Question 168·Hard·Transitions
Through the 1970s, many urban planners prioritized building highways directly through city centers, believing that rapid automobile traffic was essential for economic growth. Recent analyses, however, reveal that such projects often fractured neighborhoods and depressed local businesses. _______, a growing number of cities are now removing or rerouting downtown highways to restore street-level connectivity.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read at least one full sentence before and after the blank, then label the relationship in your own words (for example: contrast, result, similarity, example, or emphasis) before you look closely at the choices. Next, quickly match each option to the type of relationship it usually signals and eliminate any that do not fit the logic between the sentences. Avoid choosing transitions just because they “sound good”; they must express the exact logical link the author is making.
Hints
Look at the sentences before and after the blank
Read the sentence about recent analyses and then the sentence after the blank. Ask yourself: is the second sentence disagreeing, giving a similar example, showing a result, or ignoring the previous information?
Focus on the cities’ actions
Why are cities now removing or rerouting downtown highways? Think about how that action relates to what the recent analyses revealed.
Match transition types to relationships
Classify each answer choice by what it usually signals (contrast, result, similarity, or ignoring previous information), then keep only the one that matches the relationship you found between the sentences.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand how the ideas are connected
Read the sentences in order:
- First, planners built highways through city centers because they thought this helped the economy.
- Second, recent analyses show those projects actually harmed neighborhoods and businesses.
- Third, cities are now removing or rerouting those highways.
The third sentence is a reaction to what the recent analyses revealed. The new research has led cities to change their approach.
Decide what kind of transition is needed
Ask: How does the third sentence relate to the second?
The third sentence does not:
- Present an opposite idea to the analyses.
- Present a similar example of analysis.
- Ignore the analyses.
Instead, it shows what cities are doing because of the findings. That is a cause-and-effect (result) relationship: analyses reveal harm ➝ cities respond by changing policy.
Match each option to its typical use
Now think about what each transition usually signals:
- “Instead,” introduces an alternative or replacement, often contrasting with what came before.
- “Consequently,” introduces a result or outcome of the previous information.
- “Similarly,” introduces something that is alike or parallel.
- “Regardless,” suggests that what follows happens despite the previous information, as if ignoring it.
We want the word that signals a result of the recent analyses.
Choose the transition that fits the cause-and-effect relationship
Because the third sentence shows what cities are doing as a result of the recent analyses (changing policy after learning about the harms), the transition that best fits is “Consequently,”, so the correct answer is B) Consequently,.