Match missing sentences by cohesion
Reconstruct an Arabic text by using reference words, connectors, time order and repeated ideas to place six missing sentences from eight options.
Exam scope and assessment notes
StudyForA lessons and questions are original and are not Cambridge materials. Answers to language and literature responses are examples for self-review, not Cambridge marks or grades; ask a qualified Arabic teacher to review extended writing and interpretation. This route is not a full timed specimen paper. The 9865 grammar-and-structures list is a separate, non-exhaustive Cambridge document and has not yet been reconciled item by item. Literature set-text passages are not reproduced; use the correct books and pages for your examination year. Cambridge has not yet published past papers, examiner reports or example candidate responses for this new qualification.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should you inspect around a sentence gap?
What you will learn
- Use surrounding sentences to identify a gap's role.
- Track pronouns, demonstratives, connectors and repeated vocabulary.
- Eliminate distractor sentences that break chronology or reference.
Paper 1 Questions 20–25
Candidates read a text with six missing sentences and choose the best sentence from eight options. Two options are not used.
Read the sentence before and after each gap. Determine whether the gap gives a cause, example, contrast, result or time step before comparing options.
Follow the links
A pronoun such as «ذلك» (that) needs a clear reference. A connector such as «بعد ذلك» requires an earlier step. A repeated noun or synonym can show the topic link.
Try an option, then reread the paragraph with it in place. A sentence may fit the topic but still disrupt tense, chronology or the writer's line of thought.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What does «بعد ذلك» require?
Worked example
Text: «أنشأت الحديقة مساحة لزراعة الخضروات. ___. وفي نهاية الموسم، تقاسم المشاركون المحصول.» Which sentence best fits?
Show the worked solution
- The final sentence describes a shared harvest.
- The gap likely explains what participants did during the season.
- Choose a sentence with a plural group and a later time sequence.
Answer A fitting original sentence is «عملت مجموعة من السكان معاً واعتنت بالنباتات أسبوعياً.» ('A group of residents worked together and cared for the plants weekly.') The plural group links to «المشاركون» and prepares for the harvest.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Choose what type of sentence fits: «أعلنت البلدية عن مسار جديد للدراجات. ___. لذلك طلب السكان إضافة إضاءة عند التقاطعات.» What link is missing?
Give me a hint
The next sentence begins with «therefore», so look for a concern that explains the request.
Compare my reasoning
- Read the consequence after the gap.
- Infer the concern that could lead to a lighting request.
- Choose an option that supports, not contradicts, the consequence.
A suitable original sentence would say that riders found several crossings difficult to see after dark. That concern explains the request for lighting; other wording is possible if it establishes the same link.
Look for these in your work
- Uses the following consequence
- Provides a logical cause
- Does not reverse the sequence
An option begins «على الرغم من ذلك» ('despite that'). What must the previous context contain?
Give me a hint
Look for an obstacle or contrasting fact the next sentence can qualify.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the phrase's contrast function.
- Find a previous fact it can contrast with.
- Check that the sentence after the gap continues coherently.
The preceding context should establish a result, expectation or difficulty that the next sentence contrasts with. The option is unsuitable if there is no clear 'that' for the reader to understand.
Look for these in your work
- Explains the connector
- Names the required antecedent
- Checks forward cohesion
Two options both discuss transport, but one shifts from past tense to an unexplained future prediction. How can the surrounding text help you choose?
Give me a hint
Track the text's time sequence and whether a prediction is introduced.
Compare my reasoning
- Mark the events before and after the gap.
- Check which tense continues the sequence.
- Look for a signal that justifies a future prediction.
Choose the option that continues the established timeline unless the text clearly shifts to a forecast. Topic fit alone cannot repair an unexplained tense or time shift.
Look for these in your work
- Uses chronology
- Checks tense consistency
- Looks for a textual reason for a shift
Common mistakes
- Choosing by topic alone
- Ignoring what a pronoun refers to
- Using «بعد ذلك» when no earlier event is established
What can you explain now?
Why does the plural group in the inserted sentence help?
Compare with the explanation
It links to the later word «المشاركون»
The reference and event sequence fit across both sides of the gap.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Name two links that can make a sentence fit a gap beyond sharing the same topic.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.