Parajumbles for CAT without options and Odd one out, like Para Completion for CAT and Reading Comprehension for CAT, test your comprehension skills. On analyzing CAT previous years’ papers, you can observe that at least six questions are asked on Parajumbles and Odd one out.

As you improve in any one of the three topics, you will get better at the other two. Like Para Completion, the key to solving these questions is in identifying the chain of thought. Once a student is able to identify the central point and chain of thought, solving Parajumbles for CAT without options is fairly trivial. Download Parajumbles for CAT PDF solved questions. Take a free mock test for CAT exam.

But it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Parajumbles has seen both ups and downs in its journey with CAT. It was once was a hero but is now seen with the most villainous eyes. Why you ask? Simply because once we had to narrow down the possibilities from four to one but now we have to do it from all possible 120.

In this context Odd one out fares much better. Among five alternatives, we have to choose one which is logically out of context. So, it is wiser to choose odd one out questions over parajumbles for CAT without options, if one has to. But solving both of them requires the same skill i.e. understanding the chain of thought. Download Parajumbles Questions for CAT PDF.

When students ask me how to get better at Parajumbles for CAT without options or any reading comprehension related topics, I usually ask them to read good quality publications – articles, essays or well-written books. Inculcating a reading habit while preparing for CAT is not an easy thing. Habits take years to develop. The most effective way for a student to improve in RC and related topics from now to till CAT is to solve as many RCs/PCs/PJs as they can.

Tips and Tricks to solve Parajumbles for CAT without options

The essential tools you must have in your toolkit to tackle Para Jumble and Odd one out questions are as follows:

Understand the chain of thought

This is the only sure-fire way of solving Parajumbles for CAT without options and Odd one out questions. If you understand the paragraph, its purpose, and the central idea, you will know how to order the sentences. If you identify the central idea, then there is only one logical way to order the sentences- the order that would convey that idea in the easiest way.

The passage would have an implicit chain of thought – identify that chain of thought, and you have the correct order. Most sentences can be classified as the introduction to the idea, arguments for, arguments against, author’s opinion or personal stand on the subject, information regarding a subject, etc. Identify the purpose of each statement, and it would determine its position in the paragraph.

1) Identifying opening sentence

The opening sentence is most likely to be the one which introduces the subject of the passage. If the passage is about the life Edgar Allen Poe, the opening statement would mostly be the one in which he is named. All subsequent sentences would use the pronoun ‘he’ to refer to him.

2) Identifying the concluding sentence

The sentence that either sums up the thoughts expressed in the paragraph or brings the chain of thought to its logical conclusion is most likely to be the last line of the paragraph. Sentences that are inferences are more likely to be the last line as compared to facts and judgements.

3) Identifying links

Links help you identify the internal structure of the paragraph. Try to make blocks of sentences by finding two or more sentences that are logically related. You can identify sentences that are linked by using the following clues:

Transition words

Transition words are an absolute essential tool for Parajumbles for CAT without options, especially if you can make neither head nor tail of a paragraph. Words like Indeed, Moreover, However, Also, In fact, For example, Similarly, etc. provide hints about what was stated in the preceding statement. For example, “however”, “but” etc. indicate that this statement in a way contradicts the earlier one.

Other transitional words like “Indeed”, “Moreover” indicate that both the statements are consistent in their implication. Using transitional words you can figure out links between different statements. Once you have a block of statements, it becomes easier to identify the central idea or chain of thought.

Enumeration

Look out for connectors like “On the one hand”, “Initially”, “Firstly,”, “One reason was “, “The first time he . . ” etc. These sentences begin enumeration of reasons, arguments, etc. They will be closely followed by sentences that begin with “On the other hand”, “Secondly,”, “Afterwards”, “Another was”.

Cause and Effect

Two sentences listing the cause and effect of some action would be closely linked together with the cause preceding the effect.

For example: “She was over the maximum age limit for some competitive examinations like UPSC. Hence, she was concentrating more on other competitive examinations like CAT”. Whenever you see a transitional word like “Hence”, “As a result”, “Therefore” etc, the sentence states the effect of something. Try to find the sentence that would state the cause for producing this effect.

Chronology

If the information given in the paragraph describes an event, there would be a chronological order to it. For example, a passage on the cricket world cup is likely to start with information about the group stages and end with information about the finals.

Grammar

Pronouns within statements can be used to figure out the preceding statements. Before a pronoun is used, it must be defined in some statement. For a given pronoun, figure out which statement contains a suitable subject. This statement will precede the given statement. Also, all intervening statements will have the same subject.

Coherence check

After you have some tentative orders, check it for coherence. This is extremely important for TITA based Para jumbles for CAT. Some links make sense in when statements are taken two at a time but do not work together in a paragraph. At the end of unjumbling, you should get a paragraph that is coherent.

So, try to come up with different versions of the sequence. It might be the case that one or more versions may convey the same thought. But, our aim is to select the version that seamlessly conveys the idea with smooth transitions all along. So, the correct answer must convey the thoughts in a logical and coherent manner.

Based on this, eliminate the different versions and go with the winner!

