PTE – Reading – Reorder Paragraphs – 20 Practice Questions

Your PTE Academic exam tests four main English language abilities. Those skills are reading, writing, listening and speaking. In this section, your reading skills will be put to the test.

In the PTE Reorder Paragraphs Questions, you will find some text in front of you. Paragraphs of the text are in the wrong order. Your task is to arrange the paragraphs in the correct order.

Things to Remember During Recorder Paragraphs Exam

The key here is to identify the relationships between paragraphs correctly by noticing rhythms and relationships in the text. The following points are some of the things to remember during your revision and exam.

• You can not start to reorder any of the paragraphs without first reading all the text in front of you. If you attempt to reorder before looking at all the options you will almost certainly make unnecessary mistakes.
• Have you heard of what a ‘topic sentence’ is yet? You will come across this a few times during your preparation for your PTE Academic exam. These are sentences that get to the point of what the overall text is about.
• What seems like a logical order to you? All text has some sort of beginning middle and end. We have already established that the topic sentences will most likely be in the middle.
• Now look for a paragraph that introduces what is being spoken about, this will be at the start of the text. Finally, look for text that somewhat concludes and place it near the end.
• Once you have worked out roughly what paragraphs are at the start, middle and end, look for a relationship between the nouns and pronouns in the paragraphs.
• Do not rush yourself, especially during practice runs. There may be paragraphs that seem to go together well enough, but they don’t flow well once read out loud.
• Readout loud the text once rearranged and see if it has a natural flow.

You will get points for each pair of paragraphs that you arrange in the correct order.

The points are only awarded for pairs of paragraphs that have been arranged correctly and not for the individual paragraph being in the right place.

Your reading is vital not only for this exam section but in your future studies.  So taking the time out to understand how academic text and literature is structured is an important lesson to learn all round.

Complete PTE Reorder Paragraphs Questions

Question 1

1. But we cannot deny the advantages of technology, for example, phones have brought the world closer.
2. Technology has both advantages and disadvantages.
3. For example, phones are known to cause problems due to radiation.
4. I think it all boils down to how we use a particular technology.
5. Some people also make phone calls while driving, which cause incidents

Model Answer

1. Technology has both advantages and disadvantages.
2. For example, phones are known to cause problems due to radiation.
3. Some people also make phone calls while driving, which cause incidents
4. But we cannot deny the advantages of technology, for example, phones have brought the world closer.
5. I think it all boils down to how we use a particular technology.

Question 2

1. To face the growth of trade it was deemed necessary to remedy this lack of adequate currency.
2. In most countries, it is only the government, through their central banks, who are permitted to issue currency.
3. The first Scottish bank to do this was the Bank of Scotland.
4. But in Scotland, three banks are still allowed to issue banknotes.
5. When this bank was founded in 1695, Scots coinage was in short supply and of uncertain value, compared with English, Dutch, Flemish or French coin.

Model Answer

1. In most countries it is only the government, through their central banks, who are permitted to issue currency.
2. But in Scotland, three banks are still allowed to issue banknotes.
3. The first Scottish bank to do this was the Bank of Scotland.
4. When this bank was founded in 1695, Scots coinage was in short supply and of uncertain value, compared with English, Dutch, Flemish or French coin.
5. To face the growth of trade it was deemed necessary to remedy this lack of adequate currency.

Question 3

1. This usually irritates me, but I don’t mind it here, and their interactions are well handled and informative.
2. They’re not all necessarily good guys, either, although with the hurricanes wreaking wholesale destruction upon the world’s coastal areas, ethical categories tend to become irrelevant.
3. But even the Evil American Corporate Magnate is a pretty likable guy.
4. Unlike Barnes’ previous books, Mother of Storms has a fairly large cast of viewpoint characters.

Model Answer

1. Unlike Barnes’ previous books, Mother of Storms has a fairly large cast of viewpoint characters.
2. This usually irritates me, but I don’t mind it here, and their interactions are well handled and informative.
3. They’re not all necessarily good guys, either, although with the hurricanes wreaking wholesale destruction upon the world’s coastal areas, ethical categories tend to become irrelevant.
4. But even the Evil American Corporate Magnate is a pretty likable guy.

Question 4

1. The date of his baptism is unknown.
2. Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen , was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038.
3. At his birth, he was given the pagan name Vajk.
4. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in or after 975 in Esztergom.
5. He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from the prominent family of the gyulas.

