What an insert-sentence question asks
An insert-sentence question gives you a new sentence and four possible places (marked ■) where it could be inserted into the passage. The task is to choose the position where the new sentence flows naturally with the surrounding text. Each TOEFL Reading passage typically has one insert-sentence question, often near the end of the question set. They are worth one point each, but they are also one of the most consistently missed question types because they require fine-grained reading rather than information recall.
The correct insertion point is almost always signalled by a cohesion marker in the inserted sentence itself: a pronoun ("this," "they," "such," "these"), a comparative phrase ("by contrast," "similarly," "however"), or a logical connector ("therefore," "consequently," "for example"). Your job is to find the spot in the passage where the marker has a clear referent in the preceding sentence.
Passage
Read the passage carefully, paying attention to the four marker positions.
1 The theory of plate tectonics, which holds that the Earth’s outer shell is divided into a small number of rigid plates that move relative to one another, was not accepted by mainstream geology until the late 1960s. 1 Before then, most geologists held a contracting-Earth model in which mountain ranges formed as a cooling planet shrank and its crust buckled. The fit between the coastlines of South America and Africa had been noticed for centuries, but it was usually treated as a coincidence.
2 The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed in 1912 that the two continents had once been joined and had drifted apart over geological time. 2 His arguments drew on matching rock formations across the Atlantic, fossils of identical land species on both continents, and the apparent continuity of mountain belts that were now separated by ocean. 3 The objection that dominated the response to Wegener’s ideas was mechanical: no one could explain what force could move a continent through solid oceanic crust. Geologists found it more reasonable to dismiss the surface evidence than to accept a process they could not model. 4
3 Resolution came from an unexpected direction. Surveys of the Atlantic seafloor in the 1950s revealed a long submarine mountain ridge running roughly down the middle of the ocean, with the youngest rocks closest to the ridge and progressively older rocks at greater distances from it. The pattern was identical on both sides. The only mechanism that explained the symmetry was new crust being created at the ridge and spreading outward. Wegener’s continents were not ploughing through the seafloor — they were riding on it. The mid-ocean ridge supplied the missing engine.
Question
Q. Look at the four squares 1 2 3 4 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
Choose the marker position where the inserted sentence belongs.
Correct position: 3
The inserted sentence opens with "Despite the breadth of this evidence." That phrase is a backward-pointing cohesion marker — it needs to follow a sentence that has just laid out a body of evidence. Marker 3 sits exactly after the sentence that lists Wegener’s evidence: "matching rock formations across the Atlantic, fossils of identical land species on both continents, and the apparent continuity of mountain belts." That sentence is the breadth-of-evidence the inserted sentence refers to.
The second half of the inserted sentence is forward-pointing: "his proposal was rejected by almost every leading geologist of the next two decades." The sentence that follows marker 3 then explains why the rejection happened ("The objection that dominated the response to Wegener’s ideas was mechanical…"). So the inserted sentence introduces the rejection, and the next sentence elaborates on it. Position 3 makes the inserted sentence the logical pivot between Wegener’s evidence and the geological community’s response.
Why position 1 is wrong
Marker 1 sits right after the opening claim that plate tectonics was not accepted until the late 1960s. Inserting the new sentence here would be too early: the passage has not yet introduced Wegener, has not yet listed his evidence, and the phrase "this evidence" would have nothing to refer back to. A cohesion marker without an antecedent is the most common signal of a wrong insertion point. If you cannot point to the specific sentence that supplies the referent for "this," eliminate the position.
Why position 2 is wrong
Marker 2 follows the sentence that introduces Wegener’s 1912 proposal but precedes the listing of his evidence. Inserting "Despite the breadth of this evidence" here would refer to evidence that has not yet been mentioned. The inserted sentence requires the evidence to already be on the page when it is read. Inserting before the evidence breaks the logical order — like saying "despite all this" in the middle of a list, before the list is finished.
Why position 4 is wrong
Marker 4 comes at the end of paragraph 2, after the sentences that explain the mechanical objection and that geologists found it easier to dismiss the surface evidence than to accept an unexplained process. Inserting the new sentence here is the most attractive wrong choice because the new sentence does describe rejection — and the surrounding passage is about rejection. But the rejection has already been narrated by this point, so the inserted sentence becomes redundant. The new sentence is an introduction to the rejection theme, not a summary of it. Insert questions reward sentences that move the argument forward, not ones that re-state what was just said.
How to approach insert-sentence questions on test day
- Read the inserted sentence carefully before looking at any markers. Note any backward-pointing words ("this," "these," "such," "however," "despite," "in contrast," "by then").
- For each marker position, mentally read "previous sentence + inserted sentence + next sentence." Does the trio read smoothly? Does the antecedent appear where the inserted sentence needs it?
- Watch for forward-pointing cohesion ("for example," "such as," "in particular") — these need the next sentence to elaborate on what the inserted sentence introduces.
- Eliminate positions where the inserted sentence repeats what was just said. Insert sentences move the argument; they do not summarise.
- If you are stuck between two positions, look at the entire paragraph’s logical flow. The correct insertion always preserves the paragraph’s argument; the wrong ones either break it or duplicate it.
- Time-budget: insert questions reward careful reading, not speed. Spend an extra 30 seconds here rather than rushing.
Practise insert questions on a timed test
Each TOEFLMock Reading passage includes one insert-sentence question at the same density as the official exam.
Try a Reading practice test