SCRAMBLED PARAGRAPH PRACTICE SET
UQTSR. U is the most logical first sentence—it provides an example of an affliction or illness resisting doctors’ attempts to
combat it. Q must follow, as “this deadly virus” must refer to HIV in sentence U. T’s “gap in understanding” refers to the
concept of “missing something important” in Q. “This connection” in S refers to the mind/body reference in T. R concludes by
suggesting how mind/body medicine might improve the medicine of the future.
1.
RTSUQ. R provides an explanation for why a Latin poet would be the source for Greek myths. T must come next, as “only in
Ovid’s pages” must refer to “relied on the Latin poet Ovid.” S introduces a contrasting idea—the idea that Ovid thought the
stories were nonsense. U spells out the “consequence” of this belief—that he changed all the stories. Finally, Q concludes by
speculating on what the Greeks would have thought of Ovid’s destruction of their stories.
2.
QUTRS. Q must come first because this “naive question” can refer to only the question posed in the Topic Sentence. U must
follow Q because it provides a reason why the “question” in Q is “in fact interesting.” T must follow, as “in an infinite
universe” expands on the issue mentioned in U. R’s “each of those stars” connects back to “a star lying in every possible line
of sight” in T. Finally, “the fact that they are not” in S refers to “the heavens would be filled with light” in R.
3.
UTQRS. “They” in U refers to the philosophers in the Topic Sentence. T must come next, as “without their writing and
lectures” must follow “the philosophers in eighteenth-century France.” Q spells out one “surprising” aspect of this fact: that
you’d think that the people would have rebelled without needing the writings of philosophers. R’s “miserable situation”
refers to “poverty and starvation” in Q. Finally, “they” in S must refer to “the masses” in R.
4.
SUQRT. S logically follows the Topic Sentence, as “one area of debate” expands on why the study of indoor pollution is
“controversial.” Only sentence U can come next, as “such labels” must refer to “high, low” and so forth in S. Q follows
logically because it explains why such labels might not correlate with “acceptable” health risks. Finally, R draws a
conclusion from the statement in Q—that people in above-average pollution households deserve wider concern. T raises a
future policy consideration.
5.
TUSQR. T provides the beginning of an explanation for the phenomenon described in the Topic Sentence. U logically
follows by explaining when “groupthink” typically occurs. The last three sentences are more challenging. Why does
groupthink occur? Sentence S tells us why—group members prize the solidarity of the group above all other considerations.
What would happen as a result? Q tells us—whatever the leader says, the group will tend to agree. Finally, R spells out the
consequence—wrong decisions are often made.
6.
RQTUS. R logically follows the Topic Sentence because it begins the explanation of why Child was ignored. Q expands on
the contrast between Child and other nineteenth-century women writers mentioned in R. Finally, TUS conclude the paragraph,
as “his endorsement” in U must refer to “William Lloyd Garrison” in T, and S must follow U because “our gain” refers to the
“modern reader” in U.
7.
- RTSQU. R logically follows the Topic Sentence by providing a specific example of the phenomenon mentioned in the Topic
