Download Notes & Worksheet 📌
| Download Notes | Click here |
| Download Worksheet | Click here |
What is Cloze Test ?
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks to make a meaningful paragraph.
- A good understanding of grammar
- Parts of Speech
- Sentence formation
- Vocabulary
Tips to Do Well in Cloze Test in English
1. Read Thoroughly:
The candidates need to read the entire text to understand the context, tone, theme and meaning of the text.
Common mistake : Candidates often skip reading the entire text to save time.
2.The Type of Word to Fill In
Now look at the blanks carefully and assess the kind of words you have to fill in. Which part of speech would it be? Would it be a noun, a pronoun, a verb, a preposition, a conjunction or an article?
Example:
A noun: I forgot to carry my ______ to school. I, therefore, had to share with my friend.
The logical answer here would be a book or tiffin.
An article: He ate ________ papaya and threw seeds away.
Articles are usually the easiest to answer. Fill in ‘a’ and ‘an’ when we are talking about general facts and ‘the’ is filled while using it before something specific. Here, the answer is ‘the’ or ‘his’ in the first case and ‘the’ or ‘its’ in the second.
A verb : _______for half an hour left me breathless.
The idea of being breathless suggests something strenuous like ‘exercising’ or ‘running’.
3. Analyse the words :
It is not enough to find a meaningful match. The words must fit in the context and theme of the content.
Example: He had managed to reach in time. She __ (see) at him astonishment.
- Stared.
- Gazed.
- Shot.
- Looked.
The answer is B. Gazed. Despite having a similar meaning, Gazed is the best choice as it fits the context of the text.
4. Link the Sentences Together
Remember that it is a passage with sentences that are connected. Do not make the mistake of treating each sentence as an individual and fill in the blanks accordingly. Try to come up with logical connections that link up the sentences together which will make the question easy to solve.
5. Stay aware of the general terms:
A candidate must have good knowledge of the general terms used in different sectors. Newspapers are the best to gain this knowledge.
Example: The court ruled that the Indian Navy should grant Permanent _____(job) to women.
- Service.
- Tenure
- Commission.
- Position.
Here ,the answer is C. This is the common term used in any Defense Service.
6. Maintain the tone :
The passage is usually written in a certain tone; sometimes narrative, sometimes critical, sometimes humorous. Pick words that fit in with the tone of the passage. If the sentence is in a positive tone, keep the tone positive. If the sentence is negative keep it in a negative tone. It is easy to understand the tone of the sentence by understanding the subject. Topics that showcase feelings of happiness, pride, admiration, achievement, success will have a positive tone. While topics showcasing loss, disgrace, failure, sadness, anger, will have negative tones. There are some topics with a neutral tone such as reports. The candidate should maintain a neutral tone in such cases.
Example: His father _ (touch) him on his back in admiration as he told him about his promotion
- Slapped.
- Patted
- Touched
- Hit
Here, the answer is B. Patted as it goes with the positive tone of the sentence.
7. Eliminate the wrong ones :
- You will often come across a blank that has more than one correct option. List out all these options and try them one by one.
- Use the one option that seems most fitting.
- Instead of getting confused, think of words that are appropriate not only to the given sentence but also fit the context of the entire passage.
- Build up Your Language Skills
In terms of general preparation, you can read and read as much as you can.
The more you read, the better sense you will have of what word goes where.
It will also help build up your vocabulary. Both these things will go a long way in helping you ace the Cloze Test.
Cloze Test Practice Questions
Directions : Read the following text and complete it using the words given in the options
He was a manly man, free from any strong (1) [mother] _____strain, and he had loved his dark-eyed, dainty bright-coloured, and active little wife with a real vein of passion in his sentiment. But he had always felt (he had never allowed himself to think of it) that the promptitude of their family was a little (2) [insensitive]_______ of her, and in a sense an intrusion. He had, however, planned brilliant careers for his two sons, and, with a certain human amount of warping and delay, they were pursuing these. One was in the Indian Civil Service and one in the rapidly developing motor business. The daughters, he had hoped, would be their mother’s care.
Q 1.
A) maternal
B) Paternal
C) Mother
D) Childish
Q 2.
A) tactful
B) indelicate
C) insensitive
D) non-proportionate
Answers
Q 1. A) maternal
Q 2. B) indelicate