PARAJUMBLES

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

 WHAT ARE PARAJUMBLES?

• Parajumbles are jumbled paragraphs. Basically, you are

given a paragraph - but the sentences are not in the right
order. It's up to you to untie this knot and rearrange the
sentences so that they logically make sense.

• Normally instructions for this type of questions will read

"Choose the most logical order of sentences from among
the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph".
TIPS AND CUES TO
SOLVE
 TIP 1 - FIND THE OPENING SENTENCE
• To create a coherent and meaningful paragraph, it is
important to find the correct opening sentence.

• The opening sentence will lay the foundation of a

meaningful paragraph.

• A logical order will thence be followed.

 FINDING A PROBABLE OPENING
SENTENCE
• Look at the following example

A. This is prime tiger country.

B. Late March in Ranthambore , the world is all sunshine, crisp air
and flowering tress.
C. But in the late 1990s, tigers vanished from this open , rugged
scrubland along the Aravallis.
D. Today, in an ambitious conservation step, work is on here at a
frenetic pace to bring back the Lord of the Jungle.
• The opening sentence must introduce the person, place,
thing, concept or idea.

• So in the above example, A cannot be the opening sentence

because it is vague and does not make the reference object
clear.

• C too cannot be the opening sentence because it begins with

'but' and has no reference of contradiction.

• Out of B and D, B is more appropriate to be the opening

sentence because it talks of past time and a coherent
paragraph should follow chronology.
 CUES TO FIND OPENING SENTENCE
• It will introduce an idea in the first hand.

• In most of the cases it will use indefinite article a/an. i.e. if both definite and
indefinite articles are used for the same noun then the sentence containing
noun with indefinite article a/an will come first (may be opening sentence).

• The sentence can stand alone

• It will not have pronouns (exception: if respective noun is not mentioned

anywhere). It will not have contrast words/or words indicating
continuation/or words like - hence , therefore, so- etc.
 TIP 2 - LOCATING MANDATORY PAIRS
• Mandatory pairs are nothing else but a given sequence of
sentences that will occur in a particular order only.

• Look at the example given in the next slide.

 A. Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time.
B. His favorite surface is the grass.
C. He is ambidextrous.
D. He can play forehands with his right hand as well as the
left hand.
E. But he can play the backhand only with his right hand.
F. And his favorite tournament is Wimbledon.

Did you find the mandatory pair?

 CUES TO FIND THE MANDATORY PAIR
• In a mandatory pair the information will flow from general
to specific.

• To move General to Specific is to move from an

introductory sentence to one that provides details.

• In this case, C is a general statement and D provides

details.
• In the above example it is clear that B and C should follow
the order CD.

• So, CD is the mandatory pair.

• An option with C and D in the order CD will be the correct

answer.

• In case there are 2 or more options with the order CD, try
locating the opening sentence and eliminate the wrong
options.
Another Example
A. He felt justified in bypassing the Congress altogether on a
variety of moves.
B. At times he was fighting the entire Congress.
C. Bush felt he had a mission to restore power to the presidency.
D. Bush was not fighting just the democrats.
E. Representatives democracy is a messy business, and a CEO
of the White House does not like a legislature of second
guessers and time wasters.

1. CADEB 2. DBAEC 3. CEADB 4. ECDBA

• Answer: Option 4 is based on the following:
• 1. Identify the pair DB. Option 1 is eliminated as it does
not has DB in the required order. Now we are left with
oprions 2, 3 and 4.
• 2. Option 2 eliminated as cannot start with D becaue it
lacks an introductory idea/concept.
• 3. E forms the most general statement and forms the
start of the paragraph.
 TIP 3 - WATCH OUT THE TRANSITION WORDS
• Transition words make the shift from one idea to another very
smooth. They organize and connect the sentences logically.
Observing the transition words found in a sentence can often
give you a clue about the sentence that will come before/after
that particular sentence. Given below are some commonly used
transition words:

• also, again, as well as, besides, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, similarly, consequently,
hence, otherwise, subsequently, therefore, thus, as a rule, generally, for instance, for example, for
one thing, above all, aside from, barring, besides, in other words, in short, instead, likewise, on one
hand, on the other hand, rather, similarly, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless, first of all, to begin
with, at the same time, for now, for the time being, in time, later on, meanwhile, next, then, soon, the
meantime, later, while, earlier, simultaneously, afterward, in conclusion, with this in mind, after all, all
in all to sum-up.
EXAMPLE -
• A. But in the industrial era destroying the enemy's productive capacity means
bombing the factories which are located in the cities.
• B. So in the agrarian era, if you need to destroy the enemy's productive capacity,
what you want to do is bum his fields, or if you're really vicious, salt them.
• C. Now in the information era, destroying the enemy's productive capacity
means destroying the information infrastructure.
• D. How do you do battle with your enemy?
• E. The idea is to destroy the enemy's productive capacity, and depending upon
the economic foundation, that productive capacity is different in each case
• F. With regard to defence, the purpose of the military is to defend the nation and
be prepared to do battle with its enemy.

