TOEFL iBT® Reading Tips: How to Read Complex & Long Sentences

Complex and long sentences in TOEFL reading passages typically contain multiple ideas, advanced vocabulary, and sophisticated grammatical structures. 

Mastering these reading sentences can help you score better on the TOEFL Reading iBT section. So, let's explore how to read complex and long sentences in TOEFL Reading section with these effective strategies that will help you navigate such sentences with confidence.

TOEFL Reading Tips: How to Read Complex & Long Sentences

Here are some expert tips that will help you understand complex and long sentences more easily and quickly, improving your overall reading skills for the TOEFL test:

1. Identify the Main Clause

Find the core subject and verb of the sentence. That is usually the central idea.

• Explanation: Each sentence presents a main idea. Identify the main subject (who or what a sentence is about ) and the main verb (what's going on).
  
• Example: Sentence: 'The early settlers, who managed to build thriving communities despite facing numerous hardships, arrived with limited resources.'
• Main clause: 'The early settlers managed to build thriving communities.'

2. Break Down the Sentence

Mentally divide the sentence into smaller parts.

• Explanation: A long sentence is easier if you break it up into parts. Read each part separately and then put them all together.
• Example: Although at first rather skeptical, the scientific community came to take an amazingly ground-shaking theory for truth based on many years of long observations.
• Breakdown:
  Though skeptical at first,
  the scientific community,
  after reviewing the extensive data collected over several years,
  eventually accepted the groundbreaking theory.

3. Use Punctuation as a Guide

Watch out for commas, semicolons, and other punctuation marks.

• Explanation: Punctuation often separates ideas or indicates relationships between parts of a sentence.
• Example: The experiment had three phases: preparation, which took two weeks; execution, lasting a month; and analysis, requiring several months of careful study." Here, the colons and semicolons separate the main parts of the experiment.

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4. Spot Signal Words

Look for words that indicate relationships between ideas.

• Explanation: Words like ‘however,’ ‘because,’ or ‘although’ show how different parts of the sentence relate to each other.
• Example: ‘Although promising, the initial results led the researchers to run further tests in order to be certain of the reliability of their findings.’
• Signal words: ‘Although’ (contrast), because (reason)

5. Practice Active Reading

Interact with the text by asking yourself questions.

• Explanation: As you read, ask questions about what each part means and how it connects to the whole sentence.
• Example: Sentence: ‘The Renaissance was such an age of cultural and artistic revival that began in Italy during the 14th century and spread to the rest of Europe.’
• Questions to ask:
  What is Renaissance?
  When did it start?
  Where did it start?
  How did this progress?

6. Use Context Clues

Infer the meaning of unknown words with surrounding information.

• Explanation: When you come across some unknown word in a sentence, look at the words and ideas leading up to and following it for a guess of its meaning.
• Example: ‘The hypothesis presented by the scientist was considered contentious, and the scientist had to engage in heated debates with her peers.’
• Context clue: It's easy to bring up a sense of ‘contentious’ having something to do with ‘sparking heated debates,’ so it must mean controversial or likely to cause disagreement.

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7. Read in Phrases

Group words together rather than reading one at a time.

• Explanation: Reading groups of words at a time allows one to better grasp the meaning and accelerate the process./
• Example: Rather than: The | rapid | industrialization | of | the | 19th | century | led | to | significant | social | and | economic | changes.
• Read as: The rapid industrialization | of the 19th century | led to | significant social and economic changes.

8. Summarize in Your Own Words

Simply restate the main idea of complex sentences using simpler wording.

• Explanation: After reading a difficult sentence, try to explain its core meaning to yourself using simpler language.
• Example:  The proliferation of digital technologies has, in turn, made revolutionizing paradigms of communication possible, whereby suddenly one is able to connect with another out there worldwide.
• Summary: New digital tech has changed how we communicate; keys to easy, instant connectivity worldwide.

9. Expand Your Vocabulary

Learn and study often words that are usually employed in most academic texts.

• Explanation: You will know more words to understand difficult sentences without getting stuck on unknown terms.
• Examples: Learning words such as "albeit," "paradigm," "empirical," "caveat," and "anomaly," which come up inhere in many academic writings.

10. Practice with Various Text Types

Expose yourself to diverse forms of academic writing regularly.

• Explanation: Practice reading a wide range of texts, similar to the TOEFL passages in content, to see different styles and sentence structures.
• Example: See below: Read articles in scientific journals, books of history, literature reviews, and academic blogs to be exposed to a wide range of sentence structures and vocabulary. 

By consistently practicing and applying these tips, you'll improve your ability to understand complex and long sentences in TOEFL Reading passages, which can significantly improve your overall TOEFL score. Happy learning!

Also Read: 

• How to Answer TOEFL Reading Inference Questions
• How to Practise TOEFL iBT® Reading Skills Daily
• 10 Common TOEFL iBT® Mistakes You Must Avoid
• 10 Tips to Improve TOEFL® Reading Speed and Comprehension
• Essential Grammar Rules and Tips for TOEFL iBT® Exam