AP English Language · Lesson 3

Transitions

Know Know it

A transition tells the reader how the next idea relates to the last one. Choosing the right one means deciding what that relationship actually is.

Common relationships and their transitions: addition (also, moreover, in addition, furthermore); contrast (however, but, yet, on the other hand, nevertheless); cause and effect (therefore, as a result, so, consequently, thus); example (for example, for instance); time or sequence (first, then, later, meanwhile, finally); concession (although, even though, granted).

Transitions in the same group are not always interchangeable. “However” turns to a different point; “nevertheless” says the next idea holds despite the last one. “As a result” needs a real cause before it.

Transitions also work between paragraphs. A strong topic sentence often links back (“Cost is not the only problem”) before moving forward, so the reader can follow the line of reasoning across the whole essay.

Trap Read both sentences before choosing

A transition question is really a reading question. Students often pick a word that sounds formal, like “moreover” or “thus,” without checking the logic. Ask: does the second sentence add, contrast, result, illustrate or follow in time? Then choose the word for that relationship.

Worked example Easy

Original passage written for Peakscor practice. Two sentences from a student’s report:

The bakery’s ovens broke down on Friday morning. , the shop sold only day-old bread that weekend.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  1. For example
  2. ConsequentlyAnswer
  3. Likewise
  4. Similarly

How to solve it

  1. Ask how the second sentence relates to the first: the broken ovens led to old bread.
  2. That is cause and effect, so “Consequently” fits.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. “For example” would make the second sentence an instance of the first, but it is a result of it.
  • B. Correct. Selling only day-old bread is the effect of the broken ovens, so a cause-and-effect transition fits.
  • C. Incorrect. “Likewise” would mean the second fact matches the first in some way, but selling old bread follows from the broken ovens.
  • D. Incorrect. “Similarly” would compare two alike things, but the sentences show a cause and its effect.

Worked example Medium

Original passage written for Peakscor practice. A student, Tomas, is writing a report on the history of his town’s ice arena. These are the opening sentences of his second paragraph:

(1) For its first twenty years, the arena was open only in winter, from December to March. (2) in 1998 the town added a cooling system that kept the ice frozen year-round. (3) Within a few years, summer hockey camps were filling every week.

Which choice completes sentence 2 with the most logical transition?

  1. Then,Answer
  2. For instance,
  3. In other words,
  4. Similarly,

How to solve it

  1. Sentence 1 describes the first twenty years; sentence 2 describes a change in 1998.
  2. The second event comes after the first in time, so “Then” fits.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Correct. Sentence 2 tells the next event in the arena’s history, so a time transition fits.
  • B. Incorrect. “For instance” would make the 1998 cooling system an example of being open only in winter, which it is not.
  • C. Incorrect. “In other words” would mean sentence 2 restates sentence 1, but it reports a new event, the 1998 cooling system.
  • D. Incorrect. “Similarly” would mean the cooling system was like the winter-only season, but it ended that season.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: explain, evaluate

To explain a transition, name the relationship it signals and check it against the content: “‘Similarly’ fits because the second sentence describes a second town that made the same choice as the first.”

Explain Your turn

A student writes: “The Mill Street bridge was closed for repairs all summer. For example, traffic on Route 4 doubled.” Explain why “For example” is the wrong transition here, and name a transition that would fit.

Write it, then compare. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Explains that the second sentence is a result of the first, not an example of it
  • Names a cause-and-effect transition that fits

Model answer

The doubled traffic on Route 4 is a result of the bridge closing, since drivers had to find another way across; it is not an example of a bridge closing. A cause-and-effect transition such as “As a result” would fit.

Apply Apply it

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