Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: PRQ
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This jumbled sentence question asks the learner to arrange segments about the writer George Orwell and his essays in a British journal. The candidate must determine the order of the labels P, Q, and R after the fixed opening words Seven decades ago, so that the final sentence is grammatically correct and semantically clear.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
We first continue the subject and verb after Seven decades ago,. It naturally leads to a subject Orwell and a verb wrote. Part P provides exactly this: Orwell wrote a clutch. Next, we need to complete the object a clutch of essays, which requires part R, of essays. Finally, we can add the prepositional phrase stating where these essays appeared, which is part Q, for the post World War II British journal Polemic. This gives a clear, complete sentence that follows normal English word order.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Attach Part P after the opening to get Seven decades ago, Orwell wrote a clutch.
Step 2: Recognise that a clutch is usually followed by a prepositional phrase of something, so we join Part R to form a clutch of essays.
Step 3: Now we have Seven decades ago, Orwell wrote a clutch of essays.
Step 4: Attach Part Q to specify the context: for the post World War II British journal Polemic.
Step 5: The full sentence becomes Seven decades ago, Orwell wrote a clutch of essays for the post World War II British journal Polemic, which corresponds to the order PRQ.
Verification / Alternative check:
We can test other orders quickly. If we used RPQ, we would get Seven decades ago, of essays Orwell wrote a clutch, which is clearly wrong. If we used QRP, the phrase for the post World War II British journal appears too early, leaving Orwell wrote a clutch of essays detached in an unnatural way. Only PRQ respects the natural sequence subject plus verb plus object plus prepositional phrase.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a, RPQ, begins with of essays after Seven decades ago, which breaks the subject verb structure. Option b, QRP, starts with for the post World War II British journal directly after the opening, leaving Orwell without a clear verb in the correct position. Option d, QPR, also misorders the elements and disrupts the flow of the sentence. Option e, RQP, starts with of essays in isolation, which is ungrammatical. None of these options preserve the logical grouping a clutch of essays or the natural placement of the prepositional phrase.
Common Pitfalls:
A frequent problem in jumbled sentence questions is ignoring how certain nouns require specific prepositional partners. For example, clutch of essays is a fixed and meaningful phrase, while clutch for essays or essays of clutch are not. Another pitfall is to place long prepositional phrases too early, leaving the main clause broken. To avoid such errors, learners should look for natural collocations and build the core subject verb object structure first.
Final Answer:
The correct order of the parts is PRQ, giving the complete sentence Seven decades ago, Orwell wrote a clutch of essays for the post World War II British journal Polemic.
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