Question 17·Medium·Transitions
Climate mitigation strategies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at their source, preventing further warming of the planet. ______ climate adaptation focuses on adjusting human and natural systems to the changes that are already underway.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read the full context around the blank and first decide the relationship between the ideas: are they similar, contrasting, cause-and-effect, or adding more of the same? Once you’ve labeled the relationship, quickly categorize each answer choice by the type of connection it usually shows, eliminate those that don’t match, and then plug the remaining option back into the sentence to check that it flows logically and naturally.
Hints
Focus on meaning, not just the blank
Read the entire sentence, skipping over the blank, and think about what each part is saying about climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
Ask how the two parts relate
Is the second part giving another example of the same kind of strategy, describing a consequence of the first, or introducing a different type of approach?
Connect relationship type to transition type
Decide whether the connection between the two parts is similarity, difference, or cause-and-effect, and then think about which type of transition word would usually fit that relationship.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the ideas on each side of the blank
Read the sentence without the transition:
"Climate mitigation strategies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at their source, preventing further warming of the planet. ___ climate adaptation focuses on adjusting human and natural systems to the changes that are already underway."
The first part talks about mitigation (reducing emissions to stop more warming). The second part talks about adaptation (adjusting to changes that are already happening). These are two different types of responses to climate change.
Identify the logical relationship
Ask: How is the second idea related to the first?
- Is adaptation being given as a result of mitigation?
- Is adaptation being described as similar to mitigation?
- Or is the sentence presenting adaptation as a different kind of strategy with a different focus?
Here, the sentence is not saying one causes the other or that they are the same; it is presenting two distinct approaches with different goals.
Classify each transition type
Now look at what each answer choice usually signals:
- "Accordingly," often signals cause-and-effect or that something follows logically from what was just said.
- "Similarly," signals that what comes next is like or comparable to the previous idea.
- "In contrast," signals a difference between two ideas.
- "As a result," also signals cause-and-effect (one thing happens because of another).
Only one of these matches the relationship you identified between mitigation and adaptation.
Match the relationship to the correct transition
Since the sentence is comparing two different kinds of climate strategies with different focuses, the transition must signal a difference. The only option that does this is "In contrast,", so that is the correct answer.