Question type Frequency Time to Question Phrasing

(per answer
section)
1. Vocabulary 3-6 60 “The word _________ in paragraph 2
seconds is closest in meaning to…"
2. Factual 4-8 90 “According to paragraph 4, what….”
information seconds “Which of the following…”
“It is stated in paragraph 4 that…”
3. Negative 2-4 120 “All of the following are mentioned in
factual seconds paragraph 3 EXCEPT…”
information “Which of the following is NOT
mentioned....”
4. Inference 2-4 90 “What can be inferred from paragraph
seconds 5 about…”
“Paragraph 5 implies that…”
“Paragraph 5 suggests…”
5. Rhetorical 2-4 90 “In paragraph 6, the author discusses
purpose seconds ________ in order to…”
“Why does the author mention…”
6. Sentence 2-3 120 “Which of the sentences below best
simplificatio seconds expresses the essential information in
n the highlighted sentence in paragraph
4?”
7. Insert text 2-3 120 “In paragraph 2 there is a missing
seconds sentence. Where would the sentence
best fit?”
8. reference 0-1 60 “The word _________ in paragraph 1
seconds refers to…”
9. prose 2-3 150 “An introductory sentence for a brief
summary seconds summary of the passage is provided
below. Complete the summary by
selecting the THREE answer choices
that express the most important ideas
in the passage."
10.organization 0-1 150 “Complete the table below to
seconds summarize information about
_________ in the passage. Match the
appropriate statements to _________”
Tip #2: Find keywords and focus on them
For many of the question types, you can rely on the keywords in both the question and
answer choices to help you find the correct option.
Keywords are important words in the question that you can use to help you find answers
quickly.
For example, below is a paraphrase question, and you will notice that it is pretty wordy.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted
sentence in paragraph 3? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or
leave out essential information.

1. Discoveries of ceratopsian remains suggest that they lived in groups

2. Fossils of individual herds of ceratopsians have been discovered in bone beds
3. The evidence shows ceratopsians of all ages and genders lived, ate, and slept in
groups
4. Numerous fossils support the idea that individual ceratopsians differed from each
other
First of all, here is a little bonus tip, paraphrase questions are always worded the same.
You don’t need to waste any time reading the question, you should see it and know
immediately that it is a paraphrase question.

 
Let’s get back to the topic, keywords.
What are keywords?
I am going to teach you three ways to identify them. Here are the first two: 
 Keywords are almost never prepositions (under/in) or articles (a/an/the)
 Keywords are almost always verbs, nouns or adjectives
Let’s apply these two new rules to the four possible answers:
1. Discoveries of ceratopsian remains suggest that they lived in groups
2. Fossils of individual herds of ceratopsians have been discovered in bone beds
3. The evidence shows ceratopsians of all ages and genders lived,
ate, and slept in groups
4. Numerous fossils support the idea that individual ceratopsians differed from each
other
So far we have cut about 20% of the text we need to focus on for this particular TOEFL
Reading question. Notice that I cut some other types of words like conjunctions (and).  I
do NOT want you to get too caught up with the grammar terminology. In general, pay
little attention to these extra little words that don’t carry too much information. They are
sometimes referred to as function words, which implies that they are used as
grammatical tools rather than to carry any valuable information.
Next up…
 Keywords are almost never prepositions (under/in) or articles (a/an/the)
 Keywords are almost always verbs, nouns or adjectives
 Proper nouns are almost always keywords
Proper nouns are words that identify a specific person, place, or thing. For example,
“city” is a common noun, but “New York City” is a proper noun. 
Pretty clear from all of the given choices that ceratopsian is a pretty important word.
1. Discoveries of ceratopsian remains suggest that they lived in groups
2. Fossils of individual herds of ceratopsians have been discovered in bone beds
3. The evidence shows ceratopsians of all ages and genders lived,
ate, and slept in groups
4. Numerous fossils support the idea that individual ceratopsians
differed from each other
Notice that I continued to eliminate other words that were not part of the three rules.
Think of the three keyword rules as a guide, and then use your own common sense to
eliminate other words that are not necessary for you to focus on.

