Question 242·Medium·Transitions
Honeybees communicate through a “waggle dance,” a performance whose angle and duration convey the direction and distance to a food source. _____ the entire colony can quickly locate rich foraging grounds.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first decide the logical relationship between the connected ideas: are they showing cause-and-effect, contrast, example, addition, or a time sequence? Ignore the answer choices at first, summarize that relationship in your own words (e.g., "this is a result" or "this is an example"). Then quickly classify each option by its function (contrast, example, result, etc.) and eliminate those that don’t match the relationship you identified. Finally, plug the remaining option into the sentence to confirm it reads smoothly and preserves the intended meaning.
Hints
Identify how the second sentence relates to the first
Ask yourself: Is the second part opposing the first, giving a specific instance, or telling what happens as a result of the first sentence?
Check for contrast vs. continuation
Do the two sentences go in opposite directions (a contrast) or in the same direction, with the second building logically from the first?
Match each option’s function to the relationship you found
Think about what each transition word usually does—contrast, example, or result—and pick the one whose function matches the relationship you identified.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two ideas
Read the full sentence with the blank:
"Honeybees communicate through a 'waggle dance,' a performance whose angle and duration convey the direction and distance to a food source. _____ the entire colony can quickly locate rich foraging grounds."
Ask: Is the second sentence giving an example, showing a contrast, or stating a result of the first sentence? Here, the second sentence explains what happens because of that communication method (the colony can quickly find food). That is a cause-and-effect relationship.
Classify the meanings of the transition options
Look at what each answer choice usually does in a sentence:
- Nevertheless,: introduces an unexpected contrast or contradiction with what came before.
- For example,: introduces a specific instance that illustrates the previous idea.
- In contrast,: clearly signals a direct difference or opposition between two ideas.
- Consequently,: introduces an outcome or result that follows from the previous information.
Keep in mind you want the one that matches a cause-and-effect relationship.
Eliminate choices that don’t match cause-and-effect and choose the remaining one
Test each option in the sentence:
- "Nevertheless, the entire colony can quickly locate rich foraging grounds" suggests that this result is unexpected or despite the waggle dance, which is not logical—the result actually follows naturally from the dance.
- "For example, the entire colony can quickly locate rich foraging grounds" would make the colony’s quick locating of food just one example among several, but the sentence is not listing multiple examples—it's describing the main effect of the dance.
- "In contrast, the entire colony can quickly locate rich foraging grounds" would mean the second sentence is opposing the first, which it clearly does not.
The only option that correctly shows the result of the bees’ waggle dance is "Consequently,", so the correct answer is D) Consequently,.