One-Blank Text Completion

• Find the words that determine the meaning of the blank.
• Recognise contrast, cause, illustration and restatement.
• Distinguish similar words by their strength and precise meaning.

1. Read the whole passage. Notice what happens before and after the blank.
2. Predict a simple meaning. Look for a clue such as ‘although’ or a concrete example. Hold a phrase such as ‘hard to use’ in mind.
3. Check the five options. Choose the closest fit, then read the complete passage to check meaning and grammar.

Pro tip. Use the sentence after the blank when it provides a definition or an example. That clue may be more specific than the words immediately before the blank.

• Choosing a word that fits the topic but conflicts with the clue.
• Reading only the clause that contains the blank.
• Ignoring the strength of a clue such as ‘all’, ‘slightly’ or ‘only’.

Example 1 · A contrast clue

Although the first draft was expansive, the revised account was (i) ______, reducing the argument to three short paragraphs.

Blank (i) A. concise · B. tentative · C. elaborate · D. contentious · E. inaccurate

Show worked answer

Choose A, concise. The shorter revision contrasts with the expansive draft. ‘Three short paragraphs’ gives a concrete clue about length and economy.

Example 2 · A clue in the next sentence

The finding was (i) ______. Three laboratories repeated the experiment and obtained nearly identical results.

Blank (i) A. irrelevant · B. reproducible · C. fragmentary · D. anecdotal · E. misleading

Show worked answer

Choose B, reproducible. The finding was obtained again in separate experiments. That is what ‘reproducible’ describes.