Transition questions on the SAT are some of the most intellectually demanding and rewarding parts of the Reading and Writing section. They require you to engage deeply with the relationships between ideas, determine the most fitting connection or progression, and evaluate how well sentences and paragraphs work together. Success with these types of questions not only boosts your score but also sharpens your critical reading skills. Strong critical thinking skills will benefit you far beyond high school and even college!
These questions bear some resemblance to Words in Context questions, but Transition questions are less about vocabulary and more about the logical flow of thought. This lesson provides strategies and examples to help you master these questions.
The physics of sound in underwater environments differs dramatically from that in air, suggesting great promise in technologies devoted to broadcasting sound underwater. Because water is denser than air, sound waves travel nearly five times faster and with far greater reach. ______ this quality, however, the ocean becomes acutely vulnerable to noise pollution from shipping and industrial activity. Marine biologists have documented how increased low-frequency noise disrupts whale communication and navigation.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. As a result of
B. Regardless of
C. Instead of
D. Despite
One of the first tasks in addressing a Transition question, as discussed in the Strategy portion below, is to identify relationships, especially relationships of contrast. The immediate context of the “blank” complicates that activity by introducing contrast already with the word “however”. Therefore, although a relationship of contrast, the given language has already provided the necessary transition word for that contrast. As a result, the word or phrase that best completes the blank is likely to point to a different relationship besides the move toward negative effects indicated by the “however”.
To make the best choice, we must zero in on the area around the blank itself. What is the relationship between the “quality” mentioned (sound traveling faster in water than in air) and the pollution described in the next sentence? The relationship is cause and effect; the sound is the cause and the pollution is the effect. Therefore, “as a result of” works best, as it captures this relationship and correctly identifies cause and effect. The answer is A.
In closing, notice how all three incorrect answers point to some sort of contrast. “Instead of” implies replacement, which is not happening in this scenario, while “despite” suggests two forces working against each other. “Regardless of” suggests that some factor does not affect another factor; in this case, the speed of sound underwater certainly does affect the ocean itself.
Understand the Passage’s Argument or Narrative.
Transition questions test your understanding of how a passage develops its main idea. Before diving into the answer choices, read at least two sentences surrounding the underlined portion. Then, step back and ask yourself: What is the author trying to say here? A brief summary of the portion you’ve read can clarify the connections you need to evaluate.
Identify the Relationship Between Ideas.
Transitions and logical connections often reflect one of these relationships:
Anticipate the Answer
Similar to the strategy for Word Choice questions, a strong approach to Transition questions prioritizes anticipation. Rather than passively reading the answer choices to find which one fits, use your work in the context to predict the answer. What word or phrase would you use to make the logic cohere and any transitions become abundantly clear? Then, and only then, evaluate all the possible answers.
Read Your Answer Back into the Broader Context.
If you have any doubt, plug your answer into the 2-3 sentences surrounding it. How does the section sound? Does it flow well? Does it logically fit together? If it does not sound quite right, revisit the answer choices.
While not a matter of unusual variation, it’s worth noting that there are two primary categories of transition questions: those involving contrast and those without it. The student will be wise to ask in the first place, “Is there contrast suggested for this ‘blank’ or not?”
Answer this: What does the letter R in the QUICKER method stand for?
REVIEW your answer in the original context to see how well it fits.
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet. The Perseids, for instance, happen every August and can produce up to 100 meteors per hour. ______, the Leonids appear in November and are known for their occasional meteor storms, where hundreds can be seen in just a few minutes. These spectacular events draw skywatchers from all over the world.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. In contrast,
B. In conclusion,
C. Similarly,
D. Regardless,
The answer is C. What is the relationship between the sentence before the “blank” and the sentence that includes it? It’s a relationship of similarity. The technical term is parallelism, which occurs when to facts of the same kind are presented side-by-side. The Perseids and the Leonids, whatever dissimilarities they have, are both examples of the kind of meteor shower mentioned in the first sentence. So even though they happen at different times of the year, they are similar in how they exemplify meteor showers that, according to the rest of the passage, are spectacular and draw crowds. “Similarly”, therefore works; the two contrast indicators certainly don’t work, and “in conclusion” does not fit the relationship between two parallel sentences.
