Choose the transition that shows how two ideas relate, and use notes to meet a writer's goal.
Goal: choose the transition that shows how two ideas relate, and use notes to meet a writer's goal.
Help: do all of this alone or with your family. You do not need a tutor or teacher. The Forms score your answers, and the answer key explains every choice.
How it works: work down the page in order. When you reach a Stop here line, you are done for that day.
Get these ready:
Why it is built this way: a major review of study methods rated practice testing and spacing your study over time as the two most useful methods.
| When | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sitting 1 | Try First Check, Part 1, then Game 1 | 30 minutes |
| Sitting 2, two or three days later | Replay Game 1, then Parts 2 to 4, then Game 2 | 30 minutes |
| Sitting 3, about a week after Sitting 1 | Replay Game 2, then Game 3, Part 5, and the Exit Check | 30 minutes |
| Return day, one to two weeks later | Replay one game, then retake the Exit Check | 15 minutes |
A family member can read each pair of ideas out loud and ask, "Is the second idea the opposite, a result, or one more?"
Answer all 5 questions before you read anything below. Mark how sure you are on each one. It is fine to miss some, because trying first helps you remember the answers later. When you submit, choose View score and read why each answer is right or wrong. Write your score on the My Scores tab of your tracker.
Trouble with the box? Open it in its own tab.
Got 5 out of 5? Skip Part 1 and go to Game 1.
A transition question gives two ideas and a blank between them. The right word names how the two ideas relate.
| Relationship | Words | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | however, in contrast, nevertheless, instead | The second idea is the opposite or an exception. |
| Result | therefore, as a result, for this reason, so | The first idea causes the second. |
| Addition | also, in addition, moreover, furthermore | The second idea adds one more. |
| Example | for example, for instance | The second idea is one case of the first. |
| Time or order | next, then, finally, meanwhile, earlier | The ideas follow in time or order. |
| Similarity | similarly, likewise | The second idea matches the first. |
| Trap | What it means |
|---|---|
| Wrong relationship | The word names a relationship the ideas do not have. For example, "however" between a cause and its result. |
Question. Mara trained for the marathon for six months. ______ she finished the race in under four hours.
| Step | What you think |
|---|---|
| Idea 1. | Mara trained for six months. |
| Idea 2. | She finished in under four hours. |
Your turn: does idea 1 lead to idea 2, or is it the opposite? Name the relationship, then check the Worked Example section of the answer key.
Read both sentences, then name how the second relates to the first. Set the timer for 3 minutes, or play without it. Choose an answer for each item, then press Check.
Replay Game 1 and try to beat your score.
A notes question gives a short list of facts and a goal. You must choose the sentence that uses the facts that meet the goal.
| Trap | What it means |
|---|---|
| True but off goal | The choice is accurate, but it uses notes that do not meet the goal. |
| Too little | The choice is on topic, but it leaves out the detail the goal asks for. |
| Not in the notes | The choice adds a fact that the notes do not give. |
Notes. Elena Marsh was born in 1952. She is a poet. Her poems often describe everyday objects. She teaches at a community college.
Goal. Show what she writes about.
| Step | What you think |
|---|---|
| Underline the goal. | What she writes about. |
| Mark the matching note. | Her poems often describe everyday objects. |
Your turn: write one sentence that uses the marked note. Then check the answer key.
These are original practice questions. The Form asks how sure you are on each one, scores your answers, and explains every choice.
Trouble with the box? Open it in its own tab.
Prefer paper? Open the printable module doc and answer there.
Read the explanation for every choice, including the questions you got right. Write your score on the My Scores tab of your tracker. For each question you missed or rated 1 or 2, add a row on the My Mistakes tab. Each explanation names the sticking point to choose. Leave the Trap column blank for now.
Choose the transition word that fits the blank. Set the timer for 3 minutes, or play without it. Choose an answer for each item, then press Check.
Word bank: However, Therefore, In addition, For example, Next
Replay Game 2 and try to beat your score.
Read the notes and the goal, then decide whether the sentence meets the goal. Set the timer for 3 minutes, or play without it. Choose an answer for each item, then press Check.
With a family member or friend: Take turns. One person reads a goal and a sentence, and the other says whether it meets the goal and what it leaves out.
| Sticking point | Domain | Skill | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitions | Expression of Ideas | Transitions | Easy |
| Using notes to meet a goal | Expression of Ideas | Rhetorical Synthesis | Easy |
No account, or the Question Bank will not open? Use the Practice links: transitions; rhetorical synthesis, or the Khan Academy SAT Reading and Writing course.
Answer all 5 questions without your notes. When you submit, choose View score and read why each answer is right or wrong. Write your score on the My Scores tab of your tracker. Add any question you missed to the My Mistakes tab.
Trouble with the box? Open it in its own tab.
4 or 5 right: you are ready for your return day. 3 or fewer right: replay Game 3 and reread Parts 1 and 2 before your return day.
Set your return date. Pick a date one to two weeks from today. Write it on the Next Step tab of your tracker and on your calendar.
4 or 5 right: go to Module 8. 3 or fewer right: open the help for the questions you missed, then retake the Exit Check in a few days.
When you can, use the Student Question Bank: Expression of Ideas, Transitions and Rhetorical Synthesis, Medium. Answer 10 questions in 12 minutes. Add each miss to My Mistakes.