Tip #3: Practice reading with a timer

You will be given 54 minutes to complete the TOEFL Reading section, and that’s
going to be a challenge.
After each reading passage, you will find 10 questions about the text. In other words,
you have 60 minutes to read approximately 2100 words (700 words per passage) and
answer 30 questions (10 questions per passage).
Reading 2100 words and answering 30 questions in 54 minutes is tough.
It’s a good exercise to time yourself while you do TOEFL Reading Practice questions.
Simply set a timer on your computer or phone.
You can start by timing yourself to see how long it takes you to complete each question.
Some questions take longer to answer than others, for example, let’s compare a TOEFL
Reading vocabulary question to a TOEFL reading negative detail question:
VOCABULARY QUESTION
The word extract in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to…
1. Allow
2. Express
3. Obtain
4. Recover
NEGATIVE DETAIL QUESTION
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted
sentence in paragraph 3? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or
leave out essential information.
1. Discoveries of ceratopsian remains suggest that they lived in groups
2. Fossils of individual herds of ceratopsians have been discovered in bone beds
3. The evidence shows ceratopsians of all ages and genders lived, ate, and slept in
groups
4. Numerous fossils support the idea that individual ceratopsians differed from each
other
Clearly, some question types will take longer to answer than others. Below is the list of
TOEFL Reading question types along with the average amount of time you should take
with each question (each time measurement represents the maximum amount of time
you should take)
 1. Vocabulary – 60 seconds
2. Detail – 60-120 seconds (ideally 90 seconds)
3. Negative Detail – 120 seconds
4. Paraphrasing – 120 seconds
5. Sentence Insertion – 120 seconds
6. Inference – 90 seconds
7. Author’s Purpose – 90 seconds
8. Pronoun Reference – 60 seconds
9. Summary – 120 seconds
10.Organization – 120 seconds
Of course, you probably won’t be able to answer the questions within these time frames
right away. Practice this skill. Eliminate choices to improve your odds of getting the
correct answer and don’t hesitate to take an educated guess. Sometimes, you will not be
100% certain if you are correct, but you have to move on and answer all of the
questions before time runs out.

Tip #4: Beware of modifiers in answer choices

One way to eliminate wrong choices and select the correct one is to pay close attention
to modifiers.

First of all, what’s a modifier?

A modifier is a word, usually an adjective or noun that changes the meaning of the head
noun. The wrong modifier can change the significance of a statement. 
The best way to understand is to look at a few examples: 
1. This event has had a tremendous impact
2. This event has had some impact
3. This event has had almost no impact
As you can see, modifiers are an easy way to make a possible choice incorrect. All you
have to do is change a single word and it changes the entire meaning of the sentence.
This is one of the more infamous trap answers on the TOEFL, so be sure not to fall
for the modifier trap. There is a huge difference between “tremendous impact” and
“almost no impact“.

Tip #5: Store knowledge of academic vocabulary

Since the passages on the TOEFL Reading are all academic texts, the vocabulary is also
at the academic level.
So, why does this matter?
You probably already know that you should study academic vocabulary, but did you
know that there is an actual Academic Word List? It was created by linguist Averil
Coxhead in 2001 and it contains 570 of the most common academic words used in
scholarly journals and texts.
You can get yourself a copy of the Ultimate TOEFL Vocabulary List.
Here’s a quick example of one of the academic vocabulary words and all of its
variations:
 Verb form(s) – acquire
 Noun form(s) – acquisition, acquirement, acquirer
 Adjective form(s) – acquisitive, acquirable 
 Adverb form(s) – acquisitively 
Let me make something clear…
You do NOT have to know all the forms of a single word. The point is that if you know
the simple verb form, (i.e. acquire), then you can probably figure out the meaning of the
other forms of the same word. Don’t memorize every word in each word family, just
focus on familiarizing yourself with the headword.
Understanding these words won’t guarantee that you will know every word you
encounter in the TOEFL Reading but this is the most concise vocabulary list you can
find. There are other sites that promote TOEFL Vocabulary Lists of thousands of words,
but all you need for the TOEFL Reading section is to focus on these 570 words.

