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SAT Cause and Effect Transitions

Therefore, thus, consequently, and as a result all say that what follows is a consequence of what came before. They are close enough in meaning that the SAT rarely asks you to choose between them. It asks whether a causal transition belongs at all, against contrast or addition alternatives.

The rule

Use a causal transition only when the second sentence is a result or a conclusion drawn from the first.

The test for a causal transition is a single question: does the second sentence follow from the first as a result or a conclusion. If a passage says a bridge was closed for repairs and the next sentence says traffic on the nearby road doubled, the second is a consequence of the first, so therefore or consequently fits.

Consequently and as a result lean toward real-world outcomes, while therefore and thus lean toward logical conclusions. If a finding leads a researcher to conclude something, therefore is natural. If an event causes another event, consequently reads better. The SAT usually puts only one of these families among the choices, so the distinction is mostly about confirming your reading.

The common error is treating sequence as causation. Two sentences can describe events in order without one causing the other. If a passage says a museum opened a new wing and then says attendance figures were released in the spring, nothing caused anything. A transition like meanwhile or in addition would be right, and a causal word would assert a relationship the passage never claims.

Direction matters too. Causal transitions point forward from cause to effect. If the second sentence is the cause and the first is the effect, you need a different word, such as because or since inside the sentence, or a transition like after all. Read which sentence explains which before choosing.

The reliable method here is the same as on all transition questions. Cover the choices, read the two sentences, and finish this phrase: the second sentence is the blank of the first. Result, example, restatement, exception, addition. Then select the transition that names what you said.

The trap

Choosing therefore because two events happened in order, when the passage never claims one caused the other.

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

Is there a difference between therefore and consequently?

They are very close. Therefore and thus suit logical conclusions, while consequently and as a result suit real-world outcomes. SAT questions rarely hinge on this, so confirm that a causal relationship exists at all before worrying about which one.

What transition do I use if the events are just in sequence?

Use something like meanwhile, subsequently, or in addition, depending on whether the sentences are simultaneous, consecutive, or simply both true. Causal words assert more than sequence does and will be wrong if no result is being claimed.

Guides that cover this

More on transition words