Text placement (paragraph)

Text placement (paragraph) questions follow the same concepts as [text placement (sentence)] questions. To best prepare for this question type, check out that chapter for a more thorough review if you haven’t already.

The only difference is that you place a paragraph rather than a sentence. The good news is that the same trick still applies.

Usually, there will be a specific clue in the first sentence of the paragraph in question linking it to the paragraph that should go before it, or sometimes a specific clue in the last sentence linking it to the paragraph that should follow.

Let’s look.

Example

Read the following passage to familiarize yourself with it.

[1] What is it about these preschool TV shows that makes them so captivating for young viewers, but so strange to adult eyes? As a mother, I’ve worried whether watching television at a young age is a healthy childhood experience or a mind-rotting activity. The fact that I don’t understand these shows hasn’t helped. But weirdness, it turns out, can be a good thing. Young children’s minds process information differently from adults’; what’s weird for us is often highly engaging for them. A better understanding of these differences could help create healthier, more engaging television programs.

[2] As it turns out, Sesame Street has done almost exactly that. By the late 1960s, most US households owned a television set, but whether they could watch Sesame Street depended on where they lived, because in some areas it was broadcast on Very High Frequency (VHF) channels, in others on Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels. UHF signals were weaker, and some TV sets couldn’t receive them. This meant only around two-thirds of Americans had access to Sesame Street. Just the act of being exposed to the show and watching it routinely increased school performance among the children who were able to view it.

[3] An excellent example of this is Sesame Street, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. The show employed developmental psychologists and education experts as part of the production team from the outset. By January 1970, just a few months after it first aired, roughly a third of two-to-five-year-olds in the USA regularly watched the show. And although it was entertaining, every episode was planned with specific learning objectives in mind. The show’s mission was to "help children grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”

[4] The children who watched Sesame Street were more likely to be academically on track, and less likely to be held back, than those who didn’t. Also, children growing up in “economically disadvantaged” communities benefited the most from watching the show.

Now look at the following question:

Paragraph [3] should best be placed:

A. Before paragraph [1]
B. Before paragraph [2]
C. After paragraph [2] (No Change)
D. After paragraph [4]

Topic sentences—or the first sentence of a body paragraph—are a huge indicator for these questions. Where a paragraph should go is often indicated by the first (or occasionally the last) sentence.

In fact, that’s one of the steps you’ll need to use in order to answer these questions right. Below you’ll find all the steps you need to tackle this question type:

1. Read the paragraph you’re placing within the essay
2. Pay close attention to the first and last sentence
3. Identify events the paragraph introduces or refers to
4. Place the paragraph where it would chronologically fit within the essay

We’ll now use these steps to find the correct answer to this question. So, let’s take a look at each option.

Option A: The first sentence of the paragraph in question, Paragraph [2], is “An excellent example of this is Sesame Street….” The demonstrative pronoun “this” means that it’s referencing something that was just talked about. This eliminates Option A, since our paragraph can’t be the first one. It also means we need to look at the last sentence of other paragraphs to see if we can find the idea that “this” is referring to.

Option B: The last sentence of Paragraph [1] says “A better understanding of these differences could help create healthier, more engaging television programs.” This is a pretty good option. It does talk about “healthier, more engaging” programs, so that definitely could be the “this” referred to in Paragraph [3] because it goes on to talk about how Sesame Street was those things.

Option C: The end of Paragraph [2] says “Just the act of being exposed to the show and watching it routinely increased school performance among the children who were able to view it.” At first glance, this may also look like a good option. On further review, though, you’ll notice it doesn’t refer to what the show should do, it references what kids who watch the show did. Therefore, our first sentence of Paragraph [3], “An excellent example of this is Sesame Street,” does NOT match up with the end of Paragraph [2].

Option D: Paragraph [3] also doesn’t do well as a concluding paragraph, so we’re automatically skeptical of Option D, After paragraph [4]. Just in case, though, let’s look at how that would be. The last sentence of Paragraph [4] is “Also, children growing up in “economically disadvantaged” communities benefited the most from watching the show.” This would be a strange sentence for “An excellent example of this is Sesame Street” to follow: the referent for “this” is very ambiguous.

Now, based on what you know now, use the four steps above to find the correct answer.

1. Read the paragraph you’re placing within the essay
2. Pay close attention to the first and last sentences
3. Identify events the paragraph introduces or refers to
4. Place the paragraph where it would chronologically fit within the essay

So which choice do you think is best?