Choose the best word to fill in the blank. Despite the vast amount of time Tarun dedicated to learning…

The correct choice is: “a maladroit”

‘Despite’ signals a contrast: in spite of all his study, Tarun could not “construct cogent prose”, so he was a poor or clumsy communicator. ‘Maladroit’ means clumsy or inept.

“an astute” (shrewd) is the opposite of what the sentence says. “a prolific” (producing a lot) and “a florid” (flowery, over-elaborate) do not express a lack of skill.