Closet Test

What you need to understand

Many blanks sit inside a fixed expression - by hand, as a result, in spite of - and a fixed expression cannot be varied. Only one word completes it.

The other blanks are already filled in when you are asked about one, which is deliberate. The answer to one blank often settles the next.

A word that fits the meaning but breaks the expression is still wrong. By hand and with hand mean similar things and only one of them is English.

Read the whole sentence the blank sits in, not only the words either side of it. The subject of a verb may be three words away.

The passage carries its own clues. A phrase repeated later in the passage is usually the answer to an earlier blank.

Register matters too. A formal passage does not want a conversational word, and one odd word will read badly even if the grammar allows it.

How to work through these questions

Read the whole passage once with the blanks filled in from the answers given. Getting the sense first makes the single blank much easier.

Look at the words either side of the blank, then widen to the whole clause.

Ask whether the blank is inside a fixed expression. If it is, the expression decides the answer and nothing else needs to be weighed.

If it is not a fixed expression, ask what the grammar of the position requires: an article, a preposition, a relative pronoun, a form of the verb.

Check the candidate word against the rest of the passage. A word that fits the sentence but clashes with the passage is not the answer.

Read the completed sentence aloud in your head. A fixed expression that has been broken is audible even when it is hard to explain.

Mistakes that cost marks

Choosing a word that fits the meaning but not the expression, as in with hand for by hand.
Answering from the immediate context alone when the evidence is in the previous sentence.
Assuming the blank must be a content word when it is a preposition or an article.
Ignoring the other blanks. They are filled in because they are meant to help.
Filling the blank with a word that repeats one already used nearby, which the passage is unlikely to do.

Worked example

The work had to be done (1) ______, because no machine could reach the bank. Choose the word for blank (1): by, with, from, of.

Look at the words either side of the blank: done ... hand.
Recognise the expression. Hand with a preposition before it and nothing else between is by hand, meaning without machinery.
Test the alternatives. With hand, from hand and of hand are not expressions in English at all.
Check against the passage. The sentence goes on to say that no machine could reach the bank, which is exactly what by hand describes.
The answer is by.

Answer: by

Practice questions with answers

A few Closet Test questions with the full solution shown, so you can see how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.

Question 1

The first railways were built to carry coal, and only later did they carry passengers. A line had to be level, as the engines of the day could not climb a slope. Where a hill could not be avoided a tunnel was cut through it, and across a valley a viaduct was raised across it. Of course both were expensive. On the whole the money was found, and in the end the price of coal in the town fell by half. That fall came about (6) ______ a result of the railway, not of any change in the mines.

Choose the word that belongs in the blank marked (6).

A by
B in
C for
D as

Answer: Option D — with explanation

The blank is fixed by the expression it stands in, so the word that belongs there is 'as'.\nEach of the other options breaks that expression, and a phrase that is fixed cannot be varied. Common mistakes - 'by' does not form the expression this blank stands in: by - 'in' does not form the expression this blank stands in: in - 'for' does not form the expression this blank stands in: for

Question 2

Migrating birds rest at staging sites along the journey. A bird that cannot find one may arrive (1) ______ weak to breed. The sites matter as much as the breeding ground itself, and as a rule a route fails when the sites are lost. Protecting the route therefore means protecting a series of places instead of just one. On the whole, the sites are cheaper to protect than the grounds at either end, and they are often overlooked.

Select the word for blank (1).

A much
B too
C very
D so

Answer: Option B — with explanation

The blank is fixed by the expression it stands in, so the word that belongs there is 'too'.\nEach of the other options breaks that expression, and a phrase that is fixed cannot be varied. Common mistakes - 'so' does not form the expression this blank stands in: so - 'very' does not form the expression this blank stands in: very - 'much' does not form the expression this blank stands in: much

Question 3

Sand dunes move slowly inland. As a rule they advance only a few metres in a year, but by the time a dune reaches a road the damage is hard to undo. The sand is lifted where the wind is strongest and settles again (3) ______ soon as the wind drops. Planting marram grass is the usual remedy, because the roots bind the sand. The grass has to be fenced against grazing animals for the first two seasons.

Choose the word that belongs in the blank marked (3).

A too
B such
C as
D so

Answer: Option C — with explanation

The blank is fixed by the expression it stands in, so the word that belongs there is 'as'.\nEach of the other options breaks that expression, and a phrase that is fixed cannot be varied. Common mistakes - 'too' does not form the expression this blank stands in: too - 'so' does not form the expression this blank stands in: so - 'such' does not form the expression this blank stands in: such

Question 4

Migrating birds rest at staging sites along the journey. A bird that cannot find one may arrive too weak to breed. The sites matter (2) ______ much as the breeding ground itself, and as a rule a route fails when the sites are lost. Protecting the route therefore means protecting a series of places instead of just one. On the whole, the sites are cheaper to protect than the grounds at either end, and they are often overlooked.

Select the word for blank (2).

A so
B as
C too
D such

Answer: Option B — with explanation

The blank is fixed by the expression it stands in, so the word that belongs there is 'as'.\nEach of the other options breaks that expression, and a phrase that is fixed cannot be varied. Common mistakes - 'too' does not form the expression this blank stands in: too - 'so' does not form the expression this blank stands in: so - 'such' does not form the expression this blank stands in: such

Question 5

Paper is repulped by soaking it in water until the fibres separate. The pulp is washed to remove the ink, (1) ______ leaves a sludge that has to be dealt with. Recycled paper is weaker, so it is used for newspapers rather than for books. For instance, a book is expected to last for decades, and paper that has been repulped six times will not. In fact recycling saves trees, but it is not free of cost. On the whole, the saving is real but smaller than it first appears.

Choose the word that belongs in the blank marked (1).

A which
B whose
C who
D what

Answer: Option A — with explanation

The blank is fixed by the expression it stands in, so the word that belongs there is 'which'.\nEach of the other options breaks that expression, and a phrase that is fixed cannot be varied. Common mistakes - 'whose' does not form the expression this blank stands in: whose - 'who' does not form the expression this blank stands in: who - 'what' does not form the expression this blank stands in: what

Frequently asked questions

Is a closet test the same as a cloze test?

Yes. The name is a long-standing corruption of cloze, which comes from closure. The two words mean the same exercise: a passage with words removed.

Why are the other blanks already filled in?

Because a reader cannot choose a word for one blank while four others are open. The answers to the other blanks are part of the evidence for the one you are asked about.

Should I read the whole passage or just the sentence?

The whole passage, at least once. The strongest clue for a blank is often a phrase that appears again further on.

What if two options both seem to fit?

One of them breaks a fixed expression. Test each candidate by putting it back and reading the clause; the expression will only survive one of them.