PTE · Reorder Paragraphs

Evolution of Commercial Advertising

5 original Reorder Paragraphs questions. Question 1 is free to answer and check right here; log in free to practise the rest in the BandLadder app.
  • 5 questions
  • Question 1 free, no login
  • PTE Academic and PTE Core
Log in to practise all 5 →Try question 1
1

Medieval Town Criers

Free to try, no login

The text boxes below are in a random order. Restore the original order.

Use the arrows to move a box up or down.

  1. AConsequently, this vocal practice became the earliest structured form of paid publicity, shaping early urban marketplace culture.
  2. BThese official announcers walked along designated street circuits, ringing heavy bells to gather crowds before shouting their promotional messages.
  3. CIn medieval European market towns, public criers served as the primary method for advertising commercial merchandise to an illiterate populace.
  4. DLocal merchants paid them small fees to describe newly arrived shipments, including valuable spices, preserved fish, and imported textiles.

Questions 2–5

The text boxes below are in a random order. Restore the original order.

Read them here; log in to answer and check them.

2

Victorian Chromolithographic Posters

  1. AAs a result, consumer demand surged, proving the persuasive power of visual imagery over plain text.
  2. BDuring the nineteenth century, the invention of chromolithography revolutionised commercial print production across Europe.
  3. CThis new printing technique enabled the mass reproduction of vibrant, multi-coloured images on large paper sheets.
  4. DCommercial artists seized upon the technology to design bold pictorial posters for theatrical productions and household products.
  5. ESuch striking visual displays quickly transformed drab industrial city walls into open-air art galleries.
3

Early Printed Newspaper Notices

  1. ADespite their plain typography, such paid notices generated reliable revenue, gradually establishing advertising as the financial foundation of modern journalism.
  2. BThese initial commercial announcements were modest, unillustrated text notices placed discreetly at the back of factual political bulletins.
  3. CThe earliest printed newspaper advertisements appeared in English weekly newsbooks during the middle of the seventeenth century.
  4. DThey typically promoted newly published educational books, patent remedies for common ailments, or rewards for lost livestock and property.
4

Radio Sponsorship in the Broadcast Era

  1. AThese corporate sponsors integrated their commercial messages straight into popular musical variety shows and daytime serial dramas.
  2. BAs a result, regular listeners formed intimate emotional connections with the branded characters on air.
  3. CBroadcasters rapidly adopted a direct sponsorship model, wherein a single manufacturer funded the production of an entire programme.
  4. DDuring the nineteen-twenties, commercial radio broadcasting emerged as an innovative medium for marketing everyday household goods.
  5. EThis immersive technique established unparalleled brand loyalty, permanently altering twentieth-century marketing strategies.
5

Postwar Motivational Research

  1. ACreative copywriters then designed campaigns that presented everyday manufactured items as symbolic solutions to these psychological anxieties.
  2. BThis influential method transformed commercial marketing, shifting the entire industry from factual product announcements toward emotional persuasion.
  3. CDuring the nineteen-fifties, pioneering advertising agencies began applying psychoanalytic theories to investigate the hidden drivers of consumer behaviour.
  4. DRather than merely describing functional product features, researchers conducted extensive interviews to identify latent social insecurities and personal aspirations.

Want to answer the other 4?

Log in to practise Reorder Paragraphs in the BandLadder app: the full question bank, instant scoring the way Pearson marks it, and answer explanations.

Log in to practise Reorder ParagraphsNew here? Create a free account

Ready for the whole test?

Take a full PTE mock with every question type, the real timings and a score on Pearson's 10–90 scale the moment you finish.

Try a free PTE mock →

Keep practising

More Reorder Paragraphs sets

Practise every PTE question type

  • ✓Full question bank for every type
  • ✓Instant scoring, marked the way Pearson does
  • ✓BandLadder AI scoring for speaking and writing
Practise in the app

Free account · no card

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy

Log in to practise all 5