Which of the given options is the most logical sequencing of the following sentences to form a meaningful paragraph?
1. It is because many young people are struggling with stress and anxiety nowadays.
2. Experts suggest that physical exercise and a balanced diet can help alleviate these issues.
3. Mental health has become an important topic of discussion in recent years.
4. The pressure to succeed in academics and career plays a significant role in this struggle.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
3-1-4-2
Explanation
The question asks you to arrange four jumbled sentences into a logical sequence to form a meaningful paragraph. To solve para-jumbles efficiently on exams, look for an independent introductory sentence and follow the logical chain of cause, effect, and solution.
Let's break down the logic step-by-step:
Sentence 3 serves as the ideal opening statement because it introduces the primary, independent topic of the entire paragraph—mental health—without relying on any prior context: "Mental health has become an important topic of discussion in recent years."
Sentence 1 explains the immediate reason why it has become an important topic, starting with the phrase "It is because": "It is because many young people are struggling with stress and anxiety nowadays." This forms a tight, mandatory link of (3-1).
Sentence 4 directly elaborates on the specific root causes of the "struggle" mentioned in Sentence 1: "The pressure to succeed in academics and career plays a significant role in this struggle." The demonstrative phrase "this struggle" explicitly hooks back to the stress and anxiety of the young people described right before it.
Sentence 2 introduces the final resolution to the problems raised in the paragraph, using an authoritative reference: "Experts suggest that physical exercise and a balanced diet can help alleviate these issues." The phrase "these issues" serves as a final summary pointer for the stress, anxiety, and pressure discussed in lines 1 and 4.
Following this thematic flow (Topic Introduction -> Reason -> Root Cause -> Solution), the correct sequence is 3-1-4-2. This corresponds precisely to Option 3.
Key Points
When tracking the flow of ideas in structural English questions, look for pointer phrases like "this struggle" or "these issues." They must always be placed immediately after the specific struggle or issue is first named.
Solutions, recommendations, or advice from "experts" or "studies" are almost always placed at the very end of a paragraph to provide a logical conclusion to a problem-focused narrative.