Question 74·Medium·Transitions
Many urban planners tout the benefits of vertical gardens, claiming they dramatically reduce city temperatures. ______, studies show that the cooling effect is limited to areas immediately adjacent to the greenery.
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 similar, opposite, an example, a cause/effect, or a time sequence? Then quickly classify each option by its usual function (contrast, example, addition, time, etc.) and eliminate any that don’t match the relationship you identified. Always read the sentence with your final choice inserted to confirm that it creates a clear, logical connection.
Hints
Check how the second part relates to the first
Ask yourself: Does the information after the blank support the planners’ claims, give an example of them, or push back against them?
Label the relationship before looking at the choices
Decide in your own words how the two parts of the sentence connect (example, emphasis, time, or a conflicting idea) before matching that to a transition.
Test each option in the sentence
Read the full sentence with each choice in the blank and ask: Does this word show the right relationship between a broad claim and research that limits that claim?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand how the two ideas relate
Read both parts of the sentence together:
- First part: Many urban planners tout the benefits of vertical gardens, claiming they dramatically reduce city temperatures.
- Second part: studies show that the cooling effect is limited to areas immediately adjacent to the greenery.
The first part makes a strong, broad claim about big benefits. The second part pulls that back, saying the benefit is actually limited. These ideas do not match; the second part pushes against or qualifies the first.
Decide what type of transition is needed
Ask: Does the second part
- give an example of the first?
- strongly support or emphasize the first?
- describe something happening at the same time?
- or challenge/limit what was just said?
Here, the studies limit or challenge the broad claim. So we need a transition that shows this kind of relationship.
Match each option to its function
Now think about what each choice usually does in a sentence:
- For instance introduces an example of what was just mentioned.
- Indeed reinforces or emphasizes the previous idea.
- However signals a contrast or exception to the previous idea.
- Meanwhile shows something happening at the same time as something else.
We already decided the second clause is not an example, reinforcement, or time-related event; it contradicts/limits the first clause. Only the contrast word fits that role, so the correct answer is C) However.