Sentence ordering and dialogue completion
Sentence ordering and dialogue completion test cohesion: arranging sentences into a logical paragraph and choosing a response that fits the function and tone of a conversation.
Core rules
- Find the topic sentence first; it usually introduces the situation without pronouns that need a previous sentence.
- Follow time, cause, or general-to-specific order.
- Use discourse markers: first, then, however, therefore, for example.
- Pronouns and definite articles link back: 'this problem' needs a problem already stated.
- In dialogues, identify the function: request, apology, invitation, refusal, offer, or suggestion.
- Match adjacency pairs: question-answer, offer-accept or decline, apology-response.
Worked example
Order: (1) 'I wanted to join the school trip.' (2) 'However, I had a piano lesson that day.' (3) 'So I asked my teacher to change the lesson.' (4) 'She agreed, and I signed up.' Reasoning: (1) sets the situation; (2) gives a contrasting obstacle; (3) gives the action caused by that obstacle; (4) gives the final result. 'However' and 'So' signal the order. If (3) came before (2), 'so' would lack a cause. Answer 1-2-3-4.
Dialogue example: 'Would you like to come to my house after school?' A 'Yes, I'd love to.' B 'Yes, I would like.' C 'No, I don't.' D 'That's too bad.' Reasoning: this is an invitation; A is a natural acceptance, B is incomplete, C rejects too bluntly and does not match the offer, and D responds to bad news. Answer A.
Traps
- Ordering by topic alone while ignoring pronoun links.
- Choosing a grammatically possible but socially wrong response.
- Missing negative questions such as 'Wouldn't you like...?'
- Ignoring time words that fix sequence.