Overall Review Questions: Skill 12. Determine Where Specific Information Is Found
Overall Review Questions: Skill 12. Determine Where Specific Information Is Found
Overall Review Questions: Skill 12. Determine Where Specific Information Is Found
1. the tone of the passage, (This type of quesion is asking if the author is showing
any emotion in his or her writing )
The majority of the passage on the TOEFL test are factual passages presented
without any emotion (the tone of this type of passage could be simply
informational, explanatory, or factual.). However, sometimes the author shows
some emotion. If the author is being funny (then the tone might be humorous )
making fun of something ( then the tone might be sarcastic ) Also, sometimes the
author feels strongly that something is right or wrong (the tone might be
impassioned )
2. the author's purpose in writing the passage, (This type of question is asking what
the author is trying to do in the passage )
You can draw a conclution about the author's purpose by referring to the main
idea and the organization of details in the passage (If the main idea is that George
Washington's early lifegreatly influenced his later career and if the details give a
history of his early life, the author's purpose could be to show how George
Washington's early life influenced his later career. ) However, the answer to this
type of question is often considerably more general than the main idea (A more
general author's purpose for the main idea about George Washington would be to
demonstrate the influence of early experiences on later life (without mention of
George Washington).
3. and the course in which the passage might be used. ( This type of question is
asking you to decide which university course might have this passage as assigned
reading.)
You should draw a conclution about the course by referring to the topic of the
passage and organization of details (If the passage is about George Washington
and the details give historical background on his early life, then this would
probably be assigned reading in an American history class. However, if the
passage is about George Washington and the details show the various influences
that he had on the formation of the American government, then the passage might
be assigned reading in a government or political science class )
1. Look at the sentence to be inserted for any key words or ideas at the beginning or
the end of the sentence.
2. Read the context before and after the insertion squares for any ideas that relate to
the sentence to be inserted.
3. Choose the insertion square that is most related to the sentence to be inserted.