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PARAJUMBLES
Para jumbles or sentence rearrangement is basically a paragraph, but the sentences given
are not in a certain order. In other words, they are sets of connected statements in some
random order, which when arranged properly create a meaningful paragraph. Questions
related to Para jumbles or sentence rearrangement are set to test the reading ability of a
student, to test how well he or she understands the situation or activity described in a
certain question.
There aren’t any straightforward approaches or rules to solve Para jumbles but there are
certain methods or tricks which can help us in solving questions related to this topic.
Now, some would argue that a student who doesn’t have good reading skills cannot solve
these questions and will lose some marks. No, that is not the case. Even, a student with
not so good reading skills can score full marks in this topic. He just needs to focus on
certain approaches that we are going to discuss.
Now, here are some tricks and approaches one can use to solve the para jumbles
easily-
1. Figure out the opening sentence or the theme of the sequence:
First, look out for the sentence that clearly introduces a person, place, committee, or any
other concept in the given set of sentences. That will be the theme of our topic and will
most likely be the first sentence of the sequence.
Let’s understand this with a set of examples.
Example 1-
P) How far apart the two bodied lie is also a factor.
Q) Sir Isaac Newton quantified the gravity between two objects when he
formulated the laws of motion.
R) Two objects exert a force of attraction on one another known as "gravity."
S) The force tugging between two bodies depends on how massive each one is.
Options: 1) QSPR 2) SRQP 3) QRSP 4) RQSP

Now, let’s discuss the given example. In the given set of sentences, we will try to find the
theme. After reading we can easily find that sentence R that introduces the concept or
theme of the sequence i.e. gravity. The rest of the sentences revolves around this very
concept. Going through the options we can see that only option 4 has sentence R as the
opening sentence, so it will be our answer.

Example 2-
P) It is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that usually affects the
lungs.
Q) Tuberculosis (TB) is deemed the world’s top infectious killer.
R) The disease, however, is curable and preventable.
S) In 2018, about 10 million people worldwide were diagnosed with TB, with 1.5
million people losing their lives.
Options: 1) RSPQ 2) PQRS 3) QPSR 4) SPQR

Now, let’s discuss the given example. In the given set of sentences, we will try to find the
theme. After reading these sentences also we can easily find that sentence Q which
introduces the disease Tuberculosis is the central theme of the given sequence. The rest
of the sentences is an extension of this only. Going through the options we can see that
option 3 has sentence Q as the opening sentence, so it will be our answer.

In this way we can find out the theme or concept in these types of questions and can easily
solve the given questions.

2. Finding the answer with the help of options or ELIMINATION METHOD:

It is not possible to solve each question by finding the central theme or the opening
sentence. In some of the questions, we will not be able to find the central theme. Even if

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we do find the central theme or the opening sentence, there might be two options which
will be having the same opening sentences. In that case, we will have to find the answer
by finding mandatory pairs in the sequence.
Let’s understand this more clearly with the help of examples.

Example 1-
A) But now that his father had asked him to fetch some cheroots, he would have
to pass by the high school to reach the shop.
B) The teachers and students would all be there, and he was ashamed of being
seen outdoors.
C) Of late Krishna had confined himself to the four walls of the house.
D) Wondering how to get past the school unnoticed, he slowly ventured out.
Options: 1) CBDA 2) ACBD 3) CABD 4) DACB

Now let’s discuss the approach to find the answer to this question. Reading all the
sentences it is not easy to find the central idea behind the given paragraph. But after
reading sentence A we can establish that this sentence is in contrary to some another
sentence in the sequence because of the use of ‘but’ before it. Now, if we read sentence
C, we learn that Krishna has lately confined himself to the four walls of the house and was
not comfortable in moving out of the house but in sentence A his father asked him to bring
something. So, these two sentences i.e. sentence C and A are a mandatory pair which is
available only in option C. So, option C will be the answer.

Example 2-
A) New York City will open doors this summer, for a three-storey building that
will house interesting merchandise to keep fans satiated.
B) The store is said to be situated next to the famous Flatiron Building in New
York.
C) A brand-new Harry Potter store — touted to be the largest in the world — will
soon be making your summer extra special and magical.
D) It will be stocked with every possible thing you can think of from the
wizarding world.
Options: 1) BCAD 2) ACBD 3) CDBA 4) CABD

After reading the above sentences, we can say that sentence C will be the opening
sentence as it introduces the subject i.e. A brand-new Harry Potter store, but there is a
problem that sentence C is the opening sentence in two of the given options. Now, we will
have to find some other link also.
Sentence B explains the location of the store. Sentence D starts with pronoun ‘it’ which
here has been used for the store, so BD now will be a mandatory pair which is only
available in option D. Hence, option D will be the right answer.

3. Pronouns:
This is the most logical way of solving the problems related to para jumbles. We will find
pronouns like he, she, it, him, her, they, those etc in various sentences. These all are
personal pronouns and we know that personal pronouns refer to a person, place or thing
etc. The main thing here is that if a sentence contains a personal pronoun without
mentioning the person, place or object it is referring to, the same must have been used in
some other sentence. This is by far the best way to identify the link between sentences
and solving the question.
Let’s understand this more clearly with the help of examples.

