Reorder Paragraphs

How the task works and where it fits

Reorder Paragraphs is the third task in the official Reading order, after R&W FIB and MCMA and before FIB-R, so any time you overrun here comes out of FIB-R. There are usually 2–3 items. Per Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide, you score one point for each correct adjacent pair: with four boxes, the maximum is three pairs. Check the latest official guide before your test.

An honest assessment: clues like pronouns help, but the core of this task is reading comprehension and a feel for how English text flows. Fill-in-the-blanks tasks improve faster with method. So if your study time is limited, put it into the two fill-in-the-blanks tasks first and come back to Reorder Paragraphs as your reading improves. Even so, the three clues below will reliably earn partial credit within the time limit.

Three clues

Check these in turn:

1. Reference. A box containing he, she, they, this or these needs an earlier box that introduces what it refers to. "The + a noun already mentioned" works the same way.
2. General to specific. English paragraphs usually open with a complete, self-contained topic sentence, and later boxes add detail. The most independent statement is usually the opening.
3. Time. Years and words like then, afterwards, today and before that show the sequence.

Supporting habits:

• Finding the first box. The opening sentence stands on its own and doesn't start with however, thus or other linking words.
• Linking words. Firstly, secondly, finally show sequence; in contrast shows contrast; however shows a turn. Check whether each box's start connects to the previous box's end.
• Skim first. Read all the boxes quickly for the overall idea before ordering. Unlike fill-in-the-blanks, this task needs the big picture.

Worked example. The boxes below are shuffled; try it before reading the explanation.

A. The nerves do not contain pain receptors so scientists do not think sea turtles feel pain when touched on the shell, but these thin nerves could transmit information to other parts of the sea turtle's body.

B. The bony shell of a sea turtle can actually sense when something touches it.

C. In addition, researchers and scuba divers have observed sea turtles respond to the stimulation of being touched on the skin of their head and their flippers.

D. A series of thin nerves run along the shell and detect pressure changes associated with touch.

B is the general statement: no reference words, a complete idea. D introduces "a series of thin nerves" to explain how. A says "the nerves", pointing back to D. That's as strong as a pronoun. C begins "In addition", so it adds something at the end. Order: B-D-A-C.

When clues conflict or are missing

We can't give you a figure for how many items these clues solve; no reliable data exists. What we can say is how strong each clue is, and what to do when they disagree. Real items are often harder than tidy examples, because clues clash or don't appear at all.

Trust clues in this order:

1. Strongest: reference. A pronoun or "the + repeated noun" must come after what it refers to. That's a grammatical constraint, not a style choice, and it locks in exactly one adjacent pair, which is the unit that scores.
2. Next: linking words. In addition, however, for this reason state the relationship to the previous box explicitly.
3. Weakest: time and general-to-specific. These are conventions. A writer can give the conclusion first and then go back in time.

What to do:

• Reference against anything else: reference wins. If "they" in A can only mean the vaccines in C, then C-A is fixed, even if the timeline seems to suggest otherwise.
• Two weak clues disagree: pick one, finish, and move on. Pairs scoring means one wrong spot only loses a pair or two. Spending 40 extra seconds on it is the real loss.
• No clues at all: put the most self-contained box first (no reference words, no linking word), order the rest by feel, and submit.
• Only one pair is certain: lock it. If D must follow C, treat C-D as a single block and arrange it with the others. You've already secured a point.

A quick self-check: after ordering, ask "Which two pairs can I justify?" If you can name two, you're likely to get at least two pairs. If you can't name one, you're going on feel, so submit and move on.

Worked examples with each clue

Aid and oversight (shuffled):

A. Although the system is far from perfect, it is certainly more transparent than it was when foreign aid routinely helped ruthless dictators stay in power.

B. Scrutiny by the news media shamed many developed countries into curbing their bad practices.

C. By the beginning of the 1990s, foreign aid began to slowly improve.

D. Today, the projects of organizations like the World Bank are meticulously inspected by watchdog groups.

• Time: C has "the 1990s", D has "Today", so C comes before D.
• General to specific: C states the trend, B explains why, D gives the present result.
• Reference: A's "the system" points back to the oversight described before it, and A is an overall evaluation, so it goes last.

Order: C-B-D-A. Here all three clues agree, which makes it a clean example. Remember that the harder cases are the ones where they don't.

A news story (shuffled):

A. "He saw a 'few' snakes and quickly crawled out," said a post on the company's Facebook page.

B. The company ended up removing 45 rattlesnakes from beneath the house.

C. A snake removal company responded to a home in Albany, Texas, after a man who was trying to restore his cable climbed under the house and saw some snakes.

D. "We arrived around lunchtime and as soon as I crawled under I could immediately see that there was far more than a 'few,'" the post said.

C gives the full background with no reference words, so it opens. A's "He" refers to "a man" in C. D answers A's quote: "a 'few'" becomes "far more than a 'few'". B "ended up" gives the final result. Order: C-A-D-B.

This adds another clue: quotes that answer each other. When one box quotes someone and another responds to the same point, especially with a contrast in amount, they usually sit together.

Time limits

Match the Reading overview's budget: up to 1 minute 30 seconds per item, which works for both the tight and the relaxed paper, and the whole section within 3 minutes to 4 minutes 30 seconds. Overruns come out of FIB-R. The full budget is in Reading overview and timing.

• If a quick skim gives you the order, submit straight away.
• If after 1 minute 30 seconds two or more boxes are still uncertain, lock any pairs you're sure of, arrange the rest sensibly, and submit.

Pairs scoring means a partly wrong order still earns points. You don't need a perfect order to score.

Practice checks

• Take 8 Reorder Paragraphs items. Mark the reference, linking and time clues in each, then decide the order. Find them in the Re-order Paragraphs question bank.
• Time each one at 1 minute 30 seconds and submit when the time is up.
• Afterwards, read your order through to check it flows. This is for practice only; there's no time for it in the test.

Check: across eight new items in a row, average at least two correct adjacent pairs per item (out of three with four boxes), with every item submitted within 1 minute 30 seconds. If you're not there, use the Reading overview's diagnosis table: are the clues not yet checked in order, or do you lose track when they conflict? Those need different work.

Try this one (shuffled):

A. They protect children from getting and spreading diseases that can make them very sick.

B. For this reason, we require children aged 2 months to 18 years old who are entering or attending childcare, public school, or private school be vaccinated against certain diseases.

C. Vaccines are very important to this effort.

D. A healthy school setting gives all students the best chance to learn and grow.

D is the topic sentence: self-contained, no reference or linking words. C's "this effort" refers to the healthy school setting in D. A's "They" can only mean the vaccines in C (D has no plural noun for it to refer to). B "For this reason" draws the requirement from what came before, so it closes. Order: D-C-A-B.

Score yourself by pairs, not "right or wrong". The correct pairs are D-C, C-A and A-B. If you answered D-C-B-A, you still get D-C, one point. And make sure you can name at least two of the clues you used, such as "this effort" referring back and "They" as a pronoun.