Para Jumbles • Topic 2 of 4
Linking Sentences
Some sentences clearly belong together as a pair — one raises a point and the next continues or answers it, or one ends with a noun the next picks up. Find these 'mandatory pairs' and keep them adjacent.
Lock the mandatory pairs
A "mandatory pair" is two sentences that must sit together because one directly continues the other. Spotting them slashes the number of possible orders.
| Pairing signal | Order |
|---|---|
| One sentence asks, another answers | question → answer |
| An echoed keyword across two sentences | keep adjacent |
| Cause and effect | cause → effect |
| A noun then a pronoun for it | noun → pronoun sentence |
Repeated words are gold. If sentence A ends mentioning "the committee" and sentence B begins "The committee then…", they are a pair — place B right after A.
✅ Solved examples
1. What is a "mandatory pair"?
Two sentences that must be adjacent because one directly continues the other.
2. How do repeated/echoed words help?
They signal that two sentences belong next to each other.
3. Why find pairs early?
They cut the number of possible orders sharply.
4. If sentence B answers a question in A, what is their order?
A then B (B follows A).
✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed
1. Two sentences sharing an echoed keyword are likely a ___.
Adjacent.
—
—
pair
2. A sentence that answers another must come ___ it.
Order.
—
—
after
3. Finding pairs ___ the number of possible orders.
Lowers.
—
—
reduces
4. A cause sentence comes ___ its effect sentence.
Logic.
—
—
before
5. Keep mandatory pairs ___ in the final order.
Together.
—
—
adjacent
📝 Topic test — 8 questions
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Formula Reference Sheet
This chapter
Ordering clues
| Opener | introduces the subject with a full noun (no "this/he/it") |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | he/she/it/they must follow the noun they replace |
| Connectors | however/therefore/also link to the previous idea |
| Chronology | time/sequence words order events |
SSC reference
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