Sentence Rearrangement
🔒 Log in to trackOpening and closing sentence clues
🔒 Log in to trackThe first and last parts of a jumble are the easiest to find. A part cannot open if it holds a pronoun, a connector, or a the with no earlier mention. A part closes well if it gives a result, a lesson or a look ahead. Fix the ends first. Then the middle is short work.
What can and cannot open
Some parts cannot come first, because they need something before them. These are quick eliminations.
- A bare pronoun. He refused the offer cannot open. Nobody knows who he is.
- A connector. But, However, Therefore, So, And, Because cannot open a thought.
- A the on a first mention. The boy ran cannot open. A boy must exist first.
- A consequence phrase. This decision proved costly cannot open. No decision exists yet.
What can open: a full noun phrase with a general or scene-setting statement, a time opener (One day, Last winter), or a definition.
Rule: If two parts both look like openers, choose the more general one. Examples come after claims.
The orphan test
Read each part as if it came straight after S1. A part fails if it holds:
- a pronoun whose noun is only in another part (It sat down beside the principal),
- a this or these plus a noun that S1 does not give (This ability...),
- a follow-on word such as also, even, others, too.
Usually two or three parts fail. The one that passes is the opener.
| Candidate opener | Verdict |
|---|---|
| It improves memory. | No. It hangs. |
| Reading improves memory. | Yes. Full noun, general. |
| But books are costly. | No. But cannot open. |
| Thus a reading habit pays for life. | No. Conclusion word. |
| That is why libraries matter. | Close only. |
Connectors inside a PQRS item
A free paragraph cannot start with However. But in a PQRS item, S1 is already there. So a connector part can follow S1 directly.
S1: Many students think maths is only for the gifted. Then However, this belief is not true is the first part. This belief means S1.
Rule: A connector follows the claim it turns on. If that claim is S1, the connector part comes first. If it is in another part, the connector comes right after that part.
Closers and S6
A closing part usually carries a signal: therefore, thus, hence, clearly, that is why, the next step. Two checks confirm it.
- It must follow everything it sums up. Hence, experts warn the species could vanish needs the threats listed first.
- It must lead into S6. If S6 is itself a conclusion, the Close part prepares for it.
Other good closers are a lesson, a judgement, or a look ahead. Such campaigns must continue is one.
General before specific
An example needs the claim it illustrates. Each region cooks with what grows around it comes before In Kerala, for example...
Words like for example, in Punjab and during deep sleep mark specific parts. They are never first.
Order of work
- Run the orphan test on all four parts. That gives the opener.
- Look for signal words. That gives the closer.
- Use one pair to order the two middle parts.
Tip: Two parts often fail the orphan test for the same reason. Group them, then place the group after the opener.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Orphan test for the opener
Two or three parts begin with pronouns or this + noun. Only one part brings in a new noun.
Read each part as if it came straight after S1.
Cross out every part whose pronoun or this + noun has nothing to refer to.
The part left is the opener.
Attach the pronoun parts after it.
A pronoun cannot come before its noun, so the part that brings the noun comes first.
S1: The morning assembly began as usual. P: It sat down beside the principal. Q: Suddenly, a stray dog walked onto the stage. Which part follows S1?
Show solutionHide solution
It in P has no noun in S1.
Q brings in the dog.
So Q comes first and P follows it.
Q then P
Connector follows the claim it turns on
One part begins with However, But or Yet. S1 or another part states the claim it disputes.
Find the claim the connector answers (this belief, the same device).
If the claim is S1, the connector part comes first.
Otherwise place it after the part that makes the claim.
Put its support right after it.
A contrast needs something to contrast with, and that must come just before it.
S1: Many students think maths is only for the gifted. P: However, this belief is not true. Q: A study of ordinary classrooms shows steady practice raises scores. R: Therefore, every child should be given time to practise. Choose the order of PQR.
Show solutionHide solution
This belief means S1's claim, so P is first.
Q gives the support.
R closes with Therefore.
PQR
Closing signal part
One part has hence, therefore, clearly or that is why, or offers a solution. S6 is a final judgement.
Mark the part with the closing signal.
Check that everything it sums up comes before it.
Put it last, just before S6.
Order the other parts.
A conclusion depends on all the points before it, so it can only go at the end.
S1: Traffic jams waste millions of hours. P: Building more roads only brought more cars. Q: Clearly, the answer lies in moving people, not vehicles. R: Cities first tried to fix the jams with wider roads. Choose the order of PQR.
Show solutionHide solution
R names the first fix.
P shows that the fix failed.
Q says Clearly, so it sums up and comes last.
RPQ
General before specific
One part makes a general claim. Others start with for example, in Kerala, in Punjab or name a single case.
Find the general claim.
Place it before its examples.
Pair the examples (for example ... on the other hand).
An example only makes sense after the claim it illustrates.
S1: Indian food changes every few hundred kilometres. P: In Punjab, on the other hand, wheat breads are common. Q: Each region cooks with what grows around it. R: In Kerala, for example, coconut is used in many dishes. Choose the order of PQR.
Show solutionHide solution
Q is the general claim, so it goes first.
R gives the first example (for example).
P follows: on the other hand needs a first example before it.
QRP
Hidden follow-on words (also, even, others)
One part contains others, even, also or too, and another part names the first group or item.
Find the follow-on word.
Ask what it follows: the first item, the first group.
Place the first item before it.
Others needs some before it, and even needs a first case before it.
S1: Rural libraries are changing. P: Others have built study halls for exam students. Q: Many now lend e-books to their neighbours. Choose the order of PQ.
Show solutionHide solution
Others needs a first group.
Q names the first group: many libraries lend e-books.
So Q comes before P.
QP
Shortcuts that save time
A part that starts with he, she, it, they, this or these needs its noun earlier. If a string gives no earlier noun, cross it out.
But, However, Therefore, Thus and So cannot open a free jumble. Two of four options often start with such parts. Cross them out. In a PQRS item, check whether S1 is the claim first.
Read S6 and ask which sentence must come just before it. It is often the part with Thus, That is why or a summing-up judgement. Pin it, then build backwards.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Opening with a the sentence whose noun appears nowhere before it.
Open with the part that introduces the noun with a or a plain noun phrase.
Treating a general claim and its example as interchangeable.
Put the general claim first and the example after it.
Missing that Now signals a present-time contrast.
Place it after the past-time claim it contrasts.
Putting Thus... in the middle of the chain.
Put the concluding part last, before S6.
Banning every connector part from the front, even in a PQRS item.
Check S1. A connector can follow S1 directly when S1 is the claim it turns on.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Orphan test: pronoun, this + noun, also, even, others cannot open.
A connector follows the claim it turns on. That claim can be S1.
Closers: therefore, thus, hence, clearly, that is why.
A closer follows everything it sums up.
General claim first. For example is never first.
Order of work: opener, closer, one middle pair.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 9 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.