Factual Information Questions (Reading Toefl)

Factual Information Question (Reading TOEFL)

Dalam postingan ini, akan dibahas salah satu jenis pertanyaan TOEFL ITP untuk sesi reading comprehension. Anda akan mengenal bentuk soalnya, pola bentuk pertanyaan dalam soal yang biasa diujikan, serta beberapa tips atau langkah dalam menjawab soal-soal yg masuk dalam kategori ini. 

Factual information question merupakan salah satu bentuk pertanyaan yang dipakai dalam sesi reading comprehension TOEFL ITP. Jika memakai buku panduan Longman TOEFL Preparation Course, Anda akan menemukan skill 3: Answer Detail Questions Correctly dan skill 4: Find "Unstated" Details.  Istilah factual information question yang dimaksudkan dalam postingan ini telah meliputi skill 3 an 4 pada handbook Longman.

Factual information question meminta Anda untuk mengidentifikasi factual information yang secara eksplisit (tegas/tersurat/jelas) dinyatakan dalam passage. Factual information fokus terhadap fakta, gosip rinci (detail), definisi, atau gosip lainnya yang dihadirkan oleh penulis. Jenis soal ini meminta Anda untuk mengidentifikasi gosip spesifik yang umumnya hanya disebutkan pada bab tertentu pada passage (tidak menanyakan ihwal tema yang passage secara keseluruhan paragraf bahas). Seringkali jawabannya ditemukan pada 1 atau dua kalimat yang berdekatan.

Cara mengenali jenis soal Factual Information Questions

Factual information question sering ditemukan berbentuk menyerupai di bawah ini:

1. According to the passage, ...

2. It is stated in the passage ....

3. The passage indicates that ....

4. Which of the following is true ...? 

5. The passage mentions that ....

6. The author's description of X mentions which of the following? 

7. Which of the following is not stated...? 

8. Which of the following is not mentioned...? 

9. Which of the following is not discussed...?  

10. All of the following are true except...

Tips Menjawab Factual Information Question

1. Identifikasi keyword pada pertanyaan.

2. Carilah di passage kalimat di mana kata kunci itu berada. Anda tidak perlu membaca semua passage; cukup mencari keyword saja.

3. Bacalah (pahami) ide-ide kalimat di mana kata kunci terletak. Anda MUNGKIN juga perlu untuk membaca kalimat sebelum dan setelah kalimat di mana kata kunci terletak.

4. Dengan membandingkan (mencocokkan) 4 pilihan-pilihan tanggapan dengan gosip yang disediakan dalam passage (kalimat di mana letak keyword berada), pilihlah tanggapan yang betul (ide yang sama dengan yg di passage).

5. KADANG untuk lebih memastikan pilihan jawaban, Anda perlu mengeliminasi pilihan tanggapan yang salah, biasanya berbentuk pertentangan dengan pandangan gres yang di passage.

Contoh Soal Factual Information Question dalam soal TOEFL ITP

By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning Line and weaving allowed significant centralization and expansion in the textile industry during this period, and at the same time the demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown throughout the South, but separating the fiber – or lint – from the seed was a laborious process. Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with revolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. Using the gin, a worker could produce up to 50 pounds of lint a day. The later development of larger gins, powered by horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further.

The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a 36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

3. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as reasons for the increased demand for cotton EXCEPT

(A) cotton's softness

(B) cotton's ease of processing

(C) a shortage of flax and wool

(D) the growth that occurred in the textile industry.

5. According to the passage, one advantage of sea island cotton was its

(A) abundance of seeds

(B) long fibers

(C) long growing season

(D) adaptability to different climates

10. According to the passage, the Mississippi River was

(A) one of the boundaries of a region where new agricultural settlement took place

(B) a major source of water for agricultural crops

(C) the primary route by which agricultural crops were transported

(D) a main source of power for most agricultural machinery

8. The author mentions "wheat and wheat flour" in line 22 in order to

(A) show that Americans exported more agricultural products than they imported.

(B) show the increase in the amount of wheat products exported.

(C) demonstrate the importance of cotton among American export products.

(D) demonstrate that wheat farming was becoming more profitable.

Kunci Jawaban dan Pembahasan

3. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as reasons for the increased demand for cotton EXCEPT

Penjelasan:

Keyword: 

Kalimat letak keyword: By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. 

Eliminasi: 

(A) cotton's softness 

Sesuai dengan passage --> cotton's softness = soft to tile touch

(B) cotton's ease of processing

Sesuai dengan passage -->  cotton's ease of processing = easy to process

(C) a shortage of flax and wool

Di bacaan dikatakan bahwa cotton lebih dipilih dibanding flax dan wool karena gampang diproses dan lembut disentuh tidak dikatakan secara eksplisit akan adanya kekurangan/kelangkaan (shortage) dari flax dan wool.

(D) the growth that occurred in the textile industry.

Sesuai dengan passage -->  the growth that occurred in the textile industry =  favored by the textile industry over flax or wool 

favored ... over = preferred .. to 

5. According to the passage, one advantage of sea island cotton was its

Penjelasan:

Keywords: one advantage of sea island cotton

Kalimat letak keyword: Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast.

Eliminasi satu persatu (untuk lebih memastikan benarnya jawaban):

1. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa: fiber were long yang mana sesuai dengan kunci tanggapan B.

2. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa: seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower yang mana pertentangan dengan pilihan tanggapan A.

3. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa salah satu disadvantage (ditandai penggunaan kata kontrast "but") dari sea island cotton yakni a long growing season yang pertentangan dengan pilihan tanggapan C.

4. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa salah satu disadvantage (ditandai penggunaan kata kontrast "but") dari sea island cotton ialah only along the nation's eastern seacoast yang pertentangan dengan pilihan tanggapan D.

Makara kunci tanggapan yang sempurna yakni pilihan B.

8. The author mentions "wheat and wheat flour" in line 22 in order to

Penjelasan:

Keywords: wheat and wheat flour (line 22)

Kalimat letak keywords: In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year.

Eliminasi satu persatu:

1. Dalam passage hanya dibahas terkait materi yang di-export tidak dibahas materi yang di-import.

2. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa: only 6 percent of the value of American exports, penggunaan kata "only" menunjukan tidak adanya peningkatan. Informasi ini pertentangan dengan pilihan B.

3. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa: yang di-export yakni 61 percent cotton dan 6 percent wheat dan wheat flour. Informasi ini menunjukan akan pentingnya produk eksport cotton. Ini sesuai dengan pilihan tanggapan C.

4. Ide ini menyerupai dengan pilihan B yang tidak sesuai dengan gosip dalam passage.

Makara kunci tanggapan yang sempurna yakni pilihan C.

10. According to the passage, the Mississippi River was

Penjelasan:

Keywords: Mississipi River

Kalimat letak keywords: The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

Eliminasi satu persatu:

1. Dalam passage, dikatakan bahwa ada unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement  yang salah satunya terletak di Mississipi River. Ide ini sesuai dengan pilihan tanggapan A.

2. Pilihan B terkait water source, tidak disebutkan.

3. Pilihan C tidak disebutkan.

4. Pilihan D tidak disebutkan.

Makara kunci tanggapan yang sempurna yakni pilihan A.

Untuk lebih meningkatkan kemampuan Anda dalam menjawab soal-soal Reading Comprehension silahkan ke sajian soal-soal Reading dan pembahasan