To gain mastery over paragraph completion questions with higher difficulty, the candidates have to look into the previous papers like CAT, XAT. And solve topic-based tests on these concepts, so that the student will be able to solve questions involving 2-3 variable in a timed manner. They can find out more examples of para completions.

Rules to crack Para Completion.

Rule 1 for cracking Paragraph Completion Questions:

“Sentiment is a chemical defect found in the losing side.” – From A Scandal in Belgravia

While answering Paragraph Completion questions, the most important thing to remember is not to approach the answer option subjectively.

Sherlock often puts himself in the criminal’s shoes. He is able to keep his emotions, and more importantly his own perspective, out of the equation. He picks up clues from the observed behavior of his target and foresees the next step the criminal would take – however unlikely that step may seem.

Similarly, it is not about what in my opinion, or yours, should be the ending of the paragraph. It is for both of us to objectively follow the train of the writer’s thought, pick up the clues that exist in the paragraph, and reach the intended conclusion.

This conclusion must achieve the following:

a) It must be a value addition to the given Paragraph

b) It must preserve the unity of thought and structure

c) It must be consistent in tone with the given Paragraph

This does not seem very difficult. Yet, we may unconsciously depart from the criteria while looking at the answer options. If we do not lose sight of the above objectives, the rest is usually a simple process of observing the standard patterns.

Rule 2 for cracking Para Completion Questions:

“From a drop of water a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other.” – from A Study in Scarlet

Do not wait till the clues present themselves. Read the paragraph with utmost involvement. Imagine that you are listening to the writer. Try to foresee what is coming, and pick up clues that may present a hint of any of the following patterns.

1. Cause – effect: One of the most common conclusion patterns. The paragraph presents us with causes, and the correct answer option presents us with the logical effect. Do remember that the effect cannot be in contradiction with the causes. In rare cases, effects are discussed in the paragraph, and the cause is inferred in the answer option.
2. Course-of-action: The paragraph presents us with a situation, and the correct answer offers a probable course of action.

Try to foresee what is coming, and pick up clues that may present a hint of any of the following patterns.

1. A contrasting option: The paragraph presents us with a viewpoint, or several view points, elaborating on one side of the story. The correct answer option may present us with another side of the story. This is a potentially dangerous situation, as the test taker must be wary of the answer options that contradict the contents of the Paragraph instead of contrasting them. Contrast offers us an opposing viewpoint without invalidating the other. Contradiction essentially refutes what the given Paragraph asserts. Remember, the writer of the Paragraph will not ever sabotage his/her own argument.
2. Chronological order: The paragraph may present us with a series of events following a definite and linear timeline. The correct answer option may extend it further. Be wary of the answer options that are far removed from the timeline in the Paragraph.
3. A problem-solution approach: The Paragraph offers us a problem or a problematic situation, and the correct answer option may be a solution to the given problem. The solution may be either of the two types. Namely A – what can be done, and B – what could have been done.
4. Theory-Illustration: The paragraph contains a theory or more likely a theoretical discussion, and the correct answer option offers an example to explain it. Remember, the wrong answers may contain examples that disprove the theory, instead of accomplishing the opposite.
5. Reinforcement of an argument: Another extremely common Paragraph structure. The Paragraph contains the argument, and the correct answer option the appropriate substantiation of it. Do remember that wrong answer may inadequately support the argument.

Rule 3 for cracking Para Completion Questions:

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” – From The Sign of Four

Elimination can often be as effective a strategy as selection. The following kind of answer options are usually the wrong ones.

1. Irrelevant: Such answer options are the conclusions which are either entirely unrelated to or only vaguely related to the Paragraph. If they are the latter, they do not present us with any reason why they should be the concluding lines.
2. Repetition: A theme cannot be extended by repeating either directly or indirectly what has been stated earlier. Do not forget the “completion” part. It only makes sense if the information in the last line is a value addition to the Paragraph that precedes it.
3. Contradiction: The last line cannot disprove what the Paragraph has tried to prove.
4. Too broad: This is the kind of answer option that magnifies the scope of the argument beyond reasonable. For example, the Paragraph may only be about who will be the next governor of Texas, and the (incorrect) answer option concludes by suddenly raising the topic of the next US president.

The more following kind of answer options are usually the wrong ones.

1. Too narrow – Here the incorrect answer option focuses pointlessly on a very minor aspect of the Paragraph, and therefore fails to complete the grander theme of the passage.
2. Inconsistent tone – Be wary of the options that are clearly out of sync with the tone of the passage. The most common type of this is a Paragraph that is formal in tone and the proposed conclusion that is extremely informal.
3. New themes – Perhaps the most deceptive of all. Such new themes are always related to the ongoing discussion in the Paragraph, but they cannot be immediately introduced. The writer may talk about them in the next Paragraph, or the one after that, but not in the given Paragraph. Ask yourself: Is this option likely to end this Paragraph, or is it more likely to start the next Paragraph? If it is the latter, you are looking at a wrong answer.

Rule 4 for cracking Paragraph Completion Questions:

Solving Paragraph Completion questions requires a combination of observation, deduction, empathy, and most importantly instinct. A Paragraph Completion question of even moderate difficulty requires us to take a bit of risk. Do not hesitate to take your chances, for the only way to learn what to do is to first learn what not to.

“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt” – from The Yellow Face

Video’s that could help aspirant.

Solved example for more clarity.

For example:

1. The idea that we get dumber as we grow older is just a myth, according to brain research that will encourage anyone old enough to know better.
2. It is time we rethink what we mean by the ageing mind before our false assumptions result in decisions and policies that marginalize the old or waste precious public resources to re-mediate problems that do not exist.
3. Many of the assumptions scientists currently make about ‘cognitive decline’ are seriously flawed and, for the most part, formally invalid.
4. Using computer models to simulate young and old brains, Ramscar and his colleagues found they could account for the decline in test scores simply by factoring in experience. [CAT 2020]

Answer:

This paragraph discusses the growing aging populace and need to identify how they can be contributors to the society.
Choice (2) continues the line of thought about not wasting public resources based on existing assumptions about cognitive decline with age. Then Choice (4) is also eliminated right away. As it talks of a “decline in test scores”, the test not detailed here.
Choice (1) is incorrect as it doesn’t talk of the aged in the society, just lays down the basic premise that they are not on the path of mental decline. This would have been discussed before the paragraph. We are trying to complete begins.
Choice (3) builds on the idea discussed by choice (1) and doesn’t fit as well as (2) to complete the paragraph.
Sentences 3 and 2 go together, as do 1 and 4.
The question is ” Choose the Sentence that completes the Paragraph “
Hence, the answer is Sentence 2
Choice 2 is the correct answer.

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