Question:
From the given choices, choose the most logical order of sentences that constructs a coherent paragraph.
a. One of them copied and pasted large portions of the required text from a website.
b. Before assigning the project to his students, the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism.
c. The expulsion order that followed was not alarming.
d. A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences of the illegal act.
From the given choices, choose the most logical order of sentences that constructs a coherent paragraph.
a. One of them copied and pasted large portions of the required text from a website.
b. Before assigning the project to his students, the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism.
c. The expulsion order that followed was not alarming.
d. A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences of the illegal act.
a. One of them copied and pasted large portions of the required text from a website.
b. Before assigning the project to his students, the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism.
c. The expulsion order that followed was not alarming.
d. A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences of the illegal act.
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When arranging sentences, look for context-setting statements first, then follow with actions, and end with consequences or results.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
- cabd
- dbca
- badc
- bdac
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The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
Let us arrange the sentences in a logical sequence:
(A) The logical beginning is (b) — “Before assigning the project... the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism.” This sets the background and context for the entire paragraph.
(B) Next is (d) — “A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences...” This naturally follows the warning about plagiarism, showing that some ignored the advice.
(C) Then comes (a) — “One of them copied and pasted large portions...” This provides a specific example of the misconduct mentioned in the previous sentence.
(D) Finally, (c) — “The expulsion order that followed was not alarming.” This concludes the sequence by describing the consequence of the act. Thus, the most coherent order is bdac, which clearly follows a cause–effect and chronological flow: \emph{Warning → Ignoring warning → Misconduct → Consequence}.
(A) The logical beginning is (b) — “Before assigning the project... the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism.” This sets the background and context for the entire paragraph.
(B) Next is (d) — “A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences...” This naturally follows the warning about plagiarism, showing that some ignored the advice.
(C) Then comes (a) — “One of them copied and pasted large portions...” This provides a specific example of the misconduct mentioned in the previous sentence.
(D) Finally, (c) — “The expulsion order that followed was not alarming.” This concludes the sequence by describing the consequence of the act. Thus, the most coherent order is bdac, which clearly follows a cause–effect and chronological flow: \emph{Warning → Ignoring warning → Misconduct → Consequence}.
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Approach Solution -2
To order these four sentences into a coherent paragraph, first look for the sentence that can logically open the passage, one that sets the scene without depending on anything mentioned earlier, then trace the cause-and-effect chain that follows. Sentence (b) sets the background ('Before assigning the project... the guide gave a presentation on plagiarism'), so any option that does not start with (b) can be eliminated immediately.
- cabd: This opens with (c), 'The expulsion order that followed was not alarming,' which refers to an expulsion order and an antecedent event that have not yet been introduced. An opening sentence cannot refer back to something the reader has not seen yet, so this ordering fails immediately.
- dbca: This opens with (d), 'A few students did not pay much heed to the consequences,' but the consequences of what has not been established yet, since the warning about plagiarism in (b) has not appeared. This makes (d) an unsuitable opening line.
- badc: This correctly opens with (b), setting the plagiarism-warning background, but then jumps to (a), the specific act of copying and pasting, before (d), the general statement that some students ignored the warning. Logically, the general observation that some students ignored the advice should come before the specific example of that misconduct, not after.
- bdac: This opens with (b), the background presentation on plagiarism, followed by (d), the general statement that some students disregarded the warning, then (a), the specific example of one student's misconduct illustrating that general statement, and finally (c), the consequence, the expulsion order that followed. Each sentence logically sets up the next: warning, then disregard, then example, then outcome.
Only the order starting with the background sentence and moving through general disregard, specific example, and final consequence reads as one coherent paragraph.
Therefore, the correct answer is bdac.
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Approach Solution -3
A fast way to solve sentence-ordering questions is to look for a mandatory pair, two sentences forced next to each other by a pronoun that can only point to one specific sentence. Here, sentence (a) opens with 'One of them copied and pasted...', and the pronoun 'them' can only refer back to 'a few students' named in sentence (d), so (d) and (a) must sit next to each other, in that order.
- cabd: This places (c) first, but (c) says 'The expulsion order that followed', which needs an antecedent describing an act of misconduct, an antecedent this option never supplies before (c) appears. It also separates (a) from any sentence containing 'them', in this order 'them' in (a) would have to look back to (c), which names no students at all.
- dbca: The mandatory pair (d) then (a) is broken here, (b) and (c) are wedged between them, so 'them' in (a) no longer sits right after its antecedent 'a few students' in (d).
- badc: This keeps (d) and (a) apart as well, placing (a) directly after (b) instead of after (d), so 'them' in (a) would have to refer back to the guide's presentation in (b), which mentions no students to serve as an antecedent for 'them'.
- bdac: This keeps (d) immediately followed by (a), so 'them' in (a) correctly refers back to 'a few students' just named in (d). It opens with (b), the background presentation, and closes with (c), the expulsion order that now has a clear antecedent event, the misconduct in (a), to follow from.
Only the ordering that keeps the pronoun 'them' directly next to its antecedent 'a few students' satisfies the mandatory pair, and that same ordering also gives 'the expulsion order that followed' a clear act to follow.
Therefore, the correct answer is bdac.
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