Cloze Test - SSC CGL | Courage Library

1. What is a Cloze Test?

Cloze Test is a passage with blanks, where you are required to fill the blanks with the most appropriate words.

SSC Cloze Test tests:

Grammar → tenses, prepositions, conjunctions, articles
Vocabulary → synonyms, antonyms, collocations, phrasal verbs
Comprehension → context-based choice

Example:

She ___ (go) to the market every morning.

Answer: goes → subject-verb agreement

2. Strategy for Grammar-Based Cloze Test

1. Check Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular → verb ends with -s, plural → base form
Example: The teacher ___ (teach) English. → teaches

2. Identify Tense

Past, present, future based on context
Example: Yesterday he ___ (buy) a book. → bought

3. Look for Prepositions

Common SSC-tested: in, on, at, for, by, of, with
Example: He is good ___ mathematics. → at

4. Articles

Use a, an, the correctly
Example: I saw ___ elephant in the zoo. → an

5. Conjunctions

Connect ideas using: and, but, or, although, because, since

6. Pronouns & Adjectives

Ensure correct reference and degree
Example: This is the best book I have ever read

3. Strategy for Vocabulary-Based Cloze Test

1. Synonyms & Antonyms

Use words that fit the meaning of the sentence
Example: She was very ___ (happy) after the exam. → elated / joyful

2. Collocations

Words that usually occur together
Example: Make a decision, Take a risk, Heavy rain

3. Context Clues

Look at other words in the sentence to infer meaning
Example: He is very gregarious, always talking and laughing with everyone. → sociable

4. Idioms & Phrases

Sometimes SSC tests idiomatic usage
Example: He decided to bite the bullet. → face the difficulty bravely

4. SSC Cloze Test Common Patterns

Pattern	Strategy	Example
Verb tense	Check time context	She ___ (go) to school yesterday. → went
Prepositions	Look at nouns/verbs nearby	He is good ___ cricket. → at
Articles	Identify countable/uncountable	I saw ___ eagle in the sky. → an
Synonyms	Meaning matches context	The test was easy → simple
Antonyms	Sentence indicates contrast	He is poor, but his brother is ___ → rich
Idioms & phrases	Fit context	He was over the moon → very happy

5. Sample Cloze Test

Grammar-Based Cloze Test

Last week, I ___ (1) ___ to the market to buy some fruits. I ___ (2) ___ an apple and an orange. The shopkeeper ___ (3) ___ me about the prices. I ___ (4) ___ that the apple was very expensive. However, I ___ (5) ___ to buy it because it was fresh.

Blanks:

1. go / went / goes

2. buy / bought / buying

3. told / tell / telling

4. realize / realized / realizing

5. decide / decided / deciding

Click for Answers

1. went

2. bought

3. told

4. realized

5. decided

Vocabulary-Based Cloze Test

The manager was very ___ (1) ___ with the team's performance. Everyone worked ___ (2) ___ and the results were ___ (3) ___. The meeting ended on a ___ (4) ___ note.

Options:

1. (a) pleased (b) angry (c) sad

2. (a) diligently (b) lazily (c) slowly

3. (a) disappointing (b) excellent (c) poor

4. (a) positive (b) negative (c) neutral

Click for Answers

1. pleased

2. diligently

3. excellent

4. positive

6. SSC Exam Tips for Cloze Test

Read the entire sentence before filling the blank

For grammar blanks, check subject, verb, tense, prepositions

For vocabulary blanks, consider synonyms, idioms, collocations

Eliminate obviously wrong options first → saves time

Practice previous 10 years' SSC Cloze Tests → patterns repeat

Cloze Test for SSC CGL