Today on Inside the TOEFL Test,

we're going inside the TOEFL iBT Reading section.

Specifically, the Sentence Simplification questions.

Sentence Simplification questions

ask you to identify a sentence

that has essentially the same meaning

as a sentence from the reading passage.

The correct answer choice contains the main ideas

from the sentence in the passage

but may leave out minor or unimportant details.

It should restate the most important information

in a simpler way.

Sentence Simplification questions are easy to recognize

because the wording of the question

is always exactly the same:

"Which of the sentences below best expresses

the essential information in the following sentence?

Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways

or leave out essential information."

The highlighted sentence will have both essential

and non-essential information.

Your job is to pick the answer choice

that best includes the essential information

and leaves out the non-essential information.

Answering this type of question will require you

to understand the relationship

between the pieces of information in the sentence.

Often, there is an important cause/effect relationship,

or there may be a conclusion based on some evidence.

So look for those same ideas in the answer choices.

Here's an example of a sentence simplification question

from a passage about meteorite impacts and dinosaur extinction.

This type of question can be challenging,

because all of the answer choices

will contain words or phrases

that are similar to ones in the given sentence.

For example,

3 of the answer choices talk about the explosion...

... 3 talk about fires

... and 3 mention the destruction of plant life

So, can you identify the correct answer?

It's A, because all of the important information is aligned

with the given sentence.

Both the given sentence and choice A talk about the large

amounts of nitric acid and melted rock...

...that were the result of the explosion...

...and that started fires that destroyed plant life.

The other responses have content

that contradicts the highlighted sentence,

or just isn't there.

Choice B looks like a good answer at first,

because it talks about the fires spreading and burning forests...

But choice B says that it was the fires

that released the nitric acid,

which is different from the highlighted sentence,

which says that the nitric acid, along with the melted rock,

caused the fires.

Choice C can be eliminated

because it leaves out essential information

about the fires and the destruction of forests

and plant life.

Finally, choice D is incorrect because again,

the cause and effect are reversed.

This one says that the fires caused the explosions,

when it was really the other way around.

One tip to build your reading skills,

which will also help you answer

sentence simplification questions,

is to look at complex sentences or paragraphs,

and separate the main ideas from less important information.

Non-essential information can be things like examples,

or text in parentheses, or very specific information

like numbers or dates.

There are lots of ways to improve your English skills.

Whatever you do, keep practicing.

And good luck on your TOEFL test.