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Jumbled Paragraphs
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CAT 2025 Lesson : Jumbled Paragraphs - Sequences

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1.3 Identifying sequences

Sometimes it is not very easy to identify the beginning and ending sentences. In other cases, we can identify the beginning sentence but may not be able to come up with the complete sequence. In such cases, there are other tactics which we can use to identify sequences of 2 or more sentences, which help us to finalise the complete sequence. In exams where options are present, it also helps us eliminate options which do not contain these sequences. Some of the common tactics which can be used are covered below.

1.3.1 Chronology

Chronology is the arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence. We can use this tactic in narrative or descriptive paragraphs, where time is a factor. This can be applied in the following ways:

(1) based on actual date or time provided
(2) use of words such as now, then, earlier, tomorrow, former & latter which can help you identify the chronological sequence

For instance,
An invasive species is a plant or animal species that doesn’t naturally occur in an ecosystem, but now is having an impact on native flora and fauna. These invaders may take over and threaten native species, spread disease to humans, wildlife, and plants, or upset an existing balance between predator and prey. Kudzu, a quick-growing vine, was brought to the U.S. from Japan in 1876. This invasive species spread rapidly and strangled native plants by blocking their access to light. Experts estimate that kudzu grows at a rate of 150,000 acres each year and has spread as far as British Columbia in Canada.

The second part of the paragraph follows the impact of Kudzu after being brought to the USA.

For instance,
The dramatic departure of Vishal Sikka as chief executive of Infosys, following a months long public battle with the tech giant's founders, has left the company with another messy problem: how to find someone willing to replace him. With the boardroom row still simmering, the pressure will be on to do that fast. The company's last CEO hunt in 2014 was a major challenge. Sikka, the eventual choice who was plucked from a top job at SAP, was the first chief appointed from outside the group of founders. His brief was to turn around a faltering business.

In this paragraph, the first two sentences are a sequence – the first expresses the problem, and the second has the added factor of speed.

Note that the first two sentences are speaking about the present, whereas the last three are in the past (2014) – despite this, these three sentences come at the end. Therefore, use chronology carefully while forming sequences and do not assume that the entire paragraph will always be in chronological order. The paragraph should make logical sense.

Example 10

Read the following statements and arrange the three statements in a logical sequence.

A. To get there, Musk often makes unorthodox moves, such as shuttering most of the Tesla car lots to deliver on a two-year-old promise of
35,000 Model 3’s.
B. Tesla’s stock is often volatile as bulls and bears wrestle over whether Musk can meet the audacious goals he often sets for the automaker.
C. This time, Wall Street is greeting Musk’s bold moves with more than a note of caution.

Solution

We can infer that statement B is the first sentence, introducing the topic (the volatility of Tesla's stock ). This statement establishes that Elon Musk (Tesla's founder) sets audacious goals for the company.

Statement A continues the topic, explaining how Musk delivers on these goals.

Finally, statement C brings in the impact of these moves (Wall Street's reaction, i.e., the movement of the share price).

Therefore, BAC is the correct sequence.

Answer: BAC

Example 11

Read the following statements and arrange the five statements in a logical sequence.

A. The freshness of the data, as well as its variety, allows BlueDot’s algorithms to pick up weak signals of epidemics from the patterns and correlations it draws.
B. In the early morning hours of Dec. 31, 2019, a company called BlueDot detected an outbreak of “unusual pneumonia” cases near a market in Wuhan, China.
C. Just how did BlueDot predict the birth of a new coronavirus outbreak, nine days before even the World Health Organization could do so?
D. The rest is, sadly, history: BlueDot was the first organization to alert the world to the possibility that a deadly global pandemic could be breaking out.
E. The answer lies in the fact that the startup uses data that is constantly updated from numerous sources around the world.

