It is common for many students to think that the Grammar Cloze is an easy section to score. This is mainly due to the factual content which the passages are based on and the helping words provided in the section. However, if your child does not use the right techniques to answer the Grammar Cloze, he/she will most likely not score well in the section.
Here are three tips to help your child ACE the Grammar Cloze Section:
1) Read the entire passage
The very first thing your child should do when answering a Grammar Cloze is to read the entire passage. This an essential step as it will enable your child to understand what the passage is about. In addition to this, when reading the passage, your child will also be able to spot the contextual clues located throughout the passage. This will prepare your child's mind to look out for the appropriate words to fill in the blanks in the passage later on.
2) Use the helping words provided properly
The helping words are a distinct feature of the Grammar Cloze section. They are there to help your child identify and fill in the right answers accurately. However, these words are only useful if they are used in the correct manner. One way your child can use the helping words is to analyze them even before he/she starts to fill in the blanks. This tells him/her what words are available and without having to go through the list for every question. Another tip to save time is to strike out the words which he/she has already used to fill in the blanks. This will prevent him/her from accidentally using given words twice to fill in the blanks.
However, if none of the remaining words seem to fit the blank, your child should not write in the "best possible answer". Instead, he/she use the full list, identify the correct word/phrase and check back on where it was used previously. This is a method to check back on previous answers at the same time.
3) Filling in the blanks using contextual clues
Another strategy your child use in the Grammar Cloze section is to fill in the blanks using contextual clues. This is extremely crucial and arguably the most important.
In order to do this, he/she has to underline the words before and after each blank in the passage. This will enable him/her to identify what kind of words can fit into the blank. Sometimes, the clue can be found in the sentence before or after the blank.
This will guide your child to choose the most accurate word without disrupting the flow of the sentence.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, these are three tips which will help your child score well in the Grammar Cloze. Following these steps will enable your child to understand the requirements of the blanks in the passage and the nature of helping words provided clearly. This will empower your child to match the blanks with the most suitable word from the list with ease and confidence, allowing them to breeze through this section.