Tanya Peña, a botanist at the University of Arizona, has spent years studying desert wildflowers and their response to changing rainfall patterns. In her most recent paper, she explains how certain species delay blooming until the soil contains just the right amount of moisture. ______, the swamp milkweed, a vital source of nutrition for monarch butterflies, does not bloom until late summer or early fall. Her research helps predict how desert ecosystems will adapt to climate change.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Nevertheless,
B. For example,
C. As a result,
D. Conversely,
The answer is B. To understand the important relationship here, we need to determine how general, or how specific, the sentences are around the “blank”. In this case, the botanist describes a general category of species that “delay blooming” until conditions are right, then introduces a specific type of plant that falls into that category. Another way to put this is that the sentence including the “blank” serves as an example of the general idea presented before. Thus, “for example” is an ideal choice.
“Nevertheless” and “conversely”, words indicating contrast, clearly do not fit here. “As a result” is more tempting; there is typically a close relationship between sentences connected by “as a result”. But the instance of the swamp milkweed is not used as a result of what came before, as if cause-and-effect were present, but rather an example of it.
Long before Marie Curie’s groundbreaking work on radioactivity, physicist Lise Meitner made significant contributions to the study of nuclear fission. She was part of the team that discovered how uranium atoms could split into lighter elements, releasing vast amounts of energy. ______, her role was overlooked when the Nobel Prize was awarded solely to her male colleague, Otto Hahn. Only decades later did historians begin to correct the record.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. For example,
B. Still,
C. Specifically,
D. As a result,
The answer is B. The first two sentences extol Meitner’s work as significant and groundbreaking. After the “blank”, we discover the lack of recognition she received from the Nobel committee. Surely this lack of recognition was inappropriate–quite the contrast! So we are looking for a contrast word. Although we might expect common contrast words like “however” or “nevertheless” to be available, we find the somewhat less common “still”. If you imagine someone saying, “Still …!” in response to a statement, you can hear the contrast. The person using “still” is objecting to, or expressing disagreement with, someone else. “Still” works perfectly well here, introducing an unexpected result of all of Meitner’s accomplishments.
None of the other choices bring out this contrast; “as a result” is particularly inappropriate, as the result of Meitner’s significant work should have been recognition, not its opposite!
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman critiques the medical treatment of women suffering from postpartum depression in the 19th century. Her narrator, confined to a bedroom and denied intellectual stimulation, slowly descends into madness. ______, Gilman’s short story functions as both a psychological portrait and a feminist indictment of patriarchal medical norms. It remains a cornerstone of both literary and social criticism today.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. As a result,
B. In addition,
C. In this way,
D. Conversely,
The answer is C. As we move into harder questions, the relationships get more subtle. The sentence with the “blank” does not seem to contrast with the sentence before it, but neither is the relationship exactly cause and effect. (The function of Gilman’s story within the society that received it is connected with the sad story of her narrator, but not exactly the effect of some cause.) With these two considerations in mind, we can rule out “as a result” and “conversely”.
Of the remaining choices, “in addition” doesn’t fit because the passage is transitioning from a summary of what happens in the story to a description of the story’s function within society. “In this way” is better because it points to how Gilman used the story to critique her society while telling an interesting psychological tale.
Recent excavations in southern Turkey have uncovered an early Neolithic settlement with unusually sophisticated architecture and symbolic carvings. These findings suggest that the region’s inhabitants developed complex spiritual and social practices long before the invention of writing. ______ some scholars now argue that symbolic culture may have played a larger role in driving the development of settled life than previously thought. The discoveries invite a reexamination of long-held assumptions about the relationship between agriculture and civilization.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. As a result,
B. Conversely,
C. In comparison,
D. Indeed,
The answer is D. The second sentence of this passage, which leads into the “blank”, introduces the suggestion that the aforementioned region in Turkey may have contained complex practices that predated the invention of writing. The next sentence takes things further: this complex symbolic system may have had more of an effect “than previously thought.” These two sentences don’t disagree, so there is no contrast (“conversely”) is out, but they aren’t about simple cause and effect either. If one sentence goes beyond the other, “indeed” works best. This is because “indeed” is what’s known as an intensifier: a word that enhances what comes before without changing its meaning. Using an intensifier makes sense because the suggestion by “some scholars” takes the previous suggestion further in terms of the extent of its claim.
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