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The day before the test:
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Get to bed early.
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Get light exercise. Don’t work out too hard. You don’t want to be sore or physically exhausted the day
of the exam.
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Get everything you will need ready: pencils/pens, admission materials/documentation, any mints or
snacks you’d like to have along.
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Make a list of everything you need to bring so you don’t forget anything in the morning.
The day of the test:
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Get up early. Make sure you set your alarm. Ask a family member or friend to make sure you are up on
time.
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Eat a light, healthy breakfast, such as yogurt and granola or a low-fat, low-sugar cereal and fruit.
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Dress comfortably. Wear layers so that you can take off a shirt or sweater if you are too warm in the test
room.
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Don’t drastically alter your diet. For example, if you drink coffee every morning, don’t skip it—you
could get a headache. However, don’t go for that second cup or super-sized portion. Too much caffeine
can make you jittery during the exam, and you can “crash” when the caffeine wears off.
At the test site:
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Chat with others, but not about the test. That might only make you more nervous.
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Think positive. Remember, you are prepared.
IF you aren’t sure about the answer to a multiple-choice question, should you guess? In most cases, yes. The
general rule of thumb is this:

Guess if you can eliminate at least one answer. Multiple-choice questions usually have four or five options,
only one of which is right. That gives you a 20–25% chance of guessing correctly. If you have four options and
eliminate one distracter, that increases your chances to 33%. If you eliminate two distracters, you have a 50/50
chance of getting the right answer. Those odds are worth taking a risk, even if you receive a slight penalty for an
incorrect answer.
On the computer-based TOEFL exam, your score will be lowered by random guessing. Only guess if you have
eliminated at least one distracter.
On the supplemental paper-based TOEFL exam, however, you should guess even if you can’t eliminate one
or more distracters. On the paper test, your score is based on the number of questions you answer correctly.
There is no penalty for answering a question incorrectly.
– HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE TOEFL
®
EXAM–
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Should You Guess?
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Avoid squeezing in a last-minute review. Instead, visualize your success and plan your reward for after
the test is over.
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Make sure you read and understand all test directions clearly. How should you fill out the answer sheet?
What if you want to change an answer? Can you write on the test booklet? What is the time limit? What
if you have technical difficulties during the exam? Don’t hesitate to ask questions about anything that is
unclear.
After the test:
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Celebrate!
– HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE TOEFL
®
EXAM–
22

A
S A COLLEGE student, you will spend a great deal of time reading. And because you will attend
an American university, the textbooks, articles, lecture notes, and websites you read for class
will be in English. Obviously, you will need to understand what you read to do well in your
classes. That’s why Section 3 of the TOEFL exam is devoted to reading comprehension skills; admissions offi-
cers want to be sure you will be able to understand all of your reading assignments.

TOEFL Exam Reading Comprehension: What to Expect
In many ways, the TOEFL exam reading comprehension section is much like reading comprehension sections
on other standardized tests. You will be asked to read a short passage (usually no more than five to seven para-
graphs). Then you will be asked to answer several multiple-choice questions about that passage.
Reading passages on the TOEFL exam are typically factual and often academic in nature. The passages
are, in fact, quite similar to the kind of texts you will read in the college classroom. For example, you might
CHAPTER
Reading
Comprehension
Skills
Strong reading comprehension skills are essential for success on the
TOEFL exam and throughout your college career. In this chapter, you
will learn exactly what the reading comprehension section of the
TOEFL exam is like. You will also review and practice basic reading
comprehension skills so you can better understand what you read and
do well on the exam.
2
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read about the history of the French Revolution, the conventions of Greek tragedies, the cellular structure of
plants, or the trickle-down theory of economics. TOEFL exam reading passages are usually one to five para-
graphs long, though a few may run as long as seven or eight.
Kinds of Reading Comprehension Passages
and Questions on the TOEFL Exam

