Reading 39–41 Where a Sentence Belongs

Reading · Hard

Clues from demonstratives and connectives

Items 39–41 are a special type with a different format from 32–38. An expository passage has four marked slots (㉠㉡㉢㉣) where a sentence is missing, and you are given one separate sentence to place wherever it makes the flow of the text most natural. Where other reading types ask 'what is written,' this type deals directly with the skeleton of the text — 'how do sentences connect to each other' — which makes it a different kind of task. The key to this type lies in the given sentence itself. A demonstrative at the start of the sentence ('이·그·이런') points to a specific thing mentioned earlier, and a connective ('그러나·따라서·또한') tells you the relationship (contrast, cause-and-effect, addition) between the sentences before and after. If you check these two clues first, you can narrow the candidate slots to fewer than half without carefully reading the whole passage from the start. Even for a sentence without a demonstrative, the logical relationship required by the connective alone can filter out a good number of candidates. The most common mistakes are placing the sentence in a slot before the thing the demonstrative refers to has even appeared, and missing a slot that connects naturally to the sentence before it but awkwardly cuts off the sentence after it. Once you have narrowed the candidates, you must actually insert the sentence into that slot and read both directions to make a final check. If you only check the connection before and skip checking after, you can easily mistake a wrong answer — one that fits before but reads awkwardly after — for the correct one. Because this type has clear clues in the form of demonstratives and connectives, unlike other upper-level items that rely more on feel, learning the trick lets you answer it more reliably rather than less. If your target is Level 3 you can skip this section, but focused practice on this type alone often raises accuracy noticeably, so the return on time invested is not bad at all.

Where a Sentence Belongs

• 이/그/이런 + 명사(지시어) — Refers back to a specific thing or state mentioned in the immediately preceding sentence. The inserted sentence must come right after the sentence where that thing first appears.
• 이러한/이와 같은(요약 지시어) — Summarizes the content of several preceding sentences all at once. At least two or more sentences must come first, and this goes in the slot that wraps up that content.
• 그러나/하지만(역접) — A connective that reverses the immediately preceding content. It goes in the slot right after a claim or expectation that is about to be challenged.
• 그런데(화제 전환·반전) — Used to add a twist or a new condition to the preceding flow. A weaker turn than '하지만,' it goes in the slot that adds an exception or qualifier to the explanation given so far.
• 그렇다고 해서(부분 부정 전환) — Used to add an exceptional condition without fully denying the preceding positive content. It goes at the boundary point right after a positive explanation ends, marking its limits.
• 또한/그리고(첨가) — Used to add one more piece of information in the same direction as the preceding content. Find the slot where new information equal in weight to the preceding sentence follows.
• 왜냐하면(이유 제시) — Explains the reason for the immediately preceding result or claim. It goes right after the result/claim sentence, in a slot where the reason has not yet been given.
• 결국/따라서(결론 신호) — Used to gather the preceding discussion and move to a conclusion. It goes near the last sentence of the passage or nearby, at a slot after the discussion has progressed some way.
• 반면(대조) — Used to contrast something with a different nature from what was explained before. It goes in the slot right after the first subject's explanation ends and the second subject's explanation begins.
• 이 중/그중(범위 지시) — Refers back to some of several things listed earlier. It goes after a sentence that lists at least two or more things.
• 물론(양보 인정 후 반박 예고) — Acknowledges an expected counterargument or exception first, signaling that a rebuttal is about to follow. It is almost always followed by '하지만/그러나.'

• The thing pointed to by the demonstrative ('이·그·이런') at the start of the inserted sentence
• The before-and-after relationship required by the connective ('그러나·따라서·또한') in the inserted sentence
• A slot in the passage where only a pronoun appears and its referent has not yet shown up

• Read the given sentence first and identify what its demonstrative or connective requires
• Read the passage from the start, checking the context before and after ㉠㉡㉢㉣
• Insert the given sentence directly into the candidate slots and read it in place
• Make a final choice of the slot where the connection is natural both to the sentence before and the sentence after

• Inserting the sentence into a slot without checking what its demonstrative refers to
• Missing a slot that connects to the preceding sentence but cuts off awkwardly from the sentence after

This type has clear clues in demonstratives and connectives, so once you learn the trick it is actually one of the more reliably solvable spots among the upper-level items.