Question 31·Easy·Transitions
The city of Greenville introduced bike lanes across its downtown core last year. Preliminary data show a 20% increase in cycling during commuting hours. _____ surveys conducted before the lanes were built indicated that only 5% of residents felt safe biking to work.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read the sentence before and after the blank as one connected thought, then label the relationship in your own words: is it cause/effect, contrast, addition, example, or about timing? Next, quickly sort the options into these categories based on their meanings instead of which one "sounds good." Eliminate any transitions whose relationship type doesn’t match what the sentences are actually doing, then plug the remaining choice back into the sentence to confirm it creates a clear, logical connection.
Hints
Compare the timing of the two sentences
Look carefully at when each event happens: the introduction of the bike lanes and the surveys. Are they describing the same time period or different time periods?
Use the phrase after the blank
Focus on the words "before the lanes were built" right after the blank. How does that phrase affect how the second sentence is positioned in time compared to the first?
Sort the answer choices by relationship type
Think about what kind of relationship each option normally shows: some indicate cause-and-effect, some show things happening at the same time, and some show a change in time. Which type matches the relationship between the two sentences?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand how the two sentences are related
First, read the two sentences together without any transition:
The city of Greenville introduced bike lanes across its downtown core last year. Preliminary data show a 20% increase in cycling during commuting hours. ___ surveys conducted before the lanes were built indicated that only 5% of residents felt safe biking to work.
The first part describes a recent change (adding bike lanes) and its current effect (20% increase in cycling). The next sentence talks about surveys done before the lanes were built that had different results (only 5% felt safe biking). So the second sentence is giving information from an earlier time to contrast with the new situation.
Decide what kind of transition is needed
Ask what the logical connection is between the sentences:
- Is the second sentence a result of the first?
- Is it happening at the same time as the first?
- Or is it describing something that happened earlier, before the bike lanes?
Because the surveys are said to be "conducted before the lanes were built," the second sentence is clearly about an earlier time. So you need a transition that signals a shift back to earlier conditions, not a cause-and-effect result or a same-time event.
Match each option to its relationship type
Now classify the answer choices by the type of relationship they signal:
- "Consequently," and "Therefore," both show cause and effect (they mean something like "as a result").
- "Meanwhile," shows things happening at the same time.
- One option shows a shift back to an earlier time, which matches the idea of "surveys conducted before the lanes were built."
Since the sentence is clearly about conditions that existed earlier than the new bike lanes and data, the only transition that correctly signals that earlier time relationship is "Previously,".