1. The Core Mechanism
Skilled readers don't just absorb words; they predict them. Text Completion tests your ability to maintain a constant attitude of interpretation, using the surrounding text to fill in the gaps.
Structure
- Passage: 1 to 5 sentences.
- Blanks: 1 to 3 blanks per question.
- Choices: 3 choices per blank (5 for single-blank).
The "No Partial Credit" Rule
You must get every blank correct to earn the point. If you get 2 out of 3 right, you get zero score. Accuracy is everything.
Every truck load of garbage is worth at least a dollar for manuring purposes, and yet thousands of these loads are carelessly dumped every day into the water. Instead of the city paying a round sum for the removal of garbage, it ought to receive a bonus from a contractor who knows how to _______ such a valuable resource.
For one reason or another, some master-speakers never entirely overcome stage-fright, but it will pay you to spare no pains to _______ it. Even renowned orators are not immune: Daniel Webster had to take his seat without finishing his first speech due to nervousness, and Gladstone was often _______ by self-consciousness at the beginning of an address.
If the subject on which you are writing is of _______ extent, or if you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of _______ it into topics. Consequently, the setting forth of a single idea or a brief account of a single incident is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, however, a writer should critically examine the text to see whether such _______ would not actually improve it.
