TOEFL Reading: Negative Factual Questions

The TOEFL Reading practice section assesses how well can one read and understand materials used in an academic environment. It is comprised of four reading passages, each approximately 700 words long, with 10 questions per passage and approximately 72 minutes to complete it. Reading passages are excerpts from university- level textbooks and cover variety of subjects. All the information needed to answer the questions could be extracted from the passages.

Factual Information and Negative Factual Information

• Factual Information questions ask to recognize information that is explicitly stated in the text. These may include facts such as major ideas, supporting details, or definitions.
  
• Negative factual information questions are similar, except that, instead of only one answer being true, three of the four answers are true, and it needs to be determined which one is false.
  
• For negative factual information questions, look for the words ‘NOT’ or ‘EXCEPT’ in capital letters.
  
  Negative Factual Information
• According to the paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?
  
• The author mentions all of the following EXCEPT.
  
  Here are some tips for answering negative factual information questions:
• Don’t automatically select an answer just because it contains words or phrases from the paragraph. Make sure to carefully evaluate each option to determine if it is correct.
  
• For the negative factual information questions, remember to look for an answer that either isn’t in the paragraph, or directly contradicts information in the paragraph.
  
  For Negative Factual Information questions:
  
• Answer is either not in the paragraph, or it contradicts information in the paragraph.

Here is a paragraph about meteorite impacts from the reading passage with the Negative Factual Information question.
This impact released an enormous amount of energy, excavating a crater about twice as large as the lunar crater Tycho. The explosion lifted about 100 trillion tons of dust into the atmosphere, as can be determined by measuring the thickness of the sediment layer formed when this dust settled to the surface. Such a quantity of material would have blocked the sunlight completely from reaching the surface, plunging Earth into a period of cold and darkness that lasted at least several months. The explosion is also calculated to have produced vast quantities of nitric acid and melted rock that sprayed out over much of Earth, starting widespread fires that must have consumed most terrestrial forests and grassland. Presumably, those environmental disasters could have been responsible for the mass extinction, including the death of the dinosaurs.

According to paragraph, all of the following statements are true of the impact at the end of the Cretaceous period EXCEPT:

• A large amount of dust blocked sunlight from Earth.
  
• Earth became cold and dark for several months.
  
• New elements were formed in Earth’s crust.
  
• Large quantities of nitric acid were produced.

Tips for Negative Factual Information Questions:

• Usually a Negative Factual Information question requires to check more of the passage than a Factual Information question. The three choices that are mentioned in the passage may be spread across a paragraph or several paragraphs.
  
• In Negative Factual Information questions, the correct answer either directly contradicts one or more statements in the passage or is not mentioned in the passage at all.
  
•  After finishing a Negative Factual Information Question, check answer to make sure that the task is accurately understood.

Here are some tips to improve reading skills:

• Read news and magazine articles about various subjects as often as one can as well as practice taking notes.
  
• While taking notes or writing down, one needs to analyse, which piece of information is relevant or credible.
  
• Taking down short relevant notes helps remember important information from reading material.

TOEFL reading comprehension and practice is required to adapt specifically to negative factual information questions. A completely comprehensive preparation course on TOEFL exam is offered by Canamprep with most effective structured and organized practice tests.