PTE Re-order Paragraphs: Strategy & Scoring
Re-order Paragraphs gives you several jumbled text boxes that you must drag into a logical order. It looks tricky, but it follows clear logic — find the opening sentence, then chain the rest using linking words and references. Scoring rewards every correctly ordered adjacent pair, so partial credit is real and worth chasing.
How Re-order Paragraphs works
Four to five text boxes appear out of order; you drag them into the correct sequence to form a coherent paragraph. You typically face two to three of these.
Step-by-step strategy
- 1Find the topic sentence — the one that introduces the subject and stands alone, with no backward references.
- 2Look for pronouns ('it', 'this', 'they') and linking words ('however', 'as a result', 'therefore') that signal what came before.
- 3Follow chronology, cause-and-effect, or a general-to-specific flow.
- 4Place sentences that clearly belong together as adjacent pairs first.
- 5Re-read your final order to confirm it reads smoothly as one paragraph.
Lock in the pairs you are sure of
Because marks come from correctly ordered adjacent pairs, focus on linking the boxes you are confident belong next to each other. Even if the whole order is not perfect, every correct pair scores.
How it is scored
- You earn one mark for each pair of adjacent boxes that are in the correct order.
- There is no negative marking, so always attempt a full ordering.
- Partial credit means a 'mostly right' sequence still earns several marks.
- Getting the first box right and chaining correct pairs maximises your score.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting with a box that contains a pronoun or linking word referring to earlier text.
- Ordering by topic familiarity instead of grammatical and logical clues.
- Spending too long chasing a perfect order when partial credit is available.
- Ignoring transition words that clearly signal sequence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Re-order Paragraphs scored?
You earn a mark for every pair of adjacent text boxes placed in the correct order, with no negative marking. This means a partially correct sequence still scores, so always commit to a full ordering.
How do I find the first paragraph?
Look for the sentence that introduces the topic and makes sense on its own — it will not contain pronouns or linking words that refer back to something earlier. That standalone sentence is almost always the opener.
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