Opinion about TOEFL

TOEFL is an English language exam for college and/or work requirements abroad, especially in countries that use English as their language of instruction. Toefl measures our ability to communicate with others using English. Toefl is also a benchmark for getting a job easier and getting a job’s promotion. Toefl is useful for knowing the ability to think and use one's seriousness in communicating well with colleagues.  But toefl with a high score does not affect our personality because it depends on that person or not to communicate well with other people.  But the requirements of the company are very much seen from the ability of the toefl, not because of the skills someone has. In addition to the world of work, toefl is also used to enter college and also to get a scholarship from the college, as well as graduation requirements. So toefl is one of the important parts. Sometimes this toefl test is misused in the sense that if the person gets a high score then he will show off his score to his friend. Next, I think the most difficult toefl test is the listening section because I have to focus on hearing but, because i’m not fluent in English it becomes a difficulty to digest the words the narrator reads, and also because i’m not used to hearing their accents. I can better catched what is written in the text than what is spoken and must be heard. So that's my opinion about the function of toefl and what is the hardest part in toefl.  Thank you.

TOEFL Reading Comprehension

The Reading section measures test takers’ ability to understand university-level academic texts and passages. In English-speaking academic environments students are expected to read and understand information from textbooks and other types of academic material. Below are three possible purposes for academic reading.

Reading purposes include

1. Reading to find information

2. Basic comprehension

3. Reading to learn

Reading Section Format

The TOEFL iBT test includes three basic categories of academic texts.

- Exposition

- Argumentation

- Historical biographical/event narrative

Test takers do not need any special background knowledge to correctly answer the questions in the Reading section; all the information needed to answer the questions is contained in the passages.

Test takers must read through or scroll to the end of each passage before receiving questions on that passage.

Length of passage Number of passages and questions Timing

Approximately 700 words 3-5 passages

12-14 questions per passage 60-100 minutes

How to Solve Reading Comprehension <Tips & Trick>

Reading Comprehension is the ability to read the text, process it and understand its meaning. In addition, RCs are aimed at testing a candidates Knowledge of two elements i.e. Vocabulary and Text Comprehension.

And it is interesting to note that both these elements play a crucial role in the better understanding of the passage i.e. for understanding a text, one must have better knowledge of Vocabulary. But what is more complex and varied out of the above two elements is Text Comprehension.

The most common suggestion and approach is first read the entire passage and then answer the question that follows. Firstly let’s discuss this approach in detail. Try to make notes while solving/ reading RCs. It is crucial for locating the appropriate information and also acts as a mental bookmark, thus helping in a better understanding of the topic.

While making notes, one must look towards and identify the following things:

i) The subject of the passage – which/what is the precise thing the author, is talking about.

ii) The main idea of the passage – what the author is saying about the subject.

iii) The tone of the author of the passage - which is manner the author has adopted in the passage.

As soon as one figure out the above three things and central point of the passage, one will be familiar with the gist [GI – general Idea + S – Structure + T- Tone] of the passage. This will also help you to build a thematic composition and logical sequence of the passage. Thus it enables you to answer questions from particular parts of the passage.

Then what approach should one follow in an RC, below are some of the approaches that one must try.

1. Instead of reading the entire passage, read critically the first and last paragraph of the RC. Generally what the author is saying can be identified in the first few lines of the passage, which in case of longer passages becomes roughly 1/3rd of the passage. For the rest of the passage, examine hastily, what the author has said about the subject.

2. The next thing in this approach is to identify the structural words that tell you the important Ideas or Transitions in a passage. These structural words play a specific role in a sentence and paragraph. The most common structural words are given below:

Continuity Words Contrast Words Conclusion Words

Similarly Nonetheless Thus

Moreover However Therefore

Additionally But Hence

In the same way Although In summary

Likewise Despite In conclusion

These three kinds of words describe three roles that words can play in a paragraph.

For e.g.

- Continuity words: The author would support his point of view further.

- Contrast words: The author would introduce a contrarian point of view.

- Conclusion words: The author would sum up his argument so far.

3. Further, try to recognize the words that represent positive and negative role in the passage. These words will let you decide whether the author is for or against the subject. A few examples of such words are given below:

Positive Words Negative Words

Efficient Foul

Enthusiastic Alarming

Bright Detrimental

Fortunate Pessimistic

Passionate Stressful

4. Whenever a question is asked on a phrase given in the passage, just read the three lines above and below that phrase to have an idea of what is implicit from that phrase.

5. There are around 4-6 questions based on Synonyms and Antonyms, these questions can be answered if you have a good vocabulary and if your vocabulary is not good, then read the sentence in which the word is used to get a rough idea of the meaning of the word.

Generally, there are 2 ways in which an RC can be attempted which are given below:

1. PQ Approach (passage first, then the questions)

- Read the entire passage thoroughly first and then read the questions

- Skim & Scan through the passage and keep going back and forth with questions and passage

- Read the first 2 paragraphs, scan all the questions and see what you can answer, then read Paragraph 3 & 4, scan the questions and see what you can answer, then read Para 5& 6!!

2. QP approach (questions first, then the passage)

- Read all the questions with their answer options first and then the passage

- Read question 1 with all the options, then go through the entire passage to answer it. Then read question 2, go through the entire passage. Then question 3!

- Just read all the question stems, without reading the answer options. Then read the passage and try answering the questions by reading them with the options.

Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by a number of questions about it. You are to choose the one best answer, A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

Answer all questions about the information in a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.

Sample Passage and Questions

  The railroad was not the first institution to impose

  regularity on society, or to draw attention to the

  importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as

Line merchants have set out their wares at daybreak and

(5) communal festivities have been celebrated, people have

  been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the

  time of day. The value of this tradition is today more

  apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of

  a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably

(10) chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services,

  and information would proceed in fits and starts; the

  very fabric of modern society would begin to unravel.

Example I

What is the main idea of the passage?

     A. In modern society we must make more time for our neighbors.

     B. The traditions of society are timeless.

     C. An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.

     D. Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.

The main idea of the passage is that societies need to agree about how time is measured in order to function smoothly. Therefore, you should choose answer C.

Example II

In line 7, the phrase "this tradition" refers to

     A. the practice of starting the business day at dawn

     B. friendly relations between neighbors

     C. the railroad's reliance on time schedules

     D. people's agreement on the measurement of time

The phrase "this tradition" refers to the preceding clause, "people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day." Therefore, you should choose answer D.

Reference:

https://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_reading.html

https://www.etsglobal.org/Tests-Preparation/The-TOEFL-Family-of-Assessments/TOEFL-Sample-Tests/TOEFL-ITP-Sample-Test-Questions/Section-3-Reading-Comprehension

https://gradeup.co/how-to-solve-reading-comprehension-tips-and-tricks-i-a2e8d00b-f3f8-11e5-8e4f-df25bb768ed7_amp