IPMAT Indore 2024 · Verbal Ability · Question 31

Blank 3 is the fastest — start there. We need a verb that takes “informed citizenship and democratic values” as its object in a positive sense.

inhibiting (a) means holding back — the exact opposite of what media literacy is said to be “vital for”. ✘ Option (a) dies here.

serving, furthering, fostering are all positive; this blank alone does not separate them.

Blank 1 — how do you navigate a flood of data? The skill named in the same sentence is critical thinking, so the adverb must mean with discernment.

discerningly ✔ — perceiving distinctions, judging quality. It is the adverb of critical thinking itself.

discreetly (c) means without attracting attention — about privacy, not judgement. ✘ Option (c) dies here.

judiciously and thoughtfully are reasonable but less precise.

Blank 2 — the scale of the misinformation problem. The challenge is described as “undermining people’s trust in media and institutions”, i.e. it has spread everywhere.

pervasive ✔ — spread throughout every part. It is the right word for something that has seeped into multiple domains.

holistic (d) means treating the whole rather than the parts — it describes an approach, never a problem. A “holistic challenge” is close to meaningless. ✘

systematic (a) means methodical; misinformation is diffuse, not organised.

global (c) would be merely geographic and misses the point.

Consistent across all three: discerningly; pervasive; fostering.

Answer: Option 2

Shortcut. Start with the blank whose polarity is fixed. Blank 3 follows “vital for”, which guarantees a positive verb — and inhibiting is negative. Option (a) falls in two seconds.

Then use word-class logic on blank 2: holistic modifies approaches and methods, never problems. That is a collocation error, not a meaning error, and spotting it kills (d).

Of the two survivors, blank 1 decides: discreetly (privately) versus discerningly (with judgement). The sentence is about critical thinking, so it must be discernment.

The habit to build: in a three-blank cloze, you should almost never need to evaluate all twelve words. Find the two blanks with the cleanest right-or-wrong test and stop.