Suitable Approaches for Sentence Completion

The majority of competitive examinations include a test item known as sentence completion. Generally speaking, a sentence will have one or two gaps that need to be filled in utilising the various options. The answers to these questions will test both your vocabulary and your ability to differentiate between terms in more nuanced ways. A robust vocabulary can be of tremendous assistance in situations like these. However, even if you are not familiar with all of the possible responses, you can still utilise a variety of tactics to answer these questions. 

Types of Sentence Completion: 

There are four possible sorts of sentences that can be completed as follows: 

Restatement: 

Including phrases like specifically, in other words, in fact, that is, and so on and so on. 

Comparison: 

Containing phrases such as similarly, likewise, and, just as, as like as, and other comparable expressions. 

Contrast: 

Including expressions such as “though,” “although,” “although,” “despite,” “but,” “however,” “on the other hand,” “but,” “however,” “despite,” “or,” etc. 

Cause and effect: 

Words like this, thus, therefore, because of, and others like these are included in its content. In addition, terms such as “due to,” “as a result of,” “leads to,” and so on are included. 

Strategies for Sentence Completion: 

When completing sentences like these, having a strong vocabulary can be of tremendous assistance. Despite the fact that there are a variety of techniques we can take for questions of this nature, even if we do not know all of the options. The examples that follow are some of them. 

Read the sentence: 

Make use of the information provided by the sentence by reading it carefully. There are two components that contribute to the difficulty of a question: challenging vocabulary and complex sentence structures. Even if you are familiar with the definitions of the words being tested, you will NOT be able to pass the test if you are unable to analyse sentences in order to determine which option is most appropriate. Both our vocabulary and our ability to correctly dissect the phrases need to be improved. 

Hints: 

The hints provide suggestions as to what should be inserted into the gaps in the sentence so that it makes sense. This is a test to determine which clue is correct; if you modify the clue, the answer that should go in the blank also needs to be modified. In many cases, you can use the hint simply typing in the actual word or phrase that you are looking for into the blank space. 

Pluses and Minuses: 

Once you have found the word clues, indicate the type of term you are looking for with a symbol that either has a plus sign (for a positive connotation) or a minus sign (for a negative meaning). You may also use these symbols to signify synonyms and antonyms for a given word. 

Structure words: 

Look for words such as but, rather, although, however, and while. Look for words such as but, while, and therefore.

They shed light on the structure of the sentence as well as the link between the suggestion and the blank. They provide you with a list of the types of words to look for because those words alter the train of thought in the phrase. 

Visualize: 

Before you look at the options, try to come up with some words that could fit in the blanks. It will prevent you from making poor decisions. If you have a general idea of the KIND of words that are required, the process of elimination will be considerably simpler. It is not necessary for the word that you imagine to be particularly complex; a broad concept will do.

This is an improvement than testing out the different options to determine “what sounds good.” It is a more efficient method that also produces less errors. 

Elimination: 

Now should be an easy time to eliminate the undesirable options. But keep in mind that in order to get the correct answer, BOTH of the words need to fit in the stated order. If one of the words is an excellent selection but the other one does not make sense, then the answer is incorrect. DO NOT exclude potential solutions just because you are unsure of what they entail or because you don’t understand how they would operate. If you are unsure, you should go away and think about the alternative options before coming back. 

Improve your vocabulary: 

Improving your vocabulary and how you use it will help you perform better since the meanings of the words guide you to the correct response. 

Working backwards: 

It could be easier to answer the questions with two blanks because you have more chances to remove the incorrect answers. You do not need to know the other word in order to eliminate a choice if you can do so based on one of the words. Working backwards, or selecting the second blank option first, is frequently the most effective strategy. 

Sentence completion uses: 

Analysis of personality, therapeutic applications, assessment of attitude, evaluation of accomplishment motivation, and measurement of other dimensions are just some of the applications of sentence completion tests. They have applications in a variety of fields, such as psychology, management, education, and marketing, to name a few. 

Conclusion: 

It is considered that the reactions convey evidence of attitudes, beliefs, and motivations, in addition to other mental states. As a result, the responders are encouraged to reveal their hidden emotions through the use of the sentence completion approach, which possesses such benefits. Despite this, there is still disagreement as to whether or not sentence completion tests produce responses from conscious thought as opposed to unconscious states.