TOEIC Reading Part 6 (Text Completion): how to read both sides of the blank to choose words, connectors and missing sentences

TOEIC Reading Part 6 (Text Completion) has four short workplace texts, such as emails and notices, each with four blanks; usually one per text needs a whole sentence. Read the sentences on both sides of a blank before you choose: an earlier time phrase can decide the tense, and a word such as they or this after the gap shows which sentence belongs. For connectors, name the relationship first. This guide is for candidates at intermediate (B1) level and above.

Who this is for

TOEIC candidates who are steady in Part 5 but lose points in Part 6 when the clue sits in another sentence.
Learners who know however and therefore but hesitate over which one fits, or who find the whole-sentence blanks hardest.
Working adults who write notices, procedures and update emails and want each sentence to lead clearly to the next.
Too early: if word forms and tenses in single sentences still slow you down, start with Part 5 sentence completion.
Too easy: if Part 6 feels comfortable and your time goes on longer passages, move on to Part 7 notices, adverts and chats.

Open the sample pages

Word cards

Personal · your own space

Do you have your own desk or place to work? How would you feel if you had to book one every day?

Useful: ‘I’d find it…’ · ‘What I’d miss most is…’ · ‘I wouldn’t mind as long as…’

Personal · an unpopular change

Describe a change at work or school that people complained about. Were the complaints fair?

Useful: ‘At first, everyone…’ · ‘However, after a while…’ · ‘Looking back, the complaints were…’

Example exchange

In the sentence “Each volunteer completes a form”, why is “completes” used?

Each volunteer is a singular subject, so the present-tense verb takes -s.

A nearby plural noun would not change the number of the subject. The completed sentence also fits a routine instruction.

Language pattern

1
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
“We are ______ to announce that our team will move to the third floor in June.
Show answer and explanation
pleased
Pleased (-ed adjective) describes how the writers feel: we are pleased to announce.
2
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
The new floor is smaller than our current space. ______, we will introduce shared desks.
Show answer and explanation
Therefore
Therefore introduces a result: a smaller floor leads to shared desks. However would show a contrast.
3
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
Each employee ______ a desk the day before through the online system, and lockers are provided for personal items.
Show answer and explanation
books
Each employee is a singular subject, so the present-simple verb takes -s.
4
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
“I understand the need to save space. ______, several of us work with printed documents every day.
Show answer and explanation
However
However introduces a contrast: Daniel accepts the reason, then raises a problem.
5
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
This should help your team ______ documents safe without leaving them on a desk.
Show answer and explanation
keep
Help + person + base verb: help your team keep. The -ing form does not follow help + object.
6
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
Each zone ______ a small table for quick meetings.
Show answer and explanation
has
Each zone is singular, so the verb is has.
7
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
We will review the system after three months, and anyone who has a problem can contact Ravi Kumar, ______ is coordinating the move.
Show answer and explanation
who
Who begins a relative clause about a person. Which is for things, and he would make two sentences without a link.

More practice

Read around the gap

In the sentence “Each volunteer completes a form”, why is “completes” used?

Each volunteer is a singular subject, so the present-tense verb takes -s.

A nearby plural noun would not change the number of the subject. The completed sentence also fits a routine instruction.

Complete a library email

To: All library members

Subject: New study-room bookings

Next month, the library [1] a new online booking system for its four study rooms. Once the system is live, rooms can [2] up to two weeks in advance, and each booking can last up to three hours. Instead of [3] the front desk, members simply choose a room and a time on the library website.

Members [4] library cards have expired should renew them at the front desk before making a booking. If you need a room with a large screen, please mention this in the comments box.

Thank you,

Library services team

1
Gap 1: Next month, the library ____ a new online booking system...
Show answer and explanation
will introduce
Next month points to the future, so will introduce is the verb form. The past forms do not fit, and introducing is not a complete verb.
2
Gap 2: Once the system is live, rooms can ____ up to two weeks in advance...
Show answer and explanation
be reserved
Rooms do not reserve anything; people reserve them. After can, the passive be reserved is needed.
3
Gap 3: Instead of ____ the front desk, members simply choose a room...
Show answer and explanation
calling
After a preposition such as of, English uses the -ing form: instead of calling.
4
Gap 4: Members ____ library cards have expired should renew them...
Show answer and explanation
whose
Whose shows possession: it links the members to their cards. Who, whom and which cannot show that the cards belong to the members.

