Parajumbles
Parajumbles, also known as sentence rearrangement or jumbled sentences, is a type of question often seen in language aptitude tests, competitive exams, and language learning assessments. In a parajumble question, a set of sentences related to a particular theme or topic is presented in a random order, and the task is to rearrange these sentences in a logical and coherent sequence.
The sentences in a parajumble might not have any specific chronological order, and it is up to the test-taker or examinee to determine the correct flow of ideas or events to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph. The correct answer is the arrangement of sentences that makes the most sense and conveys a clear message.
Parajumbles test the candidate’s ability to understand the context, logical connections between sentences, and coherence in writing. This skill is particularly important in understanding and constructing well-organized paragraphs, essays, or other pieces of writing.
To solve a parajumble question effectively, it’s essential to identify transitional words and phrases, contextual clues, and logical relationships between sentences. Practice and familiarity with various types of sentence structures and writing styles can be beneficial in mastering the art of solving parajumbles.
Parajumbles Meaning
Parajumbles, like Reading Comprehension and Cloze Test, appear in the English Language section of most of the competitive bank and government exams such as SSC, Banking, CAT, CDS and AFCAT.
As many as 5-6 questions are asked from parajumble in the bank exams nowadays. Some candidates may find the long paragraphs used in para jumble questions overwhelming. Many candidates find it difficult to make sense of the paragraph given in the jumbled form. If you also find para jumble a little tricky, we got your back.
Parajumbles if done correctly can make you score decent marks in the English section. In this blog, we have provided a step-by-step answer to the question “How to solve Parajumbles”. Follow these things religiously and next time whenever you see a parajumble question in your exam, you will be ready to tackle it with confidence.
Parajumbles for CAT
Parajumbles are a challenging yet crucial aspect of the CAT (Common Admission Test) exam, assessing candidates’ language aptitude and logical reasoning. CAT parajumbles present a jumbled set of sentences that must be skillfully arranged into a coherent paragraph.
Aspirants must carefully identify sentence relationships, contextual clues, and transitional phrases to unveil the logical sequence. This exercise not only tests their comprehension and analytical skills but also hones their ability to construct organized and meaningful write-ups.
CAT takers benefit from consistent practice, enhancing their proficiency in understanding complex structures and logical coherence—essential attributes for success in this prestigious management entrance examination.
Parajumbles for Bank Exams
Parajumbles form a significant part of bank exams, evaluating candidates’ language proficiency and logical acumen. These questions present a jumbled set of sentences that must be rearranged to form a coherent paragraph.
Aspirants must identify the proper sequence based on context, logical flow, and transitional cues. Mastering parajumbles helps bank exam takers enhance their reading comprehension and critical thinking abilities.
By solving these puzzles, candidates develop a better understanding of sentence structures and the art of constructing well-organized written pieces. Regular practice with parajumbles equips them with the necessary skills to excel in the language and reasoning sections of bank exams, increasing their chances of success.
First of all, what are “Parajumbles” that we are talking about. So, let us know a little more about Parajumbles.
Types of Parajumbles
- In some Parajumbles, the candidates are given the introductory or opening sentence is given and they’re required to unjumble the remaining sentences.
- In some, the closing sentence is provided and the candidates are required to use this to rearrange the remaining sentences.
- In some both the opening and closing sentences are given. These are the easiest Parajumbles to solve.
- In most cases, neither the opening nor the closing sentences are given. The candidate has to figure that out on his/her own. These are the most challenging Parajumbles to solve.
How to Solve Parajumbles
How to solve a parajumble faster? Candidates generally face this doubt while attempting parajumble questions. Follow this approach to answer a Parajumble question :
- Find the central theme of the passage by reading all sentences
- Look for the opening and/or closing sentence
- Weave the sentences together
- Identify the mandatory pairs
- Identify the transition words
Step 1: Find the Central Theme
Give the Parajumble a quick scan to get a ‘feel’ of what the passage is about. Find out the central theme of the Parajumble. Understanding the central theme/dialogue helps determine the flow of the story which goes a long way in helping you piece the paragraph together in the right order.
Step 2: Look for the Opening Sentence
In a paragraph, the opening sentence usually starts with the name of a person/place/concept/ premise/committee and establishes a scene. A closing sentence is the one that has a conclusion which start with words like ‘therefore’, ‘thus’, ‘hence’, etc. and contain advises/recommendations/ suggestions/summaries. It’s a good idea to find both opening and closing sentences. Once these two are determined, finding the other sentences becomes easy.
Example:
- She was waiting for her train.
- Geeta was at the railway station.
- She was going back home on a vacation.
In the above example, clearly, the second option (2) is the introductory/opening sentence. The passage talks about train, railway station, vacation etc.
- The first sentence must essentially introduce the person who’s catching the train to go on a vacation.
- Sentences (1) and (3) refer to the person as ‘she’, which is an indication that these aren’t the opening sentences. So, whenever you see a sentence starting from She, her, He, His, then you can almost certainly say that this sentence is not the opening sentence.
