Reading test tactics for TOEIC

TYPES OF QUESTIONS
o Main idea
o Specific detail
o Vocabulary
o Meaning in context
o Inference
o Sentence insertion

MAIN IDEA
QUESTIONS
• Central thought/ Theme
• Main idea
• Topic
• Title
The first question in many Reading
sets will ask you to identify the main
idea or primary purpose of the

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
o What is the article mainly about?
o What is the purpose of the letter?
o What is the announcement about
o What is the main purpose of the e-mail?
o Why was the announcement written?
o What is the report mainly about?

COMMON WRONG CHOICE
TYPES
 Too narrow
 Too strong or extreme: Be wary of
“blanket” words like “always” “any” “all”
“ever” and “never.”
 Beyond the scope
 Looks similar: Be careful with choices

SPECIFIC DETAIL QUESTIONS
o Words used in the questions  (*Look for
synonyms)
o The answers deal with specific, small items in
the paragraph or passage such as a number, a
date, or a name.
Scan or look for answers in the paragraph or
passage that are limited to only one or a few
words, a date, some numbers and other very

SPECIFIC DETAIL
QUESTIONS
o Where is Mr. Brown working now?
o When will the meeting begin?
o What will take place on June 3?
o What has Ms. Hopkins been asked to do?
o What will volunteers be given?
o How can companies receive insurance for parental
absence?
o How can guests obtain a complimentary item?

VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
o identify the meaning of words through
context
o choose a synonym for the word
o substitute your choice for the word
You can always try to connect the
unknown word with a word in the same
sentence that you do know. Take a smart
guess!

VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
o The word “find” in paragraph 3, line 1, is
closet in meaning to ….
o The word “produce” in line 1of the ad is closet
in meaning to ….
o In the article, the word "limits" in paragraph 1,
line 5, is closest in meaning to …..

INFERENCE QUESTIONS
o make an inference based on information in the
passage.
o often contain words like “suggest”, “most
likely”, “probably”, “What is true about ..” or
“indicate” in the question prompt
o look for evidence for your inference in the
passage.
The information is like a hint, and
the inferred ideas are not stated
directly.

INFERENCE QUESTIONS
o Where would you find these instruction?
o What is indicated about Ms. Morris?
o What will the employee probable do next?
o What is suggested about Kaiser Investment
Services?
o What is Mr. Wong most likely going to do next
week?
o What is true about Benjamin Lopez?

MEANING IN CONTEXT QUESTIONS
o found in text message chains and online chat
discussions

MEANING IN CONTEXT
QUESTIONS
o At 4:38 p.m., what does Mr. Wong mean when
he writes, "That works perfectly for me"?
o At 10:42, what does Ms. O'Hare mean when
she writes, "that might be the case"?
o At 4:43, what does Ms. Learned mean when
she writes, "Nothing major"?

SENTENCE INSERTION QUESTIONS
o these ask you to choose the best place to
insert a sentence.
o test your understanding of the logic in the
passage
o test your ability to understand the grammatical
connections from one sentence to another
o may be an explanation of a detail, introduce a
new idea or topic, may summarize or conclude
ideas

SENTENCE INSERTION
QUESTIONS
o In which of the positions marked [1], [2], [3],
and [4] does the following sentence best
belong? "All proceeds from items sold go
towards the preservation of this historic
building."
o In which of the positions marked [1], [2], [3],
and [4] does the following sentence best
belong? "Plastic containers for storing
belongings will also be provided to these

SOME SUGGESTIONS
• Do not read the whole text. Go straight to the
questions. Read the questions carefully.
• Do easy questions first (details, vocab,
meaning in context). Then, do inference and
the main idea last.
• The answers to most questions should be in
the correct order in the text. Follow the
sequence of the passage. Don’t need to go back
for the next question.
• Look for key words.
• Don’t waste time on difficult questions (Take a

PARAPHRASING
o expressing the same thing in a different
way
o using different words in the answer
choices
Correct answer choices often
paraphrase what is seen in the
passage.

PARAPHRASING
Passage: All services and security are state of
the art.
Q: How are the facilities generally described?
(A) Artistic (C) Easy to operate
(B) Very up-to-date (D) Reasonable


PARAPHRASING
Q. What has Ms. Hopkins been asked to do?
Passage:
Correct answer: Provide a Web site address.


PARAPHRASING
Q. What is suggested about Market Street?
Passage:
Correct answer: It is difficult to find parking
there.


PARAPHRASING
Q. What is NOT mentioned as an activity
planned for Record Store Day?
Passage: …..other local music critics will be
reading selections from their work at Gold
Sounds Records
Choice 4: A reading from local reviewers (ไม่ใช่
คำตอบ เพรำะมีข้อมูลตรงกับเนื้ อเรื่อง)


PARAPHRASING
Q. What is NOT mentioned as an activity planned
for Record Store Day?
Passage: Gold Sounds Records will be holding
a music-themed trivia competition. Winners
will receive special prizes including
autographed CDs and posters.
Choice 4: A store-sponsored contest (ไม่ใช่คำตอบ เพรำะมี
ข้อมูลตรงกับเนื้ อเรื่อง)


PARAPHRASING
Passage: Local rock band The Chimney Sweeps
will be performing an in-store concert at Desert
Island Records.
Choice 4: A musical performance (ไม่ใช่คำตอบ เพรำะมี
ข้อมูลตรงกับเนื้ อเรื่อง)


PARAPHRASING
Passage: ไม่มีกิจกรรมที่เกี่ยวข้องกับ speech มีแต่ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับ
music (เป็นข้อมูลลวง = distractor)
Choice 4: A speech by a musician


Reading test tactics for TOEIC

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Reading test tactics for TOEIC