Question 177·Easy·Transitions
Traditional community libraries typically close at 6 p.m., which can be inconvenient for working adults. ______ many cities have installed outdoor pickup lockers that allow cardholders to retrieve books after hours.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read the sentence before and after the blank together and describe their relationship in your own words using labels like "cause and effect," "contrast," "example," or "time." Once you know the relationship, go through the choices and identify what each transition typically signals, eliminating any that do not match. This process of labeling the relationship first, then matching it to a transition, is faster and more reliable than picking a word that just "sounds right."
Hints
Check how the second sentence relates to the first
Reread both sentences and ask: Is the second sentence disagreeing with the first, giving an example of it, describing something happening at the same time, or showing what happens because of it?
Think about problem and response
The first sentence mentions an inconvenience for working adults. Does the second sentence describe a response or solution to that inconvenience, or something else?
Match the answer choices to their usual jobs
Remind yourself: Which choice usually shows contrast, which introduces an example, and which shows things happening at the same time? Eliminate any choices whose function does not match the relationship between the sentences.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each sentence is saying
Read the two parts of the text together:
- First part: Traditional community libraries close at 6 p.m., which is inconvenient for working adults.
- Second part: Many cities have installed outdoor pickup lockers so people can get books after hours.
So the first part describes a problem, and the second part describes what cities have done in response to that problem.
Decide the logical relationship between the ideas
Ask yourself: How does the second sentence relate to the first?
- It does not oppose or disagree with the first idea; it builds on it.
- It does not give a simple example of something already mentioned; instead, it shows an action taken.
- It does not describe two things happening at the same time.
The second sentence is describing what cities did because the early closing time is inconvenient. That is a cause-and-effect (result) relationship.
Match each choice to the type of relationship it usually shows
Now think about what each transition normally signals:
- "However," usually shows contrast or an opposing idea.
- "For example," introduces an example of something just mentioned.
- "Meanwhile," usually shows two things happening at the same time.
- One remaining option signals a result of the previous statement.
Here, we need a transition that shows that the cities' action is a result of the inconvenience described in the first sentence, not contrast, an example, or simultaneous events.
Choose the transition that shows a result
Because the second sentence describes what cities did as a result of the problem in the first sentence, the best transition is the one that means "as a result": "Consequently," (Choice C).