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Transitions — SAT practice questions

On the SAT Reading and Writing section, Transitions questions require a student to choose the word or phrase that most logically links two adjacent sentences in a short passage. The student must read both sides of the blank, decide whether the ideas contrast, follow in time, show cause and effect, or add a related point, and select the connector that matches that relationship. The exam usually places the blank at the start of a sentence and asks which choice completes the text with the most logical transition. Answer choices are short, similar-sounding connectors; the common trap is a grammatically correct option that signals the wrong logical relationship.

  • Section: Reading and Writing 54 questions on the paper
  • 215 practice questions in the app

Sample questions

Question 1

In an effort to protect fragile works on paper, the gallery now illuminates its drawings with light-emitting diodes that produce little heat. it used incandescent bulbs whose heat could accelerate the paper's deterioration.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  1. APreviously,
  2. BConsequently,
  3. CFor example,
  4. DLikewise,
Show answer

Answer: A — Previously,

The incandescent bulbs belonged to an earlier practice that the gallery has since replaced. “Previously,” marks that temporal relationship.

Question 2

Ethnomusicologists comparing work songs from four coastal communities found that a simplified notation captured the beat performers emphasized most often. The notation did not record subtle shifts in timing that singers used to coordinate difficult movements, however, and so it could not reproduce a performance exactly. it remains useful for comparing the songs’ broad rhythmic structures across regions and historical periods.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  1. ALikewise,
  2. BFor this reason,
  3. CEven so,
  4. DIndeed,
Show answer

Answer: C — Even so,

The final sentence concedes that the notation is still useful despite its inability to capture every timing shift. “Even so” signals this contrast between a limitation and a remaining benefit.

Question 3

To determine whether a faded map was printed from the same plate as a securely dated map, a conservator first photographed both under raking light, revealing shallow impressions left by the press. She then aligned stable landmarks—coastlines and compass marks—across the photographs. the conservator examined the positions of tiny scratches, features unlikely to have been copied by hand.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  1. ATo illustrate,
  2. BSubsequently,
  3. CSimilarly,
  4. DInstead,
Show answer

Answer: B — Subsequently,

After photographing the maps and aligning the landmarks, the conservator next examined scratch positions. “Subsequently,” marks that next step in the procedure.

Practice 215 Transitions questions in the app

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