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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. Each one personified a different aspect of good fortune.
  2. The others were versions of popular Buddhist gods, Hindu gods and Daoist gods.
  3. Seven popular Japanese deities, the Shichi Fukujin, were considered to bring good luck and happiness.
  4. Although they were included in the Shinto pantheon, only two of them, Daikoku and Ebisu, were indigenous Japanese gods.

Entered answer:

Solution

✅ Correct Answer: 3142

The key to paragraph sequencing is finding the opener (introduces topic) and then following the logical chain of references.

From passage: "Seven popular Japanese deities, the Shichi Fukujin, were considered to bring good luck and happiness."

Step-by-step process:

Look for the sentence that introduces something new -> Sentence 3 introduces "seven Japanese deities" (no prior reference needed)

Follow pronouns and references -> "Each one" in sentence 1 must refer back to the seven deities -> so 1 comes after 3

Continue the chain -> Sentence 4 mentions "only two of them" were Japanese -> this explains more about the seven deities

Complete the thought -> "The others" in sentence 2 refers to the remaining five deities -> explains what the non-Japanese ones were


Elimination strategy:

Any sequence not starting with 3 -> wrong opener -> other sentences need something to refer back to

Sentence 1 before 3 -> pronoun error -> "Each one" has nothing to refer to

Sentence 2 before explaining the split -> logic gap -> "others" makes no sense without knowing the division first

Sentence 4 before 1 -> flow disruption -> jumps to specifics before explaining what each deity represents

Flow check: 3 (introduces topic) -> 1 (explains each deity's role) -> 4 (splits into Japanese vs foreign) -> 2 (explains the foreign ones)

The answer 3142 creates perfect logical flow with clear pronoun references.

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