C1 Advanced open cloze (Part 2): one word per gap, with practice texts

Open cloze is Part 2 of the C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English paper. You get a text with eight gaps and no options. Each gap needs one word. Most of those words are small ones: a preposition, an auxiliary, a pronoun or a linker. That is why it is easy to lose marks here even with a wide vocabulary.

This guide covers what Part 2 asks, how it is marked, a method for finding the word, and three practice texts from the ScoreFluent bank with answer keys and reasons. For the other Use of English parts, see word formation and key word transformations. The first gap-fill, where you do get options, is the multiple-choice cloze.

What is open cloze in C1 Advanced?

Part 2 is one text with eight gaps and one mark per gap (Cambridge exam format). Cambridge's handbook says the focus of the missing words is either grammatical (articles, auxiliaries, prepositions, pronouns, verb tenses and forms) or lexico-grammatical (phrasal verbs, linkers and words within fixed phrases). The answer is always a single word. Some gaps can be filled from the phrase around them. Others need the paragraph or the whole text (C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers).

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026 against the sources linked above. ScoreFluent is not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

How is open cloze marked?

One mark per correct gap, zero for a wrong or blank one, and no negative marking (information for candidates). Part 2 feeds the Use of English score, which Cambridge bases on Parts 2, 3 and 4 (same source).

The handbook adds the rules that decide marks in practice:

• Write one word. An answer of more than one word will not earn the mark.
• Some gaps accept more than one word, and the mark scheme allows for that. Even so, give only one answer. The candidate guide says not to write alternatives for any question.
• Spelling must be correct. Missing or misused punctuation is ignored.
• No contractions. Cambridge says only full forms should be used.
• On the paper test, write in capital letters on the answer sheet for Parts 2, 3 and 4. In the digital test you type the answer.

How do I find the missing word?

1. Skim the whole text for gist first. Cambridge advises reading the title and text before answering. Then check each answer fits the meaning, the grammar around it and the whole text.
2. Name the word class before you think of the word. Look at the gap and ask: does it need an article, a preposition, an auxiliary, a pronoun, a linker or part of a fixed phrase? A gap before a singular noun with no determiner often needs a. A gap between a noun and a verb often needs a relative pronoun.
3. Read the words on both sides. Adjectives and verbs carry prepositions. In the practice texts below, liable …… erupt needs to, capable …… deterring needs of, and depend …… how needs on.
4. Look for the structure behind the gap. Open cloze texts in our bank often hide a relative clause (where, who, which, whose), an inversion (Had it not been for…, Nor is the answer…) or a comparison pattern (a fraction of what conventional systems cost, so generous as to give away).
5. Write one word and reread the sentence. If the grammar still works and the meaning matches, move on. If you are unsure between two words, choose the one you would use in speech and write only that one.
6. Never leave a gap blank. A wrong answer costs nothing.

Which small words do the practice texts test?

This page does not claim how often Cambridge uses each type. The list below shows what the three practice texts contain:

• Relative pronouns and linkers. Who, where, which, whose, however, despite, rather.
• Prepositions that follow a word. Under pressure, depend on, get out of, capable of, liable to.
• Fixed phrases. Let alone, for their part, per cent, little choice but to.
• Pairs and patterns. Not… but, so… as to, It is only when… that, had it not been for.

What mistakes lose marks in open cloze?

• Writing more than one word. "In spite of" in a gap that takes despite earns nothing, even though the idea is right.
• Using a contraction. Cambridge's handbook says contracted forms such as n't and 'd are not acceptable. Write the full form.
• Guessing meaning, not form. A gap that needs whose is a grammar gap. A synonym will not fit.
• Misspelling a correct word. Check despite and notwithstanding before you move on.
• Leaving the gap empty. One guess beats none.

How should I practise open cloze?

For each missed gap, write three things: the word class, the clue that pointed to it, and the full phrase. For example: "gap 3: who, relative pronoun for people, clue = 'guides …… earn most of their income' (non-defining clause)". After a few texts you will start to see the same small words recurring. Learn those first.

Where can I try C1 Advanced open cloze practice items?

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions)

Each bold number is a gap. Write one word, then open the answer key. Where the key lists two words, either is accepted.

Item 1: Built to bend

When an earthquake strikes, it is rarely the shaking itself that kills people but the buildings that collapse around them. Engineers have learnt that the stiffest structures are not necessarily the safest: one that cannot sway is likely to crack [1] pressure. One solution is to mount a building on rubber bearings, [2] allow the ground to move beneath it while the structure above stays largely still. The technique, known as base isolation, is now used in hospitals and museums, [3] the contents are too precious to risk. Cost is the main obstacle, since isolation can add up to ten [4] cent to a construction bill. Poorer regions, [5] the danger is often greatest, tend to be the least able to afford it. Cheaper alternatives are being tried: in one experiment, old tyres packed with gravel were laid beneath a row of single-storey homes at a fraction of [6] conventional systems cost. Much will depend [7] how the tyres behave after twenty years of use. The aim, as one engineer put it, is not to make buildings immortal but to give people time to get out [8] them.

Item 2: Walking the rim

Every year thousands of visitors climb to the rim of the volcano on the island's southern coast, [1] repeated warnings that the crater is liable [2] erupt without notice. Local guides, [3] earn most of their income from tourism, are caught in a dilemma. [4] it not been for their knowledge of the terrain, many more walkers would have been injured, yet the same guides know that their livelihoods depend on keeping the trails open. It is only [5] the mountain begins to rumble that anyone considers closing them. No amount of signage seems capable [6] deterring the determined, and the authorities, for [7] part, have little choice but [8] accept a degree of risk.

Item 3: The price of a perfect carrot

Supermarkets are often blamed for the mountains of edible food that end up in the bin, and the charge is not wholly unjust. Produce is routinely rejected [1] failing to meet cosmetic standards, and promotions that tempt shoppers to buy more than they need only add to the problem. Consumers, [2], are no less culpable. Much of the food thrown away at home has not gone off [3] merely passed the date on the packet, a date that is a cautious guide [4] than a deadline. [5] is the answer as simple as banning offers or abolishing labels. It would be naive to expect shops to be [6] generous as to give away their surplus, and shoppers are unlikely to welcome blemished fruit, [7] alone pay full price for it. A handful of chains, [8] stores already pass unsold goods to charities, suggest that the waste is not inevitable, only inconvenient to prevent.

How does ScoreFluent practise this part?

The C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English sectional mock test and the full mock test include this task. Results are practice estimates, not official Cambridge scores. New accounts get 40 free credits and credits never expire. There is no subscription, and reading practice is free within a daily limit (pricing). Start with 40 free credits →

Where next: the C1 Advanced hub, the Reading and Use of English guide, the full list of C1 task guides and the C1 Advanced practice test page.

Where did these facts come from?

• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced exam format
• C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers
• C1 Advanced: information for candidates

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026. ScoreFluent is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The practice items above come from ScoreFluent's own bank and are not real exam questions.