CR Complete the Paragraph questions ask you to select the answer choice that best continues the author’s line of reasoning so the paragraph finishes with a clear and logical flow. These questions help you understand how ideas connect, how arguments build, and what kind of statement naturally follows from the information already given. Regular practice with this question type is an essential part of any thorough GMAT preparation course. This page offers you an organized subtopic wise playlist, along with a few worked examples, for efficient preparation of this concept.
Characteristics of a Valid Paragraph Completion Statement
Overview and Approach for Method-of-Reasoning CR Questions
completion questions ask you to bring the entire argument to a close, not just supply a final line. This overview sets the objective: read the paragraph as a whole, note its structure in brief, and select a continuation that respects every key point while using balanced, non-prescriptive language. You will see how alignment of tone, scope, and logical flow leads to the most suitable endings, preparing you for the video and the detailed article that follow. In this short video, you will see the approach explained, tested on problems, and linked to GMAT drills, sectional tests, and full-length GMAT mock tests.
GMAT CR: Approach for Paragraph Completion Questions
Approach for CR Paragraph Completion Questions
GMAT-style CR Complete the Paragraph Questions with Explanations
This section presents a set of GMAT-style Critical Reasoning Complete the Paragraph questions, each followed by a carefully developed, stepwise explanation. Work through every item at a steady, reflective pace and consciously apply the paragraph completion approach and reasoning tools you have just studied on this page for such questions on the GMAT. At this stage, give more importance to using the method accurately and consistently than to simply selecting the option that appears right. After you have chosen your answer, use the explanation toggle to see the credited choice and to review the full descriptive reasoning behind it.
Practice Question 1
Written Explanation
Mind-map: TV ads denounce competitors to proclaim one’s own superiority → practice is unfair and leads to confusion about which products/services are better → the best step to correct this is to _____
Missing-link: Not needed
Expectation from the correct answer choice: Something on the lines of stopping the denouncement of competitors and talking about one’s own products/services instead
A. Restriction based on the closeness of competition will likely lead to denouncing “fewer competitors” but not likely to “correct” the unfair practice. Because this answer choice does not effectively complete the chain of thought developed in the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
B. Restriction based on duration will likely lead to denouncing competitors for “less time” but not likely to “correct” the unfair practice. Because this answer choice does not effectively complete the chain of thought developed in the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
C. Correct. This answer choice, suggesting a legal restriction on mentioning any competitor, directly prevents the “most serious objection” about the denouncement of competitors; although this answer choice does not necessarily remove consumers’ confusion about which products/services are better, this restriction is the “best” step towards correcting the unfair practice, to be followed by an additional measure to remove consumers’ confusion, and effectively completes the chain of thought developed in the passage. Because this answer choice duly completes the passage, this answer choice is correct.
D. Trap. This answer choice, recommending that advertisers inform consumers about the details of their products/services, helps remove consumers’ confusion about which products/services are better but does not necessarily prevent the author’s “most serious objection” about the denouncement of competitors; restriction on the denouncement of competitors is the “best step” towards correcting the unfair practice; this answer choice can stay after the first glance but shall eventually make way for a better, stronger answer choice; we have a more convincing answer choice in C.
E. Restriction based on the number of times does not address the unfair practice and is likely to have other, business consequences; so, this answer choice is out of scope. Further, such a restriction will lead to denouncing competitors for “fewer times” but not likely to “correct” the unfair practice. Because this answer choice does not effectively complete the chain of thought developed in the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
C is the best answer choice.
Practice Question 2
Written Explanation
Mind-map: Energy department: tax breaks → more corporates in city → more energy consumption → increase in energy prices → City council: energy conservation measures effective in tech firms → tax breaks attract tech firms → city council’s outcome unlike to negate the energy department’s outcome because _____
Missing-link: Between the city council’s view that there would be reduction the energy consumption and the energy department’s view that large amounts of electricity would be consumed
Expectation from the correct answer choice: Something on the lines of conservation measures cited by the city council not being sufficient to reduce energy consumption
A. Trap. This answer choice, suggesting that “when tax breaks are offered”, having more corporations headquartered in the city “increases” the average number of conservation measures deployed, would strengthen the city council’s argument that the conservation measures will prevent headquarters from consuming large amounts of electricity; in other words, this answer choice indicates that the outcome cited by the city council “can be expected to negate” the outcome pointed out by the energy department officials, contrary to what the argument mentions. Because this answer choice does not effectively complete the chain of thoughts developed in the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
B. Trap. This answer choice, suggesting that the implementation of the tax breaks takes a year, simply offers additional information about the duration of the process of rolling out tax breaks but makes no suggestion regarding the effect of the tax breaks on energy consumption; so, this answer choice does not explain why the outcome cited by the city council can hardly be expected to negate the outcome pointed out by the energy department officials, thus failing to effectively complete the chain of thoughts developed in the passage. Because this answer choice does not duly complete the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
C. This answer choice, suggesting that tax breaks would lead to lower proportion of corporate revenues spent on energy, indicates a likely “reduction in energy consumption and would strengthen the city council’s argument that the conservation measures will prevent headquarters from consuming large amounts of electricity; in other words, this answer choice indicates that the outcome cited by the city council “can be expected to negate” the outcome pointed out by the energy department officials, contrary to what the argument mentions. Because this answer choice does not effectively complete the chain of thoughts developed in the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
D. This answer choice, suggesting that adequate infrastructure, in addition to tax breaks, is necessary for more corporates to headquarter in the city, makes no suggestion regarding how having more corporates affects energy consumption; so, this answer choice does not explain why the outcome cited by the city council can hardly be expected to negate the outcome pointed out by the energy department officials, thus failing to effectively complete the chain of thoughts developed in the passage. Because this answer choice does not duly complete the passage, this answer choice is incorrect.
E. Correct. This answer choice, suggesting that corporate headquarters not employing conservation measures consume disproportionately high amount of energy, indicates that the city council’s argument that the conservation measures will prevent tech firms’ headquarters from consuming large amounts of electricity is weakened, thus likely failing to address the energy department’s concern about rising energy consumption and increasing energy prices; in other words, this answer choice indicates that the outcome cited by the city council “can hardly be expected to negate” the outcome pointed out by the energy department officials, as the argument mentions. Because this answer choice effectively completes the chain of thoughts developed in the passage, this answer choice is correct.
E is the best choice.
How and Where to Practice GMAT CR Complete the Paragraph Questions
High quality CR Complete the Paragraph questions are not available in large numbers. Among the limited, genuinely strong sources are the official practice materials released by GMAC and the Experts’ Global GMAT course. Within the Experts’ Global GMAT online preparation course, every CR Complete the Paragraph question appears on an exact GMAT like user interface that includes all the real exam tools and features. You work through more than 300 CR Complete the Paragraph questions in quizzes and also take 15 full-length GMAT mock tests that include several CR Complete the Paragraph questions in roughly the same spread and proportion in which they appear on the actual GMAT.
Remember…
All the best!
