2. Other Techniques

2.1 Tone

Sometimes, a sentence is not in the same tone as the others (e.g. if all sentences are serious and one is frivolous, or if all sentences are prising/critiquing and one is different), it can be the odd one. This occurs less frequently, and you should look at the key message first. But this can be a helpful guide as well.

For instance,
Trust in political institutions – including the electoral process itself - are at an all-time low. New converts to democracy in Europe and the Middle East are sliding back into authoritarian rule. And populist leaders who are expected to curb certain civil liberties are winning votes. Societies the world over are experiencing a strong backlash to a system of government that has largely been the hallmark of developed nations for generations. In non-democratic countries around the world – in parts of Asia, in sub-Saharan Africa – survey data shows that people want it.

The first four sentences explain how democracy is reducing in today's world (we can infer that democracy is the system which is the hallmark of developed nations). The last sentence is taking the opposite direction by stating that people want democracy.

Example 13

A partially completed paragraph is below, followed by fillers A, B and C. From the options, identify the right combination and order of fillers A, B or C that will best complete the paragraph.
[IIFT 2011]

In cultivating team spirit, one should not forget the importance of discipline.

_________________________________________________________________

It is the duty of all the numbers of the team to observe discipline in its proper perspective.

A. A proper team spirit can seldom be based on discipline.
B. It is a well known fact that team spirit and discipline can never go hand in hand.
C. Discipline in its right perspective would mean sacrificing self to some extent.

(1) A and B only
(2) B and C only
(3) Either A or B
(4) C only

Solution

The sentences given are explaining that discipline is important (one should not forget the importance of discipline, duty...to observe discipline). Therefore, we need to look for statements which are in keeping with this.

Statements A and B are not in line with the author's tone, as these statements discuss the issues with discipline. Therefore, we can eliminate all the options which have statements A or B, and select option (4).

It might seem that statement C is not positive about discipline either, but it describes a fact, and not a problem. Statements A and B describe an issue – team spirit is not possible along with discipline. Therefore, it is fine to have statement C in the blank.

Answer: (4) C only

2.2 Contribution

This technique is an offshoot of analysing key message. Sometimes, you might have sentences which are in agreement with the author's viewpoint, but are not contributing to the key message or adding salient points to the discussion. It could also be a weaker statement or example in comparison to the other statements.

This should be used only after the previous techniques. If there is a statement which is not contributing to the key message, logically inconsistent or not in sequence with the rest of the sentences, that has to be the odd one. You should use this technique only all the sentences are about the key message and logical.

For instance,
Silicon Valley startups are now offering analytics, audience-survey platforms, and even facial expression analysis, which are used to shape content. By targeting the audience bubbles, shows are turning out to be a success without becoming a global phenomenon like Game of Thrones. These systems also help studios and streaming platforms become more sensitive to the tastes of their audiences, avoiding cultural faux pas. But it would be well to keep in mind that while reliance on data minimises the risk of a movie or show failing financially, the practice would end up treating art like any other product. And the biggest hits—like Friends or Breaking Bad—often gain a cult following because they head off in a new and unexpected direction, representing the vision of a single person or small creative team.

This paragraph describes the issues with using technology to create content. The third sentence, however, has a weaker benefit, and hence can be eliminated – statements 1 and 2 explain the topic, and statements 4 and 5 explain the issue. Therefore, in a question, statement 3 would be the odd one.

Example 14

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.

1. Like knowledge, certainty is an epistemic property of beliefs.
2. When one acquires a bit of new information, there are many new questions that are generated by it, and each new piece of information breeds five-ten new questions.
3. Therefore, the more one knows, the greater his level of ignorance.
4. These questions pile up at a much faster rate than does accumulated knowledge.
5. One’s level of ignorance increases exponentially with accumulated knowledge.

Solution

In this paragraph, the author tells us that our ignorance increases in proportion with our knowledge – the more we know, the more ignorant we become. Statement 5 introduces this hypothesis and statement 3 is the conclusion emphasising this (the word therefore in statement 3 helps us infer that it is the conclusion, and therefore, statement 5 has to be the introductory sentence).

The logic for this hypothesis is explained in statements 24 (new information generates many more questions faster than the knowledge itself).

Statement 1 is speaking about certainty, whereas the rest of the paragraph is about lack of certainty, or increasing ignorance. It does not add any new information to the key message, instead, this statement takes the discussion in a different direction.

As all the other statements contribute to the author's hypothesis, we can eliminate this option.

Answer: 1

Example 15

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. Talk was the most common way for enslaved men and women to subvert the rules of their bondage, to gain more agency than they were supposed to have.
2. Even in conditions of extreme violence and unfreedom, their words remained ubiquitous, ephemeral, irrepressible, and potentially transgressive.
3. Slaves came from societies in which oaths, orations, and invocations carried great potency, both between people and as a connection to the all-powerful spirit world.
4. Freedom of speech and the power to silence may have been preeminent markers of white liberty in Colonies, but at the same time, slavery depended on dialogue: slaves could never be completely muted.
5. Slave-owners obsessed over slave talk, though they could never control it, yet feared its power to bind and inspire—for, as everyone knew, oaths, whispers, and secret conversations bred conspiracy and revolt.

Solution

This paragraph is all about slaves' speech.

Statement 4 explains that slaves had to speak. The other statements explain that speech could help slaves overthrow their conditions. (Note that the word agency in statement 1 means power).
Statement 5 also explains that this is the reason that the slave-owners were scared of this.

The statement which contributes the least to this is statement 3 – it speaks about the importance of speech based on their ethnicity. This is not as relevant to the key message (speech could reduce slaves' helplessness).
Therefore, statement 3 is the odd one.

Answer: 3

2.3 Repetition

Sometimes, we get the same fact or logical statement in two sentences. We should find the sentence which “fits” the context better, and eliminate the weaker alternative.

We might have two or three examples or events. If nothing else can be eliminated, we can also look for the example which does not explain the author's viewpoint, or which explains is least (in comparison). This could be the odd-one-out.

For instance,
The very idea of freedom is entrenched in our personal and moral codes: it is hardly controversial to say that we do not want to be bound by forces beyond our control, subservient to the whims of other people and of the universe. But the question of whether we should want freedom is so rarely asked. To question freedom itself is, for many, tantamount to insanity. Why wouldn’t we want to be free – especially when so many people have suffered the injustices of oppression, and still suffer them every day? But the desire for freedom is more than just a desire for liberty from oppression. It reflects an intuitive desire for self-determination, to be the author of one’s own life.

In this paragraph, the author explains why no one questions our desire for freedom. The first two statements introduce the context. The next two sentences explain why we do not question this. Statement 3 is a stronger statement than statement 4, and hence, statement 4 (in red) is the one which would be eliminated.

Please use this technique sparingly, do not be tempted to eliminate examples in favour of additional facts. Only the sentence which is illogical, weak or not part of the key message should be eliminated.

Example 16

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.

1. None of those things, when they first happen, feels like a life-changing decision.
2. If you give in to “just this once,” based on a marginal-cost analysis, you’ll regret where you end up.
3. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we are able to break our own personal rules “just this once.”
4. But each of those decisions can roll up into a much bigger picture, turning you into the kind of person you never wanted to be.
5. In our minds, we can justify these small choices.

Solution

This paragraph is explaining why breaking personal rules is not good. This is introduced in statements 35, and the remaining statements explain why breaking personal rules are bad.

Statements 14 and statement 2 both have the same explanation, but statement 2 does not explain the reason as well as statements 14 taken together. Therefore, statement 2 is the odd one, and the sequence is 3514.

Answer: 2