Tip 1 for “Sentence order” questions?

Don’t read all four sentences first: look at the options – only two sentences can open. Choosing between them already eliminates half the options.

Tip 2 for “Sentence order” questions?

The opening sentence usually states the topic or a general situation (요즘, 예전에는, 많은 사람들은…). A sentence starting with a connector (그래서, 하지만, 그런데, 또한, 따라서) or a reference word (이, 그, 이런, 이렇게, 이 때문에) almost never comes first.

Tip 3 for “Sentence order” questions?

Find the 'glued pairs': a sentence ending in '-기 때문이다' comes right after the sentence it explains; '이런/이 + noun' comes after the sentence that first mentions that noun; '또한' follows the first point of the same kind.

Tip 4 for “Sentence order” questions?

Common flow: situation → problem (하지만, 그런데) → solution (그래서, 이에 따라) → result/conclusion (그 결과, 따라서, 이처럼). Personal stories follow time order: 처음에는 → 그러다 → 이제는/요즘은.

TOPIK II · Reading · Questions 13–15 · Level 3–4

Sentence order

순서대로 맞게 배열하기

TOPIK II Reading Q13–15: four shuffled sentences (가)(나)(다)(라) must be put in the right order to form a coherent paragraph. It tests whether you can spot the opening sentence and the connectors and reference words (이, 그, 이런, 이렇게) that link sentences.

Test tips

Don’t read all four sentences first: look at the options – only two sentences can open. Choosing between them already eliminates half the options.
The opening sentence usually states the topic or a general situation (요즘, 예전에는, 많은 사람들은…). A sentence starting with a connector (그래서, 하지만, 그런데, 또한, 따라서) or a reference word (이, 그, 이런, 이렇게, 이 때문에) almost never comes first.
Find the 'glued pairs': a sentence ending in '-기 때문이다' comes right after the sentence it explains; '이런/이 + noun' comes after the sentence that first mentions that noun; '또한' follows the first point of the same kind.
Common flow: situation → problem (하지만, 그런데) → solution (그래서, 이에 따라) → result/conclusion (그 결과, 따라서, 이처럼). Personal stories follow time order: 처음에는 → 그러다 → 이제는/요즘은.
Typical trap: wrong options often just swap the two middle sentences. After choosing, read the whole paragraph once in your order to check every link.
Time budget: about 1–1.5 minutes per item; once you are sure of the opener and one glued pair, usually only one option is left.

Signal words and patterns

When you see these in a question, they point to the answer or to a trap.

그래서
하지만
그런데
또한
이 때문에
이에 따라
그 결과
이처럼
-기 때문이다
이런/이렇게

Worked examples

(가) 하지만 빌려 간 우산을 돌려주지 않는 사람이 많아 우산이 금방 사라지는 문제가 생겼다. (나) 갑자기 비가 오는 날 우산이 없어서 곤란했던 경험은 누구에게나 있을 것이다. (다) 이에 따라 요즘은 보증금을 내고 우산을 빌린 뒤 반납하면 돈을 돌려받는 방식으로 바뀌고 있다. (라) 그래서 최근 일부 지하철역에는 우산을 빌려 쓸 수 있는 ‘공유 우산’ 서비스가 생겼다.

Translation

(가) But many people did not return the umbrellas they borrowed, so the umbrellas quickly disappeared. (나) Everyone has probably been stuck without an umbrella when it suddenly started to rain. (다) Accordingly, the system is now changing so that you pay a deposit to borrow an umbrella and get the money back when you return it. (라) So recently some subway stations have introduced a ‘shared umbrella’ service where you can borrow an umbrella.

다음을 순서대로 맞게 배열한 것을 고르십시오.

Explanation

Step 1: find the opener. The options start with (나) or (라); (라) begins with '그래서' (so), which needs a cause before it, so the first sentence is (나), the shared experience of being caught without an umbrella. Step 2: that experience leads to the solution, so (라) '그래서… 공유 우산 서비스가 생겼다' comes second. Step 3: (가) '하지만' raises a problem with the service (umbrellas not returned), so it must follow (라). Step 4: (다) '이에 따라' (accordingly) gives the fix – a deposit – and closes the text. Option 1 is wrong because it puts (가) right after (나): you cannot talk about borrowed umbrellas before the service has been introduced.

Words in this question · sign in to save words

곤란하다
공유
반납하다
보증금
사라지다

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