Reading & Writing · Free questions

SAT transitions practice questions

Transitions are among the most learnable points on the whole SAT — the same fifteen or so words tested the same way every time. Answer the free questions below, then read how each explanation names the logical relationship first.

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SAT Reading & Writing practice · SAT transitions practice questions

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Pick an answer to get instant feedback and the full worked explanation. These are real questions from the ExamNexus AI bank — the same style, length, and difficulty as the digital SAT.

Reading & Writing · Medium

Other Europeans have managed harder versions of this task. Greece, once the continent's fiscal cautionary tale, now repairs its public finances and files budgets that meet EU deficit rules. France, by contrast, cannot even fund commitments it has already made: without a new budget, the promised €6.7bn increase in defence spending for 2026 has no financing.

Greece, once the continent's fiscal cautionary tale, now repairs its public finances and files budgets that meet EU deficit rules. ______ France cannot even fund commitments it has already made.<br>Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Reading & Writing · Medium

Edith Bizoza, a nurse working in Kayanza, sees rising interest in contraception among the young, who reckon that big families cannot be raised on shrinking fields. Officials hope the national fertility rate, now around five children for each mother, can fall to three by 2040. Neighbouring examples suggest the goal is within reach: culturally similar Rwanda already averages 3.7, and Kenya 3.2. Success, argues the scholar René Manirakiza of the University of Burundi, depends on funding classrooms that hold on to girls and clinics that convince parents most of their children will survive into adult life.

Culturally similar Rwanda already averages 3.7 births per woman, and Kenya 3.2. ______ success will depend on funding classrooms that hold on to girls and clinics that convince parents their children will survive into adult life.<br>Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Reading & Writing · Hard

On *Run Run Run*, she strips away even the bass drum; the song’s momentum comes entirely from a snare pattern that clatters forward, a fierce chugging shuffle that drives Lou Reed’s tale of addicts scouring the city. For Tucker, time was a narrative unspooling in real time.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? On *Run Run Run*, she strips away even the bass drum; the song’s momentum comes entirely from a snare pattern that clatters forward, a fierce chugging shuffle that drives Lou Reed’s tale of addicts scouring the city. _______, for Tucker, time was a narrative unspooling in real time.

Registered students practice this skill from a bank of thousands of questions, with adaptive difficulty, instant scoring, and an explanation for every answer.

How the SAT tests this skill

Every transitions question gives you two ideas and asks which word correctly links them. The entire skill is classifying the relationship before looking at the choices: continuation (moreover), contrast (however, nevertheless), cause-and-effect (therefore, consequently), or illustration (for example).

The trap answers are transitions with the right "feel" but the wrong logic — "similarly" where the second sentence actually gives an example, "therefore" where nothing was caused. Students who pick the relationship first, from the sentences alone, stop falling for them.

Contrast vs. continuation vs. cause-and-effect vs. example
Reading the sentences before and after the blank — both matter
Near-miss pairs: however/nevertheless, therefore/thus, likewise/similarly

Pro tip: Cover the answer choices, decide the relationship in your own words ("this sentence disagrees with the last one"), and only then look. If you read the choices first, they start arguing with you.

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Upcoming SAT test dates

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Test date	Registration deadline
August 22, 2026	August 7, 2026
September 12, 2026	August 28, 2026
October 3, 2026	September 18, 2026
November 7, 2026	October 23, 2026
December 5, 2026	November 20, 2026
March 6, 2027	February 19, 2027
May 1, 2027	April 16, 2027
June 5, 2027	May 21, 2027

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