How to Solve Cloze Test Questions? -English Tips for All Bank Exams

Solving Cloze Test Questions can sometimes be tough for many students, especially those coming from Hindi Medium backgrounds or for those who are weak in grammar and vocabulary part! Do you too find problems in quickly answering the Cloze Test Questions? Or do you just want to score full or maximum marks in it all Bank exams and clear the English section with ease? Like in the upcoming SBI PO Mains exam 2021, as the exams are drawing near with every passing week? If so, then we are here with the most important and succinct tips to help you accumulate full or maximum marks on Cloze Test questions!

Types of Cloze Test

There are two major Cloze Tests that are asked in the major Bank exams like SBI PO Mains 2021:

1. Basic Fill in the Blanks Format: A passage is given with multiple blanks and candidates need to choose one correct answer from the given options, which would be appropriate and logically fill the blank. It is the most common and simplest type of Cloze Test.
2. Replacing words: Multiple words are given in bold instead of the blanks to fill, in the passage.  You will be required to tell if the word given in bold is appropriate or if it can be replaced with another word from the given options. This is a new pattern for cloze test that frequently appears in Bank exams.

Note: You need to have good command over grammar and vocabulary to answer questions based on both types of Cloze Test easily and efficiently. 

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How to Solve Cloze Test Questions?

A Cloze test is a combination of comprehension and ‘fill in the blanks where your reading, analyzing, and vocabulary skills are all tested at once. A comprehension or a passage is given in the question which comprises blanks. Candidates need to choose the most appropriate word from the given options, which can most suitably be placed in the blank.

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A Cloze test or fill-in-the-blanks is an integral part of the verbal ability section for the various Bank exams like the SBI PO mains Exam. Mostly 4-8 questions are asked from the cloze test topic in the major Bank exams.

In short, A cloze test is a passage with missing words. 

Here are some of the most important tips to successfully counter the questions based on the Cloze Test:

1.      Take a quick look at the passage

You need to have a quick 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.

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2.      Never treat a sentence individually

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.

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3.      Find the Keywords

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.

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4.      Pay heed to passage’s tone

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.

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5.      Use the elimination method

If the options seem too close to each other and you are not sure which is the right one, use the elimination method and rule out the wrong options.

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Two important Examples of Cloze Test

Given below are the examples to make it clear what we have discussed above. Take a good look at the samples of the Cloze Test for a better understanding of the application of the tips and tricks mentioned above:

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)____.

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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-emphasized its focus on agricultural development generating immense opportunities for commercialization.

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). 

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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 the seed sector, the growing need for R&D along with developments in agrochemicals such as increasing use of biofertilizers and bio-release 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.

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Practice Cloze Test Questions via the Best SBI PO mains Exam 2021 Mock Tests!

You may have, from the simple tips, tricks and examples, mentioned above, got a good idea about how to deal with Cloze Test questions. We hope you will be able to use these easy-to-use tips to score full or at least maximum marks in cloze test questions. But don’t forget! Information without practice may prove to be useless in the actual exam. So, it is better to practice as much as you can with the best of the Mock Tests available to test your ability and your newly acquired knowledge. So, hurry up, and implement these cloze test tips mentioned above to check and quickly improve your performance via the best SBI PO Mains mock tests for ultimate success!

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Frequently Asked Questions on Cloze Test

Q 1. What is a Cloze Test?

Ans. Cloze Test is a type of fill-in-the-blanks question. In it, words are committed from a paragraph, and candidates have to fill the blanks with suitable words either grammatically or context-wise.

Q 2. How many types of cloze tests are there?

Ans. There are two major types of cloze test. One is which is given in the form of fill-in blanks and the other one is where incorrect words have to be replaced.

Q 3. How to score more marks in the cloze test?

Ans. Follow the below-mentioned tips to score more in the cloze test:

• Work on building vocabulary
• Read newspapers daily
• In topic-based cloze test questions, try to get the context of the given paragraph
• Prepare preposition and articles well
• In case of confusion, use the elimination method to answer questions

Q 4. What are cloze sentences?

Ans. When a keyword is missing from a sentence or has been replaced with an irrelevant word, such sentences are called cloze sentences.