What are Transition Questions on ACT | English for ACT PDF Download

Introduction

A transition is a word or phrase that connects one idea to another. This connection can occur within a paragraph or between paragraphs. Transition words play a significant role in English communication. They amalgamate two sentences and provide a coherent structure to the text. Transition words help individuals to convey information clearly and precisely by establishing logical connections between the sentences.

Types of Transitions

The ACT covers three basic transitional relationships: addition, contrast, and causation.

• Addition: Words like "also" and "moreover" that indicate continuation of or elaboration on a thought.
• Contrast: Words like "however" and "still" that introduce a conflicting point or idea.
• Causation: Words like "so" and "because" that indicate a causal relationship.

Examples: 

• Addition: Dorian Gray couldn't be killed. In addition, he never aged.
• Contrast: Vanessa knew Ethan was a werewolf. However, she was unconcerned.
• Causation: Frankenstein's monster threatened to hurt him if he didn't build the monster a mate, so Frankenstein did as he was told.

Transitions Between Sentences

The most common type of transition question on the ACT deals with picking the correct transition word to place between two sentences. For example:

• Malcom and Sam were best friends. Even so, they spent every moment of the day together.

Something about this transition doesn't quite make sense. "Even so" is a contrast transition, but these to sentences aren't opposed to each other: if Malcom and Sam are best friends, it makes perfect sense that they would spend every day together. Instead it would make more sense to use a causation transition, or even drop the transition word completely:

• Malcom and Sam were best friends. As such, they spent every moment of the day together.
• Malcom and Sam were best friends. They spent every moment of the day together.

Steps to follow when answering questions about faulty modifiers on the ACT:

• Start by crossing out the underlined word to avoid bias towards the original phrasing.
• Read the entire sentence to understand the relationship between the two parts.
• Look for any obvious corrections or necessary additions.
• Identify the type of relationship between the sentences: addition, contrast, or causation.
• Eliminate choices that don't fit or aren't grammatically correct.
• Test your chosen answer by inserting it into the sentence to ensure it makes sense.

Key Words

Transitions Between Clauses

Questions dealing with transitions between clauses are very similar to those about transitions between sentences, so you can use the same approach. However, these questions involve a different set of transition words: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

Transitions Between Paragraphs

The final type of transition question deals with transitions between paragraphs. Rather than asking about a specific word or phrase, these usually deal with full sentences and will be phrased similarly to the following examples:

• Given that all of the choices are true, which one would most effectively introduce the main idea of this paragraph?
• Which of the following sentences offers the best introduction to this paragraph?

The exact phrasing may vary, but these types of questions always ask about "transition" or "introduction."

Here's a simple guide to help you tackle questions about transitions between paragraphs on the ACT:

• Understand what the question is asking for by carefully reading it.
• Read at least a couple of sentences into the paragraph to grasp the context.
• Consider different types of relationships between sentences, like contrast or causation.
• Look for pronouns like "this" or "these" that hint at ideas needing introduction.
• Eliminate choices that don't fit or make sense.
• Test your chosen sentence by reading it in context to ensure it works well.

These steps may not all apply to every question, but they provide a helpful framework for eliminating options and finding the best transition sentence.