ACT English 1.4 Organization
Recommendation
Want a study guide too?
ACT English: Organization Drill 1, Problem 4. Which is the correct transition word?
ACT English | Organization |
English I EOC Assessment | Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs Organization |
Essay Revision | Coherence, Organization, and Word Choice Rhetorical Effectiveness and Use of Organization |
Language | English Language |
Product Type | ACT English |
Rhetorical Skills | Organization Organization: Sentences and Paragraphs |
Transcript
The semicolon signals two independent clauses, so the transition word in question deals with
the relationship between them.
The first clause introduces Andy's feelings about his extensive losses, while the second
clause clarifies Andy's possibly misplaced optimism with an example.
We can easily nix choice (A) because "besides" is never used to provide an example.
Instead, it's used to add one idea to another. An example might be, "Besides being a terrible
chess player, Andy was also a terrible kisser."
Aside from it being kinda redundant, see how the one idea is layered on top of the other?
Of course, this isn't what the sentence is going for at all; therefore, we can say goodbye
to (A).
Choice (C) makes a similar mistake to (A). Like "besides," "moreover" is a transition
used to add more information.
We could say, "Andy was a terrible chess player; moreover, he was a terrible person who liked
to kick puppies," and it would be correct.
Anyway, (C) doesn't help us set up an example, so we can take it out of consideration.
Choice (B) offers "hence" as the solution, but this doesn't do the job either. "Hence"
is used to show how something is caused by something else.
"Andy had never played chess before; hence, he was terrible at it," would be correct.
But again, this sentence is looking for a transition that sets up an example, and establishing
a cause and effect relationship doesn't help.
We dub choice (D) the right answer for its use of "in fact," which is often used to set
up examples.
Here, it correctly sets up the example of just how determined Andy is to win this next
game of chess, despite the odds.
We love Andy's enthusiasm, but don't share his confidence. Let's hope he's not a betting
man...