How to finish the TEAS reading section on time
TEAS 7 outline: Find specific information within a text
- TEAS 7 Reading has 45 questions in 55 minutes, about 73 seconds each.
- For detail questions, read the question first and scan for its key word.
- For main idea or inference questions, skim the passage first.
- Label each paragraph in two to four words as you read.
- Past two minutes on a question? Answer, flag, and move on.
Key facts
- ATI lists the TEAS 7 reading section as 45 questions in 55 minutes, which is about 1.2 minutes (73 seconds) per question.
- Each section's clock starts when you open it, and finishing early does not add time to the next section.
- Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect when time runs out, and there is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
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- You can flag questions and move back and forth within the open section, but once you submit a section you cannot return to it.
- For detail questions (according to, what time, how many), read the question first, pick a key word, and scan for it.
- For main idea, purpose and inference questions, skim the whole passage first, because the answer depends on all of it.
- Label each paragraph in two to four words as you read, so you know where to look when a question asks about a detail.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
New Refill Process at Harbor View Clinic
Starting June 3, Harbor View Clinic will change the way patients request prescription refills. Until now, most requests came in by phone, and callers often waited on hold during the busy morning hours. The new process is meant to shorten those waits and give the clinic's nurses more time to review each request carefully.
Patients will now have three ways to ask for a refill. The fastest is the online patient portal, which accepts requests at any hour, every day of the week. Patients can also call the refill line, which will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Finally, patients may ask their pharmacy to send a request directly to the clinic. Requests left by voicemail after hours will no longer be accepted, because those messages were sometimes unclear or incomplete.
Most refill requests will be completed within two business days. However, some requests need a closer look. If a patient has not had an appointment at the clinic in the past twelve months, a nurse will contact the patient to schedule one before the refill is approved. Requests for controlled medicines must be made at least five business days before the patient runs out.
The clinic encourages patients to check each bottle's label to see how many refills remain and to ask for a new prescription when only one refill is left. Patients who are unsure how to use the portal can attend a free fifteen-minute training session in the clinic lobby every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Front-desk staff can also print a one-page guide.
Clinic leaders will review the new process in September. They plan to survey patients and measure how long requests take before deciding whether to keep, adjust, or replace it.
According to the passage, when will the clinic's refill line be staffed?
Correct answer: B.
This is a detail question, so read the question first, pick the key words ("refill line"), and scan for them; they appear in the second paragraph. The passage lists several times, so match the time to the exact service the question names. The portal's hours and the training session's time are real details from the passage, but they answer different questions.
A These are the hours of the online patient portal, not the refill line.
B Correct: the second paragraph says the refill line will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
C The hours are right, but the passage limits the line to Monday through Friday; this choice blends two details.
D This is the time of the free portal training session, a detail from the fourth paragraph.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: The TEAS 7 reading section has 45 questions in 55 minutes, about 73 seconds each. Read the question first for detail questions and scan for its key word; skim the passage first for main idea or inference questions. Label each paragraph in a few words, and if a question passes two minutes, answer, flag and move on.
1 How much time do you have for each reading question?The TEAS 7 reading section gives you about 73 seconds per question on average. 1 min
The TEAS 7 reading section gives you about 73 seconds per question on average. ATI lists it as 45 questions in 55 minutes, and the section's clock starts when you open it.
A passage with three questions therefore earns about three and a half minutes in total. Spend roughly a minute and a half reading it, then about 40 seconds per question.
Use checkpoints instead of watching every second. The right column is a suggested target that builds in five spare minutes for flagged questions.
| You have finished… | Exact pace (73 s each) | Target with a buffer |
|---|---|---|
| 15 questions | about minute 18 | minute 17 |
| 30 questions | about minute 37 | minute 33 |
| 45 questions | minute 55 | minute 50 |
Finishing early does not carry time into the math section, so use any spare minutes on your flagged questions.
2 Should you read the question or the passage first?Let the question type decide whether you read the question or the passage first. 1 min
Let the question type decide whether you read the question or the passage first. As a suggested strategy, detail questions usually go faster question-first, while big-picture questions need the whole passage.
| Question type | Order | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Detail ("according to," "how many," "when") | Question first, then scan | You know what to look for |
| Main idea, purpose, tone | Passage first | The answer depends on every paragraph |
| Inference ("most likely," "suggests") | Passage first | You need the full context |
| Several questions on one long passage | Skim once, then answer each | Your labels guide each return trip |
3 How do you mark up a passage in your head?Give every paragraph a two-to-four-word label as you read it. 1 min
Give every paragraph a two-to-four-word label as you read it. When a question asks about a detail, the label tells you where to look, so you reread one paragraph instead of five.
Example text:
Northside Hospital's supply room now uses a badge reader instead of a paper sign-out sheet. Staff tap their badge, and the system records who entered and when. The change was meant to help managers reorder supplies before they ran out. However, the reader does not track which items each person takes, so staff must still scan each item at the checkout station. Since the change, the number of empty shelves reported each month has fallen from twelve to four.
Mental labels: "new badge reader" (sentences 1–2), "goal: reorder" (3), "however: still scan items" (4), "result: 12 to 4" (5).
Question: According to the text, what must staff still do in the supply room?
Walk-through:
- Detail question, so read it first. The key word is "still."
- Scan for "still." It sits in sentence 4, right after the signal word "however."
- Answer: scan each item at the checkout station.
Classic wrong answer: "tap their badge." It is true and appears in the text, but it answers a different question.
4 When should you guess, flag and move on?A good rule of thumb is to move on once a question passes about two minutes, but always choose an answer first. 1 min
A good rule of thumb is to move on once a question passes about two minutes, but always choose an answer first. ATI scores unanswered questions as incorrect and has no guessing penalty.
- Eliminate any choice the passage contradicts.
- Choose the best remaining answer.
- Click FLAG, then continue.
- Before you leave the section, the Flag Questions prompt lets you review flagged items.
You cannot return to a section after you submit it.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: A choice that repeats words from the passage can still be wrong; check that it answers this question, not a nearby sentence.
Watch out: Leaving a question blank to come back later is risky; choose your best answer first, then flag it.
Watch out: Rereading the whole passage for every question wastes time; return only to the paragraph your labels point to.
Watch out: Spending four minutes on one hard question uses up the average time for about three other questions.
Watch out: Signal words such as however, but and except often mark the exact sentence a detail question is built on.
How to remember it
Carry the same four-word routine into every passage, pace, plan, label, flag. Check the clock at questions 15 and 30, choose question-first or passage-first, label paragraphs, and never leave a blank.
Self-check:
- Work out the per-question time from 55 minutes and 45 questions.
- Decide whether "What is the main purpose of the passage?" is question-first or passage-first.
- Label each sentence of the supply-room text from memory.