Rhetorical Skills

• Identify the logical relationship between sentences (contrast, cause-effect, addition, example)
• Choose the correct transition word or phrase for a given context, including formal connectors (moreover, conversely, nonetheless, accordingly, likewise)
• Answer sentence-placement and paragraph-ordering questions
• Choose opening, closing, and transition sentences that cover the whole paragraph, and reject the too-specific choice that fits only one detail
• Finish on one ACT-hard question and say what made it hard

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. Harder transition questions test finer relationships than plain contrast: concession ('although,' 'even so,' 'nonetheless' grant a point and then keep the main claim), qualification (a sentence that limits the previous claim rather than reversing it), and emphasis ('indeed,' 'in fact' strengthen the previous idea). Also ask whether a transition is needed at all; if the sentences already connect, deleting the transition word can be the best choice. The ACT signals this with the stem 'Which transition word or phrase, if any, is most logical in context?', where one choice simply drops the transition. The usual stem is 'Which transition word or phrase is most logical in context?'; read it as 'what is the relationship between these two sentences?'. Sequence questions ('Which sequence of sentences makes this paragraph most logical?') and Point A to D placement questions get their own practice in the Sentence and Paragraph Order lesson. Topic and transition sentences have a classic trap: a choice that is true and on topic but covers only one detail of the paragraph. A topic sentence has to cover everything that follows, and a transition sentence has to link the paragraph before with the paragraph after, so the too-specific choice is wrong even when every word of it is accurate. Know the formal connectors by meaning: moreover adds a further point in the same direction, conversely introduces the reverse case, nonetheless means despite what was just said, accordingly means as a result, and likewise means in the same way. Some connectors mark only time or sequence ('meanwhile,' 'then,' 'at the same time') rather than cause or contrast. The ACT-hard version: the right connector depends on the sentence after the blank, so a choice that fits the sentence before can still be wrong.

• 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.