Sentence Rearrangement
🔒 Log in to trackThe PQRS method: label, anchor, chain, eliminate
🔒 Log in to trackA PQRS question shows sentence 1 (S1) and sentence 6 (S6) in place. The four middle parts P, Q, R, S are mixed up. You choose the right order from four letter strings, such as QPSR. Do not test every string. Tag each part, find two strong links, and remove the strings that break them.
The routine in five steps
Follow the same steps every time. Each step is short.
- Read S1 and S6. S1 gives the topic. S6 shows where the thought must end.
- Tag each part as Lead, Support, Turn or Close (see below).
- Find the links. A pronoun and its noun, a cause and its effect, an a and its later the.
- Chain the links and check the story against S1 and S6.
- Remove strings. Each wrong string breaks one link. Kill it there.
Tip: This cuts 24 possible orders down to about three checks. That is how you finish in 30 seconds.
What each part is doing
Every middle part has one job. Give it a one-word role before you read the options.
- Lead: continues S1 with a general statement, or with a pronoun that points back to S1.
- Support: gives an example, a figure or a detail (for example, in Kerala).
- Turn: brings a contrast or a problem (But, However, Yet, Sadly).
- Close: gives a result, a solution or a lesson (therefore, thus, that is why).
Once every part has a role, only one or two orders are left.
Signal words and where they sit
| Signal inside a part | Likely position |
|---|---|
| Full noun phrase, no pronoun, general | just after S1 |
| He, she, it, this, these | right after the part with its noun |
| But, However, Yet, Now | after the claim it contrasts |
| This has led to, As a result | after the cause |
| Thus, Hence, That is why | last, before S6 |
| One day, Last winter, Soon after | start of a time chain |
Two skeletons that cover most items
Argument skeleton: Lead, then Support, then Turn, then Close.
Solar power is spreading. Panels light homes. As a result, children study. However, panels break down. Training technicians is therefore the next step.
Problem skeleton: Problem, then Cause, then Effect, then Response.
Lakes are dying. Sewage flows in. This fills them with weeds. Citizens now clean them.
The Response part nearly always sits just before S6, because S6 usually looks ahead.
Rule: If the parts fit a skeleton, write the order down before you read the options.
S1 and S6 hold the frame
- S1 hook: a part that starts with Its route..., They do so because... or The name referred to... can only follow S1. It fixes the first letter.
- S6 pull-back: S6 often points backwards. It was the tastiest lunch... needs a meal just before it. The part with the meal is the last letter.
With both ends fixed, only two orders remain for the middle two parts. One pair then decides.
The two-pair lock
Most items are built so that two links settle everything. Say P-S is a pronoun pair and R-Q is an as a result pair. Then the answer must hold both blocks. Only PSRQ and RQPS are possible. S1 or S6 picks one.
Watch: Wrong strings are not random. Each one usually swaps two neighbours, moves the Close part to the middle, or opens with a pronoun or connector part. Name the link each wrong string breaks.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Argument skeleton (claim, support, turn, close)
S1 makes a general claim. One part gives a detail or result, one starts with However or Yet, one carries therefore or thus.
Tag the parts: Lead, Support, Turn, Close.
Put the Support after what it supports (look for as a result).
Put the Turn after the good news it contradicts.
Put the Close just before S6.
Opinion paragraphs in exams almost always follow this order.
S1: Solar power is spreading across Indian villages. P: However, the panels often break down within two years. Q: As a result, children can now study after dark. R: Training local technicians is therefore the next step. S: Panels on rooftops now light many homes. Choose the order of PQRS.
Show solutionHide solution
S is the Lead: it continues S1.
Q is Support: as a result follows the lighting.
P is the Turn: However contradicts the good news.
R is the Close: therefore gives the remedy.
SQPR
Problem skeleton (problem, cause, effect, response)
S1 states a problem such as dying lakes or stubble burning. The parts give a reason, a result with This has..., and a remedy.
Find the cause part. It explains S1 directly.
Attach the effect to it (This has filled...).
Attach the next result.
Put the response last, before S6.
A remedy cannot come before the harm it answers.
S1: The town lake is dying. P: This has filled the water with weeds. Q: Citizens now clean it every Sunday. R: Untreated sewage flows into it through open drains. S: The weeds use up the oxygen, so the fish disappear. Choose the order of PQRS.
