Rhetorical Skills

What you'll learn

• Identify the logical relationship between sentences (contrast, cause-effect, addition, example)
• Choose the correct transition word or phrase for a given context
• Answer sentence-placement and paragraph-ordering questions
• Handle ADD / DELETE / relevance questions: decide whether to keep or cut a sentence based on whether it stays on topic and supports the paragraph's point, and pick the 'yes, because...' or 'no, because...' answer whose reason is actually correct
• Recognize opening and closing sentence patterns

Key concepts

Transition questions ask you to choose a word or phrase that logically connects two ideas. First determine the relationship: if the second sentence contradicts the first, use a contrast transition (however, nevertheless, on the other hand); if it adds support, use an addition transition (furthermore, moreover, in addition); if it shows cause-effect, use accordingly, therefore, or consequently. Always read both the sentence before and the sentence after the transition, because a transition that fits the prior sentence can still contradict what follows. Watch the punctuation around conjunctive adverbs (however, therefore, moreover, consequently): when one of these joins two independent clauses, it needs a semicolon before it and a comma after it ('She studied hard; however, she was still nervous'), not just a comma, which would create a comma splice. Organization questions may ask where a sentence should be placed. Read the sentences before and after each option and choose the spot where the ideas flow most logically. Transitions and organization are a meaningful share of the English section, so they reward deliberate practice.

Pro tips

• Read the sentence before and after the blank to determine the relationship before looking at choices.
• Eliminate transitions that create the wrong relationship. If the ideas agree, 'however' is wrong.
• For sentence-placement questions, look for pronoun references or topic shifts that reveal the correct order.