Module 4 · Reading & Listening Strands · Lesson 14
Reading Part 7 Gapped Text
Cohesion, reference and discourse signposts
Warm-up · Section 1
4 minGet talking
In '___ the apps have liberated hours, they have also undermined skills.' What word goes in the gap? Why?
Read aloud: 'This is the move that the best defenders concede.' Does 'this' point BACKWARDS (to something already said) or FORWARDS (to something coming)?
Pick the last paragraph you wrote in any language. How many words point BACKWARDS to a previous sentence? Count them.
Grammar focus · Section 2
8 minReference chains and discourse signposts
Quick rule
A paragraph fits a gap if (a) its first words point BACKWARDS to the previous paragraph's idea, AND (b) its last words set up the next paragraph's idea.
Examples
Backward reference: paragraph starts 'This pattern…' → must follow a paragraph that has just established a pattern.
Signpost contrast: paragraph starts 'However,…' → must follow a paragraph stating something you'd contrast WITH.
Lexical link: paragraph mentions 'the same drift' → must follow a paragraph that mentioned 'drift'.
Forward set-up: paragraph ends 'The remedy, however, is uncomfortable.' → next paragraph likely OPENS with the remedy.
Quick check
Question 1.A candidate paragraph opens with 'These initiatives…'. Which previous paragraph is it most likely to follow?
Question 2.'However, the picture is more complicated.' This opening signals…
Question 3.What does 'do so' in 'Few do so convincingly' need to have in the PREVIOUS sentence?
Question 4.Which is a FORWARD-pointing signal?
Question 5.The strongest match for a gap is the paragraph that…
Vocabulary · Section 3
6 minWords & phrases to own
as a result
consequence linker
e.g. Funding was withdrawn; as a result, the trial stopped.
Use it now
Use 'as a result' to link two events from your week.
↻ Recycled in open cloze · writing micro-task
in particular
to pick out one example
e.g. The report flags many concerns, in particular the data quality.
Use it now
Make a sentence: '…, in particular ______.'
↻ Recycled in reading · speaking
what is more
addition, slightly more formal than 'moreover'
e.g. The trial proved nothing; what is more, the data was lost.
Use it now
Build a 'what is more' add-on to a claim you'd defend.
↻ Recycled in writing · model
by contrast
to set up an explicit comparison
e.g. Output rose 4%. By contrast, the control group dropped 2%.
Use it now
Make one 'by contrast' sentence comparing two of your habits.
↻ Recycled in reading · speaking
in any event
whatever the case; regardless
e.g. The minister may yet resign. In any event, the policy is dead.
Use it now
Use 'in any event' to acknowledge uncertainty and move on.
↻ Recycled in writing · homework
for that reason
because of what was just said
e.g. The findings are inconclusive. For that reason, publication has been delayed.
Use it now
Link any two recent personal facts using 'for that reason'.
↻ Recycled in writing · speaking
Pair / group discussion
- Which discourse markers from today's list do you OVERUSE? Which do you under-use?
- When you read a well-organised English text, which markers do you NOTICE most often?
Complete each stem about yourself
- Funding was cut; as a result, ______.…
- The findings were positive — what is more, ______.…
- In any event, the decision now rests with ______.…
Quick write (60 seconds)
Write a 3-sentence mini-paragraph using THREE different discourse markers from today.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3 minReductions in discourse markers
Spoken discourse markers REDUCE. 'As a result' becomes /əz ə rɪˈzʌlt/, 'what is more' becomes /ˈwɒtɪz ˌmɔː/. Drill aloud so your spoken English sounds connected, not staccato.
- əz ə rɪˈzʌlt, the project stopped.
- What is more, the data was lost.
- By contrast, the control group rose.
- In any event, the decision is final.
Reading · Section 5
8 minWhy long-form arguments lose their readers
Editorial workshop · gapped-text practice
Why long-form arguments lose their readers
A long-form argument that loses its reader has, almost always, lost its COHESION before it lost their attention. The fix is craft, not charisma.
