A2 Key Exam Guide: Open Cloze
Reading & Writing Paper
Contents
Overview
Context: This part is included in the A2 Key Reading & Writing paper and focuses on grammar and vocabulary in context.
Task: Candidates are presented with a text containing six gaps. They must fill each gap with a single, correct word.
Objective: To demonstrate understanding and use of grammatical forms and structural relationships within sentences.
Scoring & Marks: The six questions are worth six points, so one point for each. There are 60 points available for the whole Reading & Writing paper.
How to Approach
- Skim the Text: Initially, skim the text to understand the topic and overall meaning.
- Consider Options: Think of potential words that could fit each gap, focusing on grammar and meaning.
- Check Grammar and Meaning: Evaluate each option to ensure it fits grammatically and contextually.
- Pay Attention to Spelling: Make sure the spelling of the chosen word is correct.
- Review the Text: After filling all gaps, read the text again to ensure coherence and sense.
Example Question
4. We going to the beach if it's sunny tomorrow.
Assessment Focus
This section assesses understanding of grammatical forms and structural relationships at various levels of the text.
Tips
- Regularly practise filling in gaps in texts to improve grammar and vocabulary skills.
- Focus on different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) and how they fit into sentence structures.
- Read a variety of texts to become familiar with different writing styles and contexts.
- Crossword puzzles and word games can be a fun way to improve vocabulary and understanding of word forms.
- Practise rewriting sentences by changing one word at a time while keeping the meaning similar. This helps in understanding how different words function in a sentence.
How It Looks
Student Suggestion
"Doing lots of open cloze exercises helped me improve not just my grammar but also my understanding of how sentences are structured." - Nadia Ibrahim
Practice Exercises
We have a page on the site to practise: A2 Key - Open Cloze Exercises
