A Blueprint for Finishing Part 7 on Time, Taught by a TOEIC 965 Scorer
Introduction
Nice to meet you, I'm Riku.
My first English test in the first year of junior high school was a 30. I thought, 'English just isn't for me.' That changed when I met a teacher at a private cram school. They fundamentally changed how I studied, and before I knew it, I started to get a 'feel' for English. From there, I gradually began to like English.
In high school, I went abroad for the first time. One week in Australia. Honestly, I was scared at first. But I couldn't forget the feeling of the moment my English was understood locally, so in college, I saved up my own money and went to Australia alone again for two weeks. No one told me to. I just wanted to experience that feeling again.
After becoming a working adult, I went to Brisbane on a working holiday. I worked only in English, built relationships only in English, and survived only in English. That experience is the foundation of who I am today. Now, I communicate in English every day with a foreign girlfriend I met online, and I plan to go to America in June to see her. My current TOEIC score is 965. I am currently studying, aiming for a perfect score of 990.
If you thought, 'Is this a story about someone who is good at English?', please wait a moment. My first test was a 30. Even so, I changed.What changed wasn't talent, but the method.
In this note, I will reveal everything I have done to consistently finish Part 7 on time.
The real reason you run out of time in Part 7
First, let me start with the conclusion.
The reason you run out of time in Part 7 is both your reading speed and the order of processing.
It is often said that 'processing order is more important than speed reading,' but that is half true and half false. Even if you only change the order, if your reading speed is slow, you will eventually run out of time. Conversely, even if you only increase your speed, if your processing order is poor, your accuracy rate will drop. Only by training both will you create breathing room.
I trained these two separately, in stages.
STEP 1: First, increase your 'speed'
The site I used for speed reading training is NewsForKids.net.
Since it is an English news site for children, the vocabulary is simple, but the information density is solid. Like TOEIC English, it is 'text that conveys facts accurately,' so it is very compatible as training material.
The method is simple.
Choose one article
Start the timer
Read as fast as possible while understanding the content
Once you finish reading, record the time and try to summarize the article's content in your head.
I did this for 1 to 3 articles every day. At first, it took me over 10 minutes per article, but that time gradually decreased. The key is to increase your speed while confirming your understanding of the content; be careful not to fall into 'fake speed reading' where you are just scanning with your eyes.
As a result of continuing this training, I am now able to finish reading the TOEIC reading section with about 5 minutes to spare.
STEP 2: Next, change the 'order of processing'
Once you have gained some speed, the next step is to be conscious of the order in which you solve the questions.
Many people solve them in the order of 'read the passage, then look at the questions.' But this is structurally inefficient. Because you are reading to understand the entire text, you end up using brain resources on parts that are irrelevant to the questions.
The correct order is as follows.
❌ Incorrect: Read the entire passage before looking at the questions → You end up reading irrelevant parts and wasting time.
✅ Correct: Check the questions one by one, then pick out only the relevant parts from the passage → By switching to a 'reading style that searches for answers,' the amount you read feels like it decreases by 40%.
Many people know the technique of 'reading the questions first,' but a huge number of people do it wrong. If you read all the questions at once before entering the passage, you won't be able to remember them all, and you'll end up doing double the work. Processing one question at a time is the golden rule.
The processing flow I actually use
Combining the above, I actually solve them using this flow.
設問を1問読む
↓
「場所を問う問題」か「内容を問う問題」かを瞬時に判断
↓
【場所系】→ 本文の冒頭・末尾・段落頭だけをスキャン
【内容系】→ キーワードを本文から探して周辺3行だけ読む
↓
選択肢を消去法で絞る（迷ったら保留して次へ）
↓
保留問題は最後にまとめて処理Once this flow becomes second nature, you can break out of the state of 'reading vaguely and choosing vaguely.' Since you no longer have any hesitation, speed will naturally follow.
Summary
What I told you today in three lines.
The cause of running out of time is both speed and processing order, both
First, train your speed with NewsForKids.net, then change your processing order
Process questions one by one. Do not read everything before entering the passage
Finally
The practice methods and application patterns for different score ranges to master the processing flow introduced in this note on actual problems are explained in detail in my paid magazine.
Also, I am planning to start a coaching service soon where, if you send me your ABILITY EVALUATION REPORT, I will analyze your weaknesses and propose a reinforcement plan. If you are interested, please follow me on X and wait for the announcement.
→ X: @HerQ8NhE6a77302