Question 101·Medium·Transitions
Before biologists can determine whether a species is endangered, they must first estimate its population size. ______ scientists studying the rare Iberian lynx use camera traps and genetic analysis to produce accurate counts.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read at least one sentence before and after the blank and decide the relationship between them first (example, cause/effect, contrast, sequence, etc.) before looking at the answer choices. Then quickly eliminate options whose meanings (like contrast, time, or result) do not match that relationship, and choose the one whose typical use best fits how the second sentence connects to the first.
Hints
Identify what the second sentence is doing
Ask yourself: Is the second sentence giving a result, a contrast, something happening at the same time, or describing how the idea from the first sentence is carried out in a particular situation?
Check each transition’s usual role
Think about what each option normally signals: time, cause/effect, contrast, or something else. Which one fits how the Iberian lynx sentence connects back to the general statement about biologists?
Test the options in the sentence
Read the full pair of sentences out loud with each transition. Which one makes the logic between the general statement and the Iberian lynx description clearest and most natural?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand how the two sentences are related
Read the first sentence: biologists must estimate population size before deciding if a species is endangered. The next sentence talks about scientists studying the Iberian lynx and how they estimate its population size using camera traps and genetic analysis.
So the second sentence describes a concrete situation that fits the general idea in the first sentence.
Match that relationship to the type of transition
Now think about what each transition usually shows:
- "Meanwhile," shows two things happening at the same time.
- "Consequently," shows a result of something that came before.
- "Conversely," introduces an opposite or contrasting idea.
None of these describe the relationship here, where the second sentence is illustrating the idea from the first sentence.
Choose the transition that introduces an illustration
Because the second sentence presents a specific illustration of the general process described in the first sentence, the transition that correctly introduces an example is "For example,", which completes the text in the most logical way.