PTE-A Reading: Task 4, Reorder Paragraph
Reorder Paragraph:
- This is the 3rd highest-scoring task in the Reading section.
- The two most common paragraph types/genres are anecdotal (story paragraphs) and topical newspaper and magazine articles.
- Remember with each ‘hunch’ or ‘clue’ you have towards placing the next answer box, you can easily move that choice into position on the test (pick it up and drop it with your cursor) and then read it to see if it makes logical sense.
Test-takers will be asked to do 2 or 3 of these tasks on their exam. The length of the text passages will be up to 150 words in length, and these will be scored by correct pairs of sentences in the paragraph that are in the correct order. Therefore, you can only score 1 of 4, 2 out of 4, or 4 out of 4 for each task. The maximum score is between 8 to 12 marks, depending on whether you get 2 or 3 of these tasks on the exam.
To help yourself with the internal logic of the parts of paragraphs, it is important that you know the different types of pronouns used in the English language. Reorder Paragraph can be seen as a test of referentiality or trying to follow what noun is represented by the pronoun before you. However, there are points of reference you should be aware of, for example: the use of articles, parallel structures within the paragraph, rhetorical words, and types or genres of paragraphs most often used.
| Subject Pronouns | Object Pronouns | Possessive Adjectives | Possessive Pronouns | ReflexivePronouns | |
| 1st Person | I | me | my | mine | myself |
| 2nd Person | you | you | your | yours | yourself |
| 3rd person (male) | he | him | his | his | himself |
| 3rd person(female) | she | her | her | hers | herself |
| 3rd person | it | it | its | X | itself |
| 1st person (plural) | we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| 2nd person (plural) | you | you | your | your | yourselves |
| 3rd person (plural) | they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
Also, as we will begin to experiment with other Reorder Paragraph examples, I tend to use my own three-step procedure that includes all of the points of reference above to solve the paragraph order. I suggest it is ‘my own’ because I am sure there are many different ways to figure out or reorder paragraphs. Please do not feel limited to this procedure:
- Find the topic sentence for the paragraph
- Immediately ask a question about the topic sentence.
- Look at the ‘first words’ of all sentence chunks – usually only one can fit after the topic sentence; notice rhetorical words
- Understand the logic of what is said in each chunk – look for parallel structures
Grammar: the use of articles
Generally speaking, and without a discussion of pronouns, when a noun is introduced in the subject position of a sentence for the first time in a paragraph, we use the article ‘a’ or ‘an’ to introduce it. For example: ‘An orange is on the table’, or A dog is walking across the lawn. However, the second time we refer to the same noun in the same paragraph, a definite article is used: ‘An orange is on the table. The orange is round’; ‘A dog is walking across the lawn. The dog is stopping to smell something. In Reorder Paragraph this grammatical clue can help you place chunks of text in the right place.
In the example below the article ‘The’ can be used to decide which sentence of the paragraph comes ‘before’ it, as there has to be a referent for ‘the’ that precedes. Usually, certain chunks can be eliminated or possibilities exposed.
For example, in the text boxes below just look at the first words of all the sentences and try to figure out what the topic sentence or first sentence is in the answer column. Notice that # 1, 2, 3, and 4 all refer to something that comes before their sentence. In 1., you would not begin a topic sentence with a fact (for there would be nothing to write about afterward); 2. Refers to a paradox – that has not been mentioned yet; 3. Refers to an example, which usually follows a support sentence; 4. Refers to a problem that has not been mentioned. Therefore, 5. Has to be the topic or 1st sentence.
The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from
the left panel to the right panel.
Mixed parts of a paragraph Answer column (reordered paragraph)
| 1. The dateline is necessary to avoid confusion that would otherwise result. | 5. The international dateline, is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. |
| 2. The apparent paradox is resolved by requiring that the traveler crossing the dateline change their date; thus, bringing travelers into an agreement when they meet. | |
| 3. For example, if an airplane were to travel westward with the sun, 24 hours would elapse as it circled the earth, but it would be the same day for those in the airplane while it would be one day later for those people on the ground. | |
| 4. The same problem would arise if two travelers journeyed in opposite directions to a point on the opposite side of the earth, 180 degrees of longitude distant. | |
| 5. The international dateline, is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. |
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Again, if we look at the first words of 1, 2, 3, and 4, the only 2 possible choices to follow the statement/definition of 5. would be the example in 3 or the statement at 1. that points to potential confusion. 1. is the better choice because it points to confusion, whereby the following example in 3. will clarify.
