-ups that pop up on social media platforms is practice. Once test-takers have completed reading a passage, they should form questions of their own and try to answer them to test their level of comprehension.
• Use Grammar to the Rescue- If test-takers come across vocabulary beyond their level of learning, they can always rely on the grammar to understand what the sentence is about, especially if they place it within the context. Relationships between independent and dependent clauses can formulate an idea not too far from what is being discussed, allowing them to answer correctly despite being unaware of what is happening.

Learning a language is never easy, and the only tip that stays constant throughout examinations in general is the golden one of practice.