The labelled parts A, B, and C form part of a sentence: "People used to preserve ___ for years as these humble pieces ___ afforded ___." Choose the most logical order of A (companionship in absentia), B (letters for years as these humble pieces), and C (of paper afforded).

Introduction / Context:
This is a sentence arrangement question where three fragments labelled A, B, and C must be placed in the correct order to complete a meaningful sentence. The base sentence begins with "People used to preserve" and talks about how letters provided a sense of companionship even when people were physically apart. You must reconstruct a grammatically correct and logically coherent sentence by ordering the fragments properly.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The fragments are:
- A: companionship in absentia
- B: letters for years as these humble pieces
- C: of paper afforded
The stem starts with "People used to preserve" and then these fragments follow to complete the idea.

Concept / Approach:
To form a fluent English sentence, we must respect normal word order. First, the object that people preserved should appear immediately after the verb: "People used to preserve letters for years as these humble pieces of paper afforded companionship in absentia." Here, "letters for years as these humble pieces" is a descriptive phrase about letters, "of paper afforded" links "pieces" to what they provided, and "companionship in absentia" is the benefit they offered. Therefore, the correct order of fragments is B C A.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Place the direct object after "People used to preserve". Among A, B, and C, only B ("letters for years as these humble pieces") begins with a suitable noun phrase, "letters". Step 2: Attach C ("of paper afforded") immediately after B. The phrase "these humble pieces of paper afforded" is grammatically sound and naturally follows. Step 3: Place A ("companionship in absentia") as the object of "afforded", giving "afforded companionship in absentia". Step 4: Assemble the full sentence: "People used to preserve letters for years as these humble pieces of paper afforded companionship in absentia."

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider the other combinations. For example, BAC would produce "People used to preserve companionship in absentia letters for years as these humble pieces of paper afforded", which is grammatically awkward and misorders the noun and benefit. ABC and ACB similarly put "companionship in absentia" where the main noun should be, causing confusion because people preserve letters, not companionship itself. Only BCA retains natural English flow and logical relationships between ideas.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- "BAC": Begins with "companionship in absentia" after "preserve", incorrectly suggesting that companionship itself is preserved as an object rather than letters.
- "ACB": Also misplaces "companionship in absentia" too early and breaks the link between "pieces" and "of paper".
- "ABC": Produces ungrammatical sequences and separates related words that must stay together.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes focus more on the poetic sounding phrase "companionship in absentia" and try to put it early in the sentence. However, English sentences generally place concrete objects like "letters" directly after verbs such as "preserve". Always identify the main subject and object, then attach descriptive and result clauses in a natural order.

Final Answer:
The most logical order of the fragments is BCA, forming the sentence "People used to preserve letters for years as these humble pieces of paper afforded companionship in absentia."