Re-order Paragraphs, PTE Academic

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Score Weightage

Overall Score3%

Reading9%

Source: Pearson PTE Academic, Scoring Information for Teachers and Partners. Weightings are averages and may vary per test form.

The Do's and Don'ts

Find the Independent Sentence FirstThis is your anchor. It introduces the topic without referring back to anything else, no pronouns, no 'the,' no transition words.

Build PairsDon't try to solve the whole paragraph at once. If you know B follows A, lock that pair in and work outward.

Look for Time MarkersDates, years, and words like initially, then, later, and eventually provide a clear chronological map.

Read the Final ResultOnce you've moved the boxes, read the paragraph top to bottom. If it sounds choppy, a link is likely missing.

Don't Start with a PronounSentences beginning with He, She, It, They, This, or Those almost always need an antecedent mentioned in a prior sentence.

Don't Ignore 'The' vs. 'A/An'Topics are introduced with 'a/an' (e.g., a festival) and referred to later with 'the' (e.g., the festival).

Don't Spend Too Much TimeIf stuck after 2 minutes, arrange as logically as possible and move on. Partial credit means even a mostly-correct order earns points.

Don't Ignore Full Names vs. AcronymsA sentence using a person's full name comes before one using just their last name. Full terms come before their acronyms.

Tips & Tricks

The Topic Sentence Test

A true topic sentence is a standalone statement. If you read it and ask 'Who?' or 'Which one?', it is likely not the first sentence.

General to Specific

Paragraphs move from a broad opening statement to specific details. If a sentence contains a statistic or example, it is rarely the first.

Transition Word Clues

However/But → contrast · Therefore/Thus → result · Moreover/Furthermore → addition · Initially/Then/Finally → sequence

Standardized Solving Protocol

The Independent Sentence Search

Scan for the sentence with no pronouns, no 'the,' and no transition words. This is your Sentence 1.

Find the Logical Follow-up

Does Sentence 1 mention a noun? Find the sentence that uses a pronoun or 'the + noun' to refer back to it.

Connect the Remaining Links

Look for sequence clues, dates, firstly/secondly, however. Match remaining sentences into logical pairs.

"Another connection…" implies a first connection was already mentioned, place after that first one.

The Final Cohesion Check

Read the reordered boxes as a single paragraph. Ensure the conclusion (Thus, Finally, Ultimately) is at the very end.

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Test-Taking Strategies & Practice

1 Find the topic sentence first

Read all text boxes quietly to yourself. Listen for the one that sounds most complete and independent. Signs of a topic sentence:

No pronouns (he, she, it, they, this) referring to something unnamed
No definite article "the" before a noun not yet introduced
No transition words like "But," "However," "Therefore" at the start
Introduces a broad concept rather than a specific detail

2 Look for language patterns to identify sequence

Once you have the topic sentence, find what follows by looking for:

Pronouns: "He," "She," "It," "They," "This" refer back to a noun in the previous sentence
Articles: "a/an" = first mention; "the" = already mentioned
Demonstratives: "This bank," "These markets" point to the preceding sentence
Connectives: However/But (contrast), Therefore/Thus (result), Moreover (addition)

3 Read your sequence aloud to check for logic and flow

Once ordered, read the whole passage in your sequence. Ask:

Does each sentence logically follow from the one before it?
Do any pronoun references feel disconnected?
Does the last sentence feel like a conclusion?

Because scoring is pair-based, even a mostly-correct order earns points.

Practice - Scottish Banking

Correct

1. In most countries it is only the government, through their central banks, who are permitted to issue currency.First -- provides background that makes the rest significant.

Correct

2. But in Scotland three banks are still allowed to issue banknotes."But" and "still allowed" signal reference to a restriction in the previous sentence.

Correct

3. The first Scottish bank to do this was the Bank of Scotland."to do this" refers to "to issue banknotes" in the previous sentence.

Correct

4. When this bank was founded in 1695, Scots coinage was in short supply and of uncertain value."this bank" refers to "the Bank of Scotland" in the previous sentence.

Correct

5. To face growth of trade it was deemed necessary to remedy this lack of an adequate currency.Concludes by giving a reason why the Bank of Scotland issued its own currency.

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Official Scoring Criteria

+1 per pair

Each pair of correctly ordered, adjacent text boxes earns 1 point.

0 (min)

Minimum score is 0. No negative marking.

Partial credit based on adjacent pairs, even if your overall order is not perfect, you earn points for each pair of boxes that are placed next to each other in the correct sequence.