CAT 2022 Slot 3 — VARC Question 21
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) 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 four numbers as your answer:
- The more we are able to accept that our achievements are largely out of our control, the easier it becomes to understand that our failures, and those of others, are too.
- But the raft of recent books about the limits of merit is an important correction to the arrogance of contemporary entitlement and an opportunity to reassert the importance of luck, or grace, in our thinking.
- Meritocracy as an organising principle is an inevitable function of a free society, as we are designed to see our achievements as worthy of reward.
- And that in turn should increase our humility and the respect with which we treat our fellow citizens, helping ultimately to build a more compassionate society.
Answer & solution
Answer: 3214
Easy
Para-jumble on meritocracy, merit and luck. Track the argument: state the principle, then the "But" correction, then its consequences.
Opener = 3. "Meritocracy as an organising principle is an inevitable function of a free society..." This defines the topic and takes no back-reference, so it leads.
3 → 2. Sentence 2 begins with "But" and pushes back against that confidence — "the limits of merit... an important correction to the arrogance of contemporary entitlement... reassert the importance of luck, or grace." The contrast follows directly from 3's claim.
2 → 1. Having introduced luck, sentence 1 develops it: "The more we accept that our achievements are largely out of our control, the easier it becomes to understand that our failures... are too." This builds on the "importance of luck" idea.
1 → 4 (closer). Sentence 4 starts with "And that in turn" — pointing to the acceptance in 1 — and states the final payoff: "increase our humility... build a more compassionate society." A natural conclusion.
3 2 1 4 — key in 3214.