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PTEPTE Prep

Part 2 · Reading · ROP

Re-order Paragraphs: Reading PTE question type

The paragraphs of a text are shown in scrambled order, and you drag them into the correct sequence.

Texts are short — typically three to five sentences. Because you are rearranging whole sentences rather than words, the deciding evidence is usually a pronoun or a conjunction that points backwards or forwards.

Scoring

How Re-order Paragraphs is scored

One point per correctly ordered adjacent pair, and N boxes yield N minus 1 points, so four boxes are worth three. There is no negative marking, and Pearson publishes no worked example, so this derivation is arithmetic from the published rule.

Skills scored
Reading — contributes to your Reading score
Questions per test
2–3 in Reading

Watch out

Common Re-order Paragraphs mistakes

  1. 1Chasing every pronoun at once and getting stuck on the first two boxes.
  2. 2Ordering by topic similarity, which puts related sentences next to each other but in the wrong sequence.
  3. 3Settling for a plausible order rather than checking which sentence must come first.

Strategy

One point per correctly ordered adjacent pair, so four boxes are worth three points. There is no negative marking and a wrong order scores zero.
Practice Re-order ParagraphsSit a full mock

Questions

Re-order Paragraphs questions, answered

How many Re-order Paragraphs questions are on the PTE Academic?

A PTE Academic has 2–3 Re-order Paragraphs items in the Reading section. Each one counts towards your Reading score.

How is Re-order Paragraphs scored?

One point per correctly ordered adjacent pair, and N boxes yield N minus 1 points, so four boxes are worth three. There is no negative marking, and Pearson publishes no worked example, so this derivation is arithmetic from the published rule.

What goes wrong most often on Re-order Paragraphs?

Chasing every pronoun at once and getting stuck on the first two boxes.

Keep going

Related reading question types

All Reading question types · tips for all 22 types · full test format · how PTE scores work.

Scoring figures on this page follow the current PTE Academic official guide. This is an independent practice site and is not affiliated with Pearson.