Keep vocabulary and inferences in context
Use a sentence’s role to evaluate meaning.
The idea
A word’s meaning must fit the local sentence. An inference should follow from the stated relationship without adding intentions or universal claims.
A method to try
- Substitute a possible synonym.
- Check that an inference survives the passage’s qualifiers.
Follow the reasoning.
Text: “A route may be efficient in dry weather but unsuitable during heavy rain.” What can be inferred?
- Suitability depends on conditions. The sentence does not describe one route as always good or always bad.
- Efficient concerns how well the route works under the dry-weather condition. Unsuitable means inappropriate for the stated rainy condition; it does not necessarily mean permanently closed.
- When evaluating an inference, preserve qualifiers such as may and during. A choice that turns a conditional statement into an absolute often goes beyond what the text supports.
Think it through first.
Does “may be efficient” establish that the route is always the fastest?
Show the explanation
No.
May does not guarantee a property, and efficient does not by itself establish fastest among all alternatives.
Make it your own
After reading, explain the method in your own words and identify the condition that makes it valid. Then try the linked starter practice without referring back to the worked example. Review the reasoning behind an error before repeating the same item; remembering an answer is different from being able to solve a new problem.
This lesson is one part of a short starter pathway. It does not cover the full exam syllabus or establish a predicted score.
Official references
These provider and publisher links explain the exam or underlying concepts. Our lessons and questions are original, independent practice.
View 3 references and checked dates
- ETS: current TOEFL iBT content and structure (opens in a new tab)Checked 2026-09-20
- ETS: preparation hub (opens in a new tab)Checked 2026-09-20
- ETS: TOEFL iBT Australia guidance (opens in a new tab)Checked 2026-09-29