ITP TOEFL

STRATEGIES AND TIPS

READING SECTION

Ukrida Department of English

Ira Rasikawati
WHAT DO TEST TAKERS NEED TO KNOW?

1. General ITP TOEFL Test Taking Tips

2. Reading Section Tips
3. Types of Questions
1. GENERAL TIPS

ITP TOEFL TEST TAKING

ITP TOEFL – PBT TOEFL
1. Administered in paper-based format
2. Takes about three and one-half hours
3. 3 Sections: Listening Comprehension, Structure and
Written Expression, Reading Comprehension,
4. Score on scale of 310 to 677
5. Separate writing test: TWE
TEST CONTENT
Section Description Time Limit Total
Questions
Listening Measures the ability to 30-40 minutes 50
Comprehension understand spoken English
Structure and Measures the ability to 25 minutes 40
Written recognize language
Expression appropriate for standard
written English
Reading Measures the ability to 55 minutes 50
Comprehension understand non-technical
reading material
Skill Score Range Level
Reading 0–30 High (22–30)
Intermediate (15–21)
Low (0–14)
Listening 0–30 High (22–30)
Intermediate (15–21)
Low (0–14)
Speaking 0–30 score scale Good (26–30)
Fair (18–25)
Limited (10–17)
Weak (0–9)
Writing 0–30 score scale Good (24–30)
Fair (17–23)
Limited (1–16)
Total Score 0–120
HOW TO SCORE
EXAMPLE:
Section 1 Section 2 Section 3
No. Correct 30 28 43
Converted Score 51 52 58

Overall Score:
Add 3 converted scores: 51+52+58
Devide the sum by 3: 161/3=53.7
Multiply by 10: 53.7x10= 537
PRACTICE IS KEY
• Use English Every Day
Communicate only in English: Listen, read and write in
English every chance you get.
• Write
Make notes, write down reminders, emails using new
words and common expressions – Improve Vocabulary
and Sentence Structure
• Listen
Listen to music, radio, television, movies and online
broadcasts in English – Helps acquire rhythm and
stress patterns of spoken English; Listen closely to
words.
Read
Newspapers, magazines, books and websites – Improve vocabulary.
Try academic reading material to prepare for communicating at
university level.

Keep Journal
Write down things you are doing - practice organizing thoughts
and writing in English.
You can track your own progress. Read it to yourself and read it out
loud.

For further information go to: Source: http://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/prepare/tips/

2. GENERAL TIPS

ITP TOEFL READING SECTION

READING SECTION
 Total time for reading section: 55 minutes
 Total questions: 50
 Total passages: 5
 Words in each passage:
- between 250 – 400 words
- about 5 minutes for skimming
- 1 minute to answer each question
READING TIPS
1. Be familiar with directions
2. Do not spend much time reading passages
• skim passages
• go directly to questions
3. Don’t worry about unfamiliar topics
4. Never leave questions blank
SUGGESTED READING PATTERN

1Read Rapidly 2Skim for Main Idea

Reading
3Read Questions 4Scan Answers
READ RAPIDLY
 Good L1 reader reads at 200 to 300 words per minute (wpm)
rate 4-5 words/second

Reminder 1: Reading Speed

 Time allocation for reading
- 5 passages: 5 minutes: 1 MINUTE/PASSAGE
- 50 questions: 50 minutes: 1 MINUTE PER ITEM
SKIM FOR MAIN IDEA
 Find main idea and organization of passage
 No need to understand every detail on first reading

 Reminder 2: Topic Sentence

 Read FIRST sentence of every paragraph
 Check LAST sentence
READ QUESTIONS
 FIND WHAT TYPES OF QUESTION
Question types tell you where to find the right answers

 Reminder 3: Which sentence has right answer

- Main idea questions: first sentence of every paragraph
- Vocabulary questions: question will tell where to go
- Other questions: keyword in question – anywhere in passage
SCAN ANSWERS
 FIND AND READ PART THAT CONTAIN ANSWER
CAREFULLY
 ELIMINATE OBVIOUSLY WRONG ANSWERS

