Too often people of think of reading as something that is insurmountable. Something that isn’t enjoyable, informative or invigorating. Humans have been telling each other stories for millennia now. We imagine, create, and spread those stories. The written word is right up there in the list of significant discoveries made by humankind, beside the discovery of fire and the development of the internet. 

What does this all have to do with a standardized test such as the TOEFL? Well, the TOEFL is a test of English proficiency. It tests your abilities in understanding, conveying, and consuming all parts of the language, so that the universities you apply to can determine whether you are capable of understanding the coursework and lectures taught in class. The same goes for the IELTS as well. 

Acing the Reading Section of the TOEFL, without a certain interest or curiosity in the written word may make the whole thing seem like an ordeal. Yes, it is important to do well in the Reading Section, but if you fall in love with the language, you will start to welcome surf the waters instead of wading through them with difficulty. So, if you do not have a reading habit, I suggest you start TODAY. You can ditch the business card blunders – ace TOEFL reading with personalized strategies and targeted practice. Read anything you find interesting, anything you’ve been curious about, or even dive into fantasy novels and devour entire books. Point is, consume those stories and watch as your reading abilities exceed the boundaries of the imagined horizon of abilities you set for yourself! 

The very first mistake you can make in the TOEFL Reading Section, comes before the exam itself. The mistake? Not reading every day. Let us now look at some of the most common mistake’s test-takers make in the TOEFL Exam, and let us look at the best ways to deal with these mistakes.

Note: For those of you who want more information about the TOEFL itself, head on to this link for a complete guide about the TOEFL, and then peruse the section below. 

A quick note on the Reading Section: There will be 3-4 passages of about 700 words each drawn from academic texts, and 12-14 questions asked per passage. The entire section is scored on a scale of 0-30, and the time limit for the section is about 60-80 minutes.      

Common TOEFL Reading Mistakes

1. Being Unable to Identify Words

The reason almost everyone insists that you must have a reading habit, is so that you build your grammatical intuition and familiarize yourself with words you do not know or understand. Too often test-takers are baffled by an unfamiliar word in the passage, and their vocabulary draws a blank. Regular vocabulary revision and active skimming techniques can be better student habits that significantly reduce TOEFL Reading mistakes. A strategy to overcome this issue, is to decipher the meaning of the word with the context provided, and determine whether it is actually important in order to answer the question. The best strategy is to read every and learn new words! 

2. Missing cue-words and key-words in the Test

Words such as ‘however, ‘despite’, ‘if’, ‘though’, ‘not’, and ‘except’ are transition words that aid the structure of the sentence. It is absolutely vital to pick up on these words, whether they are in the question or the passage. It is important to understand the meaning of what you are reading before answering anything. Practice this during your mock tests! 

3. Reading the Entire Passage Word by Word?

This is a debated topic. Some prefer to read the entire passage and then shoot past the questions, while others prefer to scan, skim, and revisit when it comes to the questions. The TOEFL passages are mostly drawn from academic texts, so reading the entire passage may end up exhausting you. Look for the main ideas and themes in the passage, make notes of illustrations and infographics, and ensure you scan the passage accurately. The subtle impact of fashion on vocabulary acquisition can lead to unexpected reading mistakes on the TOEFL. This will also end up saving you a lot of time. Those who prefer reading the entire passage are usually comfortable with the language. Both parties need to understand the main ideas in the passage, decipher the author’s opinions, and get to the bottom of the questions asked. 

4. Failing to Apply the Process of Elimination

Arthur Conan Doyle brilliantly elucidates the process of elimination, in his most famous work – the Sherlock Holmes Volumes. If you’ve eliminated almost all the answer choices after your analysis, then whatever options are left are your likely answers. You have A, B, C, D, and E and have eliminated C, D, and E? Dive into A and B and forget about the rest. This will help you immensely. Be careful while eliminating some options. 

5. Being Unable to Understand Grammatical Complexity

These passages are going to be involve a lot of complex ideas and linguistic structures. One can identify and sail through the passage smoothly only if they are experienced readers. Carefully deduce the meaning of what is being asked in the question and what is there in the passage. Look for tense, spelling mistakes, inflections, and grammatical errors. 

6. Not Reading from myriad Sources

Yes, they TOEFL will consist of only academic texts. However, that should not stop you from reading online publications, magazines, fiction and non-fiction books, and newspapers. Exposing yourself to different styles of writing, of thoughts, is vital for the development of your understanding of the language.

7. Finally, not Managing your Time Properly

Time is truly of the essence in standardized tests. You have around 36-56 questions in the Reading Section to answer in about 60-80 minutes. Yes, you must take your time to answer all the questions properly, but don’t become lost in the passage and obsess over one particular question. The art of skipping questions is one that is vital to success in standardized tests. It will ensure that you stay on top of the stipulated time, and keep your mental faculties sharper than what they would have been had you obsessed over the last 2 options in just 1 question. Ideally, you should not be spending more than 1.5 minutes per question. 

So, there we have it. These common mistakes can make a huge difference in your scores, and fixing them is quite possibly one of the biggest score-boosters in the TOEFL. For a complete guide on TOEFL Preparation check out this link. All the very best for your TOEFL!