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
• 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. 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. These questions make up roughly 10-15% of the English section.

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.