Question

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Read the sentences and decide on the correct order for the paragraph.

1. The operation is what has to be done to one proposition in order to make other out of it.

2. Structure of proposition stands in internal relations to one another.

3. In order to give prominence to these internal relations we can adopt the following mode of expression: we can represent a proposition as the result of an operation that produces it out of other propositions (which are bases of the operation).

4. An operation is the expression of a relation between the structures of its result and of its bases.

Which of the following is the correct order?

• A. 1-2-3-4
• B. 2-3-4-1
• C. 4-3-1-2
• D. 2-1-3-4

Hint:

Look for the statement that gives a general, standalone definition of operation, since a definition sentence usually needs to open the paragraph before the term gets used with 'the' or 'an' elsewhere.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This para-jumble uses four statements built around the ideas of proposition, internal relations, and operation. A good way to crack it is to look for which statement acts as a definition and must therefore open the paragraph, and which statement's opening phrase clearly points back to an earlier one.

1. 1-2-3-4 (option A): This opens with statement 1, which says 'The operation is what has to be done...' Using 'the operation' with a definite article assumes the reader already knows which operation is meant, which cannot be true in an opening sentence with nothing established yet. This option is weak from its very first line.
2. 2-3-4-1 (option B): This opens with statement 2 (Structure of proposition stands in internal relations) followed by statement 3, which correctly picks up on internal relations using 'these internal relations.' That much reads fine. But it then places statement 4, the general definition of operation, in third position, after operations have already been mentioned in statement 3 without being defined yet. A definition sentence reads far more naturally at the start of a paragraph than buried in the middle.
3. 4-3-1-2 (option C): This opens with statement 4, which defines operation in general terms (An operation is the expression of a relation between the structures of its result and of its bases). Since this defines the key term first, everything that follows can safely use operation without confusion. Statement 3 follows, applying this definition to propositions specifically. Statement 1 then unpacks what an operation actually does step by step. Statement 2 closes by stating the broader principle about propositions and their internal relations, wrapping the paragraph up. Every step here builds logically on the one before it.
4. 2-1-3-4 (option D): This opens with 2 and 1, but statement 3 needs to follow statement 2 directly, since 3's 'these internal relations' refers to exactly what 2 just introduced. Inserting statement 1 between 2 and 3 breaks this direct reference, since a reader encountering statement 1 first would lose track of what these internal relations is supposed to mean by the time statement 3 appears.

Only option C keeps the definition of operation at the start, applies it correctly to propositions next, explains the mechanism after that, and closes with the general principle about internal relations tying the whole idea together.

Let's summarize:

• A sentence that gives a general definition of a term usually needs to come before any sentence that uses that term with 'the' or 'an,' since the reader needs the definition first.
• A phrase like 'these internal relations' must directly follow the sentence that first names internal relations.
• Testing the given options against these two checks quickly narrows the choice down to one.

The correct order is 4-3-1-2, which is option C.