CAT 2025 Slot 3 VARC Question & Solution
Question
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, and 4) 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 four numbers as your answer.
1. When I ask the distinguished LGBTQ activist and writer Cherie Moraga whether she uses Latinx to refer to herself, she tells me, ‘I worked too hard for the “a” in Latina to give it up! I refer to myself as Xicana.’
2. Of our accumulated ethnic population, only a third use Hispanic to identify themselves, a mere 14 percent use Latino, and less than 2 percent recognize Latinx.
3. They have done this, although gender in languages is grammatical, not sociological or sexual, and found in linguistic families throughout the world, from French to Russian to Japanese.
4. More recently, activists seeking to render our name gender neutral, out of respect for our LGBTQ members, have devised yet another name for us: Latinx.
Solution
Main Idea of the Paragraph
All four sentences examine how labels for a community have evolved over time, with a focus on:
- The shift toward gender-neutral language
- Ongoing debates about terminology
- The gap between activist intentions and actual usage
The paragraph moves from introducing a new term to explaining its rationale, offering a personal response, and finally showing how the term is used in practice.
Explanation of the Correct Order
Why the Sequence Is 4 → 3 → 1 → 2
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Sentence 4 works best as the opening because it introduces the most recent change:
- Activists coined “Latinx” to create a gender-neutral term
- The aim was to be more inclusive of LGBTQ communities
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Sentence 3 logically follows by providing linguistic context.
- It explains that grammatical gender exists in many languages
- It clarifies that grammatical gender is different from social or sexual gender
- This helps explain why a term like Latinx emerged
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Sentence 1 then shifts the discussion to a personal perspective.
- It presents Cherie Moraga’s choice to use Latina and Xicana instead of Latinx
- This grounds the debate in an individual response
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Sentence 2 works best as the conclusion.
- It moves from the individual example to data
- It shows that Latinx is used by relatively few people compared to other terms
The progression moves clearly from new terminology → explanation → personal choice → real-world usage.