Model Answer

1. Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen , was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038.
2. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in or after 975 in Esztergom.
3. At his birth, he was given the pagan name Vajk.
4. The date of his baptism is unknown.
5. He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from the prominent family of the gyulas.

Question 5

1. The consequence is that refugee acceptance is slowing down.
2. Australian immigration policy was relatively loose before.
3. We accept more refugees than we were expected.
4. At the same time, new refugee policies have been changed secretly.
5. Because of the election, refugee applications are extended.

Model Answer

1. Australian immigration policy was relatively loose before.
2. We accept more refugees than we were expected.
3. Because of the election, refugee applications are extended.
4. At the same time, new refugee policies have been changed secretly.
5. The consequence is that refugee acceptance is slowing down.

Question 6

1. In 1571, it became the capital of La Florida.
2. Marquez arrived in October 1577 at the abandoned town of Santa Elena with two shops carrying pre-fabricated posts and heavy planking.
3. The town had flourished, nearing 400 residents, since its establishment more than a decade earlier in 1566 by Pedro Merendez Aviles who had founded La Floria and St. Augustine the year before.
4. They erected fort San Marcos in six days in defense against a Native American attack such as the one that forced the abandonment of the town a year earlier.

Model Answer

1. Marquez arrived in October 1577 at the abandoned town of Santa Elena with two shops carrying pre-fabricated posts and heavy planking.
2. They erected fort San Marcos in six days in defense against a Native American attack such as the one that forced the abandonment of the town a year earlier.
3. The town had flourished, nearing 400 residents, since its establishment more than a decade earlier in 1566 by Pedro Merendez Aviles who had founded La Floria and St. Augustine the year before.
4. In 1571, it became the capital of La Florida.

Question 7

1. In addition, one of the five was a roughly Mars-sized planet, half the size of Earth.
2. A team of scientists has discovered two Earth-like planets in the habitable orbit of a Sun-like star.
3. Four of the planets are so-called Super-Earths, larger than our own planet, but smaller than even the smallest ice giant planet in our Solar System.
4. Using observations gathered by NASA’s Kepler Mission, the team found five planets orbiting a Sun-like star called Kepler-62.
5. These new super Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 and 1.9 times that of Earth.

Model Answer

1. A team of scientists has discovered two Earth-like planets in the habitable orbit of a Sun like star.
2. Using observations gathered by NASA’s Kepler Mission, the team found five planets orbiting a Sun-like star called Kepler-62.
3. Four of the planets are so-called Super-Earths, larger than our own planet, but smaller than even the smallest ice giant planet in our Solar System.
4. These new super-Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 and 1.9 times that of Earth.
5. In addition, one of the five was a roughly Mars-sized planet, half the size of Earth.

Question 8

1. Above all, Marx’s fresh perspective on 19th-century events encouraged his readers to think, and his writing is surprisingly relevant today.
2. During his 11 years of writing for the New York Tribune, Marx tackled an abundance of topics, from issues of class and the state to world affairs.
3. Particularly moving pieces highlight social inequality and starvation in Britain, while others explore his groundbreaking views on the slave and opium trades – Marx believed Western powers relied on these and would stop at nothing to protect their interests.
4. Karl Marx is arguably the most famous political philosopher of all time, but he was also one of the great foreign correspondents of the nineteenth century.

Model Answer

1. Karl Marx is arguably the most famous political philosopher of all time, but he was also one of the great foreign correspondents of the nineteenth century.
2. During his 11 years of writing for the New York Tribune, Marx tackled an abundance of topics, from issues of class and the state to world affairs.
3. Particularly moving pieces highlight social inequality and starvation in Britain, while others explore his groundbreaking views on the slave and opium trades – Marx believed Western powers relied on these and would stop at nothing to protect their interests.
4. Above all, Marx’s fresh perspective on 19th-century events encouraged his readers to think, and his writing is surprisingly relevant today.

Question 9

1. Wholesalers have responsibilities to check if the customers have the license to get this thing.
2. There is one thing that has been banned in NSW, companies, and individuals cannot get it from the wholesale.
3. Unless a license has been approved by a specific department.
4. Anyone who has been caught using this thing will lose their jobs.

Model Answer

1. There is one thing that has been banned in NSW, companies and individuals cannot get it from the wholesale.
2. Wholesalers have responsibilities to check if the customers have the license to get this thing.
3. Anyone who has been caught using this thing will lose their jobs.
4. Unless a license has been approved by a specific department.

