Reading: Complete the Words, Daily Life texts and Academic Passages

What Reading looks like now

Reading is the first section of the updated TOEFL iBT. It lasts about 30 minutes and has 50 selected-response items across three task types:

Reading is multistage adaptive. You begin with a routing module. Your performance there determines whether your second module is easier or harder. ETS does not publish the exact make-up or timing of each module, so treat all module-level timing as approximate.

A few Reading items may be unscored pretest items, and ETS does not identify them. So your rule is simple: treat every item as scored.

Score targets that matter

ETS does not publish the raw-to-band conversion, so any curve is an estimate. On Courselo fixed-form mocks, these are realistic Reading targets:

Because the section is adaptive, where you make errors matters. Missing too many items in the routing module can route you away from the harder second module, which caps the top bands.

The 30-minute pacing plan

Use a unit budget, not a passage-by-passage script, because the exact mix can vary.

Universal time rules

• Complete the Words: cap at 2:30 per paragraph.
• Read in Daily Life: cap at 1:00 per question.
• Read an Academic Passage: cap at 6:00 for all 5 questions.
• If stuck for more than 20 seconds, guess and move on.

Checkpoints

Complete the Words: the highest-value task

This task is about 60% of Reading items. It is the most trainable part of the section.

Fast method: gap by gap

1. Read the title and first sentence for topic only.
2. At each gap, look left and right before thinking of vocabulary.
3. Decide the grammatical frame first:
   • article + ? = probably a noun
   • subject + ? = probably a verb
   • be + ? = adjective or past participle
   • to + ? = base verb
   • modal + ? = base verb
   • very + ? = adjective/adverb
4. Use the visible letters and letter count.
5. Check meaning last.

The cue that decides most answers is the grammatical frame, not the topic.

High-frequency patterns

What to do when two words seem possible

Reject any option that fails one of these checks:

• wrong part of speech
• wrong inflection
• wrong collocation
• wrong letter count
• wrong meaning in the sentence

Example: if the frame is can ___ energy, the answer must be a base verb. A noun with matching letters is automatically wrong.

Common traps

• choosing the right meaning but wrong grammar
• forgetting -s, -ed, -ing, plural -s
• typing a full word when the task requires the missing letters only
• overusing topic guessing instead of sentence grammar

Read in Daily Life: scan, don’t read linearly

These texts may be notices, emails, schedules, forms, receipts, messages, or social posts. The fastest readers do layout reading, not paragraph reading.

20-second scan routine

For any Daily Life text, find these first:

• genre: email, notice, schedule, text chain, form
• purpose: inform, request, warn, confirm, advertise
• names / roles: who is writing to whom
• time markers: dates, deadlines, times
• conditions: only, must, before, except, unless

By text type

Emails and messages

Read:

• sender
• subject line
• first and last lines
• any request or problem

Typical trap: an option copies a detail but misses who must do it.

Schedules, menus, tables

Read:

• row/column headings
• units: time, price, location
• footnotes and exceptions

Typical trap: choosing the right row but wrong day/time column.

Notices and forms

Read:

• headline
• action required
• deadline
• restrictions

Typical trap: selecting the general purpose instead of the specific instruction.

Question method

1. Identify the question type: purpose, detail, inference, meaning.
2. Predict where the answer lives.
3. Match the option to the exact line or exact condition.

Read an Academic Passage: 5-question method

These passages are about 180–230 words and come with exactly 5 questions. Do not read them like old long TOEFL passages. They are short enough for structure-first reading.

45-second passage skim

Read to get only:

• topic
• paragraph roles
• contrast words: however, although, unlike
• cause/effect markers: because, therefore, as a result
• examples: for instance, such as

Your goal is a map, not full memory.

Method by question type

Main idea / purpose

Ask: What is the author doing overall?

Look for the option broad enough to cover all paragraphs, not just one detail.

Trap pattern: a true sentence about one paragraph only.

Factual detail

Find the keyword in the passage. Read one sentence before and after.

Trap pattern: same vocabulary, but a number, cause, or category is altered.

Vocabulary in context

Substitute each option into the sentence. Choose the one that preserves the local meaning.

Trap pattern: a common dictionary meaning that does not fit the context.

Inference

Stay within one logical step from the text. If an option requires outside knowledge or a big jump, reject it.

Trap pattern: sounds reasonable in real life but is not supported in the passage.

Why the author mentions X / relationship between ideas

Ask what that sentence or example does:

• define
• contrast
• give evidence
• illustrate
• show a result
• qualify an earlier claim

The cue that decides the answer is the relationship word around it.

Best order inside a set

1. Skim passage: 0:45
2. Answer local questions first: detail, vocabulary, mention/function
3. Do inference
4. Do main idea last

This order reduces rereading.

Traps that cost top bands

Routing-module killers

• spending 4 minutes on one Complete the Words paragraph
• rereading an academic passage in full before the questions
• changing answers repeatedly without new evidence

Option-level traps

Targeted drills that move the score fastest

If you are at band 4–4.5

Priority:

1. Complete the Words accuracy to 80%+
2. Daily Life scanning
3. Detail questions in Academic Passage

Drills:

• 10 paragraphs of Complete the Words in 25 minutes
• 6 Daily Life texts with a 20-second skim limit
• 5 academic sets focusing only on detail/vocabulary

If you are at band 5

Priority:

1. reduce time loss
2. improve inference and function questions
3. eliminate grammar-form misses

Drills:

• Complete the Words in 2:10 average per paragraph at 90%+
• academic set review: write the exact cue word that proves each answer
• wrong-answer log by trap type

If you are pushing for 5.5–6

Priority:

1. near-perfect routing performance
2. zero careless errors in Complete the Words
3. faster structure reading in Academic Passage

Drills:

• first 15 Reading items of a set under strict time
• one-pass academic skimming: 45 seconds only
• Daily Life accuracy goal: miss no more than 1 in 10

Final section rules

• Answer every item. There is no penalty for guessing.
• In the routing module, prefer steady accuracy over heroic time spent on one hard item.
• On Complete the Words, the answer is decided by the grammatical frame.
• On Daily Life texts, read the layout and conditions.
• On Academic Passages, use a map-first skim and answer by question type.

If you want the biggest score gain in Reading, perfect Complete the Words first, then cut wasted time in Daily Life, then sharpen inference/function in Academic Passages.