 Reminder 4: Key words and Markers

- in the same sentence of where key word found
- one sentence before or after key word
3. TYPES OF QUESTION
1. Main idea questions

2. Stated detail questions

3. Unstated detail questions

4. Implied detail questions

5. Vocabulary in context questions

6. “Where” questions
 1. MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY What is the topic of the passage?
QUESTION What is the subject of this passage?
What is the main idea of this passage?
What is the author’s main point in the passage?
With what is the author primarily concerned?
Which of the following would be the best title?
WHERE TO FIND Look at the first sentence of each paragraph
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Read first line of each paragraph
QUESTION 2. Look for common theme or idea in the first lines
3. Pass quickly other lines to confirm topic sentence you
found
4. Eliminate obviously wrong answers, choose best
answer among remaining choices
 2. STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY According to the passage, …
QUESTION It is stated in the passage that…
The passage indicates that …
The author mentions that…
Which of the following is true…?
WHERE TO FIND ANSWER Answers are found in order in the passage

HOW TO ANSWER 1. Choose key word in the question

QUESTION 2. Skim appropriate part for key word or related
idea
3. Read sentence containing key word or idea
carefully
4. Find answer that restates an idea in passage
5. Eliminate obviously wrong answers, choose best
answer among remaining choices
 3. UNSTATED DETAIL QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY Which of the following is not stated…?
QUESTION Which of the following is not mentioned…?
Which of the following is not discussed…?
All of the following are true except…
WHERE TO FIND Answers are found in order in the passage
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Choose key word in the question
QUESTION 2. Scan appropriate place in passage for key word or related
idea
3. Read sentence containing key word or idea carefully
4. Find answers that are definitely true according to passage.
Don’t choose those answers!
5. Find answer that is not true or not discussed in passage.
 4. IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY It is implied in the passage that…?
QUESTION
It can be inferred from the passage that…?
It is most likely that…
What probably happened…?
WHERE TO FIND Answers are found in order in the passage
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Choose key word in the question
QUESTION 2. Scan passage for key word or related idea
3. Read sentence containing key word or idea carefully
4. Look for answer that could be true according to that
sentence
 5. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT QUESTIONS
HOW TO What is the meaning …?
IDENTIFY
QUESTION Which of the following is closest in meaning to…?
…could best be replaced by which of the following?

WHERE TO FIND The question tells which line words/expression can be found
ANSWER
HOW TO 1. Find word/expression in passage
ANSWER 2. Read sentence containing the word carefully
QUESTION 3. Look for context clues to help understand meaning
4. Choose answer indicated in context
How large a vocabulary is needed?

SKILL SIZE ESTIMATE NOTES

Reading 8,000 - 9,000 word Nation (2006)

families

Listening 6,000 - 7,000 word Nation (2006)

families

Goulden, Nation, &

Read (1990)
Native speaker 20,000 word families Zechmeister, Chronis,
Cull, D’Anna, & Healy
(1995)

You can use this link to test your vocabulary size: http://my.vocabularysize.com/
 6. “WHERE” QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY Where in the passage…?
QUESTION

WHERE TO FIND Answers can be found in any lines listed in the answer
ANSWER options
HOW TO ANSWER
QUESTION 1. Choose a key word or idea in the question

2. Skim lines in passage that are listed in answer options.

Skim for key word or idea

3. Choose answer that contains line numbers of a

restatement of key word or idea in question

Main Idea 1st line

Stated Detail Key word

Unstated Detail Key word

Implied Detail Key word

Vocabulary in Context Context clues

“Where Key word

REFERENCES
Grabe, William, and Stroller Fredricka L. 2002. Teaching
and Researching Reading. England: Pearson Education.
Phillips, Deborah. 2004. Longman Introductory Course for
the TOEFL Test: The Paper Test. New York: Pearson
Education, Inc.
ETS TOEFL for Test takers. Retrieved from
https://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/about