Paragraph Jumbles (Sentence Re-arrangement)

Sentences are:

• 4 sentence type

• 5 sentence type

• 6 sentence type 

Usually when there are 6 sentences given, the 1st sentence and the 6th sentence are given in the correct position and he 4 sentences between these are jumbled up.

Parajumbles are not necessarily a test of your language skills. The good thing about parajumbles is that even if you are otherwise weak in English, that is if you find RC, vocabulary or grammar a challenge, you can still score extremely will in parajumbles. This is because you need to be as mechanical as possible in your approach.

The ideal approach for solving parajumbles is a mechanical one. Most people lose focus by reading the statements given over and over again. Sometimes, it is next to impossible to make out which sentence follows which one and all the options look equally correct. The greatest mistake is to try and read the parajumble in the sequence given in each option. Solving all options completely will only confuse you and waste a lot of time.

The best way to solve a parajumble is to try and identify mandatory pairs. A mandatory pair is a sequence that you know cannot exist in any other order. There are many types of mandatory pairs. But there is only one basic tool to identify mandatory pairs – read mechanically and look only for keywords that will help you form a sequence or connection.

Types of Mandatory Pairs

1. Names, proper nouns and pronouns:

Sometimes we can identify mandatory pairs or a longer sequence by the help of the names, proper nouns and pronouns used.

For instance:

A. Both were very angry.

B. Singh accused Jogi of corruption.

C. Raman Singh ordered enquiry against his predecessor Ajit Jogi.

It is clear from the above example that statement C, which has the full names of both persons, should precede the other two statements. Statement B uses only the second names of the concerned people. And statement A substitutes the names with the pronoun “both”. Thus, A should follow B, and B should follow C. Therefore, the correct order is CBA.

2. Cause-effect:

There are instances where a clear cause- effect relationship may exist in the form of a mandatory pair or may run through the entire parajumble.

For example:

A. While Sachin is a great batsman, Kambli’s name is often associated with scams.

B. Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli are good friends.

C. As a result, their relationship has become strained. 

Here it is easy to see that the use of “as a result” in statement C, stablishes a cause and effect relationship. The correct sequence therefore, is BAC.

3. Chronology:

At times you can see logical chain of events in the parajumble. It could also be in the form of a set of instructions to be followed in a certain order. If you look for keywords associated with the sequence, you can easily figure out the right order.

For instance:

A. In order to take full advantage of the ongoing city sale you must possess a good credit card.

B. It would also be nice to have friends to accompany you.

C. Secondly, you should have a vehicle of your own.

As you can see in the above example, statement C follow statement A. A gives the first and C gives the second condition. The use of “also” in B tells you that it should follow C. Therefore, ACB is the correct order.

4. Time reference:

Some question have a statement that refers to a point in time. The reference maybe in the past, present or future. Accordingly, you can decide its place in the sequence.

For example:

A. In the future perhaps, we may live on Mars.

B. During the Stone Age, man lived in caves.

C. Presently, man lives in concrete jungles.

The use of “Stone Age” in statement B, “presently” in C and “future” in A make it easy for us to identify the sequence. The past will always come first, followed by the present and then the future. The correct sequence then is, BCA.

5. Obvious openers:

You may sometimes come across statements that are obvious openers, i.e. it is obvious that the parajumble will begin with those statements. These statements can be definitions, universal truths or philosophical statements.

For instance:

A. The stratosphere is one of the layers of the atmosphere.

B. It is the upper portion of the atmosphere, a nearly isothermal layer (layer of constant temperature) that is located above the troposphere.

C. It extends from its lower boundary of about 6 to 17 km (4 to 11miles) altitude to its upper boundary (the stratopause) at about 50 km (30 miles).

It is clear to see that “it” in B and C refers to the “stratosphere” in statement. A. Statement A is thus an obvious opener and the correct order is ABC.

6. Obvious conclusions:

Sometimes, you can easily figure out the conclusion in the parajumble. The conclusion helps to eliminate choices or to identify a mandatory pair.

For example:

A. On the mantelpiece were two clocks, some dogs, brass candlesticks and a tinted photograph of Annie.

B. You looked at the weed-grown vegetable garden through a stuffed fox’s legs, over a partridge’s head, along the red-paint-stained breast of a stiff wild duck.

C. The best room smelt of moth-balls and fur and damp and dead plants and stale, sour air. Two glass cases on wooden coffin-boxes lined the window wall.

D. It was obvious that the room was rarely used.

You can see that C introduces the room, A and B further describe it and D concludes the paragraph.

7. Keywords:

Words like – so, therefore, however, hence, thus, moreover, but, because, nevertheless, yet, etc. – also help identify mandatory pairs.

For instance:

A. Yet, the cable guys control two-thirds of the market.

B. Telephone firms are now cutting down their prices to complete and grab their share of the internet market.

C. Cable net connections are expensive.

D. This is because there is a growing demand for high speed internet access.

It is clear from the above example that CA is a mandatory pair. C puts across a point that cable net connections are expensive. The use of “yet” in A, shows that despite being expensive, they hold a major share in the market. The use of “because” in D gives a reason for this phenomenon. Thus, C, A and D are connected to each other in that order. Statement B gives the effect of the phenomenon on the telephone firms. Hence, CADB is the correct sequence.

8. General to specific:

Sometimes one gets confused about whether to move from general to specific or from specific to general.

For instance: 

A. He made an interesting comment about our store’s price policy.

B. He said that we could offer discounts and incentives to encourage people to buy in fewer quantities but to buy more frequently.

C. Discounts could vary from 10 to 15 per cent on every purchase.

D. The lesser the quantity, the more frequently customers will have to visit the store. The more frequent the visits, the more incentives they can earn.

In this case the confusion could be between BCD and BDC. Here, we will move from general to specific. C is a specific example for D and not vice versa. Therefore, the correct sequence is ABDC.

In order to master parajumbles it is important to understand their structure. Let’s slowly build up on the concept of ‘parajumbles’. Go through the following solved examples and follow the instructions given.

1. Questions can become easy to solve if you pay more attention to only the first few words of every statement.

For instance:

A. Although, like the Talapadas, the Pardeshis also claim to be Rajputs and Kshatriyas, most of them have not yet adopted traditional Rajput names for their lineages.

B. Only recently a few lineages have begum to patronize the Vahivancha Barots, who have recorded their remembered shallow genealogies and grafted them on to mythical genealogies.

C. Each Pardeshi lingeage is known after its village of origin.

D. The latter provide them with Rajput clan names, but they rarely use them in normal life.

In the above case, by reading only the highlighted words, you can clearly see a relationship between CB. C talks about Pardeshi lineages and B continues as it starts with ‘only recently a few lineages…………’ Thus only by reading the first few words of every statement you can establish at least one mandatory pair and usually eliminate at least 2 choices.

2. Let’s now learn to associate keywords, ideas and form sequences. Look at the following examples:

A. Many Western observers, and under their influence many Indian scholars and social critics also, have written that India was almost completely a stagnant country, without true history, till she came into life-giving contact with Western civilisation in the eighteenth century.

B. The so-called joint family is one such notable institution.

C. There is a well-established viewpoint which alleges that Hindu social institutions have had a blighting effect on India’s social and economic development.

D. They contend That the economy and society in this country, and indeed the India mind, had remained frozen for about two thousand years till the British conquest of India introduced a vital element of dynamism into the ‘native’ society.

In the above example it can be seen clearly that CB are mandatory pairs. C talks of the blighting effect Hindu social institutions have had on the Indian economy and society; and  B continues by saying that the joint family is one such institution. The ‘they’ in D, refers to the observers, scholars and critics in A. Therefore AD is also a mandatory pair. Thus the correct sequence is CBAD.

3. Now let’s learn to build up from small sequences to bigger ones.

I.  A. Such is the difficulty a carp faces in becoming a dragon.

B. Some are swept away by the by the strong currents, some fall prey to eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and others are netted, scooped up or even shot with arrows by fishermen who line both banks of the falls.

In the above case, B describes the different difficulties and A obviously sums up the explanation as it starts with ‘such is the difficulty’. BA is then the mandatory sequence.

II. A. Minamoto and Taira were like two faithful watchdogs at the gates of the imperial palace.

B. They marvelled at the elegant parties of the court nobles and their ladies, just as monkeys in the trees are enraptured by the sight of the moon and the stars glittering in the sky.

C. They were eager to guard the emperor s humble mountain folk are to admire the full moon on the fifteenth night of the eighth month as it rises from behind the mountains.

Here, the ‘they’ in C clearly refers to the ‘two faithful watchdogs’ in A. Therefore AC is a mandatory pair. The correct sequence then is ACB.

III. A. The most important ones are the family and the school. 

B. Much of the anger that is publicly expressed against the hierarchy of caste-in the newspapers, on television, in conferences-is purposeless if not insincere.

C. Those who are serious about carrying the advance of equality further, particularly in the domain that I have discussed, must direct their attention to the institutions that are the real obstacles in the path of that advance.

D. Equality at least at the higher levels of society, can no longer be significantly advanced by attacking caste.

D introduces the fact that equality can no longer be established by attacking caste. B continues the point about anger against hierarchy if caste. The mandatory pair is DB and not BD because D is more general than B. C then goes on to identify the real obstacles and A names the most important ones. CA is therefore another mandatory sequence. The correct sequence then is DBCA.

IV. (i) The mighty warrior General Li Kuang, whose mother had been devoured by a tiger, shot an arrow at the stone he believed was the tiger.

A.  Later he came to be known as General Stone Tiger.

B. But once he realized it was only a stone, he was unable to pierce it again.

C. The arrow penetrated the stone all the way up to its feathers.

D. This story applies to you. Though enemies lurk in the wait for you, your resolute faith has forestalled great dangers before they could begin.

(ii) Realizing this, you must strengthen your faith more than ever.

I clearly introduces a story and A sums up that story. C and B figure in between. D talks about the relevance of the story and finds continuation in II. The correct sequence then is I-CBAD-II.

V. A. She had cherished hope-filed visions of America as a land of freedom and democracy.

B. Also, being a foreigner, she could not make herself understood well in English, and they treated her coldly. At the same time, her husband had become physically abusive, and a rift had grown between them.

C. Sadly, however, this woman’s dream had been shattered. Life with her in-laws was by no means easy financially.

D. She was not alone; many people in those days turned their eyes admiringly to America, imagining it as some sort of dream land.

E. Her sense of regret grew with each passing day. As her feelings of isolation and despair deepened, she would often stand crying on the beach, watching the crimson sun set into the sea beyond the horizon. 

F. The tears that streamed down her cheeks flooded her already wounded heart with an aching, empty coldness, thus intensifying her sorrow.

A is an obvious opener. It talks about her hopes and dreams about America. D continues the point and talks further about other women who had dreamt of America. C then mentions that her dream were sadly shattered. B adds more points about how her dreams were shattered. E talks about her sense of regret and F starts by talking of her consequent tears and sorrow. The correct sequence therefore is ADCBEF.

Now that you know the real tricks needed to crack parajumbles, attempt the following exercises on your own.

Exercise Based On This: 

Direction (Q. 1-6): Rearrange the following six sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.

(A) We at Infoquicktech thus make sure that our clients receive the best and the quickest services in the field of IT.
(B) Information Technology has transformed a lot in this decade and this metamorphosis is exceedingly quick.
(C) The user can now get the desired information in a fraction of a second.
(D)Our newer packages now perform in a far better way than our clients used to get in the past.
(E) Our search engines have been astoundingly powerful to process and fetch the required information to the user.
(F) These improvements perform a real magic, in the true sense of the term, to facilitate quicker access.

1. Which of the following will be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
1) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) E

2. Which of the following will be the SIXTH (LAST) sentence after rearrangement?
1) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) E

3. Which of the following will be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
1) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) E

4. Which of the following will be the-SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
1) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) E

5. Which of the following will be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement?
l) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) F

6. Which of the following will be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
l) A 
2) B 
3) C 
4) D 
5) E

Answers..
BDEFCA (Correct Sequence)