- Therefore, option (2) is the opening sentence; it introduces the person ‘Geeta’ and the place ‘Railway station’.
Hence, the right order of the above example would be: 2, 1, 3
Step 3: Weave the Sentences Together
Once you’re done finding the opening (introductory) and closing (concluding) sentences, start weaving the other sentences together based on factors like activities/time/chronology/any other sequence. Finding opening and closing sentence is nearly half work done.
Activities
Some Parajumbles talk about activities. Determining the order of the activities will help you solve the question. Start by finding out the initial activity. This will enable you to unfold a sequence that follows the flow of the story, thereby helping you put the sentences in the right sequence.
Example:
- She sells cupcakes throughout the day and returns home at 6 in the evening.
- She has her dinner at 8 and goes to sleep at 11.
- Maria has a cupcake business.
- She makes the cupcakes at home in the morning.
Central theme: Activities of a person who owns a cupcake business.
Activity tracking
Sentence ‘3’ is clearly the opening sentence, since it introduces the person ‘Maria’ and her ‘Cupcake business’.
- The Parajumble talks about her routine, i.e. from morning to evening. Therefore, sentence ‘4’ comes second as it talks about her morning activity (‘in the morning’ is an indicator)
- This is followed by sentence ‘1’, which talks about her activity throughout the day.
- The concluding sentence is sentence ‘2’. It talks about Maria’s activities after coming back home (‘dinner’ and ‘goes to sleep at 11’ are indicators of a conclusion).
Therefore, the right order of the Parajumble is: 3, 4, 1, 2
Abbreviations and Full-forms
Some Parajumbles contain a sentence with a full-form and other sentence(s) with its abbreviations. Here the sentence with the full-form comes first, followed by the sentence with the abbreviations. Abbreviations are always introduced with its full-form in preceding sentences.
Example:
- The CPU carries out the instructions given by the computer program.
- The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is an important part of a computer.
- CPUs are considered the heart and brains of a computer.
In the above example, sentence ‘1’ and ‘3’ contain the abbreviations ‘CPU’ and sentence ‘2’ contains the full-form of CPU. Therefore, sentence ‘2’ comes before sentence ‘1’ and ‘3’. Right order: 2, 1, 3
Ideas and Examples
Ideas always precede the examples. Some Parajumbles contain ideas, and examples of those ideas. The examples always follow the ideas.
Example:
- Like, the continental shelf, continental slope, abyssal plain and oceanic trenches.
- The Ocean floor is divided into many parts.
In the above example, sentence ‘1’ contains examples and sentence ‘2′ introduces an idea. Hence sentence ‘2’ comes before sentence ‘1’.
Connectives and Transition words
Connectives and transition words are logical connectors of different sentences. Connectives are words that connect two sentences together. Some examples of connectives are: After, When, Because, Alternatively, Although, Though, Yet, Until, Since, Etc.
Transition words, are words used by the author to shift one idea in a sentence to another (bringing a change). Some examples of transition words are: However, Besides, Nevertheless, etc.
Sentences that start with a connective or a transition word are almost never introductory sentences. They always refer to activities/events/people mentioned/introduced in the previous sentences.
Articles
The articles ‘The’, ‘A’ and ‘An’ too help in finding out the order of the sentences. ‘The’ is a definite article which is used before something/someone specific or when something/someone has already been introduced in the previous sentences.
Whereas, ‘A’ and ‘An’ articles are used when something is being introduced for the first time and are also used when stating general facts. A sentence containing ‘A’ and ‘An’ could be an introductory sentence.
Example:
- The girl had unusually long hair
- There was a girl, living in a tall tower
- And the tower was the tallest in town and hidden behind a dense foliage
In the above example, article ‘A’ is used to introduce the girl and the tower and article ‘The’ is used while mentioning the girl and the tower in options ‘1’ and ‘3’ respectively. Hence, option ‘2’ comes before opening ‘1’ and option ‘3’. Option ‘3’ contains the connective ‘And’ which is used to connect two sentences, hence ‘3’ comes after ‘A’. Right order: 2, 1, 3
Pronouns
Pronouns (He, she, it, him, her, their, etc.) are used in place of a person/place/thing that has already been introduced in one of the preceding sentences. So, if you find a pronoun in a sentence, it probably isn’t an opening sentence.
Example:
- Ajay is a good singer
- He has learnt vocal music for 12 years
In the above example, option ‘2’ contains the pronoun ‘he’. Whoever ‘he’ is, should essentially be introduced in one of the preceding sentences. Option ‘1’ introduces a person ‘Ajay’, hence, ‘he’ mentioned in option ‘2’ refers to ‘Ajay’. Option ‘1’ comes before option ‘2’.
Adjectives
Sometimes, adjectives can help solve Parajumbles too, especially comparative adjectives like better, worse, taller, shorter, etc.
Example:
- Rahul’s performance was good.
- Rahul and Ashok danced on the same song.
- Ashok’s performance was better.
In the above example, the adjectives ‘good’ and ‘better’ are used. ‘Better’ always comes after good (Good -> Better -> Best), hence, the option containing ‘good’ comes before the option containing ‘better. Right order: 2, 1, 3.
