Step 89: Exam English
Study skills — Academic skills bridge to TOEFL
📖 Read — Ethan Prepares for the Big Test
Next month, Ethan takes an important English exam — the kind universities ask for. He has a strategy now. For reading, he first SKIMS the passage to get the main idea, then SCANS for the details the questions ask about. “According to the passage…” — he loves that phrase now; the answer must come from the text, not from his head.
For listening, he takes notes with short forms: 'impt' for important, '→' for results. For writing, he plans for three minutes before he types a word. Miss Taylor nods: “You're not just learning English anymore — you're learning how exams think. And if you want more practice, this website's TOEFL section is waiting for you. Hit the books — your future is listening.”
🧩 Grammar — Academic Skills — Reading and Listening Like an Examiner
Exams test SKILLS, not just English: skim (read fast for the main idea), scan (hunt for one detail), infer (read between the lines — Step 55!), summarize (say it in your own short words). Exam phrases run your answers: According to the passage…, The author suggests that…, The main idea is… In listening, don't write sentences — write SIGNS: arrows, numbers, abbreviations. Manage time like money: easy questions first, never marry one question.
- According to the passage, the river is drying.
- The author suggests that cities need more trees.
- The main idea is that practice beats talent.
- Skim first — details later.
🏗️ Key structures
- According to the passage, ___ — According to the passage, the plan failed.
- The writer suggests that ___ — The writer suggests that sleep matters.
- The main idea is ___ / In other words, ___ — The main idea is change. / In other words, start small.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
The exam is in June — time to hit the books!
🔤 New words
a piece of text you read in a test or book
Read the passage and answer the questions.
read something quickly to get the main idea
Skim the article first — you have two minutes.
look through a text fast to find ONE detail (a name, a date)
Scan the text for the year 1998.
understand something that is not said directly, using clues
From his words, we can infer he was unhappy.
give the main points in a few words of your own
Summarize the story in three sentences.
a careful plan for achieving something
My exam strategy is: easy questions first.
connected with studying, schools, and universities
Academic English is more formal.
the number of points you get in a test or game
Her TOEFL score was very high.
🎧 Say it with me
According to the passage, practice beats talent. My strategy: skim first, scan for details, and infer the rest. Time to hit the books!
🎤 Your turn to speak
Explain your exam strategy out loud: how you skim, how you scan, how you take listening notes, and how you manage time.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write a 5-sentence study plan for an English exam next month. Use skim, scan, infer or summarize, according to, and hit the books.
See a model answer
My exam is in four weeks, so it's time to hit the books. For reading practice, I will skim each passage first, then scan for the answers. According to my teacher, inference questions are my weakest point, so I'll practice those daily. For listening, I'll summarize every talk in two lines of notes. Small steps, every day — that's my strategy.
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
🎉 Saved in your progress!