(1) BCADE                (2) BDCEA                (3) BCEAD                (4) CEABD               

Solution

These statements are about BlueDot, specifically, it's use of data and it's prediction of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Statements B and D are about BlueDot's prediction of the pandemic in Wuhan, China. Based on this chronological sequence (detection and sharing of the analysis), we can infer that BD should be part of the sequence. This sequence is present only in options (2) and (4), so we can eliminate the other two options.

CEA, the other sequence present in both options, explains how BlueDot got this information so quickly. Statement C introduces the timing, statement EA explain how data plays a key role in the speed.

Since statement C refers to the coronavirus pandemic, we can infer that statements BD have to come before statements CEA. Therefore, we can select option (2) instead of option (4).

Answer: (2) BDCEA

1.3.2 Cause & Effect

Sometimes, you might have cause and effect sentences in a jumbled paragraph – wherein one statement is an effect of another (e.g. I got caught in the rain and I was drenched). Once you have identified the relationship, you know that the statement conveying the effect will come after the statement with the cause. Note that the effect usually immediately follows the cause.

For instance,
(1) Fani was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Indian state of Odisha since Phailin in 2013. The cyclone devastated the state, causing tremendous damage to property in the coastal areas.

(2) Oil spills are harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. Oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals, such as sea otters, and the water repellency of a bird's feathers, thus exposing these creatures to the harsh elements.

Example 12

The FIRST and the LAST sentences of the paragraph are numbered 1 & 6. The others, labelled A, B, C and D are given below. Which of the following combinations given in the options below is the most logically ordered?

1. Our international standing was never dependent on our commitment to South Vietnam.

A. We might have been accused of inconstancy for abandoning an ally, but everyone would have understood.
B. In fact, the longer the war went on, the more our image suffered.
C. It meant that a whole generation grew up looking upon the United States as an imperialist, militarist, and racist power.
D. The United States engaged in a number of high-handed and extra-legal interventions in the affairs of other nations during the Cold War, but nothing damaged our reputation like Vietnam.

6. The political capital we accumulated after leading the alliance against Fascism in the Second World War and then helping rebuild Japan and Western Europe, we burned through in Southeast Asia.

(1) ABDC                (2) BADC                (3) CDBA                (4) DABC               

Solution

In Statement 1, we understand that the author is speaking from the perspective of a country or a group – who need not have committed to South Vietnam. From statements A-D, we can infer that this country is probably the US. From the statement itself, we can infer that the author would probably have preferred the US to not have interfered in Vietnam.

We can see that statement A explains the author's opinion further, but explaining the impact of breaking off the commitment. Note that only one option starts with A. But let's go through the other sentences to frame a sequence.

Statement B should follow 1A, as it explains the other side – the issues caused by US interference.

Statements DC have a cause and effect – statement D is the cause (US's actions) and statement C has the effect (other countries' opinions of the US). Thus, statements DC should follow statements 1AB.

Therefore, the correct sequence is 1ABDC6, and hence, option (1) is the correct choice.

Answer: (1) ABDC

Example 13

Read the following statements and arrange the four statements in a logical sequence.

A. But the delicate tracery of lights as seen from space also showed that the states are becoming more unequal between and within them.
B. In a large and complex country like India, they warn, this could "easily lead to social disharmony as populous, poorer regions attempt to extract greater redistribution from less populous, richer regions - whether within or across states".
C. Most of India is dark at night because there is little economic activity going on.
D. The economists find this worrying.

(1) ABDC                (2) CABD                (3) CADB                (4) CDAB               

Solution

The paragraph is about the economic disparity in Indian statements (i.e., the average income of the states are widely different).

We can infer that A is the cause (income disparity among states) and DB is the effect (social disharmony). We can infer that the sequence is DB because the analysts are providing the analysis, which is the impact. The economists are introduced in statement D and their analysis is provided in statement B. The use of they in statement B is another pointer.

Statement C has to be the beginning sentence, as it introduces the lights (possibly the lights are seen from the atmosphere or space – people are observing that most of India is dark at night, but some states are lit, thereby deriving the economic disparity).

Thus, option (3) is the correct choice.

Answer: (3) CADB

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