What is the primary use of a CLOZE (closure) text?

The primary use of a CLOZE text is to assess students' retention of vocabulary and their ability to understand the context of a passage. In a CLOZE exercise, words are systematically removed from a text, and students are required to fill in the blanks. This activity not only evaluates their understanding of specific vocabulary but also their overall comprehension of the passage.

When students engage with a CLOZE text, they must rely on contextual clues and their prior knowledge of language structures, which provides insights into their reading skills and understanding of the material. This type of assessment allows educators to observe how well students can integrate vocabulary knowledge into actual reading contexts, thus gauging their linguistic proficiency more holistically.

In contrast, while the other options may touch upon valuable skills relevant to literacy development, they do not define the primary purpose of a CLOZE text as effectively as assessing vocabulary retention and comprehension does.