2.5 Supporting or emphasising

If the paragraph is analytical, and the author has a viewpoint, then there can be sentences which support the viewpoint – reasons, logical arguments, examples, etc. The given sentence might also be emphasising the point made by the author, and can act as a conclusive sentence. Make sure to practice this technique in the Jumbled Paragraphs lesson (Ending sentence) also.

Example 15

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Laboratory experiments, such as the iconic Miller-Urey experiment, have shown how these compounds can be naturally formed under conditions similar to early Earth.

Paragraph: The current scientific consensus is that life emerged from non-living molecules in a natural process called abiogenesis, most likely in the darkness of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. ______(1)______ We know that Earth was rich in several chemicals, such as amino acids, a type of molecules called nucleotides or sugars, which are the building blocks of life. ______(2)______ Next, these simple molecules combined to form more complex ones, such as fats, proteins or nucleic acids. ______(3)______ Importantly, nucleic acids — such as double-stranded DNA or its single-stranded cousin RNA — can store the information needed to build other molecules. Once an information system can make copies of itself, natural selection kicks in. ______(4)_______

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution This paragraph tells us how life probably began – with chemicals in hydrothermal vents combining to form nucleic acids, which meant that these molecules could form copies of itself.

The given sentence proves this theory, and the compounds mentioned in it can either be nucleotides or sugars before blank (2), or the fats, proteins or nucleic acids before blank (3). of these two, blank (2) is more suitable as the first two sentences are probably the conditions of the early Earth (deep-sea hydrothermal vents, availability of chemicals such as amino acids). Hence, blank (2) is preferable to blank (3), which is only about the initial chemicals combining to form more complex ones.

We can eliminate the other blanks as they are irrelevant, and select option 2 for this question.

Answer: (2) Option 2

Example 16

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Such things as unpaid household work, although clearly of great economic importance, are left out of the calculations.

Paragraph: Compiling GDP involves making a lot of choices, and even reasonable choices can lead to skewed results. _____(1)_______ Statisticians understandably favor goods and services that are bought and sold—and thus easily valued by market price—over economic activities whose value must be estimated. _____(2)_______ And the value of government programs, including health care provision, is generally underrepresented, as is the value of leisure. _____(3)_____ GDP also can’t distinguish between economic activities that increase a nation’s wealth and ones that eat into its natural endowments (cutting redwoods), result in sickness and future cleanup costs (pollution), or merely ameliorate disasters whose costs are never accounted for (ambulances). _____(4)______

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph explains that GDP calculation gives more importance to the aspects whose value can be easily computed, such as products which are bought and sold, over those whose values must be estimated. We can infer that the given sentence is an example of work whose value has to be estimated, since it is unpaid. Therefore, this sentence should be fit into blank (2).

Blank (1) is not appropriate as the premise has to come before the explanation.
Blanks (3) and (4) are about factors which are underrepresented, but the given sentence is more suitable as it is clearly an explanation for economic activities whose value must be estimated.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 2 for this question.

Answer: (2) Option 2

2.6 Parallelism

Sometimes, there will be another sentence with the same function as the given sentence – providing an example, a reason or an argument. If these are linked to the same context (a premise, a concept or an occurrence), then they should come together and this will help you identify the appropriate blank for the given sentence. The two sentences can be contrasting reasons, but if they are both reasons for the same premise or event, they can follow each other. Look for words such as also, similarly, equally, likewise, or, otherwise, etc if you have blanks before and after the parallel sentence in the paragraph.

Sometimes the structure can be a viewpoint followed by an explanation/reason/example, followed by a parallel viewpoint and its explanation/reason/example. In this case, the parallelism is in the viewpoints (opinion, premise) and the two explanation/reason/example sentences will follow the respective viewpoints. Otherwise, you will typically have the two parallel ideas in a sequence together. Make sure to practice this technique in the Jumbled Paragraphs lesson also.

Example 17

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
[ CAT 2022 Slot 1]

Sentence: Easing the anxiety and pressure of having a “big day” is part of the appeal for many couples who marry in secret.

Paragraph: Wedding season is upon us and – after two years of Covid chaos that saw nuptials scaled back– you may think the temptation would be to go all out. ___(1)___. But instead of expanding the guest list, many couples are opting to have entirely secret ceremonies. With Covid case numbers remaining high and the cost of living crisis meaning that many couples are feeling the pinch, it’s no wonder that some are less than eager to send out invites. ___(2)___. Plus, it can’t hurt that in celebrity circles getting married in secret is all the rage. ___(3)___. “I would definitely say that secret weddings are becoming more common,” says Landis Bejar, the founder of a therapy practice, which specialises in helping brides and grooms manage wedding stress. “People are looking for ways to get out of the spotlight and avoid the pomp and circumstance of weddings. ___(4)___. They just want to get to the part where they are married.”

