5 Cloze Test Tips You Can’t Ignore

SBI PO got over in the last week of November 2021 and the results are still awaited. You must be anxiously waiting for the results and rightly so. But don’t worry! It can be out anytime now. Even the dates of SBI PO Mains are not out yet. Therefore we would strongly suggest you to start preparing for the SBI PO Mains exam without any further delay. And the right step to kickstarting your preparation is to take a Free Mock Test of SBI PO Mains. Taking the Free Mock Test will give you a frank assessment of your current preparation level.

Knowing your current preparation level will help you improve your preparation. It will also highlight your weak areas on which you can work and improve.

About Cloze Test

In this article, we have come up with Cloze Test tips to help you garner full marks on questions on this topic. We saw cloze test questions in the previous Mains exams of SBI PO and it is important that if it appears in SBI PO 2021 Mains exam, you make the most of it. Let’s get started with the concept of cloze test. A cloze test is nothing but a passage with certain missing words. You can also view it as a combination of reading comprehension and fill in the blanks. You need to ensure that you understand the flow of the passage. Understanding the central idea and the context of the cloze test passage will only help you with fill the blanks quickly and with accuracy. Let’s have a look at the cloze test tips:

Cloze Test Tips

1. Have a cursory glance at the passage to check if it’s not too difficult to answer. Once you’ve finalized to go ahead with the cloze test passage, ensure that you read it slowly & carefully understanding each and every word and phrase. This will help you understand the passage’s flow and will consequently help you choose the right word to fill the blank.
2. Never treat a sentence individually to fill a blank. Take cues from the preceding and succeeding sentences and the overall flow of the passage. Linking the sentences will definitely help you pick the right answer. Click here to take lots of Free Cloze Test Quizzes.
3. Check out the passage’s tone as well. Is the tone narrative, critical, sarcastic etc? Sometimes, the intonation may help you pick the right word.
4. If the options seem too close to each other and you are not sure which is the right one, try the elimination method and rule out the wrong options.
5. Pay close attention to the keywords in the passage as they can help you fill the blanks quickly. Also, keep an eye on words that changes the tone of a passage such as ‘but’, ‘however’ etc.

Let’s have a look at the examples for a better understanding:

Examples

Directions (Qs. 1 – 2): In the following passage, some of the sentences have been left out and replaced by a blank represented by an alphabet. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blanks as per the questions given. 

With more than 150 million hectares of agricultural land and diverse agro-climatic zones, India is at a resource advantage in the field of agriculture which plays a vital role in the country’s economy, but the growth rates in agriculture have been fluctuating between 1.5 percent to -0.2 percent in recent years. _____(A)_____. The gamut of prospects ranges from agricultural inputs to logistics. If monsoon allows, India can achieve 270 million tonnes of food grain production, and the sector is poised to see a surge in investments. In recent times, the agricultural input industry has seen major consolidations influencing the industry globally and Indian companies need to further expand their product portfolio to tackle the global competition. __(B)___. Recent developments on the deal side are set to change the dynamics of the industry.___(C)___. Further in the agribusiness industry, farm equipment caters to requirements across value chain. ____(D)____. With maximum mechanisation at initial value chain stage, the sector is dominated by tractors (at 84 percent) with India being the largest tractor manufacturer in the world. ____(E)____.

Question 1

(A)

a) Another prospective investment aspect of the agricultural value chain is the post-harvest phase which currently in India is plagued by a gap of about 35 million tonnes. 

b) The vision of ‘Make In India’ is set to increase innovation and investment in the sector.

c) With an allocation of approximately Rs 360 billion for agriculture and farmers’ welfare in the budget, the government has re-emphasised its focus on agricultural development generating immense opportunities for commercialisation.

d) The farm implements sector, however, is yet to become a major market segment or a major sector of investment. 

e) None of the above

Ans: C

Solution: C is the right answer. The sentence preceding the blank talks about how India has some advantages in the agricultural sector but the growth rate has not been inspiring. D fits contextually as it discusses the budget allocation. It states the aim of the budgetary allocation. The sentence following the blank talks about the prospects of something (in this case, the prospects that would arise because of the budgetary allocation). 

Question 2

(B)

a) Agritech startups are slowly gaining traction and have been able to secure funding from marquee investors.

b) The agribusiness space is thus growing rapidly with various stakeholders, including the government and private players altering strategies to gain from the growing agri resources and consumer demand.

c) As already mentioned, major consolidations in the sector would shift the market to a few players. 

d) In seed sector, the growing need of R&D along with developments in agrochemicals such as increasing use of biofertilizers and biorelease smart fertilizers has developed a need for input companies to rethink their strategies.

e) All of the above

Ans: D

Solution: D is the right answer. In this case, only the preceding sentence matters as the sentence following the blank discussed a different subject. The sentence preceding the blank talks about the input industry and how they need to diversify their products. D fits contextually as it gives the example of the seed sector. It states that companies need to rethink their strategies.

We hope that the above concept, tips and examples will be beneficial to your learning and you will be able to use these tips to score full marks in cloze test questions. Use these cloze test tips to check your performance while taking SBI PO Mains mock tests.

If you’re preparing for SBI PO Mains, you may like to have a look at our Instagram page where current affairs updates are posted on a daily basis.

Wishing you good luck with your preparation!