Two question types, both about glue
Expression of Ideas questions are about how sentences connect. The two flavors you'll see are:
- Transitions. Pick the word or phrase that best connects two consecutive sentences.
- Rhetorical synthesis. Given a bulleted list of notes, write the sentence that best accomplishes a specific purpose ("emphasize a similarity", "introduce the topic to a non-expert audience", and so on).
Transitions: every word has a direction
The single best move on transition questions: before you look at the choices, decide what direction the two sentences travel.
There are only a handful of directions:
- Continuation (same direction): also, in addition, moreover, furthermore, similarly.
- Contrast (opposite direction): however, but, yet, in contrast, nevertheless, on the other hand.
- Cause and effect: therefore, thus, as a result, consequently, hence.
- Example or illustration: for example, for instance, in particular.
- Sequence or time: first, next, meanwhile, eventually, subsequently.
- Concession then pivot: although, while, despite, granted.
If you predict "contrast", three of the four choices usually disappear. The remaining one is your answer.
The transition trap to know about
The most common wrong answer in transitions is a word that sounds sophisticated but indicates the wrong direction. Therefore and however sound equally fancy; only one is right. Don't pick on vibes; pick on direction.
Rhetorical synthesis: the goal is the question
Synthesis questions show you four to seven bulleted notes about a topic and ask you to write a sentence that does something specific. The most important word in the question is the verb of purpose:
- "emphasize a difference"
- "present the topic to a non-specialist audience"
- "explain why X happened"
- "compare the two studies"
The wrong answers are almost always factually correct. They use real notes from the bullet list. They just don't accomplish the specific purpose. Underline (mentally) the goal verb. Then for each choice, ask: does this sentence do that exact thing?
The four flavors of synthesis answers
- Goal-fit, fact-fit. The right answer.
- Fact-fit, goal-miss. Uses real notes but doesn't accomplish the specified purpose.
- Goal-fit, fact-miss. Sounds like it does the right thing but invents or distorts a detail.
- Half-and-half. The first half does the goal; the second half adds a tangential note.
A worked synthesis example
Notes:
- The 1908 Tunguska event flattened 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest.
- No crater was ever found.
- Most scientists now believe it was an asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere.
- Some early hypotheses involved comets or even antimatter.
Goal: "emphasize the unusual nature of the evidence at the Tunguska site."
An answer focused on the destruction (2,000 sq km flattened) is fact-fit but goal-miss. The right answer pulls together the destruction was massive, yet there was no crater: that's the unusual part. Always anchor on the goal verb.
Two habits that move scores fast
- For every transition question, write the direction in one word before reading the choices: contrast, continue, cause, example. Twenty seconds saved per question, more right answers.
- For every synthesis question, paraphrase the goal in your own words. "The right sentence has to compare the two studies' methods, not their results." If your paraphrase is precise, the answer falls out.
Why these questions reward calm
Both flavors here are highly pattern-driven once you slow down for the first three seconds. Many students miss them by reading the choices first, getting attracted to a sophisticated-sounding word, and never asking what the sentence actually needs to do. The remedy is almost zen: predict, then read.