LESSON 7

Conjunctions & Transitions

The central concept of this lesson, titled “Conjunctions & Transitions,” is closely linked to
Conjunctions, one of the eight Parts of Speech you can review in Prelesson A.

The difference between those “conjunctions” (the Part of Speech) and “Conjunctions &
Transitions” (the SAT/ACT Grammar rule) is that this rule can apply either to the smaller level in
the middle of a single sentence (“Conjunctions”) or to the bigger level on a multiple-sentence
or multiple-paragraph level (“Transitions”).

Let’s take a look back at what a conjunction is:

A conjunction “joins” ideas A and B with a logical transition of some kind.

Common examples of conjunctions are and, however, but, or, because, although,
and many other “joining” or “transitioning” words.

“Conjunctions,” the name for this important part of speech, comes from the word “conjoined,”
or simply “joined.” A “junction” is a place where two things meet and connect – like two train
lines, two sides of a bridge, or two different ideas. This might help you remember: Conjunctions
are the words that join two ideas.

When two ideas are joined or connected, there are two possible situations: either the two ideas
are closely related, which I call “connectors,”, or they are in a disagreement of some kind, which
I call “divergers.”

Another way of saying this is that either the second idea continues or picks up where the first
idea left off (a “connector”), or the second idea will contradict the first idea (a “diverger”).

There are many different conjunctions, each with their own special “flavor” when it comes to
connecting or diverging between two ideas – but in the big picture, all transitions will fall
broadly into one of two categories: they either connect Idea B to Idea A, or they diverge from
Idea A to Idea B!

Conjunctions & Transitions also have two possible “strength levels”: strong and weak.

For example, the conjunction “because” is a strong connector that directly links Idea B to Idea A.
It shows a paired “cause and effect” - one of the strongest possible connections. On the other
hand, the conjunction “but” could be a weak diverger since it breaks a connection between two
ideas without necessarily implying a total contradiction of the first idea.

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Examples of Common Conjunctions
Here are a few examples of common conjunctions:

Strong Connecting Conjunctions:

Because, since, due to, as a result

Weaker Connecting Conjunctions:

And, for, in addition, furthermore

Strong Diverging Conjunctions:

However, despite, nevertheless, not, instead

Weaker Diverging Conjunctions:

But, although, still, regardless

On the SAT & ACT grammar sections, Conjunction errors are often tested in sentences with no
obvious grammatical errors (for example, the Singular/Plural agreements are fine, the
pronouns play by the rules, no bad Parallelism or Misplaced Modifiers, etc.) but the answer
choices are focused on a selection of transitions or conjunctions - and in many cases, the
sentence’s meaning on the whole may make you shake your head in confusion and go “huh?”

In general, when the Coniunctions & Transitions are wrong, something about the big picture
won’t add up. The overall logic seems wrong - perhaps unclear - but maybe you can’t quite put
your finger on why. Look at your answer choices. Are the they playing with different
conjunctions and transition words?

These are all signs that you need to look for two separate ideas (“Idea A” and “Idea B”) and
closely examine the conjunction or transition options to connect them. Make sure the logical
pathway from Idea A to Idea B is expressed with maximum sense, logic, and clarity.

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Let’s look at an example from the Pretest:

The soldier successfully pulled his ally from the helicopter wreck, and since
the flames engulfed their craft, he was unable to repair the vehicle.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) helicopter wreck, the
(C) wreck of the helicopter, with the consequence that
(D) helicopter wreck, but because

Check out the basic logic of this sentence as written: In the first half, the soldier succeeds at
something (by saving his comrade). In the second half of the sentence, the soldier fails at
something else (he is unable to repair his helicopter due to flames).

Are those ideas connecting or diverging? Well, if he succeeded first, but failed second, I would
definitely have to say that these two ideas are diverging. If they were more connected, he
would either succeed in both halves or fail in both halves.

Unfortunately, the conjunction “and” is used to connect two ideas, so it’s illogical to use it in
this context. For a simpler illogical example, imagine:

“I usually can’t stand gym class and sometimes I like it”

This is illogical for the same reason as the “burning helicopter” Pretest sentence. The
conjunction “and” isn’t good for connecting two contrasting ideas. Instead of the connecting
word “and,” it will make more sense to use a contradicting conjunction like “but” or “yet.”

So, we know Choice A, “No Change,” is wrong. Choice B makes a run-on sentence (see Lesson 9
on Sentence Structure); we need to change the conjunction, but that doesn’t mean we can just
skip using any conjunction at all! We need to replace the connecting conjunction with a
contradicting one.

Choice C, “with the consequence that,” provides another connecting conjunction that implies a
direct cause-and-effect relationship between the two halves of the sentence. This is just as
wrong as using “and,” because it’s still not logical to say that “rescuing his ally” causes the
helicopter to be on fire.

Choice D uses “but,” which is the type of diverging conjunction we were looking for. Now the
soldier succeeds in the first half but fails in the second half - the sentence and its conjunctions
make sense.

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Double Conjunctions
OK – there’s one other important way that the SAT & ACT hide conjunction errors. It’s less
common than what we just learned about, but still may make an appearance:

Important: Two ideas (“clauses”) cannot be connected by more than one conjunction.

This doesn’t mean an entire sentence is limited to just one conjunction (in fact, longer
sentences can often have more than one conjunction in them). It just means that two ideas
within the sentence must be connected by one conjunction and only one conjunction, whether
they are agreeing with or diverging from each other.

Here’s an example of a sentence that breaks this rule:

“Because I like fishing, since I’m very good at it.”

Notice the double conjunction “Because… since…” That’