The TOEFL Exam: The Language of the Test: List 4

An example is something used to prove a point. When making arguments, authors typically use examples to support their claims.

Some questions may ask you about how two different things relate to or interact with each other. For example, a question could ask: "Which statement best describes the relationship between the passages?"

A phrase is a bit of text that is made up of more than one word. A phrase can be as short as two words or it can be much longer. A question could begin, "The author most likely uses the phrase 'X Y Z' in order to...?" You will most likely see this word in questions that quote the phrase you are being asked to analyze.

A description uses language to illustrate the characteristics of a person or thing. Descriptions in literary texts can paint a picture in a reader's mind of what something looks or feels like. Descriptions usually include adjectives or adverbs.

Difference has many meanings, but they all describe things that are not the same. When comparing two ideas or passages, you might be asked to identify similarities and differences. On math tests, the number that is the result of a subtraction problem is called "the difference" because it is the difference between two values.

This is another word that will come up when you are comparing things. Two things are similar when they are almost the same. When you notice that two things are similar, you are identifying similarities.

When you reveal something, you make known something that was hidden, unknown, or secret. Reveal can be used as a synonym for show. If you are asked what a particular action reveals about a character or what part of a graph reveals about a set of data, you need to identify what the action or graph shows.

To carry out an in-depth discussion or investigation of something is to examine it in detail. Other words related to examine include study, investigate, and analyze.

A portion is a part or section of something. Questions may refer to "the underlined portion" of a passage.

On a standardized test, the word propose isn't about asking someone to marry you! To propose is to suggest an idea. Propose isn't as strong as assert or contend. You propose something when you have an idea you're not sure of and you are testing it out. For example, a scientist may propose a hypothesis and then test that hypothesis through experimentation.

An author is a writer, and you will spend some of your time on reading comprehension tests trying to figure out what messages different authors are trying to express through their writing. Be careful not to confuse an author with a narrator, the fictional person telling a story.

Tone refers to an author's attitude or point of view toward his or her subject. A line, paragraph, or an entire passage could be described as communicating a gloomy tone, an optimistic tone, a playful tone, a critical tone, etc. You get the idea.

An intention is the result you mean to happen from an action you take. Other words that are related to intention are purpose and reason.

To evaluate something is to give a subjective assessment of that thing. On a reading comprehension, you might need to evaluate the claims in a passage. On the writing portion of a test, you may need to evaluate two passages that discuss an issue and offer your own perspective.

A concept is a general idea, apart from specific examples. Your particular sandwich may have peanut butter and jelly on it, but the concept of "a sandwich" is food between pieces of bread. Examples are important, but when you are talking concepts, you are talking about what those examples have in common.

To determine something is to figure it out. Determine usually implies something objective, not subjective. In other words, you don't "determine your feelings" about something. It's usually a fact you would determine. For example, you can use a thermometer to determine your temperature, or you can use data to determine which course of action will most effectively achieve a goal.

To imply something is to hint at it without directly stating it. You may be asked to figure out what a passage implies. In order to answer such a question, you will have to make inferences based on the clues the writer has provided you. Think of yourself as a textual detective!

Don't confuse infer and imply. When you are asked to infer, you are interpreting what a writer has implied or hinted at. The idea, conclusion, or meaning that you infer is called an inference.

When you draw a conclusion based on evidence, you are making an inference. If you see your little brother with chocolate all over his mouth and hands, you might make an inference that he polished off the brownies.

A discussion can be a conversation between two people, or it can be an author's treatment of a topic in a book, article, or reading passage. If you see references to "the discussion of" a particular topic in a passage, just find the part of the passage where the author writes about that topic.

To identify something is to name it or recognize it. On a standardized test, you might need to identify the tone or purpose of a passage, or to identify specific evidence an author uses to support a claim.

An assumption is something taken to be true, a belief. Sometimes assumptions are stated by an author and sometimes you have to infer them.

To be distinct is to be separate or different from something else. Your twin cousins might look alike, but their personalities are totally distinct. On a standardized test, you might be asked to identify ways two ideas or things are different — in other words, how they are distinct.

When you acknowledge something, you agree that it is true or that is exists. In a reading passage, an author might acknowledge ideas that contradict or complicate their own ideas.

When you decide what something means, you interpret it. You might interpret a character's actions to reveal something significant about her personality, or you might interpret the data from a scientific experiment to decide whether or not your hypothesis was accurate.