Hello again! This is part two in a pair of posts on how to work effectively with transition words on the ACT English section and SAT Writing section. As I explained in my complete transition word guide, every SAT and ACT contains questions testing this specific content area. So, suffice to say, it’s crucial that you be able to identify transition words and to understand how they work. To that end, this post brings you two of my tried-and-true techniques for working efficiently and accurately through the questions that test your facility with transition words. With these strategies in tow, you’ll be sure to slay this genre of question, and grab the precious points they contain!
Both the ACT and SAT specifically test your knowledge of transition words.
Transition word questions take the form of a passage or sentence with an underlined word, where the answer choices (the ones that aren’t “no change,” that is!) are all transition words. If you can recognize the question and study the words, you’ll be all set…especially if you’ve prepared yourself with these two transition tricks!
To make the above description more concrete, here’s an example of what the answer choices on a transition word question might look like:
14. A) NO CHANGE
B) Despite,
C) Therefore,
D) In addition,
Once you’re primed for it, it’s not too tricky to realize that you’re in the transition-word zone here! So once you’ve wised up to that fact, what do you do about it?
Transition words Trick #1:
Pick your category (Continue, Contrast, Cause-and-Effect) BEFORE you read the answer choices!
Here’s what I mean:
First, cross out the transition word that’s underlined in the question.
Next, read the two sentences that are connected by the transition word.
(Hint: If it’s a hard transition word, you’d read the sentence that contains the transition word and the sentence before it. If it’s a soft transition word, you’d read both clauses within the same sentence. Need a reminder about which transition words fall into which category? Check out the complete guide to transition words from a few weeks ago.)
Then, DECIDE if the two thoughts continue, contrast, or signify a direct cause-and-effect relationship!
Finally, select your answer!
And this next one is my FAVORITE…
Transition words Trick #2:
If two answer choices fall into the same sub-category of transition word (“gives example” or “indicated the effect” or “shows how two things are different,” etc.), then BOTH of those answer choices are wrong!
Sometimes you have two answer options that mean the same thing and are in the same category. “Therefore” and “thus” are good examples—you can’t choose between them, which tells you that they’re both INCORRECT. It’s like trying to decide between “green” and “blue” when the answer you’re looking for isn’t even supposed to be a color in the first place.
After all, if one of those answer choices were correct, that would mean its equivalent would also be correct…and last time I checked, the SAT and ACT never offer two correct answers to the same multiple-choice question! So you can quickly eliminate BOTH of those options. Now you’re only deciding between two answers—which makes for a much faster solving process as you finish the question!
So, that, my friends, is how you can ace Transition Words and Transition Word Questions. But of course, this is just an appetizer-style intro to the topic. If you need something more like a meal—i.e. a way more thorough understanding, and/or specific examples to work through—with regard to this and every other topic on the SAT, let’s work together!
Or, if “together” isn’t your preferred way to study, I’ve released two ebooks—one for the SAT, one for the ACT—that bring you all the English/Writing knowledge you need to ace either test. Work through these ebooks at whatever speed you want—and even repeat them, if you’d like! You’re the one who sets the pace.
