TOEIC Reading: Grammar Slots, Cohesion, and Efficient Scanning
What the section measures
The Reading section (about 75 minutes) has three parts: Incomplete Sentences, Text Completion, and Reading Comprehension, including double and triple passages. It rewards grammar precision under time pressure plus fast, targeted scanning.
Core concepts to master
- Word class and form. Most Part 5 items test whether the blank needs a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Learn common suffixes: -tion/-ment (noun), -ive/-al (adjective), -ly (adverb).
- Verb tense, agreement, and voice. Check the subject, time markers (last year, currently, by next month), and whether the subject acts or is acted upon.
- Connectors vs. conjunctions. Although/while join clauses inside one sentence; however/therefore start a new sentence or follow a semicolon.
- Cohesion (Part 6). A missing sentence must link to the line before and after it - look for repeated nouns and pronoun reference.
- Cross-referencing (Part 7). Multi-passage questions often require combining a detail from one text with a rule from another.
Traps that cost points
- Same-root options - decide / decision / decisive / decisively. Grammar alone eliminates three; do not choose by sound.
- Grammatically fine, semantically wrong - the sentence parses but the meaning contradicts the context.
- Wrong-passage answers in double passages - the detail exists, but in the other document.
- Over-inference - an option that is plausible in real life but not stated in the text.
Rule of thumb
Cover the four options, read the whole sentence, and name the slot before you look. Then scan Part 7 questions first, locating names, dates, and numbers rather than reading every line.
Worked example: "The manager asked the team to submit ___ reports by Friday." (A) they (B) their (C) them (D) theirs → (B): a possessive determiner is required before the noun reports.