Tips and Tricks to solve All types of Coherent Paragraph
Questions/Odd Sentence Out
English language section in
bank recruitment exams is filled with surprises and new-pattern is confusing
aspirants as how to study to score max. in English? It won’t matter if you’ve just
started Banking exam Preparation or you’ve been preparing and giving exams for quite
some years, the dynamics of banking recruitment have totally changed and recently
held IBPS PO Prelims is the perfect example. Now every aspirant has a fair chance.
With all those changes and induction of logical English, There is nothing to be
scared of about “This new pattern English Language section” as there are still some
topics which can help you bag marks. Such
as Coherent Paragraph questions.
You may get to see a
total of 5 questions based on Coherent Paragraph or Odd Sentence Out. The good thing
about this topic is that you can manage to do it even if you are weak in English
as it doesn't test your grammar or vocabulary, you just need to find the connection
between two parts. Also, keep in mind that there has to be a continuation of the
paragraph when you rearrange the sentences.
Today in this post we've
compiled all the important Tips and Tricks to solve All types of Coherent Paragraph
Questions/Odd Sentence Out
What is “Odd Sentence Out”?
In odd sentence out type
of questions, you will be given a Para jumble with out of context
sentences. You have to find the one that the misfit sentence with
respect to the theme or the context. Here are some tips to identify the out
of context sentence easily.
Tips for attempting Odd Sentence Out questions:
#1. Find the common subject:
To identify the misfit
sentence, you need to understand the overall context first. To grasp the
overall context, try finding the common subject among all the
sentences. The one sentence that doesn’t share that common subject with
other sentences is your answer. Consider the example given below:
In the question given below, there are five statements marked
A-E. All the statements except one belong to the same context. Find the
odd one out and mark the correct answer from the given options.
1. Tagore was a social phenomenon of his
time and his universal aspirations took him around the globe.
2. Tagore knew no geographical
boundaries, and believed in universalism.
3. Tagore’s universal appeal has its
gripping hold even today.
4. J.K Rowling’s books gained world
attention, won multiple awards sold more than 400 million copies only because
of her innovative and catchy ideas for a book.
5. His book of poems, Gitanjali, which
got him the Nobel Prize, has the soul and spirit of India, and yet it bears a
universal appeal.
Which is the odd sentence out?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Ans: 4
Solution: The common subjects in statements A, B, C and E is Rabindranath
Tagore, his greatness and ideologies. Statement D is an exception which talks
about J.K. Rowling. Thus option 4 is the odd one out.
#2. Identify the common theme/general idea:
Try to identify the theme
or the general idea around which the passage revolves. The general idea of
the passage may appear to be the same in all the sentences. In such
case, the difference may lie in the context in which the general idea is
being talked about.
Let’s say that all
the sentences of the question speak about apples. However, there may be a case
where one of them talks about apple farming and the rest talk
about the processes involved in exporting them to different
countries. Have a look at the example given below:
In the question given
below, there are five statements marked A-E. All the statements except
one belong to the same context. Find the odd one out and mark the correct
answer from the given options.
A. Since our
economy is heavily dependent on cash, demonetisation has caused a lot of
problems and imbalance in the functioning of the nation.
B. The effects
are more severe as only less than half the population uses banking system
for monetary transactions.
C. The aim of
demonetisation was to free the society of black money and make the terrorists
powerless who had entered our country.
D. Demonetisation
has hit trade and consumption hard and has severely affected the wages and
income of huge masses of people.
E. With people
scrambling for cash to pay for goods and services, the move is likely to take a
big toll on the country’s growth and output during the current fiscal.
Which is the odd sentence
out?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Ans: 3
Solution: All the sentences except C talk about the negative impacts of
demonetisation and how people have been affected badly due to this decision and
how the economy has suffered a setback. Sentence C, on the other hand talks
about the aim of demonetization. Thus option 3 is the correct answer as
statement C is out of context.
#3. The Homonym-rule:
At times, homonyms or
similar sounding words may help you identify the correct answer:
In the question given
below, there are five statements marked A-E. All the statements except one
belong to the same context. Find the odd one out and mark the correct answer
from the given options.
A. The 11 Principles of
Effective Character Education are the cornerstone of philosophy on effective
character education.
