Sentence Reordering and Paragraph Coherence

Clause connectors in complex sentences

A complex sentence joins one independent clause to one or more dependent clauses. In a reordering item, every fragment you place must attach through a connector that shows where it can go. Before fixing any order, read the opening word of each fragment, because it reveals what that fragment needs. A relative pronoun needs the noun it refers to directly in front of it. A participle needs the noun it describes. A coordinator needs a grammatically matching element on its other side. A time preposition needs the event it locates. A fragment that begins with one of these needs cannot open a sentence that has no subject yet, so your first step is always to find the element that the connector requires.

• Relative pronouns (who, which, that) — introduce a clause that modifies the noun directly before them, so the relative clause must sit immediately after its antecedent. Example: 'The engineer who designed the pump was promoted.'
• Coordinators (and, or) — join elements of the same grammatical type, such as a verb phrase to a verb phrase or an infinitive to an infinitive. A part that begins with 'and' or 'or' must follow a parallel element and cannot open the sentence. Example: 'She reads the file and writes a summary, or she asks a colleague to check it.'
• Participial modifiers (-ed or -ing phrases) — describe the noun next to them and must stay adjacent to it. Moving the phrase away from its noun, or placing it before any noun, creates a dangling modifier. Example: 'The data collected in the survey were incomplete.'
• Complement that-clauses — follow verbs such as show or believe and nouns such as belief, completing their meaning. The that-clause must come after its governing word. Example: 'The study showed that sleep improves memory.'
• Time phrases (after, before, right after, some years before) — locate an action or belief in time and usually sit next to the verb or noun they modify. Example: 'Some years before the merger, the firm had lost its largest client.'
• Pseudo-clefts and infinitives ('What X needs is ...', 'the aim is to ...') — place a noun phrase in the predicate slot, which an infinitive or relative clause then expands. The expansion must follow the noun phrase it completes. Example: 'What the team needs is a leader who can decide quickly.'

When you check a candidate order, confirm that the first clause has a subject and a finite verb, that every dependent fragment is attached to the element it requires, and that the last fragment fits the closing words exactly.

Discourse markers for paragraph sequence

In a paragraph-ordering item, the remaining sentences are linked by discourse markers and by reference words. The correct order is the one in which each sentence has a place to attach. The opening sentence introduces its topic in full, so it cannot begin with a connective that presupposes an earlier point, such as 'However', 'Further', or 'Moreover'. Read each candidate sentence for three kinds of signal: a connective that defines its relation to the previous sentence, a pronoun or demonstrative such as 'this', 'such', or 'these' that points back to a noun, and a reference to a field or term already named. A sentence that depends on earlier material must follow the sentence that supplies it.

• Additive connectives (Further, Moreover, Furthermore) — add a new point of the same kind as the previous one, and they signal that the paragraph is extending its argument rather than turning. Example: 'The method is inexpensive. Moreover, it requires little training.'
• Contrastive connectives (However, Nevertheless, On the other hand) — mark a qualification or exception to the sentence before. Example: 'Output rose sharply last year. However, profits remained flat.'
• Demonstrative and anaphoric reference (this condition, such cases, these flows, here) — points back to a previously stated idea, so the referring sentence must come after the sentence that introduces that idea. A word like 'here' also presupposes a context that has already been established.
• Opening and aside markers (Most obviously, First, Incidentally) — 'Most obviously' introduces the plainest point, often at the start of a series, while 'Incidentally' introduces a side remark that adds little to the main line and cannot open a paragraph.
• Concluding markers (One can infer, Thus, Therefore) — 'One can infer' marks a conclusion drawn from what has come before and typically closes the paragraph, so it cannot precede the claims it summarizes.
• General claim, typical case, qualification, inference — a common pattern begins with a general statement about meaning or method, then gives the typical case, then qualifies it, and finally draws an inference. This pattern shows that the general claim must open the sequence.
• Continuation through conjunctions and participles — a sentence that opens with 'and' or with a participle depends on the sentence before it, in the same way that a clause connector depends on its governing element within one sentence.

When ordering sentences, identify the one that introduces the topic, then add the sentences that elaborate, qualify, and conclude, testing each junction for a connective or reference word that justifies its position.