VARC

Para Jumble

Arrange 4–5 sentences into a coherent paragraph. Tests logical sequencing and discourse awareness.

Overview

Para Jumble (PJ) questions give 4–6 sentences in random order; you must arrange them into a coherent paragraph. CAT has 3–4 PJ questions per exam. On GMAT, PJ appears as Sentence Correction/paragraph arrangement and in Verbal Reasoning. The skill is understanding logical and discourse flow.

Step-by-Step Approach

Find the opening sentence — typically introduces the topic without using pronouns that refer to previously mentioned entities. Avoid sentences starting with "However," "But," "This," "It" (these need a prior context).
Find the closing sentence — often provides a conclusion, implication, or the author's final point. Closing sentences often use "Thus," "Therefore," "In conclusion," "Finally."
Build chains — link sentences by pronoun reference, logical continuation, or transitional words.
Use discourse markers:
- "However," "But," "On the other hand" → contrast with previous sentence
- "For example," "For instance," "Such as" → elaborates a previous general statement
- "This," "These," "It" → refers to the immediately preceding entity
- "Moreover," "Furthermore," "In addition" → adds to previous point

Mandatory Pairs

If sentence X mentions a concept and sentence Y defines or elaborates on it, Y must follow X. If sentence X uses "this theory" and only sentence Y defines a theory, X must come after Y.

Elimination Strategy

Once you find the opening sentence, eliminate all options that don't start with it. This usually reduces the choices to 2–3. Apply the same logic for the closing sentence.

Common Mistakes

Assuming the longest sentence is the opener (no correlation)
Ignoring pronoun references: "It is remarkable" — what is "it"? Find the sentence that introduces the entity
Placing contrast sentences (with "However") at the start of the paragraph

Exam Tips

CAT TITA PJ: you type the order, not choose from MCQ. Work out the full sequence before entering.
Always identify at least the first and last sentence; the middle will often fall into place once those are fixed
When two sequences seem equally valid, look for the most specific connector: "this experiment" is more specific than "experiments in general" and must follow the sentence that introduced the experiment

CAT PYQ Spotlight

Actual CAT questions on this topic

CAT 2021 · Slot 1

TITA

The sentences below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Find the correct order. A. The invention of agriculture, paradoxically, made the average farmer worse off than the average hunter-gatherer. B. Yet agriculture triumphed because it allowed a given area of land to support far more people. C. Hunter-gatherers worked fewer hours, ate a more varied diet, and suffered fewer diseases. D. The question of why humans adopted farming despite its costs has puzzled historians for generations. E. The answer lies not in individual welfare but in collective population dynamics.

Your answer

CAT 2021 · Slot 1

TITA

The sentences below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Find the correct order. A. This feedback loop makes it almost impossible to step outside one's own cultural assumptions. B. Culture shapes the categories through which we perceive the world. C. What seems natural and obvious to a person raised in one culture will seem bizarre or wrong to someone raised in another. D. And those categories in turn determine what evidence we consider relevant and what we overlook. E. Anthropologists call this 'ethnocentrism'—the tendency to interpret the world through the lens of one's own culture.

Your answer

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