ReadingPTE AcademicPTE Core

PTE Re-order Paragraphs

In PTE Re-order Paragraphs you are given several text boxes in a jumbled order and must drag them into the sequence that forms a coherent paragraph. Scoring is by adjacent pairs: you earn a point for every pair of boxes that ends up correctly next to each other, so a partially correct order still scores.

Timing: Untimed within the reading section — budget about 2–3 minutes per item.
Contributes to: Reading score

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How PTE Re-order Paragraphs is scored

One point per correctly ordered adjacent pair

How to score higher in Re-order Paragraphs

1
Find the topic sentence first. It introduces the subject with a full noun phrase and never begins with a pronoun or a linker.
2
Chase the referents: 'this policy', 'these findings', 'he' must all point back to something already introduced.
3
Use linking words as arrows — 'However', 'Furthermore', 'As a result' can never open the paragraph.
4
Because scoring is by adjacent pairs, lock in the pairs you are confident about even if you cannot solve the whole order.
5
Read your final order end to end. If the story flows, it is almost certainly right.

Repeated Re-order Paragraphs passages

Re-order Paragraphs passages reappear whole, and a recognised passage is close to a solved one — you recall the opening sentence and the chain that follows. With adjacent-pair scoring, that recall converts into full or near-full marks in under a minute.

Even on passages you recognise, verify the links — pronouns, connectors, time markers — before confirming. The verification habit costs seconds, protects you against half-remembered orders, and is precisely the skill that solves unfamiliar passages.

How PTE Monster’s prediction tiers rank the bank

Common mistakes in Re-order Paragraphs

Ordering by topic familiarity instead of by grammatical and referential links.
Opening with a box that begins with a pronoun or a connector.
Abandoning the item because the full order is unclear, when partial pairs still score.

Re-order Paragraphs — frequently asked questions

How is PTE Re-order Paragraphs scored?

By adjacent pairs. Every two boxes that end up correctly next to each other earn a point, so you still score marks for a partially correct sequence — it is never all or nothing.

How do I find the first paragraph in Re-order Paragraphs?

The opening box introduces the topic using full noun phrases rather than pronouns, and it never starts with a linking word such as 'However' or 'Therefore'. If a box refers to 'this study' or 'these results', something before it must have introduced them.

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