Question 239·Medium·Transitions
Early archaeologists examining the intricately engraved stone implements unearthed at the coastal site classified them as ceremonial objects. _____ later microscopic analysis of edge wear showed that the implements had been regularly used to process shellfish and other food items.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, read the sentence before and after the blank and summarize each in simple words. Then decide the relationship: are you adding similar information, giving an example, showing cause and effect, contrasting, or summarizing? Once you know the relationship, eliminate any option whose meaning does not match that relationship, even if it “sounds” okay grammatically. Focus on logic first, then wording.
Hints
Clarify each part of the sentence
First, restate in your own words what the archaeologists originally believed about the tools, and then restate what the later microscopic analysis revealed about how the tools were actually used.
Think about how the ideas relate
Ask yourself: Does the later analysis agree with the original classification, give more similar information, provide an example of it, or show that the original classification was mistaken?
Match the relationship, not the sound
Once you’ve decided whether the second sentence supports, explains, or opposes the first, choose the transition whose meaning best matches that relationship, even if other options “sound” fine in the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the first sentence is saying
Paraphrase the first sentence: early archaeologists looked at the engraved stone tools and decided they were ceremonial, not everyday tools. This is their initial conclusion or belief about the objects.
Understand what the second sentence is saying
The second sentence tells us that later microscopic analysis showed the implements had been regularly used to process shellfish and other food items.
That means the tools were used for everyday, practical purposes, which goes against the idea that they were only ceremonial.
Decide the logical relationship between the two sentences
Compare the two ideas:
- First: “These are ceremonial objects.”
- Second: Evidence: “They were regularly used for food processing.”
Ask: Does the new evidence support, give an example of, result from, or contradict the original classification?
Here, the later evidence contradicts what the archaeologists first thought. So you need a transition that shows this kind of contrast between an earlier claim and later, conflicting evidence.
Match the meaning of each transition to the relationship
Now test the options against that contrast relationship:
- Consequently, = “as a result” (cause and effect) → wrong, because the later analysis is not caused by the misclassification; it disproves it.
- Furthermore, = “in addition” (adding similar information) → wrong, because the second sentence doesn’t add support; it disagrees with the first.
- For instance, = “for example” → wrong, because the later analysis is not an example; it’s new, opposing evidence.
- Nevertheless, = introduces a statement that contrasts with or qualifies what came before, which fits the idea that later evidence goes against the original belief.
So the correct answer is D) Nevertheless,.