TOEIC Part 7: A timing plan for the reading marathon

Xin chào! Week five brings us to the final boss: Part 7, reading comprehension. Fifty-four questions, and the part where most students simply run out of clock.

The budget

If you followed this series (10 minutes for Part 5, 8 for Part 6), you have about 55 minutes for Part 7. Spend them like this:

• Single passages (29 questions): ~25 minutes. Roughly one minute per question, faster on the short notices.
• Double passages (10 questions): ~12 minutes.
• Triple passages (15 questions): ~18 minutes.

Set checkpoints in your head (by question 175 I should have about 18 minutes left) and obey them.

Questions first, then the text

Read the questions (not the answer choices) before the passage, so you know what you are hunting for. Then:

• Detail questions (What time…? Who should…?): skim for the key word, read that sentence carefully.
• Purpose and inference questions (Why was this written? What is suggested…?): these need real reading. First paragraph, last paragraph, and the sentence around each keyword.
• NOT questions (What is NOT mentioned?): expensive, because you must verify three answers. Do them last within the set.

Double and triple passages: expect the bridge

At least one question per set needs two texts combined: the invoice says the order was placed Tuesday; the policy letter says Tuesday orders ship Thursday. When one text can't answer the question, don't re-read it harder; go look in the other one.

When time collapses anyway

Two minutes left, five questions to go? Answer every remaining question now; picking the same letter is fine. Blanks are the only unforgivable mistake.

Next week, the final post of the series: the mistake journal that ties all five parts together. Hẹn gặp lại! 🌸