Reading tips

TOEFL iBT Reading tips
The best way to improve reading skills is to read frequently and to read many different types of texts in various subject areas (sciences, social sciences, arts, business and so on). Make sure to regularly read texts that are academic in style, the kind that are used in university courses. The Internet is one of the best resources for this and, of course, books, magazines and journals are very helpful as well.

Here are a few suggestions for ways to build your reading skills:

Scan passages to find and highlight key facts (dates, numbers, terms) and information; practice this frequently to increase reading rate and fluency.
Practice skimming a passage quickly to get a general impression of the main idea, rather than carefully reading each word and each sentence.
After skimming a passage, read it again more carefully and write down the main idea, major points and important facts.
Identify the passage type (e.g., classification, cause/effect, compare/contrast, problem/solution, description, narration and so on).
Organize the information in the passage:

Create an outline of the passage to distinguish between major and minor points.
If the passage categorizes information, create a chart and place the information in the appropriate categories (Note: on the TOEFL iBT, you do not have to create such a chart. Instead, a chart with possible answer choices is provided for you, and you must fill in the chart with correct choices.) Practicing this skill will help you think about categorizing information so you can do it with ease.
Create a summary of the passage using the charts and outlines.
Practice your reading skills on TOEFL Practice Online at www.ets.org/toeflpractice81.html and receive instant scores to help prepare you for test day