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The sentences given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the numbers as your answer.

  1. The process of handing down implies not a passive transfer, but some contestation in defining what exactly is to be handed down.
  2. Wherever Western scholars have worked on the Indian past, the selection is even more apparent and the inventing of a tradition much more recognizable.
  3. Every generation selects what it requires from the past and makes its innovations, some more than others.
  4. It is now a truism to say that traditions are not handed down unchanged, but are invented.
  5. Just as life has death as its opposite, so is tradition by default the opposite of innovation.

Entered answer:

Solution

✅ Correct Answer: 54132

Step 1: Find the Opening Sentence

Look for sentences that introduce a topic without needing prior context. Sentence 5 talks about tradition vs innovation in general terms -> perfect opener. Sentence 4 says "it is now a truism" -> sounds like it's responding to something already said.

From passage: "Just as life has death as its opposite, so is tradition by default the opposite of innovation."

This sets up the traditional view that we're about to challenge.


Step 2: Find the Flow

After 5 (tradition = opposite of innovation), sentence 4 makes perfect sense -> "It is now a truism to say that traditions are not handed down unchanged, but are invented."

This creates a contradiction flow: Traditional view -> Modern reality

Sentence 1 then explains what this process actually involves -> "contestation in defining what exactly is to be handed down"


Step 3: Find Supporting Details

Sentence 3 gives the general mechanism -> "Every generation selects what it requires from the past"

Sentence 2 provides a specific example -> "Western scholars...Indian past"

Think: General principle -> Specific example (this is a common pattern!)


The Logic Chain:

5 (traditional belief) -> 4 (modern understanding) -> 1 (explains the process) -> 3 (how it works generally) -> 2 (specific example)

Pro Tip: In paragraph jumbles, look for:

  • Contradiction words (but, however, now)
  • Examples (like "Western scholars") usually come last
  • General to specific flow

Answer: 54132

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