Question 11·Medium·Transitions
Historically, historians attributed the sudden abandonment of the hillside city to a catastrophic volcanic eruption. ______ recent archaeological evidence of steadily declining crop yields and widespread soil depletion points instead to a gradual economic collapse, casting doubt on the eruption theory.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first read the full sentence (or sentences) around the blank without the transition and decide how the ideas relate: are they adding similar information, contrasting, showing cause/effect, giving an example, or showing time/order? Use clue words like "instead," "however," "therefore," or "for example" in the surrounding text to identify that relationship. Only after you’ve labeled the relationship (e.g., contrast, example) should you look at the choices and quickly eliminate any transitions that serve a different function, then test the remaining one(s) in the sentence for both logic and flow.
Hints
Check the role of the blank
Read the sentence without the transition word. What is happening before the blank, and what new information is being added after it?
Look for relationship clues in the second part
Focus on the words "instead" and "casting doubt on the eruption theory." Do these words suggest agreement with the earlier explanation or a challenge to it?
Match the relationship to the type of transition
Once you decide whether the new evidence supports, illustrates, or challenges the old explanation, think about what general kind of transition word would connect those ideas.
Test each option in the sentence
Plug each choice into the blank and ask: Does this word accurately describe how the second idea relates to the first?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each part of the sentence is saying
First clause: "Historically, historians attributed the sudden abandonment of the hillside city to a catastrophic volcanic eruption." This tells us the old explanation for why the city was abandoned.
Second clause: "recent archaeological evidence of steadily declining crop yields and widespread soil depletion points instead to a gradual economic collapse, casting doubt on the eruption theory." This introduces new evidence that supports a different explanation and questions the old one.
Identify the relationship between the two ideas
Ask: Does the new information agree with the old explanation, give more detail about it, or challenge it?
Here, the phrase "points instead to" and "casting doubt on the eruption theory" shows that the new evidence disagrees with and challenges the earlier belief. So the relationship is one of contrast/opposition between past belief and new evidence.
Decide what kind of transition is needed
Because the new evidence challenges the old explanation, we need a transition that clearly shows a shift or contrast between what people used to think and what the evidence now suggests.
Transitions that introduce examples, show things happening at the same time, or show similarity would not match this contrast relationship.
Match the transition type to the answer choices
Now look at the choices:
- "For example," introduces a specific instance of a general idea.
- "Meanwhile," shows two things happening at the same time.
- "Likewise," introduces a similar or reinforcing idea.
- "However," introduces a contrasting or opposing idea.
We have already seen that the sentence needs a contrast transition, because the new evidence casts doubt on the old eruption theory. Only "However," correctly signals this contrast, so C) However, is the best choice.