With very few exceptions, most reading comprehension questions on the TOEFL exam will fall into one
of nine categories:
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main idea
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vocabulary
■
specific fact or detail
■
exceptions
■
location of information
■
inferences
■
references
■
paraphrased sentences (computer-based test only)
■
sentence insertion (computer-based test only)
Main Idea
These questions ask you to identify the main idea of the passage (or sometimes part of a passage, such as a
specific paragraph).
THERE are a few differences between the new computer-based TOEFL and the old paper-based exam. Most of
those differences have to do with formatting (such as the number of questions), not the content. The type and
difficulty of the passages and questions remain the same.
The chart below compares the reading comprehension sections on the two tests:
Computer-Based TOEFL exam Supplemental Paper-Based TOEFL exam
70–90 minutes. 55 minutes.
44–55 questions. 50 questions.

3–6 reading passages. 5 reading passages.
6–10 questions per passage. Average of 10 questions per passage.
Questions may include pictures that refer to the passage. Questions do not include pictures.
Questions may have two correct answers. Questions have only one correct answer.
Source: Barron’s Passkey to the TOEFL, 4th ed., 2001.
Computer-Based Test vs. Paper-Based Test
– READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS–
24
Sample Questions:
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The main idea of this passage is best expressed in which sentence?
■
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
■
What is this passage mainly about?
■
What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?
Vocabulary
There are two types of vocabulary questions. One kind asks you to determine the meaning of a word as it is
used in the passage. The other, which appears on the computer-based tests, asks you to identify a synonym
for the vocabulary word.
Sample Questions:
■
The word indelible in paragraph 3 most likely means:
■
The word protest in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to:
■
The word remarkable in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by:
■
Look at the word in the passage. [highlighted word will be pointed out in the passage] Click

on another word in the bold text that is closest in meaning to .
Specific Fact or Detail
This kind of question asks you to identify a specific fact or detail mentioned in the passage.
Sample Questions:
■
What causes a lunar eclipse?
■
When did the last lunar eclipse occur?
■
What did many pagan cultures believe caused a lunar eclipse?
Exceptions
These questions ask you to identify which item was not specifically mentioned in the passage.
Sample Questions:
■
Which characteristic does NOT describe an endothermic reaction?
■
Which of the following was NOT identified as a cause of the stock market crash?
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A person with bipolar disorder would NOT exhibit which symptom?
Location of Information
This kind of question asks you to identify the exact place in the passage where specific information is provided.
Sample Questions:
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Where in the passage does the author define the term endothermic?
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Click on the sentence in paragraph 2 in which the author mentions the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
■
Click on the paragraph that discusses the treatments for bipolar disorder.
charming
charming

– READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS–
25
Inferences
This type of question asks you to make an inference (draw a logical conclusion) based on the information in
the passage.
Sample Questions:
■
The author suggests that insects with more than eight legs:
■
This passage suggests that Greek tragedies are still so powerful because:
References
These questions ask you to determine what a specific word or phrase in the passage refers to. (The word or
phrase is often a pronoun, such as “its.”)
Sample Questions:
■
The word them in paragraph 3 refers to:
■
Look at the word in the passage. Click on the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to.
Paraphrased Sentences
This kind of question asks you to identify the sentence that best paraphrases (restates) one or more sentences
from the passage.
Sample Questions:
■
What does the author mean by the sentence
?
■
What does the author mean by the statement
?
Sentence Insertion
These questions ask you to identify the best (most logical) place within the passage to insert a new sentence.

You will be asked to choose from several possible choices marked with a small square (
■
).
Sample Question:
The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2:
These cycles of mania and depression are often unpredictable and can vary greatly in length.
Where would this sentence best fit in the paragraph? Click on the square (
■
) to add the sentence to the
paragraph.
bipolar disorder is a mental illness and that patients’ mood swings are not in their control
Unfortunately, many people do not understand that
proposed
the design was radically different from the other designs
itit
– READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS–
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