Tip #6: Learn word parts and apply to unknown vocabulary

In addition to learning academic vocabulary, it’s beneficial to learn the parts of words,
i.e., the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of words.
Knowing that “ex-” means “out of or not“, or that “pro-” means “before or forward”
will you give you the advantage of being able to dissect words that you do not
completely understand.
Whether you like it or not, there will be words in the TOEFL Reading section that you
simply do not know. This TOEFL Reading tip will not only help you with vocabulary
questions but for any part of the text you do not fully comprehend.
The problem is that there are literally thousands of word parts and some are more useful
than others. Her is a link to our Essential Word Parts List, which includes all 219
word parts that can help you discern the meaning of a word, even if you are unfamiliar
with it.
Below is a list of our 54 most common prefixes. You can find the rest in our Essential
Word Parts List.
Group 1 – Location and Movement
1. ab – away from, down – abandon, abstain, abnormal, absurd, abominable
2. ad – at, towards – admire, adapt, adjacent, admonish, adversary
3. circum – to go around, circle – circumvent, circumstance, circumstantial,
circumference, circumcise
4. con-/co-/com-/col – together – collect, company, concentrate, converge, coexist
5. dia – through, across – dialogue, diachronic, diameter, diatribe, diagram
6. equi – equal – equidistant, equity, equilibrium, equinox, equivalent.
7. ex – out of, not – exposure, exaggerate, exonerate, exude, exclusion
 8. fore – front, in advance – foreground, forearm, forecast, foreclose, foreshadow
9. in – in, on, not – inception, intone, insinuate, incorrect, inaccurate
10.inter – among, between – interaction, intercept, intermediate, interject,
international
11.para – besides, irregular, beyond – paramedic, paranormal, paragraph,
paraphrase, paranoid
12.per – thoroughly, through – perceive, persist, peruse, persevere
13.peri – about, around, near – periodical, periscope, perimeter, peripheral
14.pro – before, forward – procession, proficiency, prominent, prologue, prognosis
15.sub – under, below, slightly imperfect – subatomic, subconscious, subdivide,
subjugate, submission
16.syn-/sym – with, together – sympathetic, synergy, synonym, symbiotic,
symmetrical
17.tele – afar, at a distance – telecast, telecommunication, telephone, telescope,
television
18.trans – through, across, beyond – transcript, transfer, transcendence, transport,
transaction
Group 2 – Numbers
1. bi-/du – two – duplicate, dual, bisexual, biweekly, bipolar
2. cent – 100 – centenarian, century, centigrade, centimeter, centipede
3. mill – 1000 – millennium, milliliter, milligram, millennial, millipede
4. mono – one – monochrome, monotone, monogamy, monopolize, monotheism
5. multi – more than one – multicellular, multicultural, multimillionaire, multitask,
multifaceted
6. poly – many – polyglot, polygamy, polyphonic, polytheism, polygon
7. quad – four – quad, quadriplegic, quadrangle, quadruplet, quadriceps
8. tri – three – tricycle, tripod, trio, trimester, triad
9. uni – one, together – unicorn, unicycle, unify, uniform, universal
Group 3 – Negatives
1. anti – against, opposite of – antidepressant, antitrust, antiwar, antidote, antisocial
2. contra– against, in opposition of – contraband, contraceptive, contrast,
contrarian, contradiction
3. dis – away from, the reverse effect – disable, disadvantage, disarm, displace,
disrupt
4. il-/im-/in-/ir – not, opposite of – illegal, imbecile, irregular, inability,
inconsistent, illogical
5. mal – wrong, badly – malefic, malcontent, malpractice, malnourished,
malevolent
6. mis – wrong, incorrect – misjudge, mislead, misprint, mistreat, misfortune
7. non – not – nonchalant, noncompliant, nonexistent, nonrenewable, nonfiction
8. un – negative, opposite force – unacceptable, uneasy, unhinged, unrealistic,
unspeakable
Group 4 – Academics
1. astro – the stars, outer space – asteroid, astrology, astrolabe, astronaut,
astrophysicist
 2. geo – earth – geometry, geothermal, geography, geolocation, geometric
3. hydro – water – hydroelectric, hydrometer, hydrophobia, hydropathic,
hydrodynamic
4. neur – nerves, nervous system – neuron, neurological, neuropathy, neurosis,
neurosurgeon
5. psych – mind, spirit, that which breathes – psychedelic, psychic, psycho,
psychosis, psychotic
6. socio – social, society – sociocultural, socioeconomic, sociolinguistic,
sociopolitical, sociopath
Group 5 – More Prefixes
1. ana – back, again, upwards – anagram, analogy, anatomy, anachronism, analyze
2. auto – by oneself, itself – autobiography, autocracy, autograph, automatize,
autonomy
3. em, en – to cause to be in, to confine – embark, embezzle, entourage, enjoin,
encroach
4. hyper – over, exaggeration – hyperactive, hyperbolic, hyperlink, hypertension
5. meta – after, change, beyond – metamorphosis, metaphysical, metadata,
metabolism, metaphor
6. neo – new – neologism, neolithic, neofascist, neon, neonate
7. over – more than usual, too much – overcooked, overachiever, overeducated,
overdose, overslept
8. pan – all – pandemic, panorama, Pangea, pan, panacea
9. post – after – postmortem, postmodernism, posterity, postscript, postseason
10.pre – before – precaution, preconditioned, predestination preordain, preview
11.re – back, again – rebuild, recall, recede, reflect, reconsider
12.super – above, beyond – superimpose, superlative supernova, superstar,
superrich
13.ult – last, beyond – ultraconservative, ultrasound, ultimatum, ultimate, ulterior
 