Question 10

1. The range is extremely wide.
2. To find out if sea life is as diverse as land life, some biologists started to do research.
3. This complicated analysis was published in several leading journals.
4. They spent 3 years counting all living beings that they can count.

Model Answer

1. To find out if sea life is as diverse as land life, some biologists started to do a research.
2. They spent 3 years counting all living beings that they can count.
3. The range is extremely wide.
4. This complicated analysis was published in several leading journals.

Question 11

1. Several new types of wagons were invented subsequently.
2. Railway is a revolutionary invention, that can save a lot of time and money.
3. With industrial development, steel railways were invented.
4. In the beginning there was only wooden railway in the beginning.

Model Answer

1. Railways is a revolutionary invention, that can save a lot of time and money.
2. In the beginning, there was only a wooden railway in the beginning.
3. With industrial development, steel railways were invented.
4. Several new types of wagons were invented subsequently.

Question 12

1. He suggests the country’s computer services industry can simply outsource research to foreign universities if the capability is not available locally.
2. Indian businessmen have used IT to create new business models that enable them to provide services in a more cost-effective way. This is not something that necessarily requires expensive technical research.
3. Innovation in India is as much due to entrepreneurism as it is to IT skills, says Arun Maria, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group in India.
4. “This way, I will have access to the best scientists in the world without having to produce them myself,” says Mr. Maria.

Model Answer

1. Innovation in India is as much due to entrepreneurism as it is to IT skills, says Arun Maria, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group in India.
2. Indian businessmen have used IT to create new business models that enable them to provide services in a more cost-effective way. This is not something that necessarily requires expensive technical research.
3. He suggests the country’s computer services industry can simply outsource research to foreign universities if the capability is not available locally.
4. “This way, I will have access to the best scientists in the world without having to produce them myself,” says Mr. Maria.

Question 13

1. The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs.
2. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family’s origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony.
3. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names.
4. It was named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I.

Model Answer

1. The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs.
2. It was named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I.
3. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family’s origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony.
4. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names.

Question 14

1. Another reason could be the burgeoning number of companies, which means an exponential increase in the number of ads that are being made.
2. Although there is a huge shift in the quality of ads that we come across on a daily basis – thanks essentially to improvement in technology – I somehow can’t help but feel that the quality of communication of the message has become diluted.
3. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to observe and understand the thought processes behind the ads that have been flooding both the print and the TV media.
4. There is an increasing attempt by most companies to be seen as cool and funky.
5. Proportionally, the number of ads that lack in quality, has gone up exponentially as well.

Model Answer

1. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to observe and understand the thought processes behind the ads that have been flooding both the print and the TV media.
2. Although there is a huge shift in the quality of ads that we come across on a daily basis – thanks essentially to improvement in technology – I somehow can’t help but feel that the quality of communication of the message has become diluted.
3. There is an increasing attempt by most companies to be seen as cool and funky.
4. Another reason could be the burgeoning number of companies, which means an exponential increase in the number of ads that are being made.
5. Proportionally, the number of ads that lack in quality, has gone up exponentially as well.

Question 15

1. It offered proof of what the US psychologist William James noticed more than a century ago – that humans “are mere walking bundles of habits”.
2. Every day he was asked where the kitchen was in his house, and every day he didn’t have the foggiest idea.
3. In 1992 a retired engineer in San Diego contracted a rare brain disease that wiped out his memory.
4. Yet whenever he was hungry he got up and propelled himself straight to the kitchen to get something to eat.
5. Studies of this man led scientists to a breakthrough: the part of our brains where habits are stored has nothing to do with memory or reason.

Model Answer

1. In 1992 a retired engineer in San Diego contracted a rare brain disease that wiped out his memory.
2. Every day he was asked where the kitchen was in his house, and every day he didn’t have the foggiest idea.
3. Yet whenever he was hungry he got up and propelled himself straight to the kitchen to get something to eat.
4. Studies of this man led scientists to a breakthrough: the part of our brains where habits are stored has nothing to do with memory or reason.
5. It offered proof of what the US psychologist William James noticed more than a century ago – that humans “are mere walking bundles of habits”.

Question 16

1. This is because it chops the world up equally by longitude, without regard to the reality of either political divisions or the changing seasons.
2. For as long as I can remember, there has been a map in the ticket hall of Piccadilly Circus tube station supposedly showing night and day across the time zones of the world.
3. But the map has always fascinated me and still does, even though it now seems very primitive.
4. This is somewhat surprising given the London Underground’s historic difficulty in grasping the concept of punctuality.

