Re-order Paragraphs
  • Orientation Module: Before You Touch a Sentence

    4
    • How the Test Actually Works
    • The Anatomy of an Academic Paragraph
    • Your Personal Decision Tree (The 4-Step Algorithm)
    • Baseline Diagnostic
  • Section 1: Locating the Anchors (First and Last)

    6
    • The Broad Noun Principle (First Sentence)
    • The General Preamble (First Sentence)
    • The Full Name Introduction (First Sentence)
    • Recognising the Closing Sentence (Last Sentence)
    • Eliminating Impostors — The Fake First and Fake Last
    • Domain-Specific Anchor Patterns
  • Section 2: Forging the Iron Links (Mastering Locked Pairs)

    8
    • The Article Shift (A/An → The)
    • Pronoun Reference Chains
    • Demonstrative Adjectives
    • Cause and Effect Connectors
    • Contrast and Shift Connectors
    • Addition and Sequencing Connectors
    • Chain Building — Locking 3+ Sentences Into a Sequence
    • Synthesis Sprint — Mixed Link Type Practice
  • Section 3: The Macro Flow (Logic and Architecture)

    6
    • The Funnel Method (General → Specific)
    • Chronological Ordering
    • Problem → Solution Architecture
    • Process and Methodology Steps
    • Thesis → Antithesis → Synthesis (The Academic Debate Structure)
    • Classification and Enumeration Patterns
  • Section 4: The Expert Layer — Troubleshooting, Metacognition, and Pressure

    6
    • The Missing Link — Reasoning Without Markers
    • Ambiguous Pronouns — Deep Contextual Mapping
    • Reading Your Own Errors — Error Analysis and Pattern Recognition
    • The Partial Credit Strategy — Strategic Triage Under Uncertainty
    • Timed Simulation — Exam Pace and Pressure Training
    • Final Flow Validation — Auditing the Complete Sequence
  • Capstone Module: Full Integration and Exam Readiness

    4
    • Cross-Strategy Integration
    • Full Timed Mock Exams
    • Personalised Weakness Targeting
    • Test Day Mental Performance
LINK_PAIR

Demonstrative Adjectives

When a sentence opens with a phrase like "This method" or "These findings", it is grammatically welded to whatever sentence introduced that method or those findings. Demonstrative adjectives are among the strongest iron links in academic prose because they carry both a pointing function and a content label, making the referent far easier to locate than a bare pronoun. Mastering this signal will eliminate entire branches of wrong orderings in seconds.

Goal

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to identify sentences containing demonstrative adjective phrases, trace them back to their exact referent in a preceding sentence, and use that binding relationship to determine the correct sentence order.


The Demonstrative Adjective Pointer

7 exercises

A demonstrative adjective — this, these, that, those — followed by a noun phrase creates an explicit backward reference. The noun phrase after the demonstrative summarises or labels the key concept introduced in the preceding sentence. Because the demonstrative adjective carries both a pointing word and a content descriptor, the referent is far more specific than a pronoun like 'it' or 'they'. To apply this technique, scan each sentence for a demonstrative followed by a noun phrase, then locate the sentence that introduced the concept labelled by that noun phrase.

Key Insight

A demonstrative adjective phrase always refers backward — the sentence containing it cannot come first.

Common Mistake

Students sometimes confuse a demonstrative adjective ('This method shows...') with a demonstrative pronoun ('This shows...'). The adjective form carries a noun phrase that tells you exactly what concept to look for, while the pronoun form is vaguer and requires more context to resolve.

1

foundation
science

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

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A

This colour change typically unfolds over a period of two to four weeks, depending on the species and local climate conditions.

B

As autumn temperatures decline, the reduction of chlorophyll in deciduous leaves allows previously masked carotenoid pigments to become visible.

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2

foundation
history

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

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A

The 1884 Berlin Conference established formal territorial boundaries across much of sub-Saharan Africa without consulting indigenous populations.

B

These imposed borders disregarded existing ethnic and linguistic divisions, creating political tensions that persist to the present day.

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3

developing
economics

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

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A

These regulatory reforms imposed stricter capital requirements on commercial banks throughout the European Union.

B

The 2010 Basel III framework introduced sweeping changes to banking supervision standards, mandating higher reserves for systemically important institutions.

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4

developing
social science

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

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A

Longitudinal studies of urban migration in Southeast Asia have documented a consistent shift from rural to metropolitan areas over the past three decades.