Remember, using word parts will not always work. The prefix “ab” may mean “away
from or down” but the abs around your stomach have nothing to do with this prefix.
These word parts are tools to help you on your TOEFL journey.
And don’t forget, this TOEFL Reading tip is incomplete. You can download the
entire Essential Word Parts List exclusively from TST Prep right here.

Tip #6: Learn word parts and apply to unknown vocabulary

In addition to learning academic vocabulary, it’s beneficial to learn the parts of words,
i.e., the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of words.
Knowing that “ex-” means “out of or not“, or that “pro-” means “before or forward”
will you give you the advantage of being able to dissect words that you do not
completely understand.
Whether you like it or not, there will be words in the TOEFL Reading section that you
simply do not know. This TOEFL Reading tip will not only help you with vocabulary
questions but for any part of the text you do not fully comprehend.
The problem is that there are literally thousands of word parts and some are more useful
than others. Her is a link to our Essential Word Parts List, which includes all 219
word parts that can help you discern the meaning of a word, even if you are unfamiliar
with it.
Below is a list of our 54 most common prefixes. You can find the rest in our Essential
Word Parts List.
Group 1 – Location and Movement
1. ab – away from, down – abandon, abstain, abnormal, absurd, abominable
2. ad – at, towards – admire, adapt, adjacent, admonish, adversary
3. circum – to go around, circle – circumvent, circumstance, circumstantial,
circumference, circumcise
4. con-/co-/com-/col – together – collect, company, concentrate, converge, coexist
5. dia – through, across – dialogue, diachronic, diameter, diatribe, diagram
6. equi – equal – equidistant, equity, equilibrium, equinox, equivalent.
7. ex – out of, not – exposure, exaggerate, exonerate, exude, exclusion
8. fore – front, in advance – foreground, forearm, forecast, foreclose, foreshadow
9. in – in, on, not – inception, intone, insinuate, incorrect, inaccurate
10.inter – among, between – interaction, intercept, intermediate, interject,
international
11.para – besides, irregular, beyond – paramedic, paranormal, paragraph,
paraphrase, paranoid
12.per – thoroughly, through – perceive, persist, peruse, persevere
13.peri – about, around, near – periodical, periscope, perimeter, peripheral
14.pro – before, forward – procession, proficiency, prominent, prologue, prognosis
15.sub – under, below, slightly imperfect – subatomic, subconscious, subdivide,
subjugate, submission
16.syn-/sym – with, together – sympathetic, synergy, synonym, symbiotic,
symmetrical
17.tele – afar, at a distance – telecast, telecommunication, telephone, telescope,
television
18.trans – through, across, beyond – transcript, transfer, transcendence, transport,
transaction
Group 2 – Numbers
1. bi-/du – two – duplicate, dual, bisexual, biweekly, bipolar
2. cent – 100 – centenarian, century, centigrade, centimeter, centipede
3. mill – 1000 – millennium, milliliter, milligram, millennial, millipede
