PTE Reorder Paragraphs:
Find the TR.A.P
You do not need to read every sentence or work out the full order. You need to find one or two pairs. Here is how.
Do not try to read and sequence the whole paragraph. Look for one clear pair of sentences instead — a sentence that introduces something, and a later sentence that refers back to it. Find the pair by looking for a Time Reference, an Article, or a Pronoun. This is the TR.A.P method. One or two correct pairs is often enough to secure points in the two minutes you have.
Most students try to read every sentence and work out the whole passage in order. That takes too long. You do not need the whole order. You need a pair.
Method — 01Find the TR.A.P
Instead of reading the full passage, look for one of three clues. Together they spell TR.A.P.
When you spot one of these, ask yourself a question: what does this word refer back to? The sentence that answers that question comes before it. That is your pair.
Clue — 02Pronouns
A pronoun like he, they, or it cannot be the first word of the passage. Something has to introduce the person or thing it is replacing.
Ask yourself: who is "he"? What is "it"? Find the sentence that names the person or thing, and that sentence comes first.
Clue — 03Articles and Demonstratives
The word "the" often points backward. So do words like this, these, and those.
If a sentence says "the phone," something earlier should have introduced a phone. If nothing has, that sentence cannot be first.
Practice — 04Spot the Reference
Look at each sentence below. Find the word that points backward, and ask what it is pointing to.
Practice — 05Which Comes Before?
Here is a sentence with a clue in it, and two candidate sentences. Which one should come before it?
"The aircraft" needs something to point back to. The first option introduces "a revolutionary plane" — a new noun, no article yet. That plane becomes "the aircraft" in the next sentence. The second option never mentions a plane at all, so it cannot be the pair.
Try It — 06One Full Practice Passage
These four sentences make one paragraph, but they are out of order. Find the pair using TR.A.P before you try to sequence the rest.
Start with the pronoun. "They found that many teenagers…" needs an earlier sentence naming who "they" are. "Researchers do loads of research about teenagers" introduces the researchers, so that sentence comes first. From there, "Moreover, they also found…" continues the same researchers, and "Therefore…" signals the conclusion, so it comes last.
More free practice passages like this one are available on the website.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Look for one or two clear pairs using TR.A.P instead of reading and sequencing every sentence. In a two-minute task, one or two correct pairs is often enough to secure points.
Time Reference, Articles, and Pronouns. These are the three types of words most likely to point back to an earlier sentence, which is how you find a pair.
No. A definite article next to a proper name, a superlative, or a preposition often does not need an earlier sentence. The clue is strongest when "the" is attached to an ordinary noun that has not been introduced yet.
Lock that pair in and look for another clue in the remaining sentences. You do not need to work out the entire order to score points.
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