Example 1-
A) “It’s sort of cool to be on a ship but even more amazing is this Earth we live
on,” Williams remarked as she described life on a spaceship to eager kids.

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B) Williams, who is set to be one of the first to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner
spacecraft in November 2019, was introduced at the festival by former NASA
astronaut Mike Massimino.
C) On Sept. 22, 2018 NASA astronaut Sunita Williams — a veteran of two long-
duration spaceflights — talked to families and space enthusiasts about space
travel.
D) She was speaking at the Intrepid Air, Sea & Space Museum during the recent
Space & Science Festival.
Options: 1) BCDA 2) CDBA 3) BACD 4) CBDA

After reading the sentences, we can conclude that sentence C will be the first sentence of
the sequence as it introduces the subject of the sequence. As sentence C will be the
opening sentence, we can easily disregard option 1 and 3. Reading the remaining
sentences, we see that sentence D starts with pronoun ‘she’ which has been used for
Sunita Williams. So, CD becomes a mandatory pair, making option 2 as the final answer.
Here, in this example we also used after rule no 1 i.e. identifying the opening sentence of
the sequence.

Example 2-
A) It requires continuous learning and sacrifices.
B) To raise well behaved and responsible children one should be willing to invest
a considerable amount of time, patience and energy.
C) Instilling and inculcating good values in a child will go a long way in making
him/her a good person and a better citizen.
D) There is no doubt that parenting is among the most difficult and demanding
tasks in the world.
Options: 1) DABC 2) BDCA 3) ABCD 4) ACBD

In the given example, sentence A cannot be the first sentence as it starts with pronoun
‘it’. Sentence B and C also seems illogical. Sentence D which tells us about parenting
should be the first sentence. Now, sentence A which starts with ‘it’ will follow sentence D
because ‘it’ here has been used here for ‘parenting’, so DA becomes a mandatory pair.
Hence, option 1 is the correct answer.
This is the easiest and most logical technique to solve para jumbles. Simply find the
opening sentence and the pronoun related to that.

4. Tracking the activity:

There are many types of questions in Para Jumbles. One of them is activity based or event-
based questions in which we will be given a certain story type sequence and we must find
the correct sequence of events and choose the right answer. In these questions we will
find certain hints like date, time, or some other types of events.
Let’s look at examples and understand this:

Example 1-
A) As I rushed to open my door, bright lights from outside dazzled my eyes.
B) Suddenly I heard people shouting outside.
C) Last Sunday, I was watching TV.
D) It was about 10:30 p.m.
Options: 1) CADB 2) DCAB 3) ACBD 4) CBDA

In the given question, a series of events has been given and we need to organise them in
the correct order. Sentence C which tells us that the writer was watching TV on last Sunday
will be the first sentence in this series of events. The use of suddenly tells us that sentence
B will follow sentence C. Sentence D tells us the time of the event, so it will follow sentence
B. Hence, option 4 is the correct answer.

Example 2-

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A: One day when the quarrelling had been much more violent than usual and
each of the sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring
him a bundle of sticks.
B: No words he could say did the least good, so he thought in his mind for some
very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them
to misfortune.
C: A man had a family of sons, who were forever quarrelling among themselves.
D: Then handing the bundle to each of his sons in turn he told them to try to
break it.
Options: 1) CBAD 2) CABD 3) DCBA 4) ABDC

Sentence C which tells us about a man and his sons who fought all the time will be the
opening sentence in this series of events. Sentence B tells us that the man had tried
everything, but nothing could resolve the issues between his sons. So, CB becomes a
mandatory pair.
The use of ‘one day’ in sentence A helps us in determining the series of events further.
Sentence A will follow sentence B. Hence, option 1 is the correct answer.

5. Connectors or connectives:
We will find a certain word such as although, though, if, until, but, since, after,
alternatively, besides, then, yet, as a result etc. We should keep one thing in mind that
sentences starting with any of these words can never be the opening sentence of any
sequence. It is because sentences starting with any of these words are linked with some
other sentence.
Let’s understand this with the help of examples:

Example 1-
P) But can sometimes be more serious, particularly for infants, the elderly and
patients with weak or compromised immune systems.
Q) This viral pathogen was also responsible for the earlier outbreaks Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
R) Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause respiratory tract illnesses,
including the common cold which is not a dangerous disease.
S) No vaccine is currently available to deal with corona virus cases, raising the
death toll to more than 1800.
Options: 1) PQRS 2) RSPQ 3) RQPS 4) RPQS

Here, sentence R will be the opening sentence as it introduces the subject i.e. Coronavirus
and explains about it. The use of ‘but’ in sentence P tells us that it contradicts the last line
of sentence R. Hence, they form a mandatory pair and so option 4 is the correct answer.
So, connectors are also a good way to reach the answer in Para Jumbles.

The above rules and tricks can easily help anyone in getting good marks in these
questions. And of course, doing more and more practice is the foremost method
in scoring good marks.