MockPrep

Read an Academic Passage on the New TOEFL iBT® Test (2026): Question Types and Strategy

How Read an Academic Passage works on the 2026 TOEFL iBT® test: the passage, each question type, a reading strategy that fits the time, and a sample passage with answers.

Updated October 28, 2026. Facts checked against ETS's official pages.

In short

  • Read an Academic Passage gives you a passage of about 200 words, like one from a university textbook, and five multiple-choice questions on it.
  • Topics come from history, art and music, business and economics, life science, physical science, and social science. ETS designs the task so that you don't need to know the topic beforehand.
  • The questions cover facts, vocabulary in context, inferences, how ideas relate, and why the author wrote all or part of the passage.
  • In ETS's design, module 1 has one passage, and only the harder module 2 has another. Academic passages are where the top bands are decided.

What the task looks like

Read an Academic Passage
PassageAbout 200 words of expository text with a title, on screen the whole time
QuestionsFive per passage, four options each, one question at a time beside the passage
Scored items5 in module 1, 5 in the harder module 2, none in the easier module 2
Scoring1 point per correct answer, scored automatically
TimeNo separate limit: one clock for the whole module

From ETS's Test Overview and Technical Manual (Table 1). ETS's paper practice tests end every module with one passage and five questions, and say they aren't an exact copy of the real test.

The question types

TypeWhat it asks, as it appears in ETS's practice tests
Main ideaWhat the passage is mainly about
Factual informationA detail the passage states, usually reworded
Negative factualWhich option is NOT mentioned, or true EXCEPT
Vocabulary in contextThe word X is closest in meaning to…
InferenceWhat the passage suggests without saying it
PurposeWhy the author mentions something
RelationshipHow two paragraphs or ideas relate, such as a problem and its solution

ETS lists factual information, vocabulary in context, inferences, relationships between ideas, and purpose. A few of ETS's teacher practice tests also include insert-a-sentence questions, where you choose where a new sentence fits.

A sample passage

Our own passage and questions, written to the task's length and style.

Why Cities Stay Warm at Night

On a summer evening, the center of a large city can be several degrees warmer than the countryside around it. Scientists call this difference the urban heat island effect. It is usually strongest after sunset, when rural areas cool quickly but cities do not.

The main cause is the materials cities are built from. Asphalt roads and concrete buildings absorb a great deal of sunlight during the day and give that heat back slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and plants, which cool the air by releasing water through their leaves. In addition, cars, air conditioners, and factories add their own waste heat.

Because the effect can make heat waves more dangerous, many cities are trying to reduce it. Some paint roofs white or light gray so that they reflect sunlight instead of absorbing it. Others plant trees along streets or cover roofs with gardens. These changes cannot remove the effect entirely, but they can lower temperatures in the neighborhoods that need it most.

Questions

1. What is the passage mainly about?

(A) Why cities are warmer than nearby areas, and what cities do about it(B) How heat waves form in the summer(C) The history of building materials in cities(D) Why rural areas cool quickly after sunset

2. The word "absorb" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) take in(B) reflect(C) produce(D) lose

3. According to paragraph 2, how do trees and plants cool the air?

(A) By releasing water through their leaves(B) By blocking the wind(C) By absorbing heat from roads(D) By reflecting sunlight

4. All of the following are mentioned as causes of the effect EXCEPT

(A) materials that hold heat from the sun(B) a lack of trees and plants(C) heat from vehicles and machines(D) pollution in the air

5. Why does the author mention roofs painted white or light gray?

(A) To give an example of how cities reduce the effect(B) To explain why buildings absorb heat(C) To compare cities with the countryside(D) To show that the effect cannot be reduced

Answers

1. (A). Paragraph 1 names the effect, paragraph 2 explains it, and paragraph 3 describes responses. (D) is only one detail.

2. (A). Roads "absorb" sunlight and "give that heat back" later, so they take it in.

3. (A). Stated in the sentence about trees. (C) is a trap: it mixes in words from the sentence before.

4. (D). The other three are the three causes in paragraph 2, reworded. Air pollution is never mentioned.

5. (A). The sentence before says cities are trying to reduce the effect; the roofs are the first example.

A strategy that fits the time

  1. Read the whole passage once, first. At about 200 words it takes a minute or two. Note the point of each paragraph in a few words. ETS's Reading lesson plans point out that the main idea is usually in the title or at the start or end of a paragraph.
  2. Vocabulary: read past the word. ETS's own advice is to read beyond the sentence with the tested word. Put each option in its place and keep the one that leaves the meaning unchanged.
  3. Facts: find the sentence, then match the meaning. The right option is a paraphrase. An option that copies words from the passage but changes their relationship is the most common trap.
  4. EXCEPT and NOT: check off three. Find each option in the passage; the one you can't find, or that the passage contradicts, is the answer.
  5. Purpose: ask what the sentence is doing. "Why does the author mention X" is usually answered by the sentence before X: an example, a contrast, a cause, or evidence.
  6. Inference: stay close to the text. The answer follows from what's written, one small step away, not from general knowledge.
  7. Budget the module. ETS sets no time per task. A pace we suggest is six to seven minutes for each passage and its five questions, so finish the earlier tasks in the module briskly.

How to practice

  • Read short expository texts daily. Encyclopedia entries, the introductions of textbook chapters, and science news are close to the length and style of the passage. After each one, say its main idea in one sentence.
  • Outline what you read. ETS suggests outlining texts and explaining how main ideas relate to details; it trains exactly the relationship and purpose questions.
  • Build academic vocabulary in topic lists. The six topic areas above are a good way to group words.
  • Use ETS's practice tests, then a timed section. The PDFs on ETS's Preparing Students page have passages with answer keys. To practice the passage where it counts, inside an adaptive module with the clock running, MockPrep's Reading section works like the real test and scores you on the 1–6 scale right after you finish.

The other Reading task types are in Complete the Words and Read in Daily Life.

Try the new format, free

Take a full mock test of the new TOEFL iBT® test, with every section scored on the 1–6 scale minutes after you finish.

Take your free mock test

More guides

Sources

MockPrep is an independent practice platform, not affiliated with ETS.