Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Some hydrologists in the region were growing increasingly concerned about the aquifer levels. For a so-called “wet season”, conditions had been remarkably arid recently. ____ over the past week, despite forecasts of daily rain, not a single day had any rainfall.
The correct answer is (B).
current priority level - the Path to 650+ or higher
This is potentially a really great opportunity to gain a strong sense of how the test writers might use the transition “In fact”, a transition that we have spotlighted.
One aspect of the transition “In fact” that we can have on our radar is it’s ability to signal that some specificity may be coming. This comes to fruition within this blurb, as earlier statements about concerns and conditions are supported by the specific information about what happened over the “past week”.
A second aspect of “In fact” we can illustrate here is it’s ability to add emphasis to what has just been said. The sentence right before the blank acknowledges that “conditions had been remarkably arid recently”. What comes after the blank emphasizes that “not a single day” had seen any rainfall.
Sometimes, an ideal way to confidently arrive at our correct answer is to both understand why the correct answer is correct and why the wrong answer options are wrong. In this case, it is likely ideal to directly embrace why option (B) is our correct final answer and not give much attention to the wrong answers.
That said, if you’re wondering why the answer is not (D), let’s acknowledge two things…
Lastly, if the transition “Hence” does clearly signal cause & effect to you, then give the link within this sentence a click to put a prominent family of transitions more squarely on your radar.