4. mono – one – monochrome, monotone, monogamy, monopolize, monotheism
5. multi – more than one – multicellular, multicultural, multimillionaire, multitask,
multifaceted
6. poly – many – polyglot, polygamy, polyphonic, polytheism, polygon
7. quad – four – quad, quadriplegic, quadrangle, quadruplet, quadriceps
8. tri – three – tricycle, tripod, trio, trimester, triad
9. uni – one, together – unicorn, unicycle, unify, uniform, universal
Group 3 – Negatives
1. anti – against, opposite of – antidepressant, antitrust, antiwar, antidote, antisocial
 2. contra– against, in opposition of – contraband, contraceptive, contrast,
contrarian, contradiction
3. dis – away from, the reverse effect – disable, disadvantage, disarm, displace,
disrupt
4. il-/im-/in-/ir – not, opposite of – illegal, imbecile, irregular, inability,
inconsistent, illogical
5. mal – wrong, badly – malefic, malcontent, malpractice, malnourished,
malevolent
6. mis – wrong, incorrect – misjudge, mislead, misprint, mistreat, misfortune
7. non – not – nonchalant, noncompliant, nonexistent, nonrenewable, nonfiction
8. un – negative, opposite force – unacceptable, uneasy, unhinged, unrealistic,
unspeakable
Group 4 – Academics
1. astro – the stars, outer space – asteroid, astrology, astrolabe, astronaut,
astrophysicist
2. geo – earth – geometry, geothermal, geography, geolocation, geometric
3. hydro – water – hydroelectric, hydrometer, hydrophobia, hydropathic,
hydrodynamic
4. neur – nerves, nervous system – neuron, neurological, neuropathy, neurosis,
neurosurgeon
5. psych – mind, spirit, that which breathes – psychedelic, psychic, psycho,
psychosis, psychotic
6. socio – social, society – sociocultural, socioeconomic, sociolinguistic,
sociopolitical, sociopath
Group 5 – More Prefixes
1. ana – back, again, upwards – anagram, analogy, anatomy, anachronism, analyze
2. auto – by oneself, itself – autobiography, autocracy, autograph, automatize,
autonomy
3. em, en – to cause to be in, to confine – embark, embezzle, entourage, enjoin,
encroach
4. hyper – over, exaggeration – hyperactive, hyperbolic, hyperlink, hypertension
5. meta – after, change, beyond – metamorphosis, metaphysical, metadata,
metabolism, metaphor
6. neo – new – neologism, neolithic, neofascist, neon, neonate
7. over – more than usual, too much – overcooked, overachiever, overeducated,
overdose, overslept
8. pan – all – pandemic, panorama, Pangea, pan, panacea
9. post – after – postmortem, postmodernism, posterity, postscript, postseason
10.pre – before – precaution, preconditioned, predestination preordain, preview
11.re – back, again – rebuild, recall, recede, reflect, reconsider
12.super – above, beyond – superimpose, superlative supernova, superstar,
superrich
13.ult – last, beyond – ultraconservative, ultrasound, ultimatum, ultimate, ulterior
 
Remember, using word parts will not always work. The prefix “ab” may mean “away
from or down” but the abs around your stomach have nothing to do with this prefix.
These word parts are tools to help you on your TOEFL journey.
And don’t forget, this TOEFL Reading tip is incomplete. You can download the
entire Essential Word Parts List exclusively from TST Prep right here.

