Reading Skills 1: Fundamentals, Passage Structure, Skimming & Scanning
Reading fundamentals — what the section rewards
TOEFL Reading does not reward reading every word. It rewards building a map fast, then diving to exact lines when questions demand it. The passages are academic — dense but honest: everything tested is in the text, and the text is organized to be mapped. Since 2026 the section is also adaptive and mixes three task families: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage — the skills below serve all three.
Academic passage structure
Most passages run 4-6 paragraphs with a repeatable logic: paragraph 1 frames the topic and often the author's angle; body paragraphs each carry ONE main point, announced by a topic sentence (usually the first) and developed with evidence, examples or data; pivots ('however', 'in contrast') mark turns; the final paragraph concludes, evaluates or projects. Learn to see this skeleton and every question type gets cheaper.
Skimming — the 60-second map
Skim before you read: the first paragraph fully, then only the first sentence of each following paragraph, plus the last paragraph's closing lines. Label each paragraph with 2-3 words (definition / cause / example / objection). This map is your index for the whole set — factual questions become lookups, and summary questions nearly solve themselves.
Scanning — finding the evidence line
Scanning is targeted search: take the stem's key noun (a name, a term, a number) and sweep for it or its synonym. Proper nouns and technical terms are signposts that survive paraphrase. Never re-read a whole paragraph to answer a factual question — locate, read three sentences, answer.
Topic sentences & paragraph purpose
The topic sentence states the paragraph's claim; everything else in the paragraph serves it. When a question asks a paragraph's purpose, the topic sentence plus the paragraph's role in the map (does it support, contrast, exemplify?) give the answer. Beware first sentences that are transitions ('Another factor is…') — the claim may sit in sentence two.