Reading Comprehension

Paragraph Completion

When preparing for competitive exams such as IBPS and other banking exams, students should pay special attention to the area of Reading Comprehension. Not only is it important from an exam point of view, but also enhances your grip on the language and its understanding in general. Let us now learning the finer aspects and some tips that will help you with paragraph completion.

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Paragraph Completion

Paragraph Completion

Just as we have seen sentence completion or sentence fillers, paragraph completion is of similar nature. Here you have to pick the best option (from the given options) that perfectly fits into the paragraph provided. So in nature, it is very similar to sentence fillers. And our technique for tackling such questions is similar as well.

Generally, the sentence which finishes and completes the paragraph comes during the last part of the paragraph (i.e. the concluding sentence). However, this is not always the case. There can be three types of sentences for paragraph completion. These are,

  • Initiating Sentence: Where you have to figure out what the starting sentence of the paragraph must be. A perfect introductory statement.
  • Connecting Sentence: A sentence that acts as a connector between the initiating and concluding sentences.
  • Concluding Sentence: This is the most difficult one. Your choice of the last sentence must perfectly pair with the rest of the paragraph and conclude it in a logical and complete manner.

Tips for Paragraph Completion

1] Concept of the Passage

The first step in paragraph completion is to understand the concept and scope of the passage. So you must figure out what the passage talks about and to what extent.

So if any of the options are outside the scope of the passage, they are eliminated from being the answer. Such a process of elimination will ultimately make your choice simpler.

Say for example the passage talks about climate change in India. And one of the options talks about the economic conditions of the USA. Then you know that this option is unrelated to the paragraph.

2] Tone of the Paragraph

The tone of a paragraph is represented by the views and opinions of the author. By reading the paragraph carefully, we can determine the mood of the author towards the topic in question.

The tone can be objective in nature too, where the author does not choose sides. Hence the tone will be neutral in such a case.

But in certain cases, the author will take a more subjective approach. And by paying attention to the adjectives and phrases we can easily figure out if the tone of the author is negative or positive. This will help us in making the selection of the best choice for paragraph completion.

3] Direction of the Paragraph

When reading the passage, keep a lookout for events or transitional sentences. These will dictate the direction the passage is taking. Also, try to purview the logical reasoning behind the direction of the passage. This will help you in eliminating some of the options that seem to take a diverse direction.

For example, if the passage is about the ill effects of global warming, and one of the passage suggests promoting plastic usage, you can easily eliminate this option.

Practice Question on Paragraph Completion

Q: Chose the most appropriate option for paragraph completion,

India, ever since independence has been a labor-intensive economy. It has been a factor for many industries, the advantage India provides cheap skilled and unskilled labor. While this is an initial advantage, it is not an enduring advantage. For one, as the products get more sophisticated, the price of labor gets less important a factor. Then, the increasing level of automation narrows the cost advantage of cheap labor. And any poorer country can provide cheaper labor to compete with India. Thus, to remain competitive, India needs to, __________

  1. Ensure to maintain its advantage by constantly lowering labor prices
  2. Try to avoid competition with countries providing cheaper labor
  3. develop other advantages to compensate for the inevitable loss from a temporary advantage
  4. keep on its path without worry

Ans: The correct answer is C. It is the only option that matches the tone and the direction of the passage. It concludes the paragraph logically and in agreement with the sentiments of the author.

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