Transitions
A transition word doesn't just connect two sentences — it makes a claim about how they relate. Pick a category below to see the same relationship played out with a real example.
Every transition falls into one of a handful of relationships: cause and effect (as a result, therefore), contrast (however, yet, still), addition (in addition, furthermore), example (for example, specifically), and concession (granted, admittedly — conceding a point before pivoting past it).
The trap on the SAT isn’t usually vocabulary — it’s picking a word that sounds right but claims the wrong relationship. Before looking at the options, read both sentences and name the relationship yourself in plain language: is the second sentence a result of the first? A contradiction? Just another example? Only then check which answer choice matches that relationship — a transition can be grammatically correct and still be the wrong answer if it implies a logical connection that isn’t actually there.
Watch especially for cases where the two sentences seem to agree on the surface but actually push against each other — a promise versus what really happened, an expectation versus the opposite result. Those are exactly the questions built to catch a same-category-different-word mistake, like choosing “for example” when the real relationship is contrast.