SFATURI ȘI TRUCURIMissing Sentences

  • 5 gaps
  • 8 sentences, 3 extra
  • 1 mark each
  • About 8 minutes

This is Part 4 of the B1 Reading paper: a longer text with five gaps where sentences have been removed. You choose the right sentence for each gap from eight options (A-H), so three of them don't fit anywhere.

This part checks that you can follow how a text is organised: how each sentence connects to the one before it and the one after it.

Check both sides

A sentence has to connect with what comes before and what comes after the gap. Plenty of options follow on nicely from the previous sentence, but if the next sentence no longer makes sense, it's the wrong choice.

Follow the pointing words

Words like 'this', 'that', 'these', 'it', 'they', 'there' and 'then' point back to something already mentioned. When a sentence begins 'This meant...', ask what 'this' refers to and whether that thing appears just before the gap.

Use linkers as signposts

Linking words show how ideas relate: 'But' and 'However' bring a contrast, 'Also' adds something similar, 'So' introduces a result, and 'For example' gives a case. Make sure the direction of the linker fits the text around the gap.

Keep topic and tense

Check that the sentence talks about the same topic, people and time as the paragraph. A sentence in the past won't sit easily in a paragraph about future plans, and one mentioning 'my brother' needs a place where he makes sense.

Beware the spare sentences

The three extra sentences are usually about the text's topic, which is exactly why they tempt you. Topic alone isn't enough: the sentence must fit the grammar and the logic of that precise spot.

Strategy

  1. 1Read the whole text first, ignoring the gaps, to follow the story or argument.
  2. 2Read the eight sentences and note what each one is about, plus any pointing words or linkers.
  3. 3For each gap, read the sentences before and after it and predict what's missing.
  4. 4Try the likely sentence in the gap and check that it links in both directions.
  5. 5Use grammar clues, such as pronouns, tenses and singular or plural forms, to confirm your choice.
  6. 6Leave a hard gap for later, since fewer options remain once you've filled the others.
  7. 7Read the completed text to check it flows, and make sure the three unused sentences really don't fit.
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