Use of English (Cloze): Meaning, Grammar and Cohesion in 20 Blanks
Use of English is the 20-item multiple-choice cloze that opens the paper: one passage of roughly 240–280 words, four options per blank, 10 points. It is not a pure vocabulary test. Each blank sits where meaning, grammar and discourse meet, so the right option must fit the sentence, the paragraph's logic and the writer's register at the same time.
Read the passage before the options
Spend about 40 seconds skimming for topic, stance and structure. Decide whether the passage describes a study, defends a policy or contrasts two views; the first sentence is usually unbroken and sets the topic. Then take the blanks in order, and for each one predict the missing word's part of speech and rough meaning before you read A–D.
The four things a blank tests
- Lexical meaning: near-synonyms separated by collocation or register, not by dictionary definition.
- Collocation and fixed phrases: play a role in, give rise to, be subject to, at the expense of.
- Grammar: subject–verb agreement across inserted phrases, tense sequence, non-finite forms after prepositions.
- Cohesion: conjunctions (however, therefore, whereas), pronouns, and lexical chains built from repetition, synonyms and antonyms.
Worked example
'The effect was not ____: it appeared only when participants knew they were being observed.' Options: A) negligible B) universal C) reversible D) intentional. The colon explains the first clause, so the blank must name what the restriction denies. 'Universal' means 'in all cases'; 'not universal' is exactly what 'only when...' states. 'Negligible' concerns size, 'reversible' direction, 'intentional' agency, and the colon explains none of them. Predict 'general/universal' first, then confirm it in the list.
Traps that cost marks
- A synonym that fails collocation: 'do a decision' instead of 'make a decision'.
- Ignoring a negative or contrast word two clauses away from the blank.
- Missing plural agreement when a prepositional phrase separates subject and verb.
- Treating connectives as interchangeable style; however, therefore and moreover mark different logical relations.
- Leaving a blank unjustified: eliminate by word class first, then by logic, and never by length or position in the list.