| 1. The dateline is necessary to avoid confusion that would otherwise result. | 5. The international dateline, is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. |
| 2. The apparent paradox is resolved by requiring that the traveler crossing the dateline change their date; thus, bringing travelers into an agreement when they meet. | 1. The dateline is necessary to avoid confusion that would otherwise result. |
| 3. For example, if an airplane were to travel westward with the sun, 24 hours would elapse as it circled the earth, but it would be the same day for those in the airplane while it would be one day later for those people on the ground. | 3. For example, if an airplane were to travel westward with the sun, 24 hours would elapse as it circled the earth, but it would be the same day for those in the airplane while it would be one day later for those people on the ground. |
| 4. The same problem would arise if two travelers journeyed in opposite directions to a point on the opposite side of the earth, 180 degrees of longitude distant. | |
| 5. The international dateline, is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. |
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| 1. The dateline is necessary to avoid confusion that would otherwise result. | 5. The international dateline, an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. |
| 2. The apparent paradox is resolved by requiring that the traveler crossing the dateline change their date; thus, bringing travelers into an agreement when they meet. | 1. The dateline is necessary to avoid confusion that would otherwise result. |
| 3. For example, if an airplane were to travel westward with the sun, 24 hours would elapse as it circled the earth, but it would be the same day for those in the airplane while it would be one day later for those people on the ground. | 3. For example, if an airplane were to travel westward with the sun, 24 hours would elapse as it circled the earth, but it would be the same day for those in the airplane while it would be one day later for those people on the ground. |
| 4. The same problem would arise if two travelers journeyed in opposite directions to a point on the opposite side of the earth, 180 degrees of longitude distant. | 4. The same problem would arise if two travelers journeyed in opposite directions to a point on the opposite side of the earth, 180 degrees of longitude distant. |
| 5. The international dateline, is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, generally following the 180-degree meridians of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. | 2. The apparent paradox is resolved by requiring that the traveler crossing the dateline change their date; thus, bringing travelers into an agreement when they meet. |
Finally, only sentences 2 and 4 are left to place. Since the next text box follows an example and answer option 4 refers to ‘ the same’ problem and not a ‘resolution’(resolve, as it 2), it is obvious which choice would come next (4.).
Parallel structures:
In the example below, a parallel structure is used to frame this paragraph’s answer. The conclusion of a paragraph is traditionally written in 3 ways: a person can restate their topic sentence, summarize the body paragraphs, or write a future-leaning comment. Below, do notice the mention of the words ‘subspecies’ twice in the text. These two sentences then frame the entire paragraph, with the topic sentence easily found at 4. because it refers to nothing that comes before it, the potential conclusion with the repetition of ‘subspecies’.
The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from
the left panel to the right panel.
| 1. Biologist Alan Parsons and his partner Elaine Bennis were gathering fern spores for lab analysis when they came across an abandoned bear cub. | 4. A subspecies of grizzly bear has been discovered in Canada’s Yukon quite by accident. |
| 2. After nursing the cub for five days, the pair returned with the cub to Vancouver, where they delivered it to the city’s South Park Zoo. | |
| 3. It was at this point that the Zoo’s on-call mammalogist and bear specialist, Dr. Tim Whatley, made the discovery of the Ursidae sub-species. | |
| 4. A subspecies of grizzly bear has been discovered in Canada’s Yukon quite by accident. | |
| 5. It was breathing shallowly and appeared close to death, so the scientists took it back to their research camp. | 3. It was at this point that the Zoo’s on-call mammalogist and bear specialist, Dr Tim Whatley, made the discovery of the Ursidae sub-species. |
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Likewise, the order of the remaining 3 answer options can quickly be surmised if a person asks a question of the topic sentence. In this case: ‘How did the accident happen’? After reading the 3 other sentence options, 1., 2. and 5., only 1. logically begins this story. Between answer options 2. And 5., it would seem to make logical sense that a trip to the zoo would follow the recovery and description of the bear.
