HOW TO APPROACH TOEFL READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Question Type Description Difficulty (use the two-pass system)

Vocabulary in Context  Asks for the meaning or definition of a word 1st Pass
highlighted in the text
 Read the sentence where the word appears (read
before and after if its definition is not clear)
 The word occasion in the passage is closest in
meaning to
Reference Questions  Asks what a pronoun or other noun (highlighted in 1st Pass
the text) is referring to
 Focus on the lines before the word(s)
 Find the noun that appears before the reference
 The phrase this arrangement in the passage refers
to
Lead Word Questions  This question has a word or phrase that will lead 1st Pass
you to the right answer
 Pick the most specific part/word/words of the
question
 Find the specific word(s) in the passage and read
a few lines before and a few lines after to find the
answer
 The layer of the shell called the exocuticle is
strong because
Detail Questions  Asks to retrieve a fact or detail from a specific part 1st Pass
of the passage
 Go to the part of the passage and look for the key
words from the question
 Read before and after the key words
 According to paragraph 2 of the passage, an
arthropod’s shell is similar to human hair and
fingernails in that

Paraphrase Questions  Asks to rephrase the sentence(s) without changing 1st or 2nd pass
the meaning
 Find the essential information
  Get rid of unnecessary modifiers and descriptive
phrases
 Look for the subject and the main verb
 Incorrect choices will change the meaning or leave
out important details.
 Eliminate answers that add new information.
 Eliminate answers that have a new subject.
 Which of the following choices best expresses the
essential meaning of the highlighted sentences in
paragraph 7?
Definition Questions  Look for the sentence that clarifies the meaning of 1st pass
a word or phrase.
 Definitions are frequently introduced using the
words which, that, or means
 Watch out for sentences that merely list or
introduce examples
 You are looking for meaning NOT examples
 Click on the highlighted sentence in the passage
in which the author gives a definition—(answer: Its
primary component is chitin, a natural polymer that
contains calcium and is very similar in structure to
the cellulose in wood)
Before/After Questions  Asks about a hypothetical paragraph before or 2nd pass
after the passage (these are rare questions)
 The correct answer will be related to the main idea
of the paragraph
 After Questions—Look at the last paragraph to
figure out the basic meaning and what would
logically come next
 The paragraph following the passage would most
logically continue with a discussion of

Sentence Insertion  Asks you to place a new sentence in the best 1st or 2nd pass
Questions position within the text.
 Look at the sentence before the “box” AND the
sentence after it.
 The sentence you are inserting should link the
 sentence before it and the one after it.
 Look at the four squares that indicate where the
following sentence could be added. Where would
the sentence best fit?
Except/Not/Least  Your task is to find the answer that is NOT 2nd pass
mentioned!
 Look at every answer choice—decide whether
each one is true or false according to the passage.
There should be three “trues” and one “false”
 You may have to look for the choices throughout
the entire texts. 3 of the choices will be found in
the text; 1 will not.
 The answer you choose may contain information
not mentioned in the text and may contain extreme
language (always, never, etc.)
 All of the following are mentioned benefits of the
exoskeleton EXCEPT:
Inference Question  An inference is a conclusion reached based on the 2nd pass
available evidence.
 The correct inference is the answer that must be
true based on the information in the passage.
 These questions require very careful reading of the
passage.
 Some answers COULD be true, but this is NOT
good enough! The truth of the answer must be
supported in the passage.
 Wrong answers will often use extreme wording
(always, never, impossible, all, none, best, worst,
etc.)
 It can be inferred from the passage that molting

 These are worth more than 1 point!
Summary Questions  Your main task is to separate the details from main
ideas. 2nd pass
 In general, details will appear in the middle of
paragraphs and are often mentioned only once.
 Main ideas will appear at the beginning of
 paragraphs and are mentioned more than once.
(look at the topic sentences)
 Eliminate answers that are too specific (i.e.
examples) and those with information not
mentioned in the passage.
 Complete the summary by selecting three answer
choices that express the most important ideas in
the passage
 OR Select the appropriate phrases from the
answer choice and match them to the type of
strategy to which they relate.

Source: Pierce, Douglas and Sean Kinsell. The Princeton Review: Cracking the TOEFL iBt. 2013 ed. New York: Random
House, 2012.