CAT 2025 Lesson : Jumbled Paragraphs - First Sentence
1. Solving Strategies
In this lesson, we will cover Para-jumbles with and without options, as well as with first and/or last sentences. Similar techniques can be used for these types of questions, with the options used as shortcuts. We will learn about Odd One Out questions in the next lesson.
Para-jumbles questions test your verbal proficiency and your ability to reason logically in a short span of time. You have to understand the idea behind the paragraph and form sequences using logic and grammar. There are multiple techniques which you should combine to find the logical sequence.
1.1 Identifying the first sentence
An introductory sentence will set the context and introduce the topic. It works well for straight-forward questions. For examinations other than CAT (which have options), it has the additional advantage of eliminating options quickly.
The common types of beginning sentences are:
1) A general observation leading to a specific example
For instance,
Smartphone separation anxiety is real, and it even has a scientific name: nomophobia. Nomophobia is defined as “the feelings of discomfort or anxiety caused by the non-availability of a mobile device enabling habitual virtual communication.” Scientists surveyed 201 university students and asked them how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements about positive memories, daily smartphone use and their behaviours and emotions in relation to their phones. They found that it’s common for people to perceive smartphones as part of their “extended selves” and get attached to the devices.
The first sentence is the observation, and the rest of the paragraph provides an example.
2) A hypothesis, followed by data/experiment
For instance,
Women are returning to the U.S. labour force in greater numbers this year, helping arrest an ugly decline in the so-called participation rate. The share of 25 to 54-year-old women either employed or actively looking for a job rose to a seven-year high in July, while the rate among prime-age men merely ticked up for the first time since January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week. This increase in the case of females has narrowed the gap between the two groups to 13.2 points, the lowest in records since 1948.
The first sentence is the hypothesis, and the rest of the paragraph provides details to support the hypothesis.
3) An idea and the explanation
For instance,
Over a hundred robotists and AI researchers have signed a letter to the United Nations calling for strict oversight of autonomous weapons, a.k.a. "killer robots." The letter describes the risks of robotic weaponry in dire terms, and says that the need for strong action is urgent. It is aimed at a group of UN officials considering adding robotic weapons to the UN’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Robotic warriors could arguably reduce casualties among human soldiers – at least, those of the wealthiest and most advanced nations. But the risk to civilians is the main concern of this group.
The first sentence is the idea, and the rest of the paragraph provides the explanation of the idea.
4) A chronological narration
For instance,
My family and I went to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first thing we did when we got there was to take a tour of a space shuttle that once flew into space. During our tour, an astronaut showed us her spacesuit. I even got to try on the space boots. Next, we tasted the food astronauts eat while they are in space. It was really different from other foods that I had eaten but it tasted pretty good. Finally, we got in a special booth that showed us what it is like to be weightless! It was an amazing day.
This paragraph chronologically explains the narrator's activities in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Example 5
Read the following statements and arrange the four statements in a logical sequence.
A. The order also justifies water supply to areas outside the Cauvery basin when other options exist.
B. It treats the dispute as a water-sharing dispute rather than as a river-sharing dispute.
C. There are some grey areas in the order.
D. There is inattention to factors like changing rainfall pattern, rainwater harvesting, the potential of soil water capture, catchment degradation and local water systems.
Solution
When we read the statements, we can see that all of them are analysing the Cauvery river-sharing dispute and the judgement or decision made to resolve it. Statements A, B and D are describing issues in the judgement (unnecessary water supply to areas that do not need it, water-sharing instead of river-sharing and inattention to key factors).
Statement C introduces or highlights the issue with the judgement. From the wording, we can infer that this will be the starting sentence and not the conclusion. Therefore, we can select this as the first sentence.
Statement B is the most important issue, as it is about the crux of the problem. Therefore, statement 2 must follow statement C.
Statement D can follow statement B, highlighting the inattention to key factors, and statement A rounds this off with another factor which is missed (existing water supply to the areas).
Therefore, the correct sequence is CBDA.
Answer: CBDA
Example 6
Read the following statements and arrange the five statements in a logical sequence.
[XAT 2010]
A. He might make the opposite mistake; when I want to assign a name to this group of nuts, he might understand it as a numeral,
B. Now, one can ostensively define a proper name, the name of a colour, the name of a material, a numeral, the name of a point of the compass and so on.
C. The definition of the number two. "That is called 'two' " pointing to two nuts is perfectly exact. But how can two be defined like that?
D. He may suppose this; but perhaps he does not.
E. The person one gives the definition to doesn't know what one wants to call "two"; he will suppose that "two" is the name given to this group of nuts!
(1) ABCED
(2) BCEDA
(3) CEDBA
(4) EBCAD
(5) BCDAE
Solution
This paragraph is about defining or explaining concepts. We can see that the author has used “two” as an example. Let us look for the first sentence – we can immediately eliminate statements A and D, which start with he, as we must first know who he is. We can also eliminate statements C and E, which talk about the example (definition of two) without introducing the topic. Statement B, on the other hand, introduces the topic – that one can ostensively (meaning apparently, seemingly) define things.
The author is using ostensively to communicate that defining things is not as easy as it seems. Statement C carries this hypothesis forward by introducing a way to define the number “two”. Statement E then introduces the difficulty in pointing to “two” nuts – the listener might suppose that “nuts” are called “two”.
We have now found the sequence to be BCE. This sequence is only present in option (2), so let us check if the complete sequence in option (2) fits a logical paragraph. We have established that BCE should be the beginning sequence, with statement E introducing a possible error. The sequence DA then introduces another possible error (thinking that nuts is two), thus establishing the difficulties in defining something by pointing at examples. This sequence is logical, we can select option (2) as the correct choice.
Answer: (2) BCEDA
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