1. FDEBAC 2. FCABED 3. DEBACF 4. DFEBAC

SOLUTION -
Look at the transition word "but" in the first sentence. It signifies that the sentence is
expressing an idea contrary to an idea expressed in some previous sentence. Now we
need to find that previous sentence. If we further look at the beginning of the first
sentence, it says "but in the industrial era..." which suggests that the contrariness is
with respect to eras.
•Looking further, we see that sentence B and C are also starting with statement about
eras. But the transition word at the start of C is "now" which expresses present era and
hence it cannot chronologically come before any other past era. That is, if information
era is the present era, talk about any other era will come before this. So sentence B is
the correct sentence to come before the first sentence.
•Likewise, sentence C is the correct sentence to come after the first sentence
(sentence C is continuing the idea). Therefore, we have the link BAC.
•We see that option 1, 3 and 4 all have the link BAC. Furthermore, all the three options
have the link EBAC. Therefore, we only need to arrange D and F. The sentence F
states that "The purpose is...to battle with the enemy" and D questions "how do you
battle with the enemy?" Therefore, D will come after F.
•Hence FDEBAC is the correct arrangement.
 TIP 4 - LOOK OUT FOR PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
• Personal pronouns are he, she, it, him, her, they, you,
your etc. Remember that personal pronouns always refer
to a person, place or thing etc.
• Therefore, if a sentence contains a personal pronoun
without mentioning the person, place or object it is
referring to, the person, place or object must have come
in the previous sentence.
• Often, this is a good lead to identify a link.
EXAMPLE -
• A. Although there are large regional variations, it is not infrequent to find a
large number of people sitting here and there and doing nothing.
• B. Once in office, they receive friends and relatives who feel free to call any
time without prior appointment.
• C. While working, one is struck by the slow and clumsy actions and reactions,
indifferent attitudes, procedure rather than outcome orientation, and the lack
of consideration for others.
• D. Even those who are employed often come late to the office and leave early
unless they are forced to be punctual.
• E. Work is not intrinsically valued in India.
• F. Quite often people visit ailing friends and relatives or go out of their way to
help them in their personal matters even during office hours.

1. ECADBF 2. EADCFB 3. EADBFC 4. ABFCBE

SOLUTION-
Look at the personal pronoun "they" in sentence B: Once in office, they receive friends and
relatives who feel free to call any time without prior appointment. This they must be
referring to some people. The reference to some people only comes in sentences A, D, and
F. Therefore, one of the sentences will come before sentence B. Let's see the link AB, DB,
and FB;
•Link AB- Although there are large regional variations, it is not infrequent to find a large
number of people sitting here and there and doing nothing. Once in office, they receive
friends and relatives who feel free to call any time without prior appointment.
•Link DB- Even those who are employed often come late to the office and leave early
unless they are forced to be punctual. Once in office, they receive friends and relatives who
feel free to call any time without prior appointment.
•Link FB- Quite often people visit ailing friends and relatives or go out of their way to help
them in their personal matters even during office hours. Once in office, they receive friends
and relatives who feel free to call any time without prior appointment.
•Which of these links makes sense? Only link DB seems coherent. Now, we examine the
options with link DB. We see that options 1 and 3 have link DB in them. Also, both the
options have link ADBF. Therefore, ADBF is a link. Now we only need to place sentences E
and C. We can do that by reading the sentences in the order given in options 1 and 3.
SOLUTION CONTINUED -

• In Options 1 and 3, the order DBF is common.

• Both the options seem plausible. We have to determine which one of the links
EC and EA is better. Here is the thumb rule when trying to determine
plausibility of a link
• THE FLOW OF AUTHORS IDEA SHOULD BE COMPLETELY LOGICAL; THE
AUTHOR DOES NOT JUMP FROM ONE IDEA TO OTHER SUDDENLY.
• In link EC, sentence E is talking about work not being valued whereas
sentence C is talking about people being clumsy, indifferent, inconsiderate etc.
Sentence C is NOT talking about value of work. It is talking about people's
behavior. Therefore, EC cannot be a logical flow.
• In link EA, sentence E is talking about work not being valued and sentence A is
talking about people sitting idle. This certainly says that people do not value
work. Therefore, EA is the correct link.
• Hence, option 3 is correct.
TIP 5 - LOOK OUT FOR DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

• The demonstrative pronouns are "this," "that," "these,"

and "those." "This" and "that" are used to refer to singular
nouns or noun phrases and "these" and "those" are used
to refer to plural nouns and noun phrases.
• Whenever a sentence contains a demonstrative pronoun
without mentioning the noun or the noun phrase, it means
that the previous sentence must be mentioning that noun
or noun phrase.
• Finding that noun or noun phrase helps us connect two
sentences.
EXAMPLE -
• A. Michael Hofman, a poet and translator, accepts this sorry fact
without approval or complaint.
• B. But thanklessness and impossibility do not daunt him.
• C. He acknowledges too "in fact he returns to the point often " that
best translators of poetry always fail at some level.
• D. Hofman feels passionately about his work, and this is clear
from his writings.
• E. In terms of the gap between worth and rewards, translators
come somewhere near nurses and street-cleaners.

