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CAT 2025 Lesson : Odd One Out - Introduction
Jumbled Paragraphs or Para-jumble questions consist of a list of sentences in a random order. There are straight-forward questions which simply ask us to choose the correct sequence. Another key variant is the Odd One Out, which has consistently been occurring in CAT.
These questions will have 4-5 sentences which are jumbled up, with an additional sentence that is not part of the paragraph. This sentence, called the odd-one-out, will typically be from the same topic or passage, but not a part of the sequence.
You will be asked to identify the sentence which does not fit in the context or message of the paragraph. CAT does not ask us to share the entire sequence, just the odd one out. These questions do not have negative marks, as there are no options. However, the probability of getting these questions right is almost at par with regular questions with options, as there is a 1 in 5 chance of getting this right (assuming there are a total of 5 statements). Hence, you should definitely prepare for and try these questions. These have the added advantage of being non-negative questions.
We will use the techniques taught in the Para-jumbles lesson. Please ensure to study that lesson first. We need to know all about:
1) Forming sequences of 2-3 statements
2) Finding the starting sentence (which introduces the topic)
3) Finding the last sentence (conclusion)
There are also techniques which we can use to identify the odd one. We can understand the message conveyed by each sentence logically and then eliminate the sentence which is not part of the sequence. This will save us time, as we need not identify the entire sequence.
Let us learn more about this.
These questions will have 4-5 sentences which are jumbled up, with an additional sentence that is not part of the paragraph. This sentence, called the odd-one-out, will typically be from the same topic or passage, but not a part of the sequence.
You will be asked to identify the sentence which does not fit in the context or message of the paragraph. CAT does not ask us to share the entire sequence, just the odd one out. These questions do not have negative marks, as there are no options. However, the probability of getting these questions right is almost at par with regular questions with options, as there is a 1 in 5 chance of getting this right (assuming there are a total of 5 statements). Hence, you should definitely prepare for and try these questions. These have the added advantage of being non-negative questions.
Example 1
Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out.
[CAT 2020]
(1) You can observe the truth of this in every e-business model ever constructed: monopolise and protect data.
(2) Economists and technologists believe that a new kind of capitalism is being created - different from industrial capitalism as was merchant capitalism.
(3) In 1962, Kenneth Arrow, the guru of mainstream economics, said that in a free market economy, the purpose of inventing things is to create intellectual property rights.
(4) There is, alongside the world of monopolised information and surveillance, a different dynamic growing up: information as a social good, incapable of being owned or exploited or priced.
(5) Yet information is abundant. Information goods are freely replicable. Once a thing is made, it can be copied and pasted infinitely.
Statements 3 and 1 are about the first perspective, and probably occur in the order 31. Statement 1 is aiming to prove the premise in statement 3.
Statement 5 brings about the contradiction. It also helps us infer that statement 1 is essential, by way of the word yet, as it counters statement 1.
Therefore, we have to eliminate either statement 2 or 4. We can eliminate statement 2, as statement 4 is related to the context and probably follows statement 5. Statement 4 is contributing to the key message fo this paragraph – the author explaining the paradox where businesses think of data as an advantage whereas information is freely available and replicable.
Thus, statement 2 is the odd one.
Answer: (2) Economists and technologists believe that a new kind of capitalism is being created - different from industrial capitalism as was merchant capitalism.
[CAT 2020]
(1) You can observe the truth of this in every e-business model ever constructed: monopolise and protect data.
(2) Economists and technologists believe that a new kind of capitalism is being created - different from industrial capitalism as was merchant capitalism.
(3) In 1962, Kenneth Arrow, the guru of mainstream economics, said that in a free market economy, the purpose of inventing things is to create intellectual property rights.
(4) There is, alongside the world of monopolised information and surveillance, a different dynamic growing up: information as a social good, incapable of being owned or exploited or priced.
(5) Yet information is abundant. Information goods are freely replicable. Once a thing is made, it can be copied and pasted infinitely.