B

That demographic transition has placed enormous strain on infrastructure, housing, and public services in cities such as Jakarta and Manila.

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5

proficient
science

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

These findings supported the hypothesis that neural plasticity extends well beyond the developmental window previously assumed by cognitive scientists.

B

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute conducted a series of fMRI scans on adults who had undergone intensive language training after the age of forty.

C

The scans revealed significant structural changes in Broca's area among participants who achieved fluency within twelve months.

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6

proficient
history

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

The Ming dynasty's decision to dismantle its ocean-going fleet in 1433 effectively halted Chinese maritime expansion for several centuries.

B

That abrupt withdrawal from naval dominance created a power vacuum in the Indian Ocean that European powers would later exploit.

C

Admiral Zheng He's seven voyages had established tributary relationships with kingdoms stretching from Southeast Asia to the east coast of Africa.

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7

advanced
economics

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

Faced with mounting sovereign debt, several governments implemented a series of austerity measures that reduced public spending by approximately fifteen percent.

B

By 2012, several eurozone member states found themselves unable to service their national debt at prevailing market interest rates.

C

These fiscal contractions, while fiscally necessary, triggered widespread social unrest and deepened the economic recession in affected regions.

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Demonstratives Pointing to Processes and Arguments

7 exercises

Demonstrative adjectives do not always point to a simple noun. In academic writing, they frequently label entire processes, experimental designs, causal arguments, or logical positions introduced in the preceding sentence. When you encounter a phrase like 'This experimental design' or 'That strategic behaviour', the referent is not a single word but the entire action, procedure, or claim described before it. Recognising these broader references requires reading for the full meaning of the preceding sentence, not just scanning for a matching noun.

Key Insight

When a demonstrative adjective labels a process or argument rather than a concrete noun, the referent is the entire action or claim described in the preceding sentence — you must match meaning, not just words.

Common Mistake

Students often look for an exact noun match (e.g., searching for the word 'design' in the preceding sentence when they see 'This experimental design'). In reality, the demonstrative may summarise or reinterpret the preceding content, so you need to match the underlying meaning rather than a specific word.

1

foundation
social science

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

Text boxes
A

Participants in the trial were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness-based stress reduction programme or a standard waiting-list control condition over eight weeks.

B

This experimental design ensured that any observed differences in anxiety scores could be attributed to the intervention rather than to pre-existing participant characteristics.

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2

foundation
science

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

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A

That remarkable efficiency makes catalase one of the fastest enzymes known in biological systems and is critical for protecting cells from oxidative damage.

B

The enzyme catalase converts hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen at a rate of millions of molecules per second.

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3

developing
history

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

Text boxes
A

During the Siege of Leningrad, Soviet authorities organised an elaborate network of supply routes across the frozen surface of Lake Ladoga to deliver food and evacuate civilians.

B

These improvised logistics sustained the city's remaining population through the harshest winter months and became known as the 'Road of Life.'

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4

developing
economics

These two sentences form a consecutive pair. Which comes first? Select one.

Text boxes
A

That strategic behaviour, while individually rational, can lead to an oversupply of similar innovations and diminishing returns on R&D expenditure across the industry.

B

Firms operating in highly competitive markets tend to invest heavily in research and development to differentiate their products and maintain market share.

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5

proficient
social science

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

This paradox — high enrolment combined with low learning outcomes — has prompted researchers to distinguish between access to education and the quality of instruction delivered.

B

However, standardised assessments reveal that a significant proportion of enrolled children fail to achieve basic literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school.

C

In many sub-Saharan African nations, primary school enrolment rates have risen dramatically over the past two decades, often exceeding ninety percent.

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6

proficient
science

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

That chemical process mirrors, on a smaller scale, the synthesis reactions that scientists have long proposed as a possible origin of life on early Earth.

B

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents release mineral-rich fluids at temperatures exceeding three hundred degrees Celsius into the surrounding ocean water.

C

When these superheated fluids meet the near-freezing seawater, dissolved metals precipitate rapidly to form towering chimney structures on the ocean floor.

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7

advanced
history

Arrange these sentences in the correct order.

Text boxes
A

The Emperor, however, hesitated at several critical moments during the engagement, delaying the final assault until late in the afternoon.

B

This prolonged indecision allowed the opposing forces to consolidate their positions and ultimately contributed to a decisive defeat for the French army.

C

In the weeks following the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's marshals repeatedly asserted that earlier commitment of the Imperial Guard might have altered the outcome.

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