How Reorder Paragraphs works
The boxes appear in random order in a source panel. You move them into a target panel in the order you think is correct, either by dragging or with the arrow buttons. The whole text is up to 150 words, so each box is short, often a single sentence. The challenge is not understanding the words but spotting how the sentences connect.
What is scored
Pearson gives partial credit on this task but does not publish the exact formula. The practice tool here uses a common way to estimate partial credit: one point for each pair of neighboring boxes that appear in the correct sequence.
Suppose the right order is A, B, C, D and you answer B, C, D, A. You placed the pairs B then C and C then D correctly, so you score 2 out of 3, even though no box is in its original position. The lesson: a wrong opener is not the end of the item. Every correct link you find still counts.
How to answer
- Find the opener. It introduces the topic with a full noun phrase and does not depend on anything before it. A sentence that begins with This, They, However or As a result almost never opens the text.
- Build pairs. Look for two boxes that clearly belong together: a pronoun and the noun it refers to, or a claim and the example that follows it.
- Chain the pairs. Join your pairs into a sequence and place any remaining box where the links allow.
- Read the result from top to bottom. The finished text should flow like a normal paragraph with no sudden jumps.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the most general-sounding sentence as the opener even though it contains this or these pointing back to something earlier.
- Ordering by topic instead of by grammar. Two sentences about the same subject are not necessarily neighbors.
- Missing the switch from a to the, which shows that a noun has already been introduced.
- Skipping the final read-through, where most wrong placements become obvious.
Clues that link sentences
- Pronouns and reference words: it, they, this method, such changes must come after the thing they refer to.
- Articles: a researcher introduces someone new; the researcher comes later.
- Connectors: however signals a contrast with the previous box, as a result signals a consequence, finally signals the end.
- Time markers: dates, initially, later and by the end of the century give a sequence.
- Full name then short name: an organization or idea is usually named in full before it is shortened.
Once you have ordered a practice item, read the explanation to see which of these clues decided each link. It is the quickest way to train your eye. For the other reading tasks, see the PTE reading guide.