Cloze Test

A cloze passage is one connected argument with words removed. Filling the blanks one by one, in order, is what makes candidates lose marks.

1. Read the passage once, end to end, before filling anything. You need the topic and the writer's attitude; the sentence after a blank often decides the answer.
2. Grammar blanks. Look at the neighbouring words: after a preposition you need a noun or -ing form; before a noun you need an adjective or a determiner; the verb must agree with the subject and match the tense of the paragraph.
3. Connector blanks. Decide the direction of the sentence first: contrast (however, although, yet), addition (moreover, besides), cause (because, since), result (therefore, hence), example (for instance).
4. Vocabulary blanks. Meaning alone is not enough; English words travel in fixed company. It is heavy rain, not big rain; you take a decision or make a decision, you do not do one; you pay attention.

The single most common mistake is treating each blank as an isolated question. The second most common is choosing a dictionary synonym that does not collocate — "a strong rain" is understandable and still wrong.

How to check an answer: put your chosen word in and read the whole sentence plus the next one aloud in your head. If the two sentences still argue in the same direction, the choice is safe.

Read the whole passage before the first blank · grammar blanks: preposition → noun/-ing, subject–verb agreement, one tense per paragraph · connector blanks: decide contrast / addition / cause / result first · vocabulary blanks: collocation beats dictionary meaning (heavy rain, take a decision, pay attention)

Fill the blank: "The scheme was launched with great publicity in 2015. ____, very few farmers have actually benefited from it." Options: Therefore / However / Moreover / Similarly. → However. The first sentence is positive and the second is negative, so the passage turns; only a contrast connector fits. Sanity check: read the pair with "Therefore" — a great launch would then have to cause few benefits, which is not an argument the writer is making.