HSPT: Sequence: find the anchor and read the order
Learn to answer questions about what happens first, next or before by finding the anchor event, reading the signal words around it, and keeping time order separate from the order of the sentences.
How do you answer a question about the order of events without mixing up what happened first?
Short answer
Find the anchor event the question names, then read the signal words around it, such as before, after, then and once. Order the events by time, which isn't always the order in which the sentences appear.
Know first: Explicit detail: finding stated facts, Words that show time, such as before and after
Step 1 of 5
Sentence order isn't always time order
Sequence questions ask about order: what happens first, what comes right before an event, or what must be done before a step is allowed. The answer is stated in the passage. The challenge is reading it in the right direction.
Writers don't always tell events in the order they happen. After attendance is taken, students will split into groups mentions groups first, but attendance happens first. Signal words tell you the real order.
| Signal | What it tells you | Example |
|---|---|---|
| before / until | The other event comes later | Wait until the bell rings. |
| after / once / when | The other event comes earlier | Once the paint dries, add the second coat. |
| then / next / by the time | Moves forward in time | By the time we arrived, the show had started. |
| must ... before | A required step that comes first | You must sign the form before the trip. |
Step 2 of 5
Build a quick time line
A set of directions
Before the clay goes in the kiln1, it must dry for three days on the back shelf. Once it's dry2, students paint it with glaze. The teacher fires the pieces on Friday3, and after they cool overnight4, students take them home.
- The sentence starts with the kiln, but drying comes first.
- Glazing comes after drying.
- Firing comes after glazing.
- Cooling comes after firing and before going home.
Worked example: The clay pieces
Using the directions above: What happens right after the pieces are fired?
- AThe clay goes on the back shelf.
- BStudents paint the glaze.
- CThe pieces cool overnight.
- DStudents take the pieces home.
- 1
Find the anchor
Firing on Friday.
- 2
Build the time line
Dry three days, glaze, fire, cool overnight, take home.
- 3
Read the spot
Right after firing comes cooling overnight. That's C.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A is the very first step, before the clay is even glazed, so it is nowhere near the firing. B comes before firing. D happens after cooling, so it's one step too far.
Answer
C. The pieces cool overnight.
Find the wrong step
A student reads: After the judges finished scoring, the band played one more song, and then the winners were announced. Question: What happened just before the winners were announced?
- 1
Finds the anchor: the winners were announced.
- 2
Picks the judges finished scoring, because it's the first event in the sentence.
What went wrong
The first event in the sentence isn't the one just before the anchor. Then shows the band's song came between the scoring and the announcement.
- 3
Moves on to the next question.
The fix
Time line: scoring, then the band's song, then the announcement. Just before the winners were announced, the band played one more song.
Step 3 of 5
Place events in order
Check yourself · Question 1
When the storm knocked out the power, Mrs. Diaz lit a candle on the table. Her son found the flashlight in the closet, and then they played cards until the lights came back on. Afterward, they finished cooking dinner.
What did the family do just before the lights came back on?
Answer: C
Time line: candle, flashlight, cards until the lights came back, then dinner. They were playing cards right up to that moment.
Trap answer: Finished cooking dinner
Wrong side of the anchor
- Why it looks right
- Dinner is right next to the lights in the passage, so it seems close in time.
- Why it's wrong
- Afterward places dinner after the lights returned. The question asks what came before.
- The right answer
- Played cards, because until means the game lasted up to the moment the lights came back.
Check yourself · Question 2
To join the robotics trip, students must return a signed permission form by Wednesday. Students who return the form will receive a packing list on Thursday. On Friday morning, the bus leaves at 7:00, and students who forgot to pack lunch can buy one at the first stop.
What must a student do before receiving the packing list?
Answer: A
The packing list goes to students who return the form, so returning it is a required earlier step.
Common mistake
Treating the order of the sentences as the order of events.
- Why it's tempting
- Reading top to bottom feels like reading first to last.
- Do this instead
- Let the signal words set the order. Words like after, once and before can put a later sentence earlier in time.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Find the anchor event and check whether the question asks before, after, first or just before.
- Use signal words like before, after, until and once to build a short time line.
- The order of the sentences can differ from the order of events.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, what was the anchor event, and which signal words told you what came right after it?