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Here are some suggestions for ways to build skills for the three reading purposes included in TOEFL iBT.

• Scan the passages to find and highlight key facts (dates, numbers, terms) and information.
• Practice this frequently to increase reading rate and fluency.
• Increase vocabulary knowledge, perhaps by using flashcards.
• Rather than carefully reading each word and each sentence, practice skimming a passage quickly to get a general impression of the main idea.
• Build up the ability to skim quickly and to identify the major points.
• After skimming a passage, read it again more carefully and write down the main idea, major points, and important facts.
• Choose some unfamiliar words in the passage and guess the meaning from the context (surrounding sentences).
• Select all the pronouns (he, him, they, them, etc.) in a passage and identify which nouns they refer to in the passage.
• Practice making inferences and drawing conclusions based on what is implied in the passage as a whole.