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