Ordering a short paragraph — Aptitude Question
Ordering a short paragraph: Arrange the sentences into a coherent paragraph: P. The idea was ridiculed at first. Q. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Fill in the Blanks & Para Jumbles
- Section: Verbal Ability
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 75 seconds
Question
Arrange the sentences into a coherent paragraph:
P. The idea was ridiculed at first. Q. Edward Jenner tested the first vaccine in 1796. R. Within a century it had eradicated smallpox in Europe. S. But the evidence gradually won doctors over.
Options
- Q P S R
- Q S P R
- P Q S R
- P S Q R
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: A. Q P S R
Worked solution
- Q names Jenner and the first vaccine — it opens.
- P refers back to 'the idea', so it follows.
- S begins 'but' and answers the ridicule.
- R closes with the long-term outcome.
Answer: Q P S R.
The idea
Sentences beginning with 'the', 'it' or 'but' always refer back to something. The opening sentence is the one that refers back to nothing.
Shortcut. P begins 'The idea', which needs an antecedent, so both P-first options go; S's 'But the evidence…' answers P's ridicule, so P precedes S: Q P S R.
Common trap. "P Q S R" — 'at first' makes P sound like an opening, but 'the idea' points back to Jenner's vaccine, which only Q introduces.
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