Listening is paced by the audio, so timing only matters in Reading: 100 questions in 75 minutes. Spend about 10 to 12 minutes on Part 5, 8 to 10 on Part 6, and leave 53 to 57 minutes for Part 7. The one checkpoint that saves most people: finish Parts 5 and 6 by the 20-minute mark.
Roughly 20 seconds per Part 5 question, 30 per Part 6, and 60 per Part 7. If you fall behind, mark a guess and move on, and fill every remaining bubble before time is called. There is no penalty for wrong answers.
What's in this guide
Where the clock actually matters
The TOEIC Listening & Reading test has two very different relationships with time. The Listening section (Parts 1 to 4, about 45 minutes) is driven by the recording: it plays once, then moves on, whether you are ready or not. You cannot save or spend time there, so "pacing" means keeping up. The Reading section (Parts 5 to 7, 75 minutes) is the opposite: you control every second, and that freedom is exactly why people mismanage it.
| Part | Questions | Section time | Who controls the clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 (Listening) | 100 | ~45 min | The audio |
| 5–7 (Reading) | 100 | 75 min | You |
So this guide is really about the Reading section, because that is where a plan changes your score.
The per-part time budget
Part 7 holds 54 of the 100 Reading questions, so your whole job in Parts 5 and 6 is to spend as little time as safely possible and hand Part 7 the minutes it needs. Here is the standard budget, with the target pace per question.
| Part | Questions | Target time | Per question | Done by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 5 (grammar/vocab) | 30 | 10–12 min | ~20 sec | 12 min |
| Part 6 (text completion) | 16 | 8–10 min | ~30 sec | 20 min |
| Part 7 (reading comp) | 54 | 53–57 min | ~60 sec | 75 min |
If you remember nothing else: be done with Parts 5 and 6 by the 20-minute mark. If the clock hits 20 minutes and you are still in Part 6, you are borrowing time from Part 7, where most of your points live. Check the clock once, at Part 7, and adjust.
Your pacing plan by target score
The right pace depends on your goal. Below 700, finishing everything is not the point, banking accurate points is. Above 800, you should finish with time to review. Tap your target to see the plan.
Target 600: secure, don't rush
Bank points, then bubble-fillAt 600 you do not need to finish Part 7. Protect your accuracy on Parts 5 and 6, do as much of Part 7 as you can read carefully, and fill the rest.
- Do not spend over 25 seconds on any Part 5 question, guess and move.
- Read Part 7 single passages first (they are faster points than triples).
- With 3 minutes left, stop and bubble-fill every blank.
Target 730: steady and complete
Finish, or nearly finishAt 730 you aim to reach the end of Part 7. Keep Parts 5 and 6 brisk and hold a steady Part 7 rhythm without stalling on any one set.
- Parts 5 and 6 done by 19 minutes, that is your non-negotiable checkpoint.
- Give each Part 7 question one clean read, flag and move if it resists.
- Leave the last 2 minutes to answer anything you flagged.
Target 800: finish with a review buffer
Complete plus a few minutes spareAt 800 you finish Part 7 with a small buffer. Your Parts 5 and 6 should be fast and clean so Part 7 never feels rushed.
- Parts 5 and 6 done by 18 minutes, aim for 20-second Part 5 items.
- Master double and triple passages, cross-reference deliberately.
- See the full score plan in our how to get a TOEIC 800 guide.
Target 900: finish early, review hard
5+ minutes to check your flagsAt 900 the margin is careless errors, so you want to finish with real review time. That means very fast, very accurate early parts.
- Parts 5 and 6 done by 16 minutes, near-instant grammar recognition.
- Flag every uncertain answer rather than deciding slowly in the moment.
- Use the last 5+ minutes to revisit flags, that is where 900 is won.
How to pace each Reading part
Part 5, incomplete sentences (30 questions)
These are grammar and vocabulary items that reward recognition, not analysis. If you know it, you know it in a few seconds; if you do not, extra time rarely helps. Read the sentence, spot whether it is testing grammar or word choice, answer, move. Target about 20 seconds each. See our Part 5 guide for the five patterns ETS repeats.
Part 6, text completion (16 questions)
Four short passages with four blanks each. Most blanks work like Part 5, but one per passage is usually a full-sentence insertion that needs the surrounding context, so read the whole short passage. Target about 30 seconds a question.
Part 7, reading comprehension (54 questions)
The decider. Read the questions first, then scan the passage for the answer instead of reading every word. Single passages are your fastest points; double and triple passages need cross-referencing and take longer, so do not panic when they slow down, they are supposed to. Our Part 7 guide breaks down the question types.
Listening: pacing you can't control
You cannot manage a clock you do not hold. The Listening recording plays once and advances on its own, so the only timing skill that matters is staying ahead of it. The habit that does this: while one clip plays, read the answer choices for the next question and predict what you are listening for. If you fall behind on a hard item, let it go, guess, and lock onto the next clip. Chasing a missed answer is how people lose the three that follow it.
The bubble-fill rule (塗り絵)
The TOEIC has no penalty for wrong answers, so a blank and a wrong answer score exactly the same: zero. That means an unanswered question is a wasted one-in-four chance. In Japan, filling in your remaining bubbles in the final seconds has a name, nurie (塗り絵, "colouring in"), and it is standard practice, not cheating or luck. When about 30 seconds remain, stop solving and fill every blank on your sheet.
The endgame, in order
- 3 minutes left: answer anything you flagged that you can still reason through.
- 1 minute left: stop reading new passages.
- 30 seconds left: bubble-fill every remaining blank, one letter, fast.
Five timing mistakes
| The mistake | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Over-thinking Part 5 | Answer on recognition; 20 seconds max, then guess and move. |
| Reading Part 7 passages top to bottom | Read the questions first, then scan for answers. |
| Freezing on one hard question | Flag it, move on, return only if time remains. |
| Leaving blanks at the end | Bubble-fill everything; a guess beats a zero. |
| Practising untimed | Always run a real 75-minute clock; speed is a trained skill. |
Practise your pacing on a real clock
Take a free, full-length Reading section timed to the real 75 minutes, and see exactly where you fall behind, so your next attempt hits every checkpoint.
Start a timed Reading section →Frequently asked questions
How much time do you get for each TOEIC section?
How should I split my time in the Reading section?
How many seconds per question should I spend?
Why do I always run out of time on Reading?
What should I do if I run out of time?
Can I go back and change answers in Reading?
Should I read the questions or the passage first in Part 7?
How is Listening pacing different from Reading?
Does pacing change with my target score?
How do I practise TOEIC timing?
Sources
- ETS / IIBC, official TOEIC Listening & Reading format: Listening Parts 1–4 (100 questions, ~45 min), Reading Parts 5–7 (Part 5: 30, Part 6: 16, Part 7: 54; 100 questions, 75 min).
- TOEIC scoring: number-right scoring with no penalty for incorrect answers, which is the basis for the bubble-fill (塗り絵) strategy.
- Per-part time targets are practitioner pacing guidance derived from the fixed question counts and 75-minute Reading limit, presented as a plan, not an official ETS instruction.