Question 214·Easy·Transitions
Ten years ago, rooftop solar installations were considered too expensive for most households. ______ as manufacturing efficiencies improved and government incentives expanded, the average cost of solar installations decreased dramatically, making them attainable for a wider population.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first ignore the answer choices and decide how the ideas before and after the blank relate: are they showing contrast, adding similar information, giving an example, showing cause-and-effect, or indicating time/sequence? Once you’ve named the relationship in your own words, quickly label each choice by its transition type and eliminate those that don’t match. Always reread the sentence with your chosen transition to confirm it creates a clear, logical, and smooth connection.
Hints
Check the relationship between the two ideas
Ask yourself: Does the second part of the sentence disagree with the first, explain why it’s true, give an example of it, or describe how things changed after that time?
Focus on the time phrase
Notice the phrase "Ten years ago" at the beginning. How does that time reference relate to the description of costs decreasing as efficiencies improved and incentives expanded?
Classify the transition types
Label each option as suggesting contrast, time, example, or cause-and-effect. Then choose the one whose type best matches the connection you found between the two parts of the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the first part of the sentence
Read the first sentence: "Ten years ago, rooftop solar installations were considered too expensive for most households." This sets a point in time in the past and describes what was true back then: solar was mostly unaffordable.
Understand the second part of the sentence
Now look at what comes after the blank: "as manufacturing efficiencies improved and government incentives expanded, the average cost of solar installations decreased dramatically, making them attainable for a wider population." This describes how, over a period of time, things changed so that solar became cheaper and more accessible. There is no opposition to the first idea; it’s a development from that earlier time to now.
Match the transition to the logical relationship
Decide what kind of connection is needed: the sentence moves from a time in the past (“Ten years ago”) to what has happened during the years that followed. That is a time progression relationship, not a contrast, not an example, and not a straightforward cause-and-effect result. Among the choices, only “Since then,” correctly shows that the next part describes changes that have occurred over the period following “ten years ago,” so B) Since then, is the best answer.