Question 47·Medium·Transitions
Many historians rely on diaries penned by soldiers to understand daily life during World War I. ______ letters sent home by nurses offer firsthand perspectives on medical conditions at the front.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read the surrounding sentences first and decide, in your own words, how the second idea relates to the first (addition, contrast, cause/effect, example, time, etc.) before checking the choices. Then, match each answer choice to the type of relationship it usually signals and quickly eliminate any that don’t fit the logical connection you identified; plug the remaining option back into the sentence to confirm it keeps the meaning clear and consistent.
Hints
Read both parts together
Before looking at the choices, read the entire sentence with the blank and think: What are historians using in the first part, and what is being described in the second part?
Decide how the second part relates to the first
Ask yourself: Is the second part supporting the idea in the first, arguing against it, giving a specific instance of it, or just talking about something happening at the same time?
Use the typical jobs of transition words
Think about which transitions usually show contrast, which show time or a shift to a different situation, and which introduce examples. Eliminate any answer whose usual role does not match the relationship you saw between the two parts of the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each sentence is saying
Read both parts together:
- First: "Many historians rely on diaries penned by soldiers to understand daily life during World War I." This means historians use soldiers’ diaries as firsthand sources.
- Second: "______ letters sent home by nurses offer firsthand perspectives on medical conditions at the front." This says nurses’ letters also give firsthand information, but specifically about medical conditions.
So both clauses are about types of firsthand sources used to understand World War I.
Identify the relationship between the two ideas
Ask yourself: How does the second sentence relate to the first?
- It is not disagreeing with or opposing the first idea.
- It is not just saying these things happened at the same time.
- It is not giving a specific example of soldiers’ diaries.
Instead, it adds another kind of source (nurses’ letters) that also gives historians valuable firsthand information, just like soldiers’ diaries do. The relationship is an additional, comparable point.
Match each wrong choice to the relationship it usually shows
Now look at the answer choices and what they normally signal:
- "Meanwhile," usually shows things happening at the same time or a shift to a different situation.
- "Nevertheless," shows contrast or an unexpected twist (similar to "however").
- "For example," introduces a specific instance of something just mentioned.
None of these fit the relationship you found:
- The second sentence is not simply describing something happening at the same time, so "Meanwhile," does not work.
- It does not contrast with the first sentence, so "Nevertheless," is wrong.
- Letters from nurses are not an example of soldiers’ diaries; they are a different type of source, so "For example," is also wrong.
Choose the transition that shows an additional, similar idea
Since the second sentence adds another type of firsthand source that plays a comparable role to the first, the best transition is the one that shows an additional, similar idea: "Similarly,". So the correct answer is A) Similarly,.