Model Answer

1. For as long as I can remember, there has been a map in the ticket hall of Piccadilly Circus tube station supposedly showing night and day across the time zones of the world.
2. This is somewhat surprising given the London Underground’s historic difficulty in grasping the concept of punctuality.
3. But the map has always fascinated me and still does, even though it now seems very primitive.
4. This is because it chops the world up equally by longitude, without regard to the reality of either political divisions or the changing seasons.

Question 17

1. Moreover, money is worth what is because we have come to accept it.
2. The whole structure of traditional money is built on faith and so will electronic money have to be.
3. Cash transactions offer both privacy and anonymity as it does not contain information that can be used to identify the parties nor the transaction history.
4. To support e-commerce, we need effective payment systems and secure communication channels and data integrity.
5. Electronic transactions are happening in closed group networks and Internet. Electronic commerce is one of the most important aspects of Internet to emerge.

Model Answer

1. Cash transactions offer both privacy and anonymity as it does not contain information that can be used to identify the parties nor the transaction history.
2. Moreover, money is worth what is because we have come to accept it.
3. The whole structure of traditional money is built on faith and so will electronic money have to be.
4. Electronic transactions are happening in closed group networks and the Internet. Electronic commerce is one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge.
5. To support e-commerce, we need effective payment systems and secure communication channels and data integrity.

Question 18

1. Today, the projects of organizations like the World Bank are meticulously inspected by watchdog groups.
2. 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.
3. Scrutiny by the news media shamed many developed countries into curbing their bad practices.
4. But beginning the 1990s, foreign aid had begun to slowly improve.

Model Answer

1. But beginning the 1990s, foreign aid had begun to slowly improve.
2. Scrutiny by the news media shamed many developed countries into curbing their bad practices.
3. Today, the projects of organizations like the World Bank are meticulously inspected by watchdog groups.
4. 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.

Question 19

1. Regrettably, the Brazilian mission’s collection ended up languishing in vaults here.
2. Early in 1938, Mario de Andrade, the municipal secretary of the culture here, dispatched a four-member folklore research mission to the northeastern hinterlands of Brazil on a similar mission.
3. They recorded whoever and whatever seemed to be interesting: piano carriers, cowboys, beggars, voodoo priests, quarry workers, fishermen, dance troupes and even children at play.
4. His intention was to record as much music as possible as quickly as possible before encroaching influences like radio and cinema began transforming the region’s distinctive culture.

Model Answer

1. Early in 1938, Mario de Andrade, the municipal secretary of the culture here, dispatched a four-member folklore research mission to the northeastern hinterlands of Brazil on a similar mission.
2. His intention was to record as much music as possible as quickly as possible before encroaching influences like radio and cinema began transforming the region’s distinctive culture.
3. They recorded whoever and whatever seemed to be interesting: piano carriers, cowboys, beggars, voodoo priests, quarry workers, fishermen, dance troupes and even children at play.
4. Regrettably, the Brazilian mission’s collection ended up languishing in vaults here.

Question 20

1. The war brought many innovations to aviation, including the first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled rockets.
2. By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots available.
3. During the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the field of aviation, including the first transatlantic flight at Alock and Brown in 1919, Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight in 1927, and Charles Kingsford Smith’s transpacific flight the following year.
4. One of the most successful designs of the period was the Douglas DC-3, which became the first airliner to be profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service.

Model Answer

1. During the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the field of aviation, including the first transatlantic flight at Alock and Brown in 1919, Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight in 1927, and Charles Kingsford Smith’s transpacific flight the following year.
2. One of the most successful designs of the period was the Douglas DC-3, which became the first airliner to be profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service.
3. By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots available.
4. The war brought many innovations to aviation, including the first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled rockets.

How did you find this section? It will take a couple of goes to get right and being able to self-score will help you improve every time. Go back and compare your answers to the answers we provided you.

If you have gotten all the paragraphs in the right order for most of the questions then well done! You will only need to tweak your approach. If you got just a few right then don’t stress, it’s a learning process and no one gets it completely right on their first few goes.

Have a look at if you have identified the introduction, middle and end of the text correctly. This is the first step in identifying text structure so well done. You might have identified the start, middle, and end but the paragraphs may still be in the wrong order. Now just work on knowing what the relationship between the nouns and pronouns are and the ease of flow in the text once the paragraphs are together.

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