Question 200·Medium·Transitions
Electric buses generate far fewer exhaust emissions than their diesel counterparts. ______ many municipalities have decided to phase out diesel buses in favor of electric models over the next decade.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read the surrounding sentences first and ignore the answer choices until you’ve decided how the ideas are related (addition, contrast, cause-and-effect, example, time, etc.). Then label each transition choice by its usual function and eliminate any that don’t match the relationship you identified. This top-down approach is faster and more reliable than trying to decide based on the word meanings alone.
Hints
Read both sentences together
Don’t look at the transition choices first. Read the two sentences and think about how the second one connects logically to the first.
Name the relationship
Ask yourself: Is the second sentence giving an example, showing a contrast, describing something happening at the same time, or showing an outcome of the first sentence?
Check what each transition usually does
Think about how each option is typically used: one usually introduces examples, one shows contrast, one shows things happening at the same time, and one shows an outcome. Which type best fits the connection you saw between the two sentences?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two sentences
Read both sentences together and ask: how is the second sentence related to the first?
- First sentence: Electric buses generate fewer exhaust emissions than diesel buses.
- Second sentence: Many municipalities have decided to phase out diesel buses in favor of electric models.
The decision in the second sentence clearly comes because of the information in the first: cities are reacting to the lower emissions.
Classify the type of connection
Now, decide what kind of logical connection this is:
- Is the second sentence an example of the first?
- Is it in contrast to the first?
- Is it describing something happening at the same time but unrelated?
- Or is it a result or outcome of the situation in the first sentence?
Here, the cities’ decision is an outcome of the fact that electric buses are cleaner, so the relationship is cause-and-effect.
Match the relationship to the best transition
Check each option against that cause-and-effect relationship:
- "For example," introduces a specific instance or illustration, not a result.
- "However," signals contrast, which does not fit because the second sentence does not oppose the first.
- "Meanwhile," shows two things happening at the same time, not one causing the other.
- "Consequently," shows that one thing happens as a result of another, which matches the cause-and-effect relationship.
Therefore, the correct answer is C) Consequently,.