Connect the ideas, not just the sentences

Why does the help-desk sentence come before “Staff at that desk can answer questions”?

It introduces the desk that the following sentence refers to.

Coherence depends on a specific reference link as well as the general topic.

Strategy

Identify the relationship before choosing a connector.
Therefore introduces a result; however introduces a contrast.
A sentence can prepare a reference in the next sentence.
Check both the previous and following sentence.

Relationship models

The lift is unavailable. Therefore, visitors should use the ground-floor meeting room.
The ground-floor room is smaller. However, it has space for everyone attending.
A help desk will open near the entrance. Staff at that desk can answer questions.

Check the bridge on both sides

Would the sentence “The shelves were painted last summer” make the same bridge?

No. It gives background but does not explain how the correct parcel can be found.

A sentence must connect to the specific next idea, not merely mention shelves.

Strategy

Ask what information is missing between the surrounding sentences.
Look for a pronoun or reference that needs an introduction.
A sentence on the same topic may still break the sequence.
After inserting a sentence, read the paragraph continuously.

Complete model

The new pickup shelf is beside reception. Each parcel is stored in a box labelled with its owner’s name. This makes the correct parcel easier to find.

Why the middle sentence works

It explains how the shelf is organised.
This in the next sentence refers to the name-labelled storage method.

Complete an equipment-loan message

Subject: Lunchtime equipment loans

We are trialling a lunchtime loan service for the community workshop. [1] They can collect items during their lunch break instead of arriving early in the morning. The cupboard will be open from twelve to two on weekdays.

Please return all equipment before the end of the following working day. [2] This helps the next user find everything quickly. If an item is damaged, leave it with the coordinator rather than putting it back in a storage box.

During the first week, a helper will usually be near the cupboard. [3] A coordinator will read the logbook at the end of each day and contact anyone who has left their name. We will review the service after a month.

1
Gap 1: Which sentence supplies a clear referent for They?
Show answer and explanation
The trial is intended for staff who cannot visit before work.
They in the next sentence refers naturally to the staff introduced in D. The other options do not introduce people who can collect items.
2
Gap 2: Which sentence explains how returns help the next user find items?
Show answer and explanation
Place each item in the box with its matching picture label.
Matching items to labelled boxes gives a clear locating method, which This refers to in the next sentence.
3
Gap 3: Which sentence fits after the helper sentence and introduces the logbook mentioned next?
Show answer and explanation
If no one is available, write your question in the logbook beside the cupboard.
C gives a clear action for times when no helper is there and introduces the logbook that the coordinator reads in the next sentence. The other sentences are on topic, but none of them mentions a logbook.

Write a clear procedure

Choose a service

Borrowing a presentation kit, returning library materials, or collecting stored event supplies.
Choose who uses the service, where items go, and how to get help.

Write a connected procedure

Introduce the users before writing they.
Explain a practical method before referring to it with this.
Name a help route before referring to that route again.
Write a complete procedure, not isolated sentence fragments.

Write an induction message

Choose the programme

A repair café, community kitchen, or local history archive.
Decide what each new volunteer must do before attending.
Choose what the organisers provide and who can answer questions.

Your email

Write a short subject line and one or two paragraphs.
Include a routine with each volunteer, a useful help + person + verb structure, and a clear who-reference if appropriate.
Check the complete message rather than isolated words.

Linking and agreement in the thread

1
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
“We are ______ to announce that our team will move to the third floor in June.
Show answer and explanation
pleased
Pleased (-ed adjective) describes how the writers feel: we are pleased to announce.
2
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
The new floor is smaller than our current space. ______, we will introduce shared desks.
Show answer and explanation
Therefore
Therefore introduces a result: a smaller floor leads to shared desks. However would show a contrast.
3
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
Each employee ______ a desk the day before through the online system, and lockers are provided for personal items.
Show answer and explanation
books
Each employee is a singular subject, so the present-simple verb takes -s.
4
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
“I understand the need to save space. ______, several of us work with printed documents every day.
Show answer and explanation
However
However introduces a contrast: Daniel accepts the reason, then raises a problem.
5
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
This should help your team ______ documents safe without leaving them on a desk.
Show answer and explanation
keep
Help + person + base verb: help your team keep. The -ing form does not follow help + object.
6
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
Each zone ______ a small table for quick meetings.
Show answer and explanation
has
Each zone is singular, so the verb is has.
7
Choose the words that complete the sentence from the text.
We will review the system after three months, and anyone who has a problem can contact Ravi Kumar, ______ is coordinating the move.
Show answer and explanation
who
Who begins a relative clause about a person. Which is for things, and he would make two sentences without a link.

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How Part 6 works

Part 6 has four texts with four blanks each, and every blank has four options. There is no separate clock: the 75-minute Reading section covers Parts 5, 6 and 7. Blanks test verb and word forms, vocabulary, connectors and whole sentences. Skim each text first for who is writing, to whom and why.

Grammar from context: tense, voice and agreement

The clue may be a sentence away. A library email begins “Next month, the library will introduce a new online booking system.” Even without next month, the next sentence, “Once the system is live…”, shows the system has not started, so introduced cannot fit. Also check:

Voice: rooms cannot reserve anything, so the passive fits: “rooms can be reserved up to two weeks in advance”.
After a preposition, -ing: “Instead of calling the front desk, members simply choose a room and a time.”
Each + singular verb: “Each volunteer completes a form.”
Help + person + base verb: “This should help your team keep documents safe.”

Who, whose and which

A relative word links a clause to the noun just before it. Check pronouns too: below, them means the cards, not the members. If your language has one relative word for people and things, or none, check these three with care.

who for people: “Contact the coordinator, who will reply.”
whose + noun for possession: “Members whose library cards have expired should renew them at the front desk.”
which for things: “The booking system, which opens next month, shows every available room.”

Connectors: name the relationship first

Say how the two sentences relate before reading the options; several options are usually grammatical, and only meaning decides. Therefore, however and as a result usually start a sentence and take a comma; although joins two clauses inside one sentence.

Result (therefore, as a result): “The printer room will be redecorated next week. As a result, the printers will move to the post room.”
Contrast (however, on the other hand): “The post room is further from most desks. On the other hand, it is open for longer.”
One sentence (although): “Although the ground-floor room is smaller, it has space for everyone.”

Whole-sentence blanks: check both sides

Ask what is missing between the sentences before and after, then look in the next sentence for a word that needs an introduction: they, this, there, or the + a new noun. A sentence on the right topic can still break the chain. From an email about equipment loans:

Before: “We are trialling a lunchtime loan service for the community workshop.” After: “They can collect items during their lunch break…”
Right: “The trial is intended for staff who cannot visit before work.” It introduces the people they refers to.
Wrong: “The cupboard contains a range of hand tools.” On topic, but tools cannot collect anything.
Later: “A coordinator will read the logbook at the end of each day.” The logbook needs an earlier mention: “If no one is available, write your question in the logbook beside the cupboard.”

Learn this unit your way

Use the same links when you write and speak

Write a short notice about a temporary change at work: a reason, a result with therefore, a drawback with however, and a contact introduced before you refer to them. The same checks help in the TOEIC Writing email task.

Then speak for a minute about a change at work or school that people complained about. Were the complaints fair? Useful starts: “At first, everyone…”, “However, after a while…”, “Looking back, the complaints were…”.

Common mistakes in Part 6

Four habits cost most points:

Answering from the gap sentence alone; the clue is often in the next sentence.
Choosing a connector by how formal it sounds.
Only a comma before however: “The room is smaller, however it has better light.” Use a full stop or a semicolon.
Inserting a sentence that fits the topic but gives they or this nothing to point back to.

A 20-minute Part 6 routine

Short daily practice builds the habit:

8 minutes: two Part 6 texts, timed, with no dictionary.
5 minutes: underline each clue and note whether it was before, inside or after the gap sentence.
4 minutes: swap each connector for a synonym and check the punctuation.
3 minutes: write three sentences in which the last uses they, this or the to point back.

Next step

When you can say where each clue was, move on to Part 7: single notices, adverts and chats, then sets of connected documents.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are in TOEIC Reading Part 6?

Sixteen: four short texts with four blanks each, answered within the 75-minute Reading section.

How do you answer sentence insertion questions in TOEIC Part 6?

Find a word in the next sentence that points back, such as they or this, and choose the option that introduces it. A sentence that only shares the topic is usually wrong.

What is the difference between therefore and however?

Therefore introduces a result of the previous sentence; however introduces a contrast with it. Both usually start a new sentence and take a comma.

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