B. Each principle outlines
vital aspects of character education initiatives that should not be overlooked
in program implementation.
C. A principal needs to
possess a leadership quality in order to enhance the education quality at
school.
D. From curriculum
integration to extra-curricular activities, from parent and community
partnerships to staff development, the 11 Principles of Effective Character
Education offer fundamental guidance for educators and community leaders to
maximize their character education outcomes.
E. This document serves
as an excellent outline for program planning and can easily be integrated into
staff development and self-evaluation.
Which is the odd sentence out?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Ans: 3
Solution: Note that statements A, B, D and E are concerned with ‘principles’
(‘theories’/’ideas’) of education. Statement C, on the other hand the quality
that a ‘principal’ or a ‘headmaster’ should possess in order to promote
education quality. The two highlighted words are homonyms, however the theme of
C and rest of the sentences together is completely different.
#4. Spot the Sequence:
Note that all the
sentences (except the odd one) may often form a proper sequential order
when put together. So you may need to approach it as a paragraph jumble question
and then find out the one that cannot fit in the sequence:
In the question given
below, there are five statements marked A-E. All the statements except one
belong to the same context. Find the odd one out and mark the correct answer
from the given options.
A. Io and Europa, the
inner two of Jupiter’s four largest moons, are about the size of Earth’s moon
and are composed mostly or entirely of rock and metal, Ganymede and Callisto
are larger and roughly half ice.
B. Thus, these four moons
are somewhat analogous to the planets of the solar system, in which the
rock-and metal-rich inner planets are distinct from the much larger gas-and
ice-rich outer planets.
C. Jupiter’s moons are,
however, more “systematic”: many of their properties vary continuously with
distance from Jupiter. For example, Io is ice-free, Europa has a surface shell
of ice, and while Ganymede and Callisto are both ice-rich, outermost Callisto
has more.
D. The character of
Rosalind in one of the Shakespeare’s plays dismantles the fixity of gender
identity as she decides to disguise herself as Ganymede, a young gentleman.
E. Io is extremely
geologically active, Europa seems to be active on a more modest scale, and
Ganymede has undergone bouts of activity in its geological past.
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Ans: 4
Solution: If noticed carefully, all the statements except D are
concerned with celestial bodies in the solar system. The context comprises of
Jupiter and its moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Statement D talks
about Ganymede, a character in one of Shakespeare’s plays. Rest of the
statements either discuss the features of the moons or compare them with other
celestial bodies in the solar system. All the statements except D will also
form a logical sequence and a coherent passage.
Thus, statement D is the
odd one and option 4 is the correct answer.
#5. Statement and Flow Contrast:
You might also come
across a passage where one of the statements does not fit the flow of the idea
when the statements are put together:
In the question given
below, there are five statements marked A-E. All the statements except one
belong to the same context. Find the odd one out and mark the correct answer
from the given options.
A. When Jamaican-born
social activist Marcus Garvey came to the United States in 1916, he arrived at
precisely the right historical moment.
B. On November 4, 2008,
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois became the 44th president, and the first
African American to be elected as thePresident of the United States.
C. What made the moment
right was the return of African American soldiers from the First World War in
1918, which created an ideal constituency for some with Garvey’s message of
unity, pride, and improved conditions for African American communities.
D. But the African
American returned to a United States only to find themselves segregated from
white troops and subjected to numerous indignities as it had been before the
war.
E. Hoping to participate
in the traditional American ethos of individual success, many African American
people entered the armed forces with enthusiasm.
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Ans: 2
Solution: The mention of ‘African- American’ as well as ‘America’ may
appear to be common in all the statements, but at the contextual level,
statement B stands out for several reasons. Statements A and C clearly suggest
that the backdrop of the context is the World War I (1916 & 1918). Also,
Garvey is common in both of them. So the context of war is implicit in both the
sentences along with the mention of the African American communities.
Statements D and E fall within the same context as A and C as because the idea
of war persists within the framework of African American Community.
Statement B stands out as
the time period (2008) and the general context of the statement (the Presidential
election) are different from the rest of the statements. Though the idea of the
‘African American’ and the spatial context of America remain same, a completely
different thing is being talked about here.
