Understanding Sentence Rearrangement Questions

Sentence rearrangement questions ask you to put a set of jumbled sentences back into a logical order to form a coherent paragraph. To solve these, you need to identify the introductory sentence, connecting ideas, cause-and-effect relationships, and concluding statements.

Analyzing the Sentences

We are given an initial statement and four sentences labeled A, B, C, and D. We need to find the best sequence for A, B, C, and D to create a flowing story or description following the initial statement.

Initial Statement: Patty the milkmaid had just finished milking her cow and had two full pails of fresh creamy milk.

• A: ‘Once I get the money, I'll buy a chicken’, she thought.
• B: She put both pails on a stick and set off to the market to sell her pails of milk.
• C: This chicken will lay tens of eggs.
• D: Along the way she started to think of all the milk in her pails and all the money she would get for them.

Finding the Logical Flow

Let's analyze how the sentences connect to the initial statement and to each other:

• The initial statement tells us Patty has milk. What would she do next? She would likely take it somewhere, probably to sell it. Sentence B describes exactly this action: "She put both pails on a stick and set off to the market to sell her pails of milk." This makes B the most logical follow-up to the initial statement.
• Once she is on her way to the market (as described in B), what might happen? She might start thinking. Sentence D describes her thinking about the milk and the money she expects to get: "Along the way she started to think of all the milk in her pails and all the money she would get for them." This thought process in D logically follows her setting off for the market in B. So, D comes after B.
• Sentence D mentions her thinking about the money she would get. Sentences A and C are thoughts related to using that money. Sentence A says, "‘Once I get the money, I'll buy a chicken’, she thought." This thought directly relates to the money mentioned in D. So, A logically follows D.
• Sentence C says, "This chicken will lay tens of eggs." The "This chicken" refers to the chicken she plans to buy according to sentence A. So, C is a thought that logically follows the thought in A. C comes after A.

Constructing the Paragraph Sequence

Based on the logical connections, the sequence of the four sentences (A, B, C, D) should be:

1. B (Setting off to market)
2. D (Thinking about money on the way)
3. A (Thinking about buying a chicken with the money)
4. C (Thinking about the eggs the chicken will lay)

The correct sequence is BDAC.

Forming the Coherent Paragraph

Let's put it all together:

Patty the milkmaid had just finished milking her cow and had two full pails of fresh creamy milk. She put both pails on a stick and set off to the market to sell her pails of milk. Along the way she started to think of all the milk in her pails and all the money she would get for them. ‘Once I get the money, I'll buy a chicken’, she thought. This chicken will lay tens of eggs.

This forms a complete and coherent paragraph telling a short story.

Summary of the Correct Order

The most logical and coherent order of the sentences is BDAC.

Revision Table: Sentence Sequencing Tips

Additional Information: Coherence and Cohesion

A coherent paragraph is one where all sentences are logically connected and easy to understand. Cohesion refers to the grammatical and lexical links between sentences, such as using pronouns, transition words, or repeating key terms. Both coherence and cohesion are essential for effective writing.

In this example, the logical flow of Patty's actions (getting milk > going to market > thinking on the way > planning purchases) provides coherence. Words like "Along the way" (in D, connecting to B) and "This chicken" (in C, connecting to A) provide cohesion.