Sample Questions – Parajumbles for CAT without options

Let’s see an example to see how to put the tools we discussed to use:

Example- Parajumbles for CAT without options

1. The following sentences when ordered form a coherent paragraph. Find the correct ordering of sentences.

A) The food and clothing of one man is not the food and clothing of another; if the supply is insufficient, what one man has is obtained at the expense of some other man

B) There are goods in regard to which individual possession is possible, and there are goods in which all can share alike

C) On the other hand, mental and spiritual goods do not belong to one man to the exclusion of another

D) We may distinguish two sorts of goods, and two corresponding sorts of impulses

E) This applies to material goods generally, and therefore to the greater part of the present economic life of the world

F) If one man knows a science, that does not prevent others from knowing it; on the contrary, it helps them to acquire the knowledge

Solution:

From all the sentences we can infer that the author is discussing two kinds of goods – material and mental/spiritual. The sentence that introduces this topic – sentence D – must be the first sentence. Sentence B should immediately follow this as it states what these two goods are.

We have a classic case of enumeration here where one case is stated first and the second case is stated in the sentence beginning with “On the other hand”. The second case is of spiritual/mental goods as stated in C and explained in F. Hence CF should be the end of the paragraph. A and E which explain the first case of material goods should be in the middle. Hence the order is DBAECF.

Identifying the odd sentence in Odd one out questions

Solving Odd one out questions require one more additional step than we discussed. This is to identify which sentence doesn’t qualify as a logical part of the paragraph. A common approach that many students employ is to quickly scan the sentences and select the one which doesn’t talk about the common topic. But it is not only wrong to do so but is also a waste of precious time.

Sample Questions – Odd one out

Let me illustrate the same with an example-

Example-1

A) People smile incredulously at the mention of an artificial language, implying that no easy royal road can be found to language-learning of any kind.

B) But the odds are all the other way, and they are heavy odds.
C) One language has been born, come to maturity, and died of dissension, and the world stood by indifferent.
D) The reason for this is quite simple- the object of language is to express thought and feeling.

Solution:

On a cursory reading, one might feel that B must be the odd one out. All A, C, and D talk about languages while B is a vague sentence which is open to interpretation. But once you try to sequence the sentences, you will understand it is C which is out of context.

D lists out a reason. So, it must be to make a point. This point is illustrated in B which says “the odds are all the other way.” Bringing in A into the perspective makes the paragraph coherent and meaningful.

So, we can see that looking for an out of context topic can be deceptive. Thus, it is very important to sequence the sentences before fixing upon the odd sentence. Don’t be lazy. If you are investing time to attempt the questions, try to make sure that you have a good chance at getting it correct.

Example-2

2. Four of the five given sentences, when ordered in a logical manner, form a coherent paragraph. Find the contextually odd sentence.

A) Even the enormous, impregnable stupidity of our High Command on all matters of psychology was penetrated by a vague notion that a few “writing fellows” might be sent out with permission to follow the armies in the field, under the strictest censorship, in order to silence the popular clamor for more news.

B) We want to know more about their heroism, so that it shall be remembered by their people and known by the world.

C) Lord Kitchener, prejudiced against them, was being broken down a little by the pressure of public opinion, which demanded more news of their men in the field than was given by bald communiqués.

D) Dimly and nervously they apprehended that in order to stimulate the recruiting of the New Army now being called to the colors by vulgar appeals to sentiment and passion, it might be well to “write up” the glorious side of war as it could be seen at the base and in the organization of transport, without, of course, any allusion to dead or dying men, to the ghastly failures of distinguished generals, or to the filth and horror of the battlefields

E) In 1915 the War Office at last moved in the matter of war correspondents.

Solution:

We can deduce that the subjects of the paragraph are war correspondents. The essential point of the paragraph is that the war office and the powers that be were reluctant to allow war correspondents on the front. But, they were forced to reconsider because of the growing clamor for more news. They grudgingly allowed some war correspondents thinking that they could help in recruitment by writing up about the war.

As the paragraph is about war correspondents sentence E that introduces them should be the first line of the paragraph. Sentence D talk of a dim subject that could not understand the need for war correspondents. Sentence A and C provide suitable subjects for D. Hence A and C should precede D. Between A and C, as A starts with “Even” it should follow some sentence that is similar to it. Hence C should precede A. Hence, ECAD is the correct order.

Sentence B talks about the author contending that we need to know more about the heroism of the soldiers on the front. But this is an abrupt detour from the topic of discussion. Trying to fit in this sentence in the paragraph will introduce unnecessary abruptness in transition. Thus, B is the contextually odd sentence.

Now that we have seen how to approach Parajumbles for CAT without options, the next question is when to attempt them in the paper. Should we attempt them upfront or should we save them for the end?

When should we attempt Parajumbles for CAT without options?

The answer depends on student to student. Many experts contend that Parajumbles for CAT without options are a must attempt as they do not attract penalty. But one should also be wary of the time spent and the average accuracy in such questions. If you are not so good with them, leave them for the later part of the paper.

Odd One out on the other hand should ideally be solved. The absolute odds of getting them correct is 20%. But with careful examination, one can eliminate some sentences which makes them much more rewarding in terms of time and accuracy.

So, the next step is to try and come up with different test taking strategies. Taking a lot of Free mocks for CAT and Free sectional tests for CAT will help you to collect large number observations, which you can use to fine tune your test taking strategies. You can also attempt Free daily CAT quotient to practice questions based on different topics.

So, keep learning!

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