Question 151·Easy·Transitions
Biologist Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring exposed the environmental dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use. ______ her work is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement and inspiring the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For SAT transition questions, first ignore the answer choices and read the surrounding sentences to decide how the ideas are related: same idea, contrast, cause-and-effect, example, or sequence. Briefly label that relationship in your head (e.g., "cause → effect" or "contrast"). Then check each answer choice by its typical function (time, contrast, result, example, addition, etc.) and eliminate those that don’t match. Finally, plug the remaining option into the sentence to confirm that it makes logical and grammatical sense in context.
Hints
Look at both sentences together
Read the first sentence and the blank plus the second sentence as one connected idea. Ask: Is the second sentence opposing, continuing, giving an example of, or describing something that happens because of the first sentence?
Focus on the phrase after the blank
The second sentence says that Carson’s work is "widely credited with launching" a movement and "inspiring" an agency. Does that sound like a contrast, an example, something happening at the same time, or an outcome of her earlier work?
Match each transition to a relationship type
Think about what each option usually means (time, contrast, example, or result). Then ask: Which type best fits the link between exposing environmental dangers and being credited with starting an environmental movement?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each sentence is saying
Read the two parts together:
- First sentence: Carson’s book Silent Spring "exposed the environmental dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use."
- Second sentence: "her work is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement and inspiring the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
Ask yourself: How does the second idea relate to the first one?
Identify the relationship between the ideas
The first sentence explains what the book did (exposed dangers). The second sentence explains what that led to or what it caused (launching a movement and inspiring an agency).
So the relationship is cause and effect: because she exposed these dangers, her work is credited with starting major environmental actions.
Classify the types of transitions in the answer choices
Now match each option to the kind of relationship it usually signals:
- "Meanwhile," usually signals things happening at the same time.
- "Nevertheless," usually signals contrast or opposition.
- "For example," introduces an example of a previous general statement.
- "As a result," shows a result or consequence of what was just described.
Only one of these matches the cause-and-effect relationship between the two sentences.
Choose the transition that shows cause and effect
Since the second sentence describes what happened because of Carson’s book, the transition must show a result. The only transition that clearly expresses this cause-and-effect link is "As a result,", so that is the correct choice.