Solution
This paragraph is about the contradiction in the business world today – on one hand, people want to restrict information (the purpose of inventing things is to create intellectual property rights), but information is abundant and freely replicable.Statements 3 and 1 are about the first perspective, and probably occur in the order 31. Statement 1 is aiming to prove the premise in statement 3.
Statement 5 brings about the contradiction. It also helps us infer that statement 1 is essential, by way of the word yet, as it counters statement 1.
Therefore, we have to eliminate either statement 2 or 4. We can eliminate statement 2, as statement 4 is related to the context and probably follows statement 5. Statement 4 is contributing to the key message fo this paragraph – the author explaining the paradox where businesses think of data as an advantage whereas information is freely available and replicable.
Thus, statement 2 is the odd one.
Answer: (2) Economists and technologists believe that a new kind of capitalism is being created - different from industrial capitalism as was merchant capitalism.
Example 2
Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out.
[CAT 2018]
1. Translators are like bumblebees.
2. Though long since scientifically disproved, this factoid is still routinely trotted out.
3. Similar pronouncements about the impossibility of translation have dogged practitioners since Leonardo Bruni’s De interpretatione recta, published in 1424.
4. Bees, unaware of these deliberations, have continued to flit from flower to flower, and translators continue to translate.
5. In 1934, the French entomologist August Magnan pronounced the flight of the bumblebee to be aerodynamically impossible.
The paragraph is about translators and bumblebees going about their work, despite their work being considered an impossibility.
Statements 53 should be in a sequence, explaining how people have thought that the flight of bumblebees and the work of translators is impossible. Both these sentences are extremely important to the paragraph, and cannot be eliminated.
We should also have statement 1 as the first sentence, as it connects the two – bumblebees and translators.
Of statements 2 and 4, statement 4 is more important as it establishes that bumblebees continue to fly and translators continue to translate. This is more important than statement 2, which seems to be countering statement 5 (the words scientifically disproved should refer to the flight of bumblebees and not language translation). We can also eliminate statement 2 because of this flow – statement 3 has to follow statement 5, because of parallelism. We also cannot have statement 3 coming before statement 5, because of the word similarly in statement 3.
Therefore, statement 2 has to be the odd one out. Note that the overall sequence makes this quite clear, otherwise we might have been confused between statements 1 and 2.
Answer: 2. Though long since scientifically disproved, this factoid is still routinely trotted out.
[CAT 2018]
1. Translators are like bumblebees.
2. Though long since scientifically disproved, this factoid is still routinely trotted out.
3. Similar pronouncements about the impossibility of translation have dogged practitioners since Leonardo Bruni’s De interpretatione recta, published in 1424.
4. Bees, unaware of these deliberations, have continued to flit from flower to flower, and translators continue to translate.
5. In 1934, the French entomologist August Magnan pronounced the flight of the bumblebee to be aerodynamically impossible.
Solution
This question seems more difficult than the previous one, because all the sentences seem to be well connected. Here, we need to find sentences in pairs or triplets, or one that provides the context, and eliminate the remaining sentence.The paragraph is about translators and bumblebees going about their work, despite their work being considered an impossibility.
Statements 53 should be in a sequence, explaining how people have thought that the flight of bumblebees and the work of translators is impossible. Both these sentences are extremely important to the paragraph, and cannot be eliminated.
We should also have statement 1 as the first sentence, as it connects the two – bumblebees and translators.
Of statements 2 and 4, statement 4 is more important as it establishes that bumblebees continue to fly and translators continue to translate. This is more important than statement 2, which seems to be countering statement 5 (the words scientifically disproved should refer to the flight of bumblebees and not language translation). We can also eliminate statement 2 because of this flow – statement 3 has to follow statement 5, because of parallelism. We also cannot have statement 3 coming before statement 5, because of the word similarly in statement 3.
Therefore, statement 2 has to be the odd one out. Note that the overall sequence makes this quite clear, otherwise we might have been confused between statements 1 and 2.
Answer: 2. Though long since scientifically disproved, this factoid is still routinely trotted out.
Example 3
Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out.
