TOEFL Reading Practice Test Samples

TOEFL Reading Practice Test: The reading section of the TOEFL exam is supposed to be hard. However, there are plenty of resources available in the form of TOEFL Reading Practice over the internet that could help students crack the exam. There are online tutorials that offer tips and strategies on how to do well.  There are also websites like Magoosh that provide detailed information about the types of questions.  Besides, there are experts who offer help online. They believe that strategizing and sharpening the reading skills are the key factors that determine one’s success in the examination.  It’s not necessary that students must be well-versed with the topics of the reading section, as complete details of the topic are available in the reading text itself.

TOEFL Reading Practice Test

The duration for the real reading section of the TOEFL exam papers is around 60 to 80 minutes. It contains 3 to 5 passages and each passage is approximately 700 words. There are about 35 to 36 questions based on the passages. The passages are excerpts from university textbooks.  Every passage is followed by questions and one needs to select the correct answer by choosing options e.g. A, B, C or D.

The main idea behind the reading section is to analyze the reading, understanding and interpretation skills of the test-takers. Students should not spend more than 20 minutes on each passage. Questions are set on these passages and the topics are academic in nature. The topics would revolve around psychology, astronomy, biology and so on.

It is important that test-takers familiarize themselves with the categories of test questions before taking the exam. There are several TOEFL Reading exercises available online for the TOEFL reading practice test. Students can hone their reading skills by practicing these, way in advance. There are TOEFL sample papers available as well.

TOEFL Reading Question Types

  • Detailed questions: for assessing if students understood the main theme of the passage.
  • Vocabulary questions.
  • Reference questions.
  • Inference questions or figuring out what something means.
  • Purpose questions e.g. what did the author mean by writing a passage?
  • Questions based on paraphrasing or reading and summarizing passage in one’s own words.
  • Insert text or sentence insertion question.
  • Special drag and drop questions.

Students can go through various kinds of sample questions online to have a detailed understanding.

Reading Practice Test Tips

  • Students are advised to plan their time on each passage and not spend excess time on a particular passage or parts of it.
  • They must read the instructions carefully before attempting to complete the paper.

TOEFL Internet Based Test (iBT) Scoring

To receive an official score on the TOEFL exam the students must fulfill the following criteria:

  • Must answer at least one question from the listening section.
  • Must answer at least one question from the reading section.
  • Must answer at least one question from the structure and written sections.
  • Must complete one speaking task.
  • Must write a TWE® (Test of written English) essay.

TOEFL Official Score Reports

Four official score reports are sent directly to the universities selected by students. The score reports are mailed to students five weeks after the test date. Students will receive one score report.