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph is about weddings conducted after the pandemic. The author counters the possible view that people might want to have grand wedding celebrations (go all out), telling us that many people are opting for secret ceremonies, and explains the reasons why – cost, trending and focus on the marriage instead of the show.

The given sentence is another reason, and is an important reason. This is also about the wedding couples' preference, and should follow the reason related to cost (both are reasons for which the couples may choose to have a secret wedding). Therefore, the best blank for the given sentence is blank (2).

The sentence cannot be fit in blank (1) as the premise (people opting for secret marriages) has to come ahead of the reasons why.
The sentences before and after blank (3) are related to this being an increasing trend, so an alternative reason in between would not fit the sequence.
Blank (4) is in between Bejar's statement about avoiding the spotlight. While the given sentence is relevant here as well, it will also break the sequence, and this also seems like the author's words and not Bejar's.
Therefore, we can eliminate it in favour of blank (2).

Answer: (2) Option 2

Example 18

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: I don’t mean that people will be outraged, alarmed, disgusted: That is true, but irrelevant.

Paragraph: To understand what has happened in Europe in the last week, we must borrow from the rich and fruity vocabulary of Australian political analysis. Let us suppose you are losing an argument. The facts are overwhelmingly against you, and the more people focus on the reality the worse it is for you and your case. ______(1)______ Your best bet in these circumstances is to perform a manoeuvre that a great campaigner describes as “throwing a dead cat on the table, mate”. ______(2)______ That is because there is one thing that is absolutely certain about throwing a dead cat on the dining room table. _____(3)______ The key point, says my Australian friend, is that everyone will shout “Jeez, mate, there’s a dead cat on the table!” In other words they will be talking about the dead cat, the thing you want them to talk about, and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief. _____(4)_______

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph provides a solution which politicians can use – the author uses a metaphor of throwing a dead cat on the table. If someone is losing an argument, throwing a dead cat will make people focus on the cat instead of the issue.

The given sentence is a possible reaction of people. This is a potential (but irrelevant) reaction to the dead cat, parallel to people getting distracted by it and forgetting the issue at hand. This makes blank (3) suitable for this sentence.

This sentence can is also related to the sentences before and after the blank and forms a logical sequence. Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 3 for this question.

Answer: (3) Option 3

2.7 Chronology

Narrative paragraphs are usually chronological in nature, with a sequence of events occurring. Descriptive paragraphs, explaining a concept or premise can also have a sequence between the sentences. This technique can be used to find the logical position of the given sentence, if a question occurs like this. This is not very common, as it would be easy to find the appropriate blank for the given sentence.

Example 19

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: It became, to some extent, a materials-science problem.

Paragraph: Most of us don’t think much about pants these days, except to lament having to put them on in the morning. ______(1)______ But trousers were actually a technological breakthrough. Mounted herders and warriors needed their leg coverings to be flexible enough to let the wearer swing a leg across a horse without ripping the fabric or feeling constricted. At the same time, they needed some added reinforcement at crucial areas like the knees. ______(2)______Where do you want something elastic, and where do you want something strong? And how do you make fabric that will accomplish both? ______(3)______ For the makers of the world’s oldest pants, produced in China around 3,000 years ago, the answer was apparently to use different weaving techniques to produce fabric with specific properties in certain areas, despite weaving the whole garment out of the same spun wool fiber. ______(4)______

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph explains how pants were actually a technological breakthrough (the first sentence is a humourous one, which primarily shows that we do not realise that pants are a technological breakthrough). The author explains the requirements for pants, and how the Chinese met these requirements.

The given sentence is suitable in blank (2), as this blank is after the requirement of the fabric and reinforcement. The sentence after the blank also provides an explanation of why this is a material science problem, and the entire sequence is chronological and logical.

Blank (1) is not suitable as it is too early in the sequence.
Blank (3) seems suitable, but the sentences before and after the blank are connected and it does not make sense to add another sentence in between.
We can eliminate blank (4) as the problem cannot come after the solution.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 2 for this question.

Answer: (2) Option 2

Example 20

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: When the USSR fell, the Soviet states dissolved.

