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One of the most important factors in getting a high score in TOEIC is time allocation. TOEIC requires you to solve a large number of problems in a short time. I'm sure many of you have experienced that you didn't have enough time to solve it in time, and that you ended up with a coloring book (marking with a guesswork). Even if you have some English proficiency, if you do not allocate time, you will not be able to solve it to the end. Time allocation becomes so important.
Therefore, in this article, I will explain the ideal time allocation of TOEIC and the tips to solve it to the end. If you always run out of time, please refer to it!
The TOEIC test is a two-hour long test
TOEIC is divided into a listening section and a reading section. The time required is 45 minutes for listening and 75 minutes for reading, for a total of 90 minutes (2 hours), which is a fairly long test. Also, there is no break between listening and reading, and the test is conducted over a two-hour period. In addition to that, there are many questions, with 100 listening questions and 100 reading questions.
If you haven't taken the TOEIC, you may think that you have plenty of time when you hear 2 hours. However, in reality, the number of problems is so large that you cannot solve it until the end unless you solve it while controlling the time well. In other words, TOEIC is a game against time. Proper time allocation will be the key to getting a high score.
Is time allocation so important in TOEIC?
Shouldn't you spend your time improving your English if you have time to worry about time allocation? You might think that. Certainly, in order to get a high score in TOEIC, you need English proficiency such as words and grammar. However, no matter how good your English is, if you do not understand the time allocation, you will not be able to solve it to the end.
I have obtained the TOEIC full score twice, but if I solve the problem slowly without being aware of the time allocation, I cannot finish solving it to the end. On the other hand, if the score is sluggish, the score may jump up by solving it while paying attention to the time allocation. It is no exaggeration to say that time allocation is the most important for TOEIC, which needs to solve a large number of problems in a limited time.
TOEIC ideal time allocation: listening
The TOEIC listening section has parts 1 to 4 and takes 45 minutes. You don't have to worry about time allocation because the audio will be played automatically. However, I will tell you that there is a technique to use time effectively.
Part 1-4
As soon as the listening test starts, you will hear the direction (explanation of the question format). In order to make effective use of this direction time, it is recommended to solve the mock exam and confirm the question format before the test.
While the direction is flowing, check the picture of the depiction problem in Part 1 and predict what kind of problem will occur. There is also time for direction at the beginning of each part. Allocate this time to look ahead to the questions in Parts 3 and 4. Just look ahead will make it much easier to solve the problem, so be sure to look ahead.
TOEIC ideal time allocation: reading
The TOEIC reading section consists of parts 5-7 and takes 75 minutes. Unlike the listening section, the test taker must manage the time himself. The ideal time allocation is as follows.
Part5 (Short sentence fill-in-the-blank question) 10 minutes
Part6 (Long sentence fill-in-the-blank question) 10 minutes
Part7 (Long sentence reading comprehension question) 55 minutes
Here are some tips on how to allocate time for each part.
Part 5
Part 5 is a short fill-in-the-blank question. There are 30 questions in total. Since the time available for Part 5 is 10 minutes, the time available for one question is 20 seconds. 20 seconds per question is just a guide, and it is okay if you can solve a problem in 20 seconds on average, such as 5 seconds for a problem that can be solved quickly and 30 seconds for a problem that takes time.
Pronoun problems, preposition problems, part-of-speech problems, etc. can be solved quickly. There are some problems that can be solved just by looking at the front and back of the parentheses, so let's save time here. Ideally, you should read the full text, but if you read the full text, you will run out of time, so look around the parentheses and mark as soon as you know the answer to proceed. On the other hand, vocabulary and conjunction problems will take some time as you will need to read the full text to see the context. It is also important to distinguish between solvable and unsolvable problems.
Part 5 is a question that asks for knowledge of grammar and words, so if you don't have the necessary knowledge to answer, you can't solve the question no matter how many times you look back. It's a waste to spend time on those issues, so let's move on.
Part 6
Part 6 is a long-sentence fill-in-the-blank question. It is divided into four long sentences, and each long sentence has four questions. In other words, the total number of questions is 16. Since the time available for Part 6 is 10 minutes, the time available for one long sentence is 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Part 6 has questions about grammar and vocabulary knowledge and questions about reading comprehension. Problems that ask for knowledge of grammar and vocabulary are problems that can be solved if you know them, and that you cannot solve if you do not know them. Let's solve the unsolvable problem without spending time.
For reading comprehension questions, it takes some time as you need to look at the context and choose the most appropriate option. The sentence insertion problem, which is always one question for each long sentence, is a difficult problem of reading four sentences and inserting the optimum one. Therefore, after answering other questions, it is okay to start working if you have time. However, even if you don't have time, just leave the mark.
Part 7
Part 7 is a long reading comprehension question. There are 54 questions in total. Since the time available for Part 7 is 55 minutes, it will be calculated to solve each question at a pace of 1 minute. There are three types of long sentences: single passage, double passage, and triple passage. Unlike Part 5 and Part 6, Part 7 is not a type of question that can be answered immediately with knowledge. It is necessary to pick up the answer part from a large amount of English sentences. However, due to the large amount of English text, it is not easy to find the answer.
What I would like you to do is look ahead to the questions. By pre-reading the question and reading the text with the keyword being asked in mind, you can quickly read the unrelated parts and take the time to read the parts related to the answer.
Also, Part 7 has 54 questions, which is a lot of problems, so you may lose your concentration and stall on the way. In such a case, take a break for 5 seconds and take a deep breath so that you can complete the process without stalling.
Tips for solving TOEIC in time
From here, I will tell you the tips for solving the TOEIC in time.
Give up on problems that you don't understand no matter how much you think
As I mentioned a little earlier, it is better to give up on problems that you do not understand no matter how much you think about it. TOEIC does not give you a high score if you solve difficult problems. The score is determined by the number of questions that can be answered correctly. And TOEIC has simple and difficult problems. Therefore, it is a waste to spend time on difficult problems and run out of time, and to be unable to deal with simple problems. If you don't understand, give up and make sure you get the simple problem.
Practice solving problems for 2 hours
When taking TOEIC measures, spend a lot of time, such as weekends, and spend two hours to solve the mock exam. When solving the mock exam, be aware of the time spent on each part. By repeatedly solving the mock exam while being aware of the time allocation, this problem will not be solved until the end unless it is thrown away, and it is better to take this problem even if it takes a little time. You will be able to understand.
Use a mechanical pencil for a mark sheet
When taking the TOEIC test, we recommend using a mechanical pencil with a thick core for the mark sheet. I usually use this " Pentel AM13-B Mechanical Pencil Marksheet Sharp 0.33" x 5.5 " " because it has a thick core, so I can mark it faster than a normal mechanical pencil or pencil. Using a mechanical pencil like this can save you a lot of time.
Conclusion
This time, I explained in detail about the TOEIC time allocation. Maybe some people have never thought about time allocation. Time allocation is very important to get a high score in TOEIC. I myself have been able to solve the mock exams many times and gradually on time. Please refer to this article and try to solve the mock exam while measuring the time!