| 1. Biologist Alan Parsons and his partner Elaine Bennis were gathering fern spores for lab analysis when they came across an abandoned bear cub. | 4. A subspecies of grizzly bear has been discovered in Canada’s Yukon quite by accident. |
| 2. After nursing the cub for five days, the pair returned with the cub to Vancouver, where they delivered it to the city’s South Park Zoo. | 1. Biologist Alan Parsons and his partner Elaine Bennis were gathering fern spores for lab analysis when they came across an abandoned bear cub. |
| 3. It was at this point that the Zoo’s on-call mammalogist and bear specialist, Dr. Tim Whatley, made the discovery of the Ursidae sub-species. | 5. It was breathing shallowly and appeared close to death, so the scientists took it back to their research camp. |
| 4. A subspecies of grizzly bear has been discovered in Canada’s Yukon quite by accident. | 2. After nursing the cub for five days, the pair returned with the cub to Vancouver, where they delivered it to the city’s South Park Zoo. |
| 5. It was breathing shallowly and appeared close to death, so the scientists took it back to their research camp. | 3.It was at this point that the Zoo’s on-call mammalogist and bear specialist, Dr. Tim Whatley, made the discovery of the Ursidae sub-species. |
Rhetorical words:
Rhetorical words refer to words that are used in the text move the argument or description along, as you will not find signal words like ‘first’ and ‘second’ because this would make the ‘reordering’ too easy. However, words like ‘nevertheless’ or ‘but’ are constantly used in this task and act as clues that assist toward correct placements of sentences. ‘Nevertheless’ is used rhetorically to present a ‘return’ to a previous place in the text. For example: Last night I was walking to the store to buy some milk when a friend of mine drove by. We went to his place to watch a movie. Nevertheless, after the movie, I bought some milk. The word ‘nevertheless’ returns us to an earlier part of the narrative to pick a piece of the action that was momentarily forgotten about. Because ‘nevertheless’ returns us to the previous point in the text it is usually as the 4th or 5th box in the answer column. Other adverbial conjunctions that have similar uses but may not be used quite as often include: however, nonetheless, and though. (see the grammar section at the end of this book to review conjunctive adjectives)
‘But’ is also commonly used to impart an immediate contrast to what was stated in the previous text box. This is its function as a coordinating conjunction and is used primarily as the first word in its answer box. (see the grammar section at the end of this book to review the functions of coordinating conjunctions).
The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from
the left panel to the right panel.
| 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. | |
| 2. Nevertheless, Dr. Huxley pressed on with his field research, and no one could have predicted his remarkable findings. | |
| 3. Those who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. | |
| 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. | |
| 5. They demanded that his controversial Department of the Paranormal at Carolina Tech should be defunded immediately. |
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The topic sentence that stands out as it does not refer to anything that comes before it is 4. And if we immediately look to first words in the rest of the sentence boxes, we notice that the demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ at 3. is the only logical fit to start the second answer box because 1. (Others), 2. (Nevertheless – there is no previous part in the narrative to use this sentence yet (always in the 4th or 5th answer box), and 5. (They) all have no previous referent.
| 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. | 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. |
| 2. Nevertheless, Dr. Huxley pressed on with his field research, and no one could have predicted his remarkable findings. | 3. Those who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. |
| 3. Those who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. | |
| 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. | |
| 5. They demanded that his controversial Department of the Paranormal at Carolina Tech should be defunded immediately. |
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With only 3 boxes to place 1. 2. and 5., test-takers should look at the meaning/ internal logic of the sentences. Number 2. Will be pushed down because it begins with ‘Nevertheless’ and it speaks of ‘findings’ which usually refer to the end of a study. Between 1. and 5. The correct answer is 1. because it makes more sense following ‘Those’ the initial word from box 2., but also because we recognized the parallel structures of the ‘adjective clauses’ and the opposite meanings in both 2 and 1(see the understand clauses below).
| 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. | 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. |
| 2. Nevertheless, Dr. Huxley pressed on with his field research, and no one could have predicted his remarkable findings. | 3. Those people who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. |
| 3. Those who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. | 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. |
| 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. | |
| 5. They demanded that his controversial Department of the Paranormal at Carolina Tech should be defunded immediately. |
The opposite meaning of words ‘believed’ in 2. and ‘skeptical’ in 1. help confirm that 1. is the correct sentence to follow ‘those people’ in the sentence box found above. Finally, ‘They demanded’ is the logical response to ‘lost his mind’ as ‘Nevertheless’ returns to the point in the text just after the first sentence box, but ensures that 2. is the correct conclusion since his ‘remarkable findings are set ‘somewhere’ in the future after the ridicule he sustained in the mountains.