Tip #8: Study the same test more than once

The title sums this tip up fairly well, but it is a crucial aspect of studying that most
students neglect.
I have seen countless TOEFL takers fall into the practice trap. They feel that the best
way to improve their score is to keep doing TOEFL practice, but they never reflect n
what they have learned.
This is why all of our private TOEFL students are taught a specific four-step-system for
studying the TOEFL, called The PARA Framework.
P – Plan 
A – Act 
R – Reflect 
A – Adjust 
In this system, taking a practice step is just one step in the four-step process (act). They
must also spend a significant amount of time planning, reflecting and adjusting.
It’s crucial for you to reflect on what you have done and adjust based on what you have
learned through reflection. After you reflect and adjust, it’s time to plan. Plan on taking
the same test 1-2 weeks after the first time you did it. Anticipate that you remember
most of the answers visually, not necessarily through comprehension. However, your
goal is not to comprehend more, but to remember what you have already learned and
ensure you do not make the same mistake twice.

Tip #9: Explain why you were correct or incorrect

Reflecting on your answers and explaining why you were correct or incorrect is step 3
in the 4-step PARA Framework you just learned about: Plan, Act, Reflect, Adjust.
Each part of this 4-step-system is important, but you will experience the most growth
through reflection. Reflection is where you will act as your own teacher. Of course, it is
always better to work with a teacher and we have a team of TOEFL Teachers ready
and waiting to help, but if you have to do it on your own, know that there are only
three reasons why you might get a question wrong on the TOEFL Reading.

That’s right, only three.

1. Misread the passage
2. Misread the question
 3. Did not understand the vocabulary
It is hard to imagine, but the reason why you might get a question wrong in the TOEFL
reading boils down to just these three possible reasons.
Now that you know how to identify what the problem was when you answered
correctly, the next step is to adjust. When you adjust, you decide what you are going to
differently next time to avoid making the same mistake again. Let me give you an
example of each for an incorrect TOEFL Reading question so you can see it in action:
1. Misread the passage – “I have to pay better attention to keywords in the
question next time. I was looking at the wrong place in the passage for the
answer.” 
2. Misread the question – “I always make the same mistake with negative detail
questions, I choose a correct answer rather than an incorrect one. From now on,
I will pay special attention to each question and keep a sharp eye out for the
words “not” or “except”.
3. Did not understand the vocabulary – “I didn’t understand the word ‘acquire’.
I am going to look up some examples with the word and then practice writing a
few sentences on my own. If I have a teacher, I will ask her to correct my
grammatical mistakes.” 
This is a tough habit to start because it takes time and thought, two of our most precious
resources.
If you are serious about improving your TOEFL Reading abilities, I suggest starting a
journal, reflecting on your answers and making plans on how you intend to adjust your
approach based on your scores.

Tip #10: Practice with short passages

You are still here?
Amazing.
You have made it to the end, and since you have invested your time into reading an
article about TOEFL Reading tips, I know you are serious about your TOEFL score.
Here is a link to our free PDF of 100 TOEFL Reading short questions.
The average TOEFL Reading passage is 700 words, followed by about 14 questions, but
these short passages are between 100-250 words and followed by just one or two
questions.
Why?
So you can focus on understanding what you read and mastering each question type.
Not only will practicing short passages help you understand why you got a certain
question wrong but it will also allow you to narrow your focus on your reading
strengths and weaknesses.
Conclusion
But that is it, your top ten TOEFL Reading tips.
I know it was a lot to digest, but if you want to know more, check out our TOEFL
Emergency Course that covers the essentials on not just the reading section, but every
aspect of the TOEFL.
Did we miss anything? (or just want to say thanks!) 
Let us know in the comments section below. 
Don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know if you have any questions
at [email protected] 
Happy studies!