Question 172·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Expression of Ideas
Urban planners often assume that adding extra lanes to congested highways will alleviate traffic delays. A comprehensive review of metropolitan road expansions from 1990 to 2010, however, found that overall commute times remained unchanged because the additional capacity encouraged more people to drive. _______ simply widening roads may do little to solve chronic congestion.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read at least one sentence before and after the blank, then decide the exact relationship between the ideas (cause-and-effect, contrast, example, addition, etc.) before looking at the choices. Once you know the relationship, quickly eliminate any options whose usual function (contrast words like "however" or "nevertheless," example words like "for instance," result words like "therefore") does not match that relationship, and choose the one that clearly fits the logical connection in context.
Hints
Look at the big picture
Read the sentences around the blank and ask yourself: Is the author agreeing with the study, disagreeing with it, or drawing a conclusion from it?
Classify the second sentence
Focus on the part after the blank: "simply widening roads may do little to solve chronic congestion." Is this sentence an alternative idea, a contrast, an example, or a conclusion based on the study?
Match meaning, not sound
Ignore which option "sounds" nice. Instead, think about what each transition usually does: some show contrast, some show examples, and some show a follow-up result. Which type matches the relationship you found?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the sentences
First, summarize the key ideas:
- Urban planners assume that more lanes will reduce traffic delays.
- A review of road expansions found that commute times did not change because more people chose to drive.
- The last sentence says that widening roads "may do little to solve chronic congestion."
Notice that the last sentence is a conclusion drawn from the study’s findings: because commute times didn’t improve, we now doubt that widening roads will fix congestion.
Identify what kind of transition is needed
Ask: How does the last sentence relate to what comes before it?
- Is it contradicting the previous idea?
- Is it giving a specific example of the previous idea?
- Or is it stating an outcome/conclusion based on the evidence in the previous sentence?
Here, the last sentence follows logically from the study’s findings. It does not oppose them or give a concrete example; it sums them up as a general conclusion.
Match each option to its typical use
Now compare each transition to the relationship you identified:
- "Instead," usually introduces an alternative or replacement idea.
- "Nevertheless," usually introduces a point that is true despite what was just said.
- "For example," introduces a specific instance of a general statement.
- "Consequently," introduces a statement that is a logical result of the previous one.
Because the final sentence is a resulting conclusion from the evidence about commute times, the only option that fits this cause-and-effect relationship is D) Consequently,.