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Tackling Comprehension Cloze (Open-Ended)

In Gestalt psychology, a testee is put through a series
of tests assessing his/her ability to complete a shape. Although
the testee is shown only a portion of the actual shape, he/she
is supposed to have a sufficient amount of clues to picturize
the complete shape.
Gestalt psychologists believe that the brain is able to
organize the various portions of a picture processed, serving
as clues, to a complete picture. The testee requires skills
including pattern recognition, visual perception and visual
imagery.
Analogous to the series of tests administered above,
in a cloze test, however, a candidate is presented a text with
several words omitted from the original text, at intervals. Only
ONE word is to be written in each blank provided.
In order to develop competence in this section, where
no helping words are provided, the student is advised to do the
following:
Read widely
In order to comprehend the content of the text to a reasonable
level, it is helpful if one is familiar with the terminology used.
Do not just read about your favourite topics or stories; rather,
read fiction as well as non-fiction materials.
Different topics emphasise different terminology, and different
authors possess a different styles of writing.
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Mainspring Learning Centre

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Use a Thesaurus
Doing this is especially useful for a student who has a limited
knowledge of vocabulary in general. As one reads and tries to
comprehend the text, he/she may suddenly conceive a word to
the blank which gives the right idea. Unfortunately, if the
student with limited vocabulary chooses that word initially
conceived, he/she may find that that word would not fit.
In short, a word fitly chosen has to satisfy the content of the
context, as well as its grammatical structure.
How should a student locate a suitable word? A
recommended approach is:
1) Read the passage
When one comes across blanks which he/she finds it
simple (to place a suitable word), fill it with that word
thought of. If unable to think of a word SKIP.
2) Go back to blanks not attempted
Look for clues, which are found BEFORE and AFTER that
blank. Sometimes, clues may be provided even one
paragraph before, or one paragraph after.
If you have thought of a word having the right idea take
heart you are on the right track! Look again, however,
does it compromise the integrity of the grammatical
structure? If it does not, use that word. If it does, think of
words synonymous to that word.
Ensure that all blanks are filled in with a word do not
leave any blank unanswered!
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Mainspring Learning Centre

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3) Edit
Re-read the text now that it is complete. Be prepared to
make any changes to the choice of your words.
When you see something good think of something better!!
The majority of students find this section the most
difficult. It is by no means undoable. For a start, it would be
helpful for the student to become more competent in being
able to recall synonyms to commonly used words. A
thesaurus would come in handy!

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Mainspring Learning Centre

Visit our website: www.mainspring.com.sg

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Mainspring Learning Centre

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