TOEFL IBT READING SECTION
Completing summaries and charts
Prof. Stephan Hughes
TIPS ON COMPLETING SUMMARIESFind hints about the overall structure of the text
Prof. Stephan Hughes
TIPS ON COMPLETING SUMMARIES•Look for key words that signal an outline, e.g. there are three main theories about ...
Prof. Stephan Hughes
TIPS ON COMPLETING SUMMARIES•Some other signal words: the first, the next, the third ...
Prof. Stephan Hughes
TIPS ON COMPLETING SUMMARIES•Look at the first sentence or two of each paragraph
Prof. Stephan Hughes
ELIMINATE ANSWER CHOICES•that are just details•that are irrelevant•that present information inaccurately•that don’t appear in the passage
Prof. Stephan Hughes
Prof. Stephan Hughes
•A paragraph has more than one main idea?
Prof. Stephan Hughes
•The passage does not a clear-cut outline indicated by the signal words e.g. “the first ...”, “the next ...” “the third ...”?
Prof. Stephan Hughes
•There are more paragraphs than answer choices?
Prof. Stephan Hughes
Prof. Stephan Hughes
Complete the chart
questions
IMPORTANT TIPS•Familiarize yourself with the categories and concepts and differences between them
Prof. Stephan Hughes
IMPORTANT TIPS•Locate the answer choices one by one
Prof. Stephan Hughes
DON’T FORGET THAT•The choices might be scattered all over the paragraphs•The information in the answer choices will not be word for word as the text provided in the passage•Use key words from the choices to help you find the answers
Prof. Stephan Hughes
Prof. Stephan Hughes
Tell us about your reading habits:Mention the problems or
challenges you face when you have to read in English, how often you do it, and the importance of
reading in your life.