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Difficulty: MediumParagraph Reordering and Placement

[1] In 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a South African museum curator, recognized a strange blue fish caught by a local trawler as something extraordinary. The specimen was soon identified as a coelacanth, a prehistoric fish thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago.

[2] This second find confirmed that the coelacanth was not an isolated anomaly but rather a member of a surviving, active population. Today, marine biologists use advanced submersibles to study these "living fossils" in their deep-sea habitats.

[3] The initial discovery shocked the scientific community, prompting a decade-long search for another specimen. J.L.B. Smith, a South African chemist and passionate ichthyologist, dedicated himself to scouring the coastlines of the western Indian Ocean.

[4] His dedication finally paid off in 1952, when a fisherman captured another coelacanth near the Comoro Islands.

To make the essay most logical and cohesive, where should Paragraph 2 be placed?

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

Answer

Paragraph 2 should be placed after Paragraph 4.
Placing Paragraph 2 after Paragraph 4 is correct because Paragraph 4 describes the capture of the second coelacanth in 1952. This event directly serves as the logical referent for the phrase 'This second find' at the beginning of Paragraph 2. Additionally, the transition to modern research ('Today...') in Paragraph 2 serves as a strong conclusion to the essay.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify structural, chronological, or grammatical clues in Paragraph 2.
Paragraph 2 begins with 'This second find,' which is a demonstrative phrase requiring a previously mentioned second discovery as its referent.
Tracking demonstrative adjectives helps locate the preceding context needed for paragraph cohesion.
2
Scan the rest of the essay to locate where the second discovery is introduced.
Paragraph 4 describes the capture of 'another coelacanth' in 1952, which constitutes the second find.
Finding the specific event described by the phrase ensures logical transition flow.
3
Test the entire sequence with Paragraph 2 placed after Paragraph 4.
The essay logically moves from the 1938 discovery (Paragraph 1), to the subsequent decade of searching (Paragraph 3), to the success of the search in 1952 (Paragraph 4), and ends with the evaluation of the second find and modern research (Paragraph 2).
Ensuring the entire narrative follows a coherent chronological and logical order validates the placement.

Key Concept

Paragraph placement is determined by identifying transition words, chronological indicators, and demonstrative pronouns/adjectives (such as 'this' or 'these') that link paragraphs together in a logical sequence.
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Paragraph Reordering and Placement

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