Paragraph: _______(1)______ In addition to the 15 member states of the USSR, there were seven Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe where populations were repressed and subjugated by communist rule. _______(2)______ Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet condoned kidnapping and murder of the leftist population under an American-backed regime. _______(3)______ And the global psyche was plagued by anxiety over possible nuclear war. The tense standoff that characterized the Cold War ended when the USSR collapsed completely in 1991, becoming a number of independent countries and the Russian Federation. This collapse was preceded by revolutions in the satellite states of Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. _______(4)______

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph is about the tense political situation before 1991. The USSR member states were repressing their population, and there was the potential of nuclear war. Ultimately, this tension reduced when the USSR collapsed in 1991. This is a chronological sequence, and the given sentence should be fit at the end, in blank (4). The sentences before this blanks explain the situation before the collapse of the USSR, and hence the given sentence, which occurs immediately after the collapse, is chronologically suitable for blank (4).

We can eliminate the other blanks with this logic, and choose option (4).

Answer: (4) Option 4

2.8 Key words
Just as we can use keywords to understand the author's viewpoint in a passage, we can use key words from the given sentence or the paragraph to help us find the appropriate blank for the given sentence. Key words can be

1) Contrasting words such as but, however, yet – if the given sentence has such a word, we have to look for the blank which has contrasting sentence before and after it.

2) Emphasising words such as indeed, really, such – if the given sentence has such words, they could be emphasising the author's point. You can also have such words in the paragraph, and if they emphasise the point being made in the given sentence, you can identify the appropriate blank.

3) Grammatical cues such as he, she, they, it – pronouns will typically follow the noun. Look out for pronouns in the paragraph and the given sentence, it will help you to select or at least to eliminate some blanks.

Please refer to the Reading Comprehension lesson for a detailed list of keywords.

Example 21

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: One became heralded as the founder of modern nursing; the other was mostly forgotten—or condescendingly referred to as “the Black Nightingale,” her story asterisked in relation to others’.

Paragraph: Florence Nightingale is probably the most famous nurse who ever lived, but she had a less-celebrated contemporary named Mary Seacole. ______(1)_______ The two women’s motivations for wanting to nurse in the Crimean War of 1853–56 were parallel, but the legacies of their wartime nursing are remarkably different. ______(2)_______ Those differences are telling, even today. Both Nightingale and Seacole were experienced nurses, though with vastly different styles and goals. Both were deeply moved by patriotism and compassion to nurse British soldiers during the notoriously bloody war fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula, in what is now Russian-occupied Ukraine. ______(4)_______ In The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie remarks upon this contrast: “Here is Mary Seacole, who did as much in the Crimea as another magic-lamping lady, but, being dark, could scarce be seen for the flame of Florence’s candle.”

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph is about two nurses with similar passion and work, who have received different levels of recognition and accolades from the world, presumably because of their race (Seacole being blank, was not recognised for her work and dedication).

The given sentence speaks about how the world treated two similar nurses differently, and logically is suitable for either blank (2) or blank (4). We can select blank (4) with the keywords this contrast in the sentence after blank (4) – which means that the sentence before it has to have some contrast. As the sentence before blank (4) showcases their similarity, we have to fit in the given sentence to bring in the contrast.

The sentence after blank (2) is also referring to those differences, but the sentence before that speaks about their different legacies, which can be those differences.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 4 for this question.

Answer: (4) Option 4

Example 22

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Worse, Mila's form of Batten disease was driven by a unique gene mutation, meaning no existing experimental therapies would work.

Paragraph: In early 2017, a neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital called Timothy Yu began work on the most ambitious project of his life: to design and synthesise an experimental drug for a dying child, within a timeframe of just a few months. ______(1)______ Weeks earlier, Yu had been forwarded a desperate plea made on Facebook from a woman called Julia Vitarello. ______(2)______ Her daughter Mila, then just five years old, had been diagnosed with Batten disease: a rare but devastating neurodegenerative disorder combining symptoms of Parkinson's disease, dementia, and epilepsy. ______(3)______ Rather than accept her daughter's fate, Vitarello became an activist, setting up a foundation in her daughter's name, with the aim of funding a novel gene therapy. ______(4)______ This ultimately led her to Yu.

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph explains how Julia Vitarello raised funds for her daughter Mila, who had a neurodegenerative disorder, collecting enough to ask neurologist Timothy Yu to synthesise medicine for Mila.

The given sentence explains that Mila's version of the disease was unique, which is worse. This helps us infer that this sentence has to come up after Mila is introduced, and after something about her disease is mentioned (as this is even worse). Therefore, blank (3) is suitable for this sentence.

Blanks (1) and (2) can be eliminated, as the given sentence has to come after Mila and her disease have been introduced. Blank (4) is not suitable as it breaks the sequence of the sentences before and after it.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 3 for this question.

Answer: (3) Option 3