Reading Comprehension

SKILL 2 – RECOGNIZING THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS

SKILL 3 – ANSWER STATED DETAIL

QUESTIONS
 Knowing your paragraph

There are several types of paragraphs for writing.

Some describe something or someone; present

processes, make comparisons or establish contrasts
between ideas; define concepts; or explain
something through a logical division of ideas.
 Knowing your paragraph (2)

Each of these types of paragraphs has the standard

composition: Topic sentence, supporting sentences
and concluding sentence.
 Knowing your paragraph (3)

What makes these paragraphs different is their

contents. In a descriptive paragraph, you can picture

what the author wants you to see or imagine. In a
process paragraph you will find step-by-step
instructions. A comparison and contrast paragraph
will find differences and/or similarities between,
well, whatever it is being compared.
 Knowing your paragraph (4)

Now, why is this important for you? Why would you

care about the types of paragraphs? One word,
TOEFL!
In your TOEFL exam you will find questions related
to the objective of a certain text.
Hey, here’s an example!
Now, let’s get into business!
 Descriptive Paragraph

My Mother’s Kitchen

My Mother’s Kitchen is not big but it is warm and
comfortable. My mother cooks a lot and it smells
spicy and sweet. Sometimes she taught my brother
and me how to cook. We liked learning new things,
working together and making delicious foods. Now I
live far away, but I often think of my mother’s
kitchen. (From: Paragraph Writing by Zemach, D.E.
and Islam C.)
 Process Paragraph

If you have a guinea pig, you have to clean its cage or else it will get sick, it will get

dirty, and it will stink! You will need two towels, the cage, guinea pig bedding, a

hose,and a garbage can. First, you put one of the towels onto the floor out of the

way, and then you put your guinea pig on the towel, and the top of the cage over

the guinea pig so he will be safe. Next, you get the bottom part of the cage and

dump the dirty bedding into the garbage can.

Continues!
 Process Paragraph (2)

If all the junk does not come off, get a stick and scrape it off. After that, lean the

cage on something and spray it with the hose.

Next, wipe it with the other towel until it is dry. Then put clean bedding on top,

just enough so you can’t see the bottom of the cage. Put your guinea pig in the

cage, put the top part on, make sure he has plenty of fresh food and water, and

since he’s probably been such a good pig, give him a carrot and he will love you for

the rest of his life.

 Comparison and Contrast Paragraph

Miller Medical Labs

Memorandum

To: Director of Human Resources

From: Barbara Johnson, Interviewer

From the fourteen applications received for the job of receptionist, two applicants stand out. Following is a

summary of their qualifications. Educationally, the two applicants are quite similar. JZ has completed two years

of college, just as SW has, and their grade point averages are approximately equal. JZ’s one past employer was

very positive. Similarly, SW’s past employers gave very high recommendations. Finally, both applicants can start

work on the same date (June 1). There are two differences between the job applicants that may influence

the hiring decision… Continues!

 Comparison and Contrast Paragraph (2)

…The first difference is that JZ’s job in a medical office included some contact

with patients, whereas SW’s volunteer work in the library and gift

shop of a local hospital included no patient contact. Second, JZ likes to be part

of a team, while SW prefers to work independently. 11The hiring decision is

difficult because both applicants are equally well qualified. 12However, JZ

would be the better choice for the receptionist job because of her experience

with patient contact and preference for working with other staff. 13If there is a

future opening for a lab assistant, SW would be an excellent choice for that

position.
 Definition Paragraph

Courage
Courage is the quality of being brave when you are
facing something dangerous or that you fear. For
example, a soldier who goes into battle shows
courage. A paramedic who crawls into a collapsed
building to help an injured person also shows
courage. However, you don’t have to be a soldier or a
paramedic to be courageous. You can display courage
in everyday situations, too.
Continues!
 Definition Paragraph (2)

For example, a shy person who is afraid of speaking

in public shows courage when she or he gives a
speech at school or at work. A teenager who resists
peer pressure to smoke, drink, or try drugs shows
courage. To give another example, my friend Angela,
who is terrified of flying, recently took her first
airplane flight. As she walked onto the plane, she was
trembling with fear, but she didn’t give in to her
fright. To me, Angela entering that airplane was as
brave as a soldier entering battle.
 Logical Division of Ideas

 Why I don’t have a credit card

There are three reasons I don’t have a credit card.

The first reason is that using a piece of plastic instead
of cash makes it too easy for me to buy things I can’t
afford. For instance, last week I saw a $75.00 pair of
pink sandals in my favourite shoe store. Of course, I
don’t need pink sandals, nor can I afford them.
 Logical Division of Ideas

With a credit card, however, I would now own those

sandals and be worrying about how to pay for them. The
second reason I don’t have a credit card is that I would
end up in debt like my friend Sara the Shopaholic. Sara
got a credit card last year, and she already owes $4000.
She buys things that she doesn’t really need, such as
jewelry and designer sunglasses.
 Logical Division of Ideas (3)

Sara makes only minimum payments each month.

Her monthly interest charges are more than her
payments, so her balance never decreases. She will
be in debt for years. The third reason I don’t have a
credit card is the difficulty in understanding the fine
print in the credit card contract.
 Logical Division of Ideas (4)

If I don’t read the fine print, I can be surprised.

For example, some credit card companies will raise

my interest rate if I make a payment one day late. To
sum up, credit cards may be a convenience for some
people, but for me, they are a plastic ticket to
financial disaster.
 TOEFL Reading Overview
Section Content Time Score
Reading 3─5 700-word 20 minutes /30
passages per passage

11─13 60─100 total

questions with minutes
a total score of
14
 1. Reading Passages
 Reading passages are from first-year college and
university textbooks.
 academic content
 information dense
• Readings contain low-frequency vocabulary.
• 36–73 very difficult words per reading
 2. Answers in Reading
Passages
• The order of the questions follows the order of the
information in the passage.
• The answer for question one is before the answer
for question two.
 3. Multiple Choice Questions

 Multiple Choice Questions have four answers.

 Vocabulary Questions
 identify meaning of words and phrases in context
 Reference Questions
 identify subject nouns
• All Multiple Choice Questions are worth one
point.
 4. Multiple Choice Questions

• Paraphrase Questions
 recognize simplified and rephrased sentences with same
meaning as sentences from the passage
• Factual Information Questions
 identify true information

• Inference Questions
 draw a conclusion from stated facts

• Negative Factual Information Questions

 identify a fact that is not true or not mentioned in
passage
• Purpose Questions
 identify why author included a highlighted word or
phrase
 5. Common Distractors

 Distractors are incorrect answers.

 Several types of distractors:
 repeat words from the reading but incorrectly answer the
question
 are not mentioned in the reading
 contradict information in the reading passage
 do not answer the question
 are incomplete
 6. Helpful Tips

 Correct answers
 are usually restatements from the reading passage.
 If you don’t know the answer,
 use process of elimination.
 select the most logical answer.
 If time is running out,
 answer the easy questions first.
 guess for remaining questions.
• You don’t lose points for guessing.
 7. More Helpful Tips

 If you finish early,

 continue checking your answers.
•Your first choice is usually correct.
 Answer all the questions in one passage before you
move on to the next.
 focus will change when you read the second passage.