Cloze and Sentence Completion Set 3
Cloze and Sentence Completion Set 3 continues these two related 11+ tasks at a slightly higher level, focusing especially on connectives that signal a logical relationship, cause, contrast, addition or sequence, between ideas, and on sentence-completion distractors that are close in meaning but wrong in strength, formality or exact sense.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Before choosing a connective for a cloze gap, work out the logical relationship between the two ideas either side of it: cause and effect, contrast, addition, or time sequence.
- Learn a bank of connectives grouped by relationship: cause and effect (because, so, therefore, as a result), contrast (however, although, despite, whereas), addition (furthermore, in addition, also), sequence (meanwhile, afterwards, eventually).
- For sentence completion, treat close-meaning distractors carefully: two words can share a similar dictionary meaning but differ in strength, such as annoyed versus furious, or formality, such as get versus obtain.
- Match the strength of a chosen word to any intensifying or limiting language already in the sentence, since a word like 'utterly' or 'barely' signals that only a strongly matching word will fit.
- Match the register, how formal or informal a word is, to the rest of the passage, since a very informal word can feel jarringly wrong in an otherwise formal piece of writing, even if its core meaning fits.
- After completing every gap, reread the whole passage or sentence once more, checking that the chosen connectives and words make the logical relationships between ideas clear and correctly signalled.
Worked example
Complete the gap with the connective that best fits: 'The forecast had promised clear skies all week; ___ , the campers woke to find their tents soaked through.' Choose from: therefore, however, furthermore, meanwhile.
- Identify the two ideas either side of the gap: a forecast promising clear skies, and campers waking to find their tents soaked.
- Recognise the relationship between these two ideas: the actual outcome, soaked tents, is the opposite of what was expected, clear skies, which is a contrast.
- Rule out 'therefore' and 'furthermore', since neither signals contrast; 'therefore' signals a result following logically, and 'furthermore' signals an addition.
- Rule out 'meanwhile', since it signals two things happening at the same time, not a contrast between expectation and reality.
- Select 'however', since it is the connective that correctly signals a contrast between what was promised and what actually happened.
- Final answer: however.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Complete the gap with the best connective: 'The bridge had been closed for repairs; ___ , traffic was diverted through the town centre.' Choose from: as a result, although, meanwhile.Show answer
Answer: as a result, since the diversion is a direct result or effect of the bridge closure
Q2Complete the gap: 'The team trained for months; ___ , they lost in the very first round.' Choose from: therefore, despite this, furthermore.Show answer
Answer: despite this, since the loss is a contrast or surprising outcome after all the training
Q3Sentence completion: 'The critic's review was ___ , praising almost nothing about the performance.' Choose the best word: mixed, scathing, warm, brief.Show answer
Answer: scathing, matching 'praising almost nothing', a strongly negative review
Q4Explain why 'annoyed' would be a weaker choice than 'furious' in the sentence: 'She was utterly ___ when she discovered the mistake.'Show answer
Answer: 'Utterly' is an intensifier suggesting a very strong feeling, so a strong word like 'furious' matches it far better than the comparatively mild 'annoyed', which would not fit convincingly alongside 'utterly'.
Q5Sentence completion: 'The manual gave a highly ___ account of how to assemble the furniture, listing every screw and panel.' Choose the best word: vague, detailed, brief, casual.Show answer
Answer: detailed, matching 'listing every screw and panel'
Q6Explain why 'get' might feel out of place in an otherwise formal passage that uses words like 'obtain', 'require' and 'therefore'.Show answer
Answer: Because 'get' is an informal, everyday word, while 'obtain', 'require' and 'therefore' are more formal; mixing an informal word into a formal passage disrupts the consistent register the rest of the passage has established, even though 'get' and 'obtain' share a similar core meaning.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Complete the gap with the most appropriate connective and explain your choice: 'The company had promised to deliver the goods within a week; ___ , customers began receiving them within just two days.' Choose from: however, in fact, although. (2 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
'The negotiations, which had dragged on for weeks, finally ___ in a signed agreement that satisfied both sides.' Choose the best word from: ended, resulted, collapsed, stalled. Explain why your choice fits better than two of the others. (3 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Complete this passage using connectives that correctly signal the relationships shown in brackets: 'The bakery had run out of bread by nine o'clock; (1)___ (result), a queue formed outside within minutes. (2)___ (contrast), the owner had baked twice the usual amount that morning.' (4 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the cloze and sentence completion set 3 worksheet pack - 15 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 26 of 11+ English Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on cloze and sentence completion set 3, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.