A distractor is an option built to look correct. To reject it, test it against the whole passage, not only the sentence nearest the gap.
This lesson is part of gapped text and information transfer. For the same skill on longer reading passages, see reading decisions when distractors look plausible.
What do distractors look like?
Three types appear again and again. Learn the names, because naming the fault helps you reject the option faster.
- Right words, wrong link. It copies words from the passage but changes who does what.
- True but off topic. The statement is correct in general, but the paragraph is not about it.
- Too strong. It turns “some” into “all” or “sometimes” into “always”.
Worked example: one gap, three options
Here is an original passage about a bus service.
“Commuters in Taman Melor complained about the late morning bus for two years. [GAP] As a result, the new schedule begins next Monday.”
Option A: “The bus company finally agreed to start the route twenty minutes earlier.”
Option B: “Commuters in Taman Melor always travel by bus.”
Option C: “There had been two years of complaints about the late bus.”
Test each against the whole passage.
Option B is too strong. “Always” is not supported, and the final sentence is about a schedule, not habits.
Option C is right words, wrong link: it repeats “two years” and “complaints” but gives no reason for the new schedule.
Option A gives the decision that “As a result” needs. It fits the sentence before (complaints) and the sentence after (new schedule).
The routine: three questions
Ask these in order for every option you are tempted by.
- Does it agree with the sentence before the gap?
- Does it give the sentence after the gap what that sentence needs, such as a cause for “As a result”?
- Does anything in it go further than the passage allows?
An option must pass all three. Failing one is enough to reject it.
The mistake: checking only one side
A student who reads only the sentence before the gap may choose Option C, because it repeats the complaint theme. It passes question one and fails question two.
| Option | Before the gap | After the gap | Overstates? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | fits | gives the cause | no |
| B | weak | no link | yes, “always” |
| C | repeats only | adds no cause | no |
The fix is to read one sentence on each side of the gap before judging.
Check yourself
“The school canteen ran out of nasi lemak by 9 a.m. [GAP] Therefore, the canteen will now prepare a larger batch each morning.” Choose the best sentence: (A) “Nasi lemak is a popular breakfast dish in Malaysia.” (B) “Dozens of students had queued early and still went without breakfast.” (C) “All students prefer nasi lemak to other food.”
Answer
Option B. It explains why a larger batch is needed, which “Therefore” requires, and it follows the canteen running out.
Option A is true but off topic. Option C is too strong: “all students prefer” is not supported, and it does not explain the larger batch.
What to study next
Test all four skills on the cluster practice set. Record any option you rejected wrongly in a mistake log.
For a teacher to go through your rejections with you, see online one-to-one English tuition.