Text Completion: signal words that set the direction

Signals tell you the direction

The clue in a Text Completion tells you what the blank is about. A signal word tells you which way to go from the clue: towards it or away from it. "She was usually talkative, and at dinner she was ______" and "She was usually talkative, but at dinner she was ______" have the same clue and opposite answers. Reading signal words carefully is the cheapest skill in the Verbal measure: it costs no vocabulary and often decides the answer on its own.

The main families

Family	Common signals	Effect on the blank
Contrast	although, though, but, yet, however, despite, while, whereas, far from, rather than, instead of, nevertheless	opposite of the clue
Continuation	and, moreover, indeed, in fact, similarly, likewise, not only ... but also, a colon or semicolon	same as the clue
Cause and effect	because, since, so, therefore, thus, consequently, so ... that, as a result	the blank causes, or follows from, the clue
Time contrast	once, formerly, until recently, at first ... later, now	the earlier state differs from the later one
Surprise	surprisingly, ironically, paradoxically, unexpectedly	the blank goes against what you would expect

The surprise family deserves attention. "Ironically, the novelist whose books celebrate conversation was, in person, almost painfully ______" tells you the blank is the opposite of what the books would suggest: someone who barely speaks.

Where to look

Signals do not always sit next to the blank. "Although" at the start of a sentence governs the relationship between its two clauses, wherever the blank is. A colon in the middle of a sentence turns everything after it into an explanation of what came before. Mark the signal, then ask which two parts of the passage it connects; the blank is in one part and the clue is in the other.

Negatives count as reversals

A "not", "hardly", "never", "far from" or "anything but" reverses meaning just as "although" does. When a sentence has two reversals, they can cancel. Take: "Although the drug's side effects were not ______, regulators approved it." Work it in two steps:

1. "Although" says the first clause gives a reason against approval.
2. So "the side effects were not ______" must describe side effects that argue against approval: serious ones. The words that do that after "not" are words meaning small or harmless: not negligible, not trivial.

The quick way to handle a double reversal is to rewrite the clause without the negative ("the side effects were serious") and then put the negative back on the blank ("not negligible").

"Not only ... but also" is not a contrast

"But" here adds rather than opposes: "not only cheap but also durable" lists two good things. Read the whole construction, not the single word.

Some signals are implied

Sometimes no signal word is printed and the contrast comes from the facts. "The critics expected a disaster. The film earned more than any other that year." The second sentence surprises the first without a "but". Ask: does the rest of the passage confirm or overturn the clue? The answer gives you the direction.

A routine that works

1. Find the clue for the blank.
2. Find the signal that links the clue to the blank, including any negatives.
3. Decide: same direction or opposite?
4. Predict, then match.

With practice the first three steps take a few seconds. They also explain most wrong answers you make: when you review a missed Text Completion, the first thing to check is whether you read the signal the wrong way.