What the question looks like
Five sentences are given. Four form a coherent paragraph; one does not belong. You identify the odd one. In SBI Mains the odd sentence is sometimes obviously off-topic, but harder versions use a sentence that shares the topic's vocabulary while changing the focus.
Step-by-step approach
- Find the core theme in one phrase: "how UPI helps small vendors", "critics of bank mergers", "how phishing works".
- Find the chain. Look for links between sentences: pronouns (they, this shift, such groups), contrast words (however), and repeated nouns.
- Test each sentence: does it develop the same theme, at the same level of detail, for the same audience? A sentence about a different subject, a different time period or a historical side-note usually breaks the chain.
- Confirm that the remaining four sentences form a logical paragraph without the odd one.
Typical odd sentences
- Topic shift: a sentence about private banks' branch expansion in a paragraph about the critics of public sector mergers.
- Side fact: a historical or trivia line (which country first adopted inflation targeting) in a paragraph explaining how interest rates work.
- Same keywords, different focus: "rural roads" in a paragraph on self-help groups. The words are rural and developmental, but the subject is different.
Worked example
A. Phishing emails try to trick recipients into revealing passwords. B. They often appear to come from a bank. C. A careful look at the sender's address can reveal the deception. D. Banks never ask customers to share their PIN over email. E. Internet speeds in rural areas have improved over the last decade.
A-D all explain phishing and how to avoid it; They in B refers to the phishing emails in A. Sentence E talks about internet speed, a different subject. E is the odd one out.
Common traps
- Rejecting a sentence just because it introduces a contrast. A however sentence often belongs (critics, limitations).
- Rejecting the conclusion sentence because it sounds general. A summary or "therefore" sentence usually belongs.
- Choosing a sentence that shares no keywords, when it actually explains the theme in different words.
Time target: 30-45 seconds. If two sentences seem odd, ask which one the other four refer to; the odd sentence is never referred to by any other sentence.