By admin 13 December 2017

Sure Shot Tricks for Solving Para Jumbles

A Para Jumble is a paragraph where the sentences are not in their correct order. Students need to rearrange these sentences to restore the original order forming a coherent paragraph. Para Jumbles form an important part of many competitive exams. In Bank PO & SSC CGL exams, Para Jumbles (sentence rearrangement) help to assess a candidate’s reading skills as well as reasoning power.

In order to attempt questions on sentence rearrangement successfully, students must look out for words or ideas, or pieces of information that can help them link various sentences. Once the sentences get linked with one another they can be easily arranged in proper order. Some of the important tricks to handle sentence rearrangement questions are provided here:

Sentence Rearrangement / Para Jumble Tricks

• Look for Mandatory Pairs: Sentences which must necessarily come together are referred to as mandatory pairs. Spot as many mandatory pairs as you can.
• Noun Pronoun Relationship: A noun mentioned in a sentence may be replaced by a pronoun in other sentences. Look for such noun-pronoun links.
• Acronyms / Abbreviations and their Full Forms: Generally, we use full forms when we refer to a particular thing for the first time and later on we can use acronyms or abbreviations. This can also help you determine the sequence of events and rearrange the sentences.
• Time Sequence indicating Words: A given set of statements can, at times, refer to certain chronological events. Arranging the given events in chronological order can also help you arrive at the sequence in which the statements must appear.
• Cause & Effect Relationship: Statements in a Para jumble question may have a cause and effect relationship. This cause and effect relationship can also guide you on how to link one statement with another.
• Knowledge about the Structure of a Paragraph: Students must be aware of the structure of a paragraph. A paragraph usually has an opening sentence or topic sentence. The sentences following the opening sentence or topic sentence further elaborate upon the topic. They provide supporting details to the discussion, thereby making it more and more nuanced. Towards the end, the discussion comes to a close with what is referred to as the conclusion of the paragraph. Moreover, you must note that a paragraph is usually written in a general to specific style. A paragraph starts with a broad theme and moves towards specific ideas.
• Key Indicators / Cohesive Words: Further, students must understand the words which are used to give cohesive form to a text. We discuss here a few words which make the text cohesive:

(i) Causality Indicators: Students must note the words indicating a cause and effect relationship between two statements. This will help them determine the logical sequence of sentences. Examples of such words are – consequently, because, if then, hence, therefore, in order to, thus, when-then etc.

(ii) Support Indicators: Students must note various words or phrases which are employed to support a given statement. Such words will not occur in the opening or topic sentence. Sentences having these words follow the sentence they intend to support. Examples of such words are- likewise, moreover, as well, also, too, indeed, besides, additionally, furthermore etc.

(iii) Contrast Indicators: Look for words which indicate a contrast between two ideas. Examples of such words are- nonetheless, notwithstanding, in spite of, despite, even though, instead of, in contrast, although, however, even though etc.

After you have rearranged the Paragraph, give it a reading to make sure it is coherent and makes sense. Apart from it, you must try to get an idea of what the paragraph intends to convey. A correctly ordered paragraph will have a logical flow of ideas. Along with the tips and tricks discussed above, you need adequate practice to successfully attempt questions on Para Jumbles. The best thing about Para Jumbles is that you can improve your skill of correctly solving these questions within a short span of time.

Let us take a couple of examples and apply the tricks that we have learnt here:

Question: Statement-1: The north-eastern region presents a diverse system of habitats, which ranges from tropical rainforests to Alpine meadows. (SSC CGL Mains 2016)

1. In eastern Himalayas rainfall ranges from 120 to 305 cms, in Assam from 180 to 310 cms.
2. The temperature in the region varies with elevation, location, rainfall, topography, and humidity.
3. The uneven distribution affects the region in 2 opposite ways, floods and droughts.
4. It’s largely a humid tropical region with 2 periods of rainfall; the winter rains come from the west & the summer rain are brought by the monsoon winds.

Statement-6: The winter temperature in Shillong, for example, varies from 3°C to 25 °C in Gangtok , from 8° C to 24 °C.

(a) QRSP

(b) SPRQ

(c) PQRS

(d) RSQP

Answer: (b) SPRQ

Explanation: Statement ‘1’ is the topic sentence and introduces the subject and statement ‘S’ further elaborates upon that. Statement ‘P’ discusses about the range of the rainfall. Statement ‘R’ further discusses about the rainfall pattern of the region. ‘The uneven distribution’ mentioned in the statement ‘R’ refers to the ‘range of rain fall’ stated in the statement ‘P’. Statement ‘Q’ must come after all these statements because it discusses about another subject (temperature) and not about ‘the range of the rainfall’. Also, statement ‘Q’ is related to statement 6 which explicates about the temperature in Shillong and Gangtok.

Question: Statement-1: Siem Reap is a small town near the temple of Angkor Wat. (SSC CGL Mains 2016)

1. There are some fine examples of Khmer & French architecture.
2. The town is both charming and worth exploring.
3. In Angkor Wat you will find more than hundred stone monuments & temples.
4. Nowadays, visitors are using it as a base for visits to nearby temples.

Statement-6: To see the whole town can take several days.

(a) QPSR

(b) PSRQ

(c) RSPQ

(d) SPRQ

Answer: (a) QPSR

Explanation:  Sentence ‘1’ is the topic sentence which introduces Siem Reap, a small town near the temple of Angkor Wat. Sentence ‘Q’ further describes the town.  Sentence ‘P’ says that the town has some fine examples of Khmer and French architecture. Sentence ‘S’ further mentions that visitors stay for a short while in this town to visit the nearby temples. Sentence ‘R’ states there are more than 100 stone monuments.

In order to learn more short tricks for solving para jumbles, we suggest that you subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch Vidya Guru Online Video lectures for SSC and Bank Examination.