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Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.

  1. The banning of Northern Lights could be considered a precursor to censoring books for "moral", world view or religious reasons.
  2. Attempts to ban books are attempts to silence authors who have summoned immense courage in telling their stories.
  3. Now the banning and challenging of books in the US has escalated to an unprecedented level.
  4. The widely acclaimed fantasy novel Northern Lights was banned in some parts of the US, and was the second most challenged book in the US.
  5. The American Library Association documented an unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022, about 2,500 unique titles.

Entered answer:

Solution

āœ… Correct Answer: 2

Step 1: Look for a logical flow between sentences. Most coherent paragraphs follow a pattern -> specific example -> broader trend -> supporting data.

Step 2: Group sentences by similar themes:

  • Sentences 3, 4, 5 all talk about specific facts and data about book banning
  • Sentences 1 and 4 both mention "Northern Lights"
  • Sentence 2 talks about the philosophy behind book banning

From passage: "The widely acclaimed fantasy novel Northern Lights was banned in some parts of the US" and "The banning of Northern Lights could be considered a precursor to censoring books"

The logical flow works like this: Specific example (Northern Lights banned) -> This as precursor to broader trend -> Current escalation -> Data supporting this escalation.


Elimination Process:

🟢 Sentences 4, 1, 3, 5 form coherent flow:

  • Start with specific example (Northern Lights)
  • Connect to broader implications (precursor to wider censorship)
  • Show current escalation
  • Provide supporting data (2022 statistics)

šŸ”“ Sentence 2 -> context-shift: While related to book banning, it shifts from factual reporting to philosophical commentary about authors' courage. It doesn't fit the data-driven narrative that the other four sentences create together.

Answer: 2

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