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Difficulty: MediumParagraph Reordering and Placement

[1]
In 1930, Ruth Wakefield and her husband purchased a historic lodge in Whitman, Massachusetts, and opened the Toll House Inn. Ruth, a skilled dietitian and chef, quickly gained a reputation for her exceptional desserts, particularly her thin, crisp butter drop cookies. The inn soon became a popular destination for travelers seeking a comforting meal and sweet treats.

[2]
One afternoon in 1938, while preparing a batch of her famous cookies, Wakefield realized she had run out of baker's chocolate. Hoping to save time, she chopped up a bar of Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate and added the small chunks directly to the cookie dough. She fully expected the chocolate pieces to melt and marbleize the cookies during baking.

[3]
Word of Wakefield’s delicious new recipe spread rapidly, causing sales of Nestlé's semi-sweet chocolate bars to skyrocket. This sudden surge in demand prompted the company to strike a deal with Wakefield: they would print her Toll House recipe on their packaging in exchange for providing her with a lifetime supply of chocolate.

[4]
Instead of melting completely into the dough, however, the chocolate bits retained their shape, softening into creamy pockets of rich flavor. The resulting creation—which she called the "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie"—was an instant sensation among the inn's guests.

For the sake of the logic and cohesion of this essay, where should Paragraph 4 be placed?

  1. A
    where it is now
  2. B
    before Paragraph 1
  3. C
    after Paragraph 1
  4. after Paragraph 2Answer

Answer

after Paragraph 2
Placing Paragraph 4 after Paragraph 2 is logically correct. At the end of Paragraph 2, the author states that Wakefield 'fully expected the chocolate pieces to melt.' Paragraph 4 begins with 'Instead of melting completely into the dough, however...' This transition directly addresses the expectation set up in Paragraph 2, establishing a clear cause-and-effect relationship and maintaining chronological order.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main topic and chronological progression of the essay.
The essay describes Ruth Wakefield opening the Toll House Inn (Paragraph 1), experimenting with chocolate in a cookie recipe (Paragraph 2), the recipe becoming highly successful and leading to a partnership with Nestlé (Paragraph 3), and the physical result of the chocolate pieces in the baked cookie (Paragraph 4).
Understanding the timeline and sequence of events is crucial for organizing narrative paragraphs.
2
Analyze transitional links and content connection clues between paragraphs.
At the end of Paragraph 2, Wakefield expects the chocolate pieces 'to melt.' Paragraph 4 begins with 'Instead of melting completely...'. This directly contrasts and resolves the expectation established in Paragraph 2.
Pronouns, transition words, and direct thematic links connect sequential paragraphs.
3
Determine the placement that maintains logical flow and avoids narrative gaps.
Placing Paragraph 4 immediately after Paragraph 2 allows the description of the baking outcome to precede the discussion of the recipe's subsequent popularity and Nestlé's business proposal in Paragraph 3.
Ensuring the description of the cookie's creation occurs before its commercial success maintains a logical cause-and-effect narrative.

Key Concept

Paragraph-level logical flow and transitional cohesion
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Paragraph Reordering and Placement

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