S1 : The Indian Civil Service gradually developed into one of the most efficient and powerful civil services in the world. S6 : though these qualities obviously served British, and not Indian interests. P : and often participated in the making of policy Q : independence, integrity and hard work R : They developed certain traditions of S : Its members exercised vast power The proper sequence should be
- (a)P Q R S
- (b)Q R S P
- (c)R S Q P
- (d)S P R Q
Correct — D, S P R Q. Two things settle it. R ends on the preposition 'of' — 'They developed certain traditions of' — so the list in Q has to follow it at once; and S6 opens with 'though these qualities', a plural pointing back to something already named, and the only qualities named anywhere are 'independence, integrity and hard work'. Q must therefore be the very last fragment, which locks R Q to the end. S then follows S1, because 'Its members' can only mean the members of the Indian Civil Service, and P begins with 'and', adding a second predicate to S. The passage reads: 'The Indian Civil Service gradually developed into one of the most efficient and powerful civil services in the world. Its members exercised vast power and often participated in the making of policy. They developed certain traditions of independence, integrity and hard work, though these qualities obviously served British, and not Indian interests.'
- (a)P Q R S — It opens with 'and', which has nothing to add to, and it ends on 'Its members exercised vast power', so 'these qualities' in S6 would have to refer to power rather than to any qualities. It also leaves 'traditions of' with no list after it.
- (b)Q R S P — It begins with a bare list of nouns that names nothing, it puts 'traditions of' after the list it was meant to introduce, and it ends on a fragment beginning with 'and' just before S6.
- (c)R S Q P — It cuts 'They developed certain traditions of' away from its list, so the preposition is stranded, and it closes with 'and often participated in the making of policy', which leaves 'these qualities' in S6 pointing at policy-making.
An ordering item settled from both ends — a preposition that must be handed its object, and a printed S6 whose back-reference fixes which fragment comes last.
The strongest clue here sits outside the jumble. S6 is given to you, and it begins by referring to 'these qualities', so whichever fragment names qualities has to be the one immediately before it; only Q does. Working from the other end, S is the only fragment whose subject can follow straight on from S1, since 'Its' has to mean the service just described. Between them these two facts leave a single arrangement. S6 is printed exactly as it stands in the booklet, 'though these qualities obviously served British, and not Indian interests'; tidier punctuation would close the insertion with a second comma, but nothing in the ordering turns on it.
- A preposition must be followed by its object, so a fragment ending in 'of' cannot be the last one in a sentence.
- A demonstrative such as 'these' points back to something already named, which lets a printed S6 fix the fragment that comes just before it.
- The possessive 'its' must have an antecedent, and here the only singular thing it can refer to is the Indian Civil Service named in S1.
- 'Though' introduces a concession, so the clause it opens must come after the statement it qualifies.
- Solving only from S1 and never checking whether the last fragment leads into S6.
- Leaving a fragment that ends in 'of' at the end of the sequence.
Asked as a sentence-ordering item in which the given closing sentence, not the opening one, is the decisive clue.
According to an engineer P. might hit the market next year Q. a newly developed air-cooler system R. that employed in conventional room coolers S. which is based on a principle radically different from The proper sequence should be
- (a) S Q R P
- (b) R S Q P
- (c) Q S R P
- (d) P Q R S
Answer(c) Q S R P
The same hinge decides both — a fragment that stops on a preposition. There 'radically different from' has to be handed the thing being compared; here 'certain traditions of' has to be handed the list of qualities. In each item, joining the preposition to its object first reduces four fragments to three units.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which sequence makes a correct paragraph — S1: The old survey department was famous across the province. S6: though these habits made it slow to answer any new question. P: and were rarely questioned by the district officers Q: accuracy, patience and long training R: It valued certain habits of S: Its draughtsmen worked to fixed rules
- (a)P Q R S
- (b)S P R Q
- (c)R S Q P
- (d)Q R S P
Answer(b) S P R Q — 'habits of' must be given its list, and S6's 'these habits' fixes that list as the final fragment.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which sequence makes a correct paragraph — S1: The regimental band was the pride of the cantonment. S6: though these gifts were never tested outside the parade ground. P: and were often lent to the neighbouring station Q: timing, discipline and a fine ear R: They possessed certain gifts of S: Its players rehearsed every morning
- (a)S P R Q
- (b)R Q S P
- (c)Q R S P
- (d)P S R Q
Answer(a) S P R Q — 'gifts of' needs its list, and S6's 'these gifts' can only follow that list.