• 1. EACDB 2. ADEBC 3. EACBD 4. DCEAB

SOLUTION-
• Notice the demonstrative pronoun "this" in sentence A: Michael Hofman, a poet and
translator, accepts this sorry fact without approval or complaint. Also note that
sentence A is introducing Michael Hofman (Michael Hofman, a poet and
translator,...) and will thereby come before every sentence containing the personal
pronoun he or him. So which sorry fact is sentence A referring to? It can only be the
fact found in sentence E. Also, other sentences contain "he" or "him".
• Therefore, EA is a link. Link EA is contained in option 1, 3 and 4. But in 4, sentence
D is coming before sentence A, and this cannot happen because sentence A should
be before any other sentence referring to Hofman as sentence A is introducing
Hofman. Therefore, we are left with options 1 and 3. The difference between options
1 and 3 is the order of sentence D and B. Let's examine the link DB:
• Option 1: Link DB- Hofman feels passionately about his work, and this is clear from
his writings. But thanklessness and impossibility do not daunt him.
• Does this sound like a plausible flow? Certainly NOT.
• Therefore, link DB is incorrect and the correct answer is option 3.
VARIOUS APPROACHES TO SOLVE
PARAJUMBLES
 1. COMBINING IT ALL WITH LOGIC
• Sometimes using logic to decide the order of sentences
can yield high dividends. In the previous example, we had
used logic to determine that sentence A would come
before any other sentence referring Hofman. Keep your
eyes open for clues such as these.
• Refer to the example given in the next slide. (CAT
question )
EXAMPLE-
• A. The situations in which violence occurs and the nature of that violence tends
to be clearly defined at least in theory, as in the proverbial Irishman's question:
"Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?"

• B. So the actual risk to outsiders, though no doubt higher than our societies, is
calculable.

• C. Probably the only uncontrolled applications of force are those of social

superiors to social inferiors and even here there are probably some rules.

• D. However binding the obligation to kill, members of feuding families engaged

in mutual massacre will be genuinely appalled if by some mischance a
bystander or outsider is killed.

• 1. DABC 2. ACDB 3. CBAD 4. DBAC

SOLUTION-
• The clue to this question came from the word "calculable" in
sentence B: So the actual risk to outsiders, though no doubt higher
than our societies, is calculable. How does something become
"calculable"? Then you may notice sentence A and the phrase
"clearly defined in theory..." Something becomes calculable when it
is clearly defined in theory. No other sentence could give answers
to "calculable". Therefore, the link AB was clearly marked. The link
AB was present in option 1 only. Easy, no?

• Notice that we have been going to the option again and again to
eliminate one or two options. Form this habit sedulously. It will pay
you rich dividends.
 2. ACRONYM APPROACH
• Full form vs. short form:

• In PJ we encounter full and short names sometimes acronyms of some term or

institution.

• Ex-World Trade Organization - WTO

• Dr. Manmohan Singh - Dr. Singh
• Karl Marx - Marx
• President George W. Bush - President bush or the president

• The rule is that if both full form as well as short form is present in different
sentences, then the sentence containing full form will come before the sentence
containing short form.
EXAMPLE -
• 1. If you are used to having your stimulation come in from outside, your mind
never develops its own habits of thinking and reflecting

• 2. Marx thought that religion was the opiate, because it soothed people's pain
and suffering and prevented them from rising in rebellion

• 3. If Karl Marx was alive today, he would say that television is the opiate of
the people.

• 4. Television and similar entertainments are even more of an opiate because

of their addictive tendencies.

A. 2134 B. 1423 C. 2431 D. 3241

SOLUTION-

• Sentence 2 has Marx (short Form) and sentence 3 has

Karl Marx (Full form). So 3 will come before
• 2. Now look at the options. In A, B and C, 2 is placed
before C,hence rejected.
• 3. D is the right answer.
 3. TIME SEQUENCE APPROACH
• Either dates or time sequence indicating words: Be aware
of the time indication either by giving years - or by using
time indicating words.

• Arrange the sentences using their proper time sequence.

