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Question

Difficulty: EasySentence Reordering and Placement

The following paragraph is from an essay about the history of the pencil:

[1] The first pencils were developed in England during the sixteenth century, following the discovery of a massive graphite deposit. [2] Locals quickly realized that this newly found material was excellent for marking their sheep. [3] Because graphite is naturally soft and messy, people soon began wrapping the graphite sticks in string or wood. [4] Today, pencils are manufactured globally using a refined blend of graphite and clay.

The writer wants to add the following sentence to the paragraph:

"This protective casing kept the dark graphite from staining the writer's fingers."

To make the paragraph most logical, where should this sentence be placed?

  1. A
    Before Sentence 1
  2. B
    After Sentence 1
  3. C
    After Sentence 2
  4. After Sentence 3Answer

Answer

After Sentence 3
Placing the sentence after Sentence 3 is correct because the phrase 'this protective casing' refers directly to the action of 'wrapping the graphite sticks in string or wood' described in Sentence 3. This placement maintains a clear logical flow by immediately explaining the purpose and benefit of the wrapping before transitioning to the modern pencil manufacturing described in Sentence 4.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key logical marker in the sentence to be inserted.
The phrase 'This protective casing' is a demonstrative noun phrase that requires a previously mentioned 'casing' or 'wrapping' to serve as its antecedent.
Tracking pronouns and demonstrative adjectives is the most reliable way to find the correct placement of a sentence.
2
Scan the paragraph to locate where a 'casing' or 'wrapping' is first introduced.
Sentence 3 mentions that people 'began wrapping the graphite sticks in string or wood.' This is the only reference to a casing in the paragraph.
Locating the antecedent establishes the necessary context before the new sentence can be introduced.
3
Insert the sentence after the identified antecedent and verify the flow of the paragraph.
Placing the sentence after Sentence 3 allows 'this protective casing' to immediately refer to the string or wood wrapping. The paragraph then flows smoothly into Sentence 4, which discusses modern pencils.
Verifying the overall coherence ensures that the insertion does not disrupt the narrative flow or create logical gaps elsewhere.

Key Concept

Sentence reordering and placement relies on identifying logical connectors, transition words, and pronoun-antecedent relationships to position a sentence where its references are clear.
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Topics

Sentence Reordering and Placement

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