On SAT transitions questions, cover the choices and name what the two sentences are doing: contrasting, causing, exemplifying, or continuing. Then pick the word whose job matches. Three original practice items included.
When two transition choices both sound fine, stop comparing the choices. Cover them, read the two sentences around the blank, and say in plain words what the second sentence is doing to the first. Then uncover the choices and pick the word whose job matches that relationship. The SAT tests whether you can name the relationship, not whether you have memorized a list.
Transitions sit in the Expression of Ideas domain, which measures how well you revise text to express ideas effectively. Every passage is short and carries a single question, so you can afford fifteen focused seconds per item.
Read the sentence before the blank and the sentence containing it. Ignore the answer choices and finish this sentence: "The second idea ___ the first." The honest answers fall into a few jobs:
Each transition word has one job. "However" contrasts. "Consequently" shows cause. "For example" exemplifies. A tempting wrong answer is almost always a word doing a different job than the one you named. If you named a contrast and a choice means "as a result," it is wrong no matter how smooth it sounds.
Keep this table handy while you practice:
| Relationship | Transitions that signal it |
|---|---|
| Contrast | however, nevertheless, by contrast, on the other hand |
| Cause and effect | therefore, consequently, as a result, thus |
| Example | for example, for instance |
| Restatement | in other words, that is |
| Continuation | moreover, furthermore, similarly, likewise, in addition |
These are original SAT-style examples written for practice, not official SAT questions.
Example 1. Mara's prototype passed every stress test the lab designed. ______ the review board rejected it for production, citing concerns about long-term maintenance costs.
A. For example, B. In contrast, C. As a result, D. Similarly,
The second sentence reverses the direction of the first: success in testing, rejection for production. That is a contrast, so the answer is B.
Choice C is the trap. "As a result" sounds natural because the rejection comes after the testing, but the passing did not cause the rejection. The rejection happened despite the passing, which is exactly what a contrast word marks. Choices A and D describe jobs the sentence is not doing: the rejection is not an example of passing, and it is not a similar idea.
Example 2. The city planted 2,000 street trees in 2019. ______ average summer temperatures in the downtown corridor fell by nearly a degree over the next five years.
A. However, B. In other words, C. Consequently, D. For instance,
Planting caused the cooling, so the relationship is cause and effect. The answer is C.
Choice A fails because nothing here pushes back. Choice B fails because the second sentence is not a restatement of the first; it reports an outcome. Choice D fails because a five-year temperature trend is not one example of planting trees.
Example 3. Octopuses can solve multi-step puzzles, recognize individual humans, and escape through openings barely wider than their beaks. ______ researchers have documented them carrying coconut shells across the seafloor to use as portable shelters.
A. In fact, B. For example, C. Therefore, D. Nevertheless,
The shell-carrying is one specific case of the clever behaviors listed first. That is exemplification, so the answer is B.
Choice A is the trap. "In fact" adds emphasis, which feels right after an impressive list, but the second sentence does not restate or intensify the claim. It instances it. Choices C and D name relationships the sentences do not have: no causation, no contrast.
On test day, the whole routine is: cover, name the job, uncover, match. It takes about fifteen seconds and it protects you from the choice that merely sounds smooth. Practice it on TaroPrep's free Reading and Writing questions until the naming step feels automatic.
Updated October 16, 2026. Our editorial approach
A difficult second module can change how the test feels without telling you your score. Here’s what to focus on instead of trying to decode the route.
Read the articleOne difficult question does not tell you your score.
Put the idea to work while it’s still fresh.
