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SAT Addition Transitions: Moreover, Furthermore

Moreover, furthermore, in addition, and also signal that the next sentence adds a second point in the same direction as the first. They are correct when the passage is stacking evidence. They are wrong, and tempting, when the second sentence is really an illustration of the first rather than a separate point.

The rule

Use an addition transition only when the second sentence is a separate point in the same direction, not an example of the first.

Addition transitions require two independent points that push the same way. If a sentence says a policy reduced waiting times and the next says it also lowered costs, those are two distinct benefits, so moreover or in addition fits. Each sentence would still stand if the other were deleted.

Compare that with a case where the second sentence merely demonstrates the first. If the first says a policy reduced waiting times and the second says patients at one clinic waited twenty minutes less, the second is evidence for the first, not a new point. That calls for for example, and an addition transition would misdescribe the relationship.

Moreover and furthermore usually carry a sense of escalation, meaning the added point is at least as strong as the first. In addition and also are more neutral and simply append. On the SAT the choices rarely force you to split these hairs, but knowing the flavor helps when two addition words both appear.

Similarly and likewise are a related family worth keeping distinct. They signal that two different subjects behave the same way, which is a comparison rather than an addition. If the first sentence is about one species and the second about a different species showing the same pattern, similarly is more precise than moreover.

Be suspicious when an addition transition appears alongside a contrast one in the choices. That pairing usually means the question is really testing direction. Determine whether the second sentence extends the first or pushes against it, and the four choices collapse to one or two immediately.

The trap

Choosing moreover when the second sentence is evidence for the first rather than an additional claim.

Try it

Try one
Real question

Honeybees have no photoreceptor for red light and cannot distinguish a red blossom from the dark green leaves around it. ______, flowers that depend on bees for pollination are almost never pure red; they tend toward blue, violet, and yellow.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Two teams sequenced the same Neanderthal finger bone and disagreed about how much of the genome was contamination from the people who handled it. The Leipzig group treated any fragment matching a modern European haplotype as suspect and discarded a tenth of its reads. ______, the Uppsala group kept every fragment and modelled contamination as a rate to be estimated afterwards, which left more data and a wider error bar around every result.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  • A) In contrast, ✓
  • B) For instance,
  • C) Likewise,
  • D) Consequently,

Why: One team threw out suspect reads and the other kept them all, so a contrasting transition is needed. Result invents causation between two independent teams, and likeness and illustration both treat the second method as a version of the first. Consequently, is result, and the Leipzig method did not cause the Uppsala one. Likewise, is likeness, though discarding reads and keeping them are opposite choices. For instance, is illustration, which would make the Uppsala approach an instance of the Leipzig one.

Practice more of these free

Questions students ask

What is the difference between moreover and similarly?

Moreover adds another point about the same subject. Similarly says a different subject shows the same pattern. If the second sentence changes the subject while keeping the pattern, similarly is the more accurate choice.

Can a paragraph use no transition at all?

In real writing, yes, but these SAT questions always place a transition in the blank. Your task is choosing the one that names the true relationship between the two sentences, so decide the relationship first and select accordingly.

Guides that cover this

More on transition words