• Here are a few time sequence indicating words -Before,

after, later, when
EXAMPLE -
• 1. By the time he got to Linjeflug four years later, he had learned many
lessons; in fact, he began his second stint as top dog by calling the entire
company together in a hanger and asking for help, a far cry from his barking
out commands just 48months back.

• 2. At SAS, he arrived at a time crisis.

• 3. This book is chock-a-block full of intrusive stories and practical advice,

describing Carton's activities at Vingresor (where he assumed his first
presidency at age 32), Linjeflug, and SAS in particular.

• 4. He began at Vingresor as an order giver, not a listener - neither to his

people nor to his customers and made every mistake in the book.

A. 2143 B. 2134 C. 3214 D. 3412

SOLUTION -
• 4 will come before 1 and 2. Hence 3412.

• Alternate: In 3, order is given - Vingressor, Linjeflug, SAS

- arrange according to this.

• Alternate: 3 will be the opening sentence because only 3

has noun (NAME) for he.
 4. HYPOTHESIS OR THEORY
APPROACH
• If any sentence is working as an example - place it after
the sentence for which it is working as an example, not
necessarily just after - because one has to explain the
idea, it is hypothesis/ theory.

• It should not be before the idea that it explains.

• Idea should always preceed elaboration

EXAMPLE -
• 1. The potential exchanges between the officials of IBBF and the Maharashtra
Body-Building Association has all the trappings of a drama we are
accustomed to.
• 2. In the case of sports persons, there is room for some sympathy, but the
apathy of the administrators, which has even led to sanctions from
international bodies, is unpardonable.
• 3. A case in the point is the hefty penalty of US $10,000 slapped on the Indian
Body-Building Federation for not fulfilling its commitment for holding the Asian
Championships in Mumbai in October.
• 4. It is a matter of deep regret and concern that the sports administrators often
cause more harm to the image of the country than sportsmen and
sportswomen do through their dismal performances.

A. CABD B. DBCA C. DABC D. CDBA

SOLUTION-
• Here sentence 3 is an example of sentence 4. So it will
come after 4. So now only option B and C remain.

• Now go by ACRONYM Method discussed earlier. (IBBF in

1 and Indian Body-Building Federation in 3) 3 will come
before 1.

• So only option B remains, which is the right option.

 SOME OTHER APPROACHES -
5. ARTICLES APPROACH - Articles can be divided into two categories - Definite (the) and
Indefinite (a and an). When the author uses 'a / an' - he wants to make a general statement -
wants to introduce the noun followed by a/an for the first time but when he uses 'the' he wants to
refer back to some previously discussed noun. It means having 'the' is very unlikely in the
opening sentence. If 'a/an' and 'the' both are used for the same noun then the sentence
containing 'the' will come after the sentence containing a/an.
6. KEY WORDS APPROACH - Some words will be repeated in two consecutive
sentences. In most of the cases we repeat some important words of one sentence in the
sentence that follows. Hence if you are seeing any important (not like he, she, that, is, are type)
then chances are that these two sentences will be consecutive. Remember it gives you an idea
that which sentences can be consecutive for example 23 or 32 but for exact order you have to
look for some other clue or meaning.
7. STRUCTURE APPROACH - Link the sentences logically i.e. see what is the role
played by a specific sentence

Premise - Conclusion - Support - Example - Continuation

and then search for some proper sentence that should come before or the one which will follow.
 SOME OTHER APPROACHES Contd. -
8. INDICATING WORDS APPROACH -

Take care of words that indicate something helpful to decide sequence. Some words
indicates some specific nature of sentences that will come before or that will follow. Look
for the words like - But, So, Therefore, And, However
Cause and Effect Signals - Accordingly, in order to, because, so...that, consequently,
therefore, given, thus, hence, when...then, if...then
Support Signal Words - Furthermore, Additionally, Also, And, Too, as well, besides,
indeed, likewise, moreover
Contrast Signals (Implicit) - Anomaly, Anomalous, Anomalously, Illogic, Illogical,
Illogically, Incongruity, Incongruous, Incongruously, Irony, Ironic, Ironically, Paradox,
Paradoxical, Paradoxically, Surprise, Surprising, Surprisingly, Unexpected, Unexpectedly
 ALL THE RULES IN BRIEF
• The approaches for PARAJUMBLE:
• Acronym Approach - full form vs. short form
• Time Sequence Approach - TSA - either dates or time sequence indicating
words
• Examples Approach - EA - after an hypothesis or theory
• Articles - definite and indefinite
• Noun, Pronoun, and Demonstrative Adjective - NPDA Approach - limited to
not just noun
• Opening - Closing Sentence Approach - OCSA - supported or free, general
or need previous explanation
• Key Words Approach - KWA - words repeated in two consecutive sentences
• Structure Approach - SA - link sentences logically.
• Indicating Words Approach - IWA - take care of words that indicate
something helpful to decide the sequence.