Time Sequence Approach
Sometimes Parajumbles contain a time sequence, i.e., words indicating a time sequence, such as, dates, years, or words like, before, later, after, when, etc. Notice these words and be aware of them, as they can help rearrange the sentences according to the right time sequence.
Example:
- Hemant eats his dinner at 8pm sharp.
- Post-homework, he is allowed to watch TV for half an hour.
- After that, he does his homework.
In the above example, the words ‘after’ and ‘post’ denote time sequence. Hence, options ‘3’ and ‘2’ come after option ‘1’. Right order: 1, 3, 2
Elimination Technique
If you’re running out of time, you can use the elimination technique to arrive at the right option quickly. After finding the opening and closing sentences, you can eliminate options which contain the wrong order of the opening and closing sentences.
Example:
- He sells newspapers in the morning.
- Ramesh is a hardworking person.
- He takes tuition for primary school children in the evening.
- He then goes to work as a personal assistant to a businessman.
In the above examples, option ‘2’ is the opening sentence and option ‘3’ is the closing sentence. Therefore, any option that doesn’t contain option ‘2’ in the beginning and option ‘3’ in the end can be eliminated.
Conclusions: Conclusions generally start with words like, thus, therefore, hence, in conclusion, etc. and are usually advises/summaries/recommendations/suggestions. Finding the opening and closing sentences makes it easier to connect them with the other options.
Step 4: Re-Read the Sentence to Ensure Continuity
Once you have weaved the sentences in the right order, re-read the passage to make sure that it makes sense grammatically and logically. The right order should have a continuity in the flow of the sentences, and should also make the sentence meaningful.
How to Solve Parajumbles – Tips
- If the given sentences are too lengthy, and you’re running out of time, be vigilant and pay attention to keywords like transition words, pronouns, adjectives and articles to solve it quickly.
- Notice sentences in paragraphs of novels and newspapers, notice how they are weaved together and how the words used to connect the sentences and conclude the paragraphs.
- Read a variety of text to prepare yourself for any kind of passage.
- Improve your vocabulary. Learn new words every day and use them in your conversations. Being thorough in grammar and vocabulary will go a long way in helping you solve Parajumbles.
Here’s a sample Parajumble. Try and solve it! (Solutions given at the end)
In the following question, the 1st and last part of the sentence/passage are numbered 1 and 6. Rest of the passage/sentence is split into four parts and named P, Q, R and S. These four parts are not given in the proper order. Read the sentence and find out which of the four combinations is correct.
1. Nalanda became India’s famous centre of education.
P. Ten thousand Buddhist monks used to live there.
Q. It is situated near the town of Bihar Sharif.
R. The ruins of Nalanda can still be seen.
S. It was visited by the Chinese Pilgrim Hiuen Tsang.
6. He stayed there for several years.
Options:
- QPSR B. RPSQ C. RQPS D. SPQR
Solution:
In the above passage the first and last sentences are given. The last sentence has a ‘he’ referring to a certain person who was introduced in one of the preceding sentences. The only sentence with a person being introduced is option ‘S’. Therefore, ‘S’ is the second last sentence.
The only option with option ‘S’ as second last sentence is option ‘C’. You can arrange the given sentences in the order given in option ‘C’ and read it to ensure it sound logically and grammatically correct. Also arrange them in order of other options too and see if any other sentence makes more sense than option ‘C’. The option that makes the paragraph make most sense grammatically and logically, is the right option.
The correct answer is option ‘C’.
Let’s solve some Higher level Parajumble questions now :
A. A small wooden nest box is all it has taken to rekindle all the romance of bringing sparrows and other birds back into our Cities and halt them from fading into the past like a forgotten folktale.
B. There is something wrong with a city that remains unperturbed even as its birds desert it.
C. Thankfully, the situation is not as hopeless as it seems.
D. Much as we try to defend the seemingly irreversible modern life of these cities, we can’t stop our hearts from crying when we realize that our rapidly degenerating urban eco-system isn’t generous enough to let these delicate winged creatures build tiny little nests in its nooks and crannies, sit in solitude, and rear offspring.
E. And this desertion seems to be true with most metros in India where house sparrows have almost become a thing of tin past.
Answer : BEDCA
A. However, many people may not be aware of the numerous other areas where it has been applied.
B. Today, even, those who have little knowledge about the production of virtual reality are now most likely aware of its use in video games.
C. Similarly, medical students have substituted a cadaver for a fiberglass mould of a body and a headset when training to perform surgery.
D. Virtual reality was an unfamiliar concept to many people till the early 90’s.
E. Introducing virtual reality to the real world, thus, has already proven to be beneficial for every industry it encounters.
F. For example, astronaut’ trainees have recently used virtual reality to simulate a trip to space.
Answer : DBAFCE
Parajumbles Practice Questions:
Here you can attempt Free quizzes for Parajumble questions.
Check More Parajumble tricks Here.
We hope the above information on how to solve Parajumbles helps you briefly understand what Parajumbles are.
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