SAT Writing: Topic, Conclusion, and Transition Sentences

In the previous chapter, we reviewed transition words such as furthermore and however and how they're used to explicitly connect ideas. Transitions, however, can be more than just one or two words—they can be entire sentences that guide the reader from one thought to another. The more complex ideas get and the more subtle the relationships between them become, the longer the transitions will tend to be. Take a look at the following paragraphs:

By the time Heart of Darkness was published in 1902, a movement was already underway to expose the large-scale theft and murder occurring in the Congo. Dozens of missionaries had begun sending reports, including photographs, to bear witness to the violence. William Sheppard, an African-American Presbyterian, was one of these missionaries. He sent out shocking testimony of lands seized by force, of people living under a reign of terror, and of soldiers cutting off the hands of women and children. An Englishman named E.D. Morel gathered the many reports and photographs and published them. He gathered crowds to listen to eyewitness accounts of colonial atrocities. He lobbied the British Parliament to denounce the Belgian king's horrifying practices. This became the first modern humanitarian movement, and it successfully exposed the horrendous violence in the Congo. Historians estimate, however, that, by that time, between 10 million and 20 million Congolese people had lost their lives.

Take note of the bolded sentence. This sentence serves as a transition between the two paragraphs, but how do we know? A good transition sentence references key terms or ideas preceding it and key terms or ideas following it. It brings together what comes before with what comes after. In this case, the transition brings up not only E.D. Morel, who is the primary focus of the second paragraph but also the many reports and photographs that were the focus of the first paragraph.

When you're asked to choose the best transition between two paragraphs or even between two sentences within the same paragraph, always read above and below where the transition will be. The best transition will be the one that brings together the main elements on either side, leading from the previous topic to the next.

A few more examples:

Lambert confirmed that we as humans have a finite amount of mental energy and attention. Tough decision making, such as that used when following a diet, saps us of our ability to exercise the same discipline later on. Based on this research, Lambert designed a diet that minimizes the need for discipline and protects against regression. Her program has been used by everyone from celebrities to world-class athletes who vouch for its effectiveness.

The bolded sentence is an amazing transition between two topics in the same paragraph. The opening phrase Based on this research refers back to the statements on mental energy. In particular, the word this makes that reference explicit. The diet that Lambert designed leads into the focus of the next sentence: the program. In short, this transition guides us from the research she did to the diet program she developed.

A professor at Harvard and an advocate of human rights, Dr. Joseph remains skeptical of charities that donate haphazardly to impoverished African communities, and his position has gained traction among other scholars. Many economists believe that these donations disrupt the local economy and potentially jeopardize businesses that would have to compete against the items being donated.

The bolded phrase is a transition that guides us from Dr. Joseph to other economists, explicitly laying out what the relationship is between them.

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Now here's an important concept: topic and conclusion sentences are just specific types of transition sentences. The job of a topic sentence is to introduce a paragraph, guiding you from the previous one if necessary. The job of a conclusion sentence is to wrap up a paragraph, guiding you to the next one if necessary. These are transition sentences! The example on the first page of this chapter was a topic sentence.

There is, however, a slight nuance. Though they are just transition sentences, topic and conclusion sentences are typically more general and less specific than sentences in the middle of a paragraph. That's because a topic sentence usually tries to capture the entire scope of the paragraph it leads into, and a conclusion sentence encompasses the paragraph that led to it. Note the topic sentence of the paragraph you're reading right now. It's pretty general and even a bit mysterious, isn't it? That's what a topic sentence does. It doesn't tell you everything—it just leads into it.

The following two examples will show topic and conclusion sentences in action:

Zero population growth was an idea espoused by Dr. Ehrlich at Stanford in the 60's. His argument was that the Earth's resources would soon be exhausted and that everyone would suffer unless measures were taken to slow the rate of population growth. By the 70's, the idea had become mainstream. Everyone knew what zero population growth meant and its implications. People even took to the streets to raise awareness of the impending doom. Despite the movement's popularity, the predicted apocalypse never happened. The world today manages to support over 7 billion people and counting. Through ingenuity and innovation, the human race has developed such improved agricultural practices that increasingly more can be maintained with increasingly less. Technological developments such as the internet have allowed humans to be more efficient in both production and distribution.

The first paragraph talks about the rise of the zero population growth idea whereas the second paragraph talks about the world today. Notice how the bolded sentence serves not only as a conclusion sentence that resolves the first paragraph but also as a transition between the two paragraphs, bridging them together. If you took this sentence out, the shift in topic between the paragraphs would be jarring and confusing for the reader, who would wonder why the writer is suddenly talking about the world supporting 7 billion people right after talking about protests in the streets.

Computer science is more than just working with computers. It involves computational thinking and algorithms, step-by-step solutions to complex problems. For example, calculating the shortest way from one location to another like a GPS would requires an algorithm. The subject requires patience and extreme attention to detail, especially when it comes to tracking down bugs and cleaning up code. From an early age, I knew I wanted to study computer science and so all of my college planning revolved around it. I asked my math and science teachers to write me recommendations for all the top universities that offered this major. My college essays focused on the applications that I had built and the fun I had on the robotics team. I talked extensively about my passion for problem solving in my interviews. Now I just have to wait for decisions to roll in.

The bolded sentence serves as a transition between what computer science is and the author's personal experience with college planning. Note that this sentence is also a great topic sentence. It's broad and leads directly into the more specific details in the rest of the second paragraph. Hopefully by now, you're really seeing how these transitions work. Bad transitions will either miss the connection altogether or fail to relate both sides in a logical way.

Tip

When you're asked to insert the best transition between two sentences, look for words such as this, that, and these. These reference words must point to other nouns that exist in the surrounding context, which means the transition sentence itself may need to include them. In the last example, the second sentence of the second paragraph contains the words this major. But what is this major? Notice that the bolded transition defines what this major is—computer science. Because it supplies that definition, this is the transition you would pick as the answer if this were a question on the SAT.

Now on the SAT, you'll know you're being tested on these transition concepts when you see questions like this:

• The writer wants to link the first paragraph with the ideas that follow. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?
• Which choice best connects the sentence with the previous paragraph?
• Which choice provides the most appropriate introduction to the passage?
• Which choice provides the most logical introduction to the sentence?
• Which choice most effectively sets up the information that follows?
• Which choice most effectively concludes the sentence and paragraph?
• Which choice most smoothly and effectively introduces the writer's discussion of... in this paragraph?
• Which choice most effectively sets up the paragraph?