[CAT 2017]
1. Neuroscientists have just begun studying exercise’s impact within brain cells — on the genes themselves.
2. Even there, in the roots of our biology, they’ve found signs of the body’s influence on the mind.
3. It turns out that moving our muscles produces proteins that travel through the bloodstream and into the brain, where they play pivotal roles in the mechanisms of our highest thought processes.
4. In today’s technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it’s easy to forget that we are born movers — animals, in fact — because we’ve engineered movement right out of our lives.
5. It’s only in the past few years that neuroscientists have begun to describe these factors and how they work, and each new discovery adds awe-inspiring depth to the picture.
The other approach is to ensure that the remaining sentences are in sequence. It is preferable to use this approach to ensure that all the other sentences are logically connected and that there is no repetition. Let us try and find the sequence.
Statements 1 and 5 are about neuroscientists studying this (impact of exercise on the brain). From the syntax, we can infer that statement 1 is the first sentence as it introduces the topic.
Statement 2 takes the point forward by establishing that there is an impact. The impact itself is discussed in statement 3 (exercise produces proteins which are transferred into the brain).
Statement 5 then concludes by explaining that there is a lot to understand here. This entire sequence is logical and sequential, and hence, we can be sure that statement 4 is the odd one.
You might be confused with statements 2 or 5 – these are the weaker links in the sequence 1235 – as these can be eliminated. However, statement 2 is important as that's the bridge between statements 1 and 3. Statement 5 is necessary as it establishes the importance of these findings. As such, both these statements are necessary for the entire sequence and also more important than statement 4.
Therefore, statement 4 is the odd one.
Answer: 4. In today’s technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it’s easy to forget that we are born movers — animals, in fact — because we’ve engineered movement right out of our lives.
[CAT 2017]
1. Neuroscientists have just begun studying exercise’s impact within brain cells — on the genes themselves.
2. Even there, in the roots of our biology, they’ve found signs of the body’s influence on the mind.
3. It turns out that moving our muscles produces proteins that travel through the bloodstream and into the brain, where they play pivotal roles in the mechanisms of our highest thought processes.
4. In today’s technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it’s easy to forget that we are born movers — animals, in fact — because we’ve engineered movement right out of our lives.
5. It’s only in the past few years that neuroscientists have begun to describe these factors and how they work, and each new discovery adds awe-inspiring depth to the picture.
Solution
There are two methods to solve this question. The approach which takes less time is to consider the key message. The paragraph is about the impact of exercise on the brain. Statements 1, 2, 3 and 5 are about this topic, whereas statement 4 is about a slightly different one. Statement 4 speaks about how we are not active today, which is slightly off-topic.The other approach is to ensure that the remaining sentences are in sequence. It is preferable to use this approach to ensure that all the other sentences are logically connected and that there is no repetition. Let us try and find the sequence.
Statements 1 and 5 are about neuroscientists studying this (impact of exercise on the brain). From the syntax, we can infer that statement 1 is the first sentence as it introduces the topic.
Statement 2 takes the point forward by establishing that there is an impact. The impact itself is discussed in statement 3 (exercise produces proteins which are transferred into the brain).
Statement 5 then concludes by explaining that there is a lot to understand here. This entire sequence is logical and sequential, and hence, we can be sure that statement 4 is the odd one.
You might be confused with statements 2 or 5 – these are the weaker links in the sequence 1235 – as these can be eliminated. However, statement 2 is important as that's the bridge between statements 1 and 3. Statement 5 is necessary as it establishes the importance of these findings. As such, both these statements are necessary for the entire sequence and also more important than statement 4.
Therefore, statement 4 is the odd one.
Answer: 4. In today’s technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it’s easy to forget that we are born movers — animals, in fact — because we’ve engineered movement right out of our lives.
We will use the techniques taught in the Para-jumbles lesson. Please ensure to study that lesson first. We need to know all about:
1) Forming sequences of 2-3 statements
2) Finding the starting sentence (which introduces the topic)
3) Finding the last sentence (conclusion)
There are also techniques which we can use to identify the odd one. We can understand the message conveyed by each sentence logically and then eliminate the sentence which is not part of the sequence. This will save us time, as we need not identify the entire sequence.
Let us learn more about this.
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