| 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. | 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. |
| 2. Nevertheless, Dr. Huxley pressed on with his field research, and no one could have predicted his remarkable findings. | 3. Those people who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. |
| 3. Those who believed in the legendary creature told him he was over 2000 miles from where he ought to be looking, in eastern Idaho. | 1. Others, who were more skeptical of the bipedal beast’s existence, thought that Dr. Huxley had finally lost his mind. |
| 4. When Dr. Mark Huxley arrived at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in search of the sasquatch, he was widely ridiculed. | 5. They demanded that his controversial Department of the Paranormal at Carolina Tech should be defunded immediately. |
| 5. They demanded that his controversial Department of the Paranormal at Carolina Tech should be defunded immediately. | 2. Nevertheless, Dr. Huxley pressed on with his field research and no one could have predicted his remarkable findings. |
A procedure:
The procedure where I try to include all of what is mentioned above is:
- Find the topic sentence for the paragraph
- Immediately ask a question of the topic sentence.
- Look at the ‘first words’ of all sentence chunks – usually only one can fit after the topic sentence; notice rhetorical words
- Understand the logic of what is said in each chunk – look for parallel structures
- In the example below, the topic sentence is 5. since there is no referent to be found for this statement.
- The question I would ask here is: Why is this ticketing system a world-first?
- After looking at the first words in the following answer boxes. It seems only the ‘This’ and the word ‘because’ in 4. seem to fit perfectly the questions asked (a reason it is a world-first – because) as ‘but’ and ‘nevertheless’ are rhetorical words to be used after a strong argument and/ a return to an earlier part in the narrative.
The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from
the left panel to the right panel.
| 1. What is more, the so-called ‘Smart Card’ is to be issued free to all users of the city’s extensive bus, train, and light-rail network. | 5. Toronto’s new ticketing system for all public transport is a world first. |
| 2. Nevertheless, critics of the new system allege that the Smart Card’s patented smart chips will be used to illegally track users’ movements. | 4. This is because it uses revolutionary smart technology to predict the journeys of its regular users. |
| 3. But a spokesperson for the province of Ontario government moved to allay such fears by reaffirming their commitment to privacy. | |
| 4. This is because it uses revolutionary smart technology to predict the journeys of its regular users. | |
| 5. Toronto’s new ticketing system for all public transport is a world first. |
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Of the answer options 1., 2. and 3., logically 1. is the correct choice to follow as ‘What is more’ seems to add to a very grandiose statement in the topic with ‘a world first’ – this is a strong statement. So, with the completion of what this new technology is, it is time to add rhetorical words to complete the paragraph. Of the two possible choices you can place the final sentences, 2. or the answer option that begins with ‘Nevertheless’ is correct because its internal logic mentions ‘illegally track users’ which can only be referred to 3. with ‘allay such fears. In other words, ‘allay such fears’ refers to the previous sentence’s ‘fear’ of ‘illegally tracking users’ and acts as a rebuttal beginning with ‘But’. Again notice that the words ‘Nevertheless’ and ‘But’ are usually always used at the end of the paragraph.
| 1. What is more, the so-called ‘Smart Card’ is to be issued free to all users of the city’s extensive bus, train, and light-rail network. | 5. Toronto’s new ticketing system for all public transport is a world first. |
| 2. Nevertheless, critics of the new system allege that the Smart Card’s patented smart chips will be used to illegally track users’ movements. | 4. This is because it uses revolutionary smart technology to predict the journeys of its regular users. |
| 3. But a spokesperson for the province of Ontario government moved to allay such fears by reaffirming their commitment to privacy. | 1. What is more, the so-called ‘Smart Card’ is to be issued free to all users of the city’s extensive bus, train, and light-rail network. |
| 4. This is because it uses revolutionary smart technology to predict the journeys of its regular users. | 2. Nevertheless, critics of the new system allege that the Smart Card’s patented smart chips will be used to illegally track users’ movements. |
| 5. Toronto’s new ticketing system for all public transport is a world first. | 3. But a spokesperson for the province of Ontario government moved to allay such fears by reaffirming their commitment to privacy. |
Generally, with ‘Reorder Paragraph’, the first two sentences can be placed quickly with the middle 3rd being the most difficult; the final two sentences can easily be flipped and read on the exam to ensure they are in the correct order.