Every editor I know has, in the last year, run the same workshop. A young writer hands in 1,200 words on a serious subject. The writer knows the material. The reader, by the end of the third paragraph, is gone.
[GAP 1]
The writer's instinct, at this point, is usually to add MORE — more examples, more colour, more rhetorical questions. The reader's defection has nothing to do with quantity, however; it has to do with the invisible thread between paragraphs.
[GAP 2]
In any event, the cure is not difficult; it is merely unglamorous. Number every paragraph in a long draft and write, in the margin, one sentence stating what it CONNECTS TO in the paragraph before. If you cannot, the paragraph is floating, and a floating paragraph will lose you a reader.
[GAP 3]
By contrast, a paragraph that opens with a clear backward reference and closes with a clear forward set-up will hold a reader through almost any subject matter, however technical. The writer has done the work the reader would otherwise have to do.
Question 1.For GAP 1, which paragraph best fits?
Question 2.For GAP 2, which paragraph best fits?
Question 3.For GAP 3, which paragraph best fits?
Question 4.Why does GAP 1's correct paragraph fit BOTH directions?
Listening · Section 6
8 minEditor reads two candidates aloud
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.
Show transcript
Bryn Davies, Editor (m, Welsh):Let me read you two candidates for the second gap. One fits; one looks like it fits and doesn't. First the one that fits: 'This invisible thread is what we call cohesion: the small backward references and forward signposts that tell the reader the writer has not lost them. When it disappears, the reader follows.' Hear it? 'This invisible thread' — it picks up the previous paragraph's 'the invisible thread between paragraphs'. Backward reference, direct lexical link. And it CLOSES on 'the reader follows', which sets up the next paragraph's diagnosis of the cure.
Bryn Davies, Editor (m, Welsh):Now the candidate that looks plausible but isn't: 'Editors often suggest a particular technique: read your draft aloud. This catches rhythm problems but does very little for cohesion.' This one is interesting because the topic is right — it's about editorial fixes. But the OPENING doesn't pick up the invisible-thread metaphor; it pivots to a completely different remedy. And the CLOSING — 'does very little for cohesion' — would force the next paragraph to be about a different fix, not the cohesion fix the actual next paragraph delivers. Topic match, cohesion mismatch. That's the classic Part 7 trap.
Question 1.Why does Bryn say the FIRST candidate fits?
Question 2.What does Bryn call the SECOND candidate?
Question 3.What is Bryn's general rule?
Visual stimulus · Section 7
3 minHow a Part 7 page looks
A long base text with six numbered gaps, and seven labelled candidate paragraphs (A–G). One candidate is the distractor.
Discuss in pairs
For each chosen gap, write next to it the EXACT lexical link backwards AND the EXACT lexical link forwards.
Exam skills · Section 8
3 minReading Part 7 — backwards-and-forwards cohesion match
Strategy
- 1.(1 min) Read the base text top-to-bottom, ignoring the gaps. Get the gist.
- 2.Mark the LAST sentence before each gap and the FIRST sentence after.
- 3.For each candidate paragraph, identify its OPENING reference and its CLOSING signal.
- 4.Match: candidate's opening ↔ previous paragraph's closing AND candidate's closing ↔ next paragraph's opening.
- 5.Solve the easiest 2–3 first; eliminate as you go.
Example
Base paragraph ends: '…the invisible thread between paragraphs.' Candidate A opens: 'This invisible thread is what we call cohesion…' → backward link CONFIRMED. Candidate A closes: '…the reader follows.' Next base paragraph opens: 'In any event, the cure is not difficult…' → forward link sets up the cure. BOTH directions match — A is the answer.
Practice · Section 9
7 minFill in the blank
Question 1.Open Cloze: 'Funding was withdrawn; ____ a result, the trial stopped.'
Question 2.Open Cloze: 'The report flags many concerns, ____ particular the data quality.'
Question 3.Open Cloze: '____ contrast, the control group dropped by 2%.'
Question 4.Open Cloze: '____ any event, the policy is now dead.'
Question 5.Open Cloze: '____ is more, the data was lost during the migration.'
Question 6.Open Cloze: 'The findings are inconclusive. ____ that reason, publication has been delayed.'
Question 7.Open Cloze: 'This is the diagnosis ____ the best editors all agree on.'
Question 8.Open Cloze: 'Few writers do ____ convincingly when pressed.'
Q1.ONE WORD ONLY — open cloze: 'The trial failed; ____ a result, the funding was withdrawn.'
Q2.ONE WORD ONLY — open cloze: '____ contrast to the control group, our cohort improved.'
Q3.ONE WORD ONLY — open cloze: '____ any event, the decision now rests with the board.'
Writing · Section 10
4 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 60–80-word paragraph that COULD plausibly be inserted as a 'GAP 4' in today's text — between the existing paragraph 3 ('In any event, the cure is not difficult…') and paragraph 4 ('By contrast, a paragraph that opens with a clear backward reference…'). Your paragraph MUST link backwards AND forwards.
- • Open with a clear backward reference (pronoun / 'this' / lexical pick-up).
- • Close with a forward signpost the next paragraph can naturally pick up with 'By contrast'.
- • Use TWO discourse markers from today's list.
Before you submit
- ☐ Word count 60–80.
- ☐ Opening points backwards explicitly.
- ☐ Closing prepares 'By contrast' to make sense.
- ☐ Two of today's markers used naturally.
Show model answer
This unglamorous habit, in particular, can feel pedantic in the first week. As a result, many writers abandon it before it has had time to bed in. What is more, the practice exposes how often a paragraph one was fond of turns out to be FLOATING — connected to nothing. The discomfort is real, and it is the single best diagnostic a young writer has. A paragraph that survives the margin-test is a paragraph that earns its place. (78 words)
Speaking · Section 11
6 minMake it a real conversation
Defend-your-choice pairs. Student A picks any one gap from the reading task and reads aloud the candidate they chose. Student B asks: 'What does this paragraph LINK BACKWARDS to?' and 'What does it SET UP FORWARDS?'. Student A must answer in 30 seconds, citing exact words. Swap. 5 minutes.
Useful phrases
- This paragraph links backwards to the phrase '…' in the previous paragraph.
- It sets up the next paragraph because it ends on '…'.
- I rejected candidate ___ because, although the topic matched, the cohesion didn't.
- The key reference word is '…', which points to '…'.
- In any event, the strongest evidence here is the lexical repetition of '…'.
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Stretches. ~22 min total
Homework · Section 12
Take-homeTake it home
Find a long-form article (>1,200 words) online. Number every paragraph. In the margin next to each, write ONE sentence stating the BACKWARD link to the previous paragraph and ONE for the FORWARD set-up. Flag any 'floating' paragraph.
Write a 200-word piece on any topic of your choice, applying the margin discipline as you draft. After each paragraph, write the backward and forward links in your draft notes.
Complete an 8-gap Open Cloze drill. Each gap is ONE word only.
questions · Eight open cloze gaps
- 1. The funding was withdrawn; ____ a result, the trial stopped.
- 2. ____ particular, we are concerned about the data quality.
- 3. ____ contrast, the older group performed worse.
- 4. ____ any event, the deadline cannot now be moved.
- 5. ____ is more, the original author has withdrawn support.
- 6. ____ that reason, publication will be delayed.
- 7. This is the cohesion failure ____ the best editors always flag.
- 8. Few writers do ____ convincingly when pressed by an editor.
Record a 90-second monologue explaining your reading-comprehension method to a friend who is preparing for the exam. Use at least 4 of today's discourse markers.
Recap · Section 13
Wrap-upWhat you've learned
- Part 7 tests COHESION, not content. Follow the thread, not the story.
- Every chosen paragraph must connect BACKWARDS to the previous and FORWARDS to the next.
- Topic match without cohesion match is the classic trap — verbalise the lexical link before choosing.
- Open Cloze (Part 2) tests the SAME muscle — small connector words that hold a text together.