Question 195·Hard·Transitions
Researchers long assumed that the red-crowned crane’s migratory route had remained fixed for centuries. Recent satellite data, however, show that the birds have shifted their primary stopover sites nearly 200 kilometers northward. ______ conservationists must now incorporate rising temperatures into habitat models to safeguard the species’ future.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For SAT transition questions, always read at least one sentence before and after the blank, then label the relationship in your own words: result, contrast, addition, example, etc. Once you know the relationship, eliminate any choices whose meanings (similarity, contrast, disregard, etc.) don’t match, even if they seem to “sound good” in the sentence. Choose the transition whose meaning most precisely matches the logical connection you identified, not the one that feels most familiar.
Hints
Look at the clause after the blank
Read: “______ conservationists must now incorporate rising temperatures into habitat models to safeguard the species’ future.” Is this describing something similar to before, something opposite, something irrelevant, or something that happens because of the information just given?
Connect the new data to the action
Ask yourself: Do conservationists change their models for no reason, or because the birds’ stopover sites have shifted northward?
Match meaning, not sound
Think about what each transition generally means: one suggests a result, one suggests similarity, one brushes aside earlier info, and one signals contradiction. Which type best fits the logical flow from the new satellite data to what conservationists must do?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the ideas
Read the sentences together:
- First, researchers assumed the migratory route was fixed for centuries.
- Then, new satellite data show the birds have shifted their stopover sites northward.
- Finally, conservationists must now change their models to protect the species.
Ask: Is the final clause giving an example, a contrast, something irrelevant, or a result of the new finding?
Identify the logical connection
The key phrase is “must now incorporate rising temperatures into habitat models to safeguard the species’ future.” This is something conservationists have to do because the birds have moved their stopover sites northward.
So the last part is a result or consequence of the new satellite data, not a comparison, not a contrast, and not a dismissal of earlier information.
Match each transition type to the needed relationship
Now think about what each transition generally does:
- One option indicates cause-and-effect (a result).
- One option indicates similarity (a parallel example).
- One option indicates regardless / anyway (ignoring what came before).
- One option indicates direct opposition (the second statement contradicts the first).
Since we identified that the sentence needs a result transition, we should choose the one that signals cause-and-effect. That correct choice is “Consequently,”.