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R is the cause: sewage flows in.
P follows R: This means the sewage flowing in.
S follows P: it names the weeds.
Q is the response, so it goes last.
RPSQ
S6 pull-back
S6 starts with a pronoun, such, or a noun that needs an earlier mention (It was the tastiest lunch...).
Read S6 first and circle what it points back to.
Find the part that supplies that noun.
Make that part the last letter.
Build the rest backwards from it.
S6 is fixed, so what it refers to must come just before it.
S1: Meena's class planned a farm visit. P: The children picked vegetables in the morning. Q: The farmer's wife cooked them over a wood fire. R: They reached the farm by bus at nine. S: At noon everyone sat down to a meal under a tree. S6: It was the tastiest lunch the school had ever served. Choose the order of PQRS.
Show solutionHide solution
It in S6 means the meal, so S is last.
R comes first: they arrive.
P follows: they pick vegetables.
Q follows: the vegetables are cooked.
RPQS
S1 hook
One part starts with words that only make sense straight after S1: Its route..., The name referred to..., They do so because...
Find the part whose first words point at S1's subject.
Make it the first letter.
Continue the chain from it using pairs.
The name or They do so has nothing to refer to except S1.
S1: Chess began in India as a game called chaturanga. P: These divisions were the infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots. Q: The name referred to the four divisions of an ancient army. R: Over the centuries, the rules changed many times. S: The modern game looks quite different from the old one. Choose the order of PQRS.
Show solutionHide solution
The name means chaturanga in S1, so Q is first.
P follows Q: These divisions are the four.
R comes next: the rules changed.
S ends with the modern game.
QPRS
Two-pair lock
Two parts are tied by this + noun or pronouns. Another two are tied by because of these or its price.
Find the two strongest pairs and write them as blocks.
Only two strings can hold both blocks.
Use S1 or S6 to choose between them.
Two unbreakable blocks cut 24 orders down to two.
S1: A clay lamp is a simple thing. P: Its low price makes it popular with every family. Q: Because of these cheap materials, it costs very little. R: A potter uses only clay and water. S: Impressed by this demand, a city shop ordered a thousand lamps. Choose the order of PQRS.
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These cheap materials in Q points to R: block RQ.
Its low price in P follows Q's cost: block QP.
This demand in S follows P's popularity.
The blocks join into one chain.
RQPS
Name the broken link in each wrong string
Four strings are offered and two of them look close to the right one.
Build the correct order first.
Compare each string with it.
Find the one swap or move that each string makes.
Name the link it breaks and cross it out.
The setter builds every wrong string by breaking one link. Finding the break proves the answer.
Using the solar-power parts above. Options: (a) SQPR (b) SPQR (c) QSPR (d) RQPS. Which is right and why are the others wrong?
Show solutionHide solution
(a) keeps Lead, Support, Turn, Close.
(b) puts the Turn before the Support it contradicts.
(c) opens with As a result, which needs the lighting first.
(d) opens with the Close part.
(a) SQPR
Shortcuts that save time
Do not read the four strings first. Build two or three pairs from P, Q, R, S. Then see which strings keep them.
P: It sat down beside the principal. Q: A stray dog walked onto the stage. Which part opens?
Show solutionHide solution
It in P needs a noun.
Q names the dog.
So Q comes first, and P follows it.
Q then P
After you chain the parts, read S1, your chain and S6 as one paragraph. If any it, this or they has no noun, the chain is wrong.
Wrong strings usually swap two neighbours. Find the one swap in each wrong string and name the broken pair. That proves your answer.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Reading all four strings against the whole paragraph.
Find two strong links first, then remove strings that break them.
Starting the chain with a pronoun part whose noun comes later.
Put the part that names the noun first.
Ignoring S6 when a middle part has therefore or thus.
That part usually sits just before S6.
Forcing the string you like.
Remove strings one broken link at a time.
Judging order by which part sounds nice alone.
Judge by links: pronouns, a to the, cause to effect.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Tag every part: Lead, Support, Turn, Close.
Argument: Lead, Support, Turn, Close. Problem: Problem, Cause, Effect, Response.
The S1 hook fixes the first part. The S6 pull-back fixes the last part.
Two strong pairs usually decide the item.
Every wrong string breaks a link. Name it.
Read S1 + chain + S6 once as a check.
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.