IPMAT Indore 2023 · Verbal Ability · Question 13

Step 1 — note what the last sentence sets up. “Correa avoided high-rise housing solutions.” That is a statement of what he did not do, and it leaves an obvious gap: what did he do instead?

Step 2 — the blank must complete the contrast. Option (a) supplies exactly the positive counterpart:

“He focused on low-rise dwelling solutions that emphasized the human scale and created a sense of community”

It also picks up “quasi-rural housing environments” from the previous sentence — human scale and community are what distinguishes a quasi-rural settlement from a tower block.

Step 3 — eliminate.

(b) Traditional values and Modernist materials — a new axis (old vs modern) that the paragraph has not raised, and about materials rather than housing form.

(c) Climate — plausible of Correa in general, but nothing in the paragraph prepares it, and climate does not explain avoiding high-rises.

(d) Sensitivity to the urban poor — true of Correa and tempting, since the paragraph mentions housing for many people. But it describes a motivation, not the alternative he adopted, and leaves “avoided high-rise” hanging.

Answer: Option 1

Shortcut. A “not X” sentence demands a “but Y” follow-up. The paragraph ends on what Correa avoided, so the blank almost certainly names what he chose instead — and only one option contains the direct antonym, low-rise.

That single word-pair (high-rise / low-rise) decides the question without weighing any of the other three.

The general rule for para completion: when the preceding sentence is negative or exclusionary, the blank supplies the positive alternative. Options offering a reason, a motivation or a new theme are filling a gap the paragraph did not open.