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Transitions: SAT Reading and Writing notes
Transitions questions ask you to pick the word or phrase that correctly shows how a sentence connects to the idea right before it.
Study it with worked examples and 8 practice questionsPractise Transitions questions
What this topic tests
Every Transitions question gives you a short text with a blank, usually at the start of a sentence, and four transition words or phrases. All four are real transitions that would work in some other text. Only one names the relationship that is actually there between the sentence with the blank and what comes before it.
The secret is to ignore the choices at first. Read the sentence before the blank and the sentence with the blank, and say to yourself in plain words how they connect. Does the second idea push against the first? Keep going in the same direction? Happen because of the first? Move along in time? Once you have named the relationship, the right word usually jumps out and the wrong ones look clearly off.
Because every choice fits the grammar, you can't solve these by ear. A word can sound smooth and still say the wrong thing. Logic decides the answer, so always read the whole sentence with the blank, all the way to the end, before you choose.
Key ideas
- Name the relationship in your own words before you look at the choices.
- Contrast words: however, by contrast, conversely, nonetheless, instead, though, on the other hand.
- Concession words admit a point before the writer moves on: granted, of course, that said.
- Continuation words: for example, specifically, that is, in other words, moreover, additionally, likewise, in fact, indeed.
- Cause and result words: therefore, thus, as a result, consequently, hence, for this reason, accordingly, in response.
- Time words: earlier, then, next, later, eventually, ultimately. Check the dates, not just the order of the sentences.
- Quick test for cause and result: join the two ideas with 'so'. If it makes sense, you need a result word.
- If two choices mean the same thing (such as nevertheless and even so), the test can't have two right answers, so both are usually wrong.
- The blank can sit in the middle of a sentence. The logic is exactly the same.
The 4 kinds of Transitions question
Sorted from every Transitions question in the site's bank: each kind keeps coming up, and has a method that works every time.
1. Contrast and concession
How to spot it. The sentence with the blank turns against the one before it. It might give an opposite fact, a result nobody expected, a correction of something people wrongly believe, or a fair point the writer admits before moving on. Clues include a new study overturning an old idea, two things described in opposite ways, or 'many people assume' followed by what is really true.
How to answer it:
- Cover the choices. Sum up the sentence before the blank in a few words.
- Sum up the sentence with the blank, reading all the way to the end.
- Ask: does the second idea clash with the first, or go against what you would expect from it? If yes, you need a contrast word such as however, by contrast, conversely, nonetheless or instead.
- If the writer is admitting a limit to their own point, or stating something obvious before making their real point, choose a concession word: granted, of course or that said.
- Read the sentence with your word in place. It should feel like a sensible turn, not a jolt.
The trap. Picking a word that sounds smooth but signals the opposite relationship. Similarly, for example and as a result are common wrong answers when the second idea actually clashes with the first. Also, don't be thrown when the blank sits in the middle of a sentence, right after the subject: if the idea turns, it still needs a contrast word, and short words like though often fill that spot.
2. Continuation: adding, illustrating or restating
How to spot it. The sentence with the blank keeps going in the same direction as the one before it. It might give a specific example of a general claim, zoom in with exact details, say the same idea again in clearer words, back the idea up more strongly, or add another separate point of the same kind.
How to answer it:
- Sum up both sentences in a few words each, without looking at the choices.
- Check the direction. If the second sentence doesn't turn against the first and isn't a result of it, it is continuing the same line of thought.
- Decide which kind of continuation it is. One case of a general claim: for example. Exact details about the claim: specifically. The same idea in other words, or a definition: that is or in other words. A stronger backing for the claim: in fact or indeed. A new, separate point on the same side: moreover, additionally or likewise.
- Plug your choice back in and check that the two sentences read as one smooth line of thought.
The trap. Mixing up the kinds of continuation. If the second sentence is one instance of the first (a general claim about some stories, then one particular story), it needs for example, not moreover or likewise, because it isn't a separate new point. If the second sentence only explains the first more clearly, it needs that is, not furthermore, because nothing new has been added.
3. Cause, result and conclusion
How to spot it. The sentence with the blank happens because of, or follows logically from, what came before. The first part gives a reason, a problem or a piece of evidence. The second part gives the effect, the response to the problem, or the conclusion someone draws.
How to answer it:
- Sum up both sentences in your own words.
- Try joining them with 'so': first idea, so second idea. If that sounds right, the relationship is cause and result.
- Pick a result word: therefore, thus, as a result, consequently, hence or for this reason. If the second idea is a reaction to a problem, in response fits. If it simply fits naturally with what was just described, accordingly fits.
- Double-check the direction. The cause must come before the blank and the result after it, not the other way round.
The trap. Choosing a result word when the second sentence is really an example or just one more fact on the same topic. The 'so' test must genuinely work: the first idea has to lead to the second. Also, when the first sentence describes a problem, a contrast word can look tempting, but the fix for a problem is a result, not a contrast.
4. Time order and place
How to spot it. The text describes events in time, the steps of a process, or a particular place. You'll see dates, words like first or already, or a process building up to a final outcome. A few questions use there to point back to a place named in the sentence before.
How to answer it:
- Find the time clues in both sentences: dates, and words like first, already or then.
- Put the events on a timeline. Does the sentence with the blank happen before, right after, or at the very end of what came before?
- Pick the matching word: earlier for a step back in time, then or next for the following step, later for a jump forward, and eventually or ultimately for the final outcome after a longer process.
- If the sentence instead points back to a place that was just named, there is the transition.
The trap. Assuming the second sentence happens later just because it comes second. Writers often jump back in time, so always compare the dates. Also remember that eventually and ultimately mean 'in the end', so they need a process or build-up before them.
Practise Transitions
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