TOEFL Insert Text and Prose Summary Questions

Insert Text and Prose Summary are legacy TOEFL Reading formats, retired from the section in the 2026 redesign. ETS's current Reading section page names three task types, Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage, and neither older name appears on it. Nothing below describes an item you will meet on the live test today. Both formats still work as practice for reading a full academic passage and holding its structure in mind.

This guide covers how we build each format in our free drills: the sentence-placement task, the six-statement summary task, the shared habit of tracking passage structure, and the all-or-nothing rule we apply to Prose Summary scoring. Every format detail here describes our drills rather than the current ETS item set. For the live format and the current question types, go straight to the official Reading section page. Direct links to both drill groups sit at the end of this guide.

What the 2026 Redesign Changed for Reading

ETS rebuilt the TOEFL iBT in January 2026, and the Reading section came out of it with three named task types: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage. Insert Text and Prose Summary are named on neither the Reading section page nor the test content overview. Reading now carries 50 items in about 30 minutes. Section scores run on a 1 to 6 scale, and for a two-year transition period after January 2026 you also receive a comparable overall score on the old 0 to 120 scale.

The table below lists the four current sections with the item counts and approximate times published in the ETS content overview. The overview presents these figures as a table and states no running order for the sections.

We keep both retired formats as drills because the reading habit under them transfers to any academic passage. Placing a sentence correctly forces you to read for the connection between one idea and the next. Selecting three summary statements forces you to separate main ideas from supporting detail. Neither habit expired with the format names.

Insert Text in Our TOEFL Drills

How the Drill Works

Our Insert Text drills mark four points inside a short passage, labeled A through D. You get one extra sentence and choose the point where it belongs. The correct slot depends on how the sentence connects to the text before and after it, not on grammar alone. One option is right, the other three are wrong, and each item scores one point.

How to Find the Right Slot

Four checks narrow the four options down to one. Run them in order and stop as soon as one check rules out every slot but one. Each check looks at a different link between the new sentence and the passage around it.

• Match pronouns to their noun. If the new sentence opens with a phrase like this process or these findings, find the noun phrase it points back to in the passage.
• Watch for contrast and addition words. Openers like in contrast, for example, and as a result tie the new sentence to the idea right before it.
• Check the paragraph's own flow. A correct slot keeps the paragraph's chain of ideas intact. A wrong slot breaks the logic or repeats a point already made.
• Read one sentence past each point. The new sentence has to connect forward as well as backward, so test both directions before you place it.

Prose Summary in Our TOEFL Drills

How the Drill Works

Our Prose Summary drills open with one introductory sentence stating the passage topic, followed by six answer statements labeled A through F. Three of them state the passage's main ideas. The other three fail for one of three reasons: they cover a minor detail, they contradict the passage, or they add information the passage never states. You select the three correct statements to complete the summary.

Why Our Drills Score It All or Nothing

Our Prose Summary drills award credit only for the full correct set. Two right plus one wrong earns zero, with no partial credit. The rule matches the point of the task, which is holding the complete set of main ideas rather than a partial list. Missing one true statement and picking one false statement both signal the same gap, an incomplete read of how the passage's ideas connect.

Shared Strategy: Track the Passage Structure

Both formats reward the same reading habit: work out what job each paragraph does before you look at the answer choices. Note in one short phrase what each paragraph is doing, for example states the cause, gives a counter-example, or closes with the result. With four or five such phrases in front of you, a sentence-placement item and a summary item become the same problem, matching a claim to its place in the structure. Build the habit once and it serves both drill groups.

Four habits carry across both formats and across the current Read an Academic Passage drills as well.

• Map the paragraphs first. One phrase per paragraph, written down or held in your head, gives you a structure to check any answer choice against.
• Track the passage's turn. Many academic passages state a claim, then complicate or narrow it. Both formats often hinge on finding this turn.
• Separate main ideas from supporting detail. A summary item rewards the main idea of each paragraph. A detail dressed up as a main idea is the most common wrong answer.
• Drill both formats together. The mapping habit built for one transfers straight to the other, so alternating sets reinforces the same skill twice.

Practice is free on our site with no signup. Start with our Insert Text drills or our Prose Summary drills, each with 3 difficulty levels and 10 sets per level. Our TOEFL exam page lists every reading drill group, including sets built on the current task names such as Complete the Words and Read in Daily Life. Our TOEFL Reading section guide covers the section as it runs today. Build your vocabulary skills too with our TOEFL vocabulary questions guide.

Sources

• ETS TOEFL iBT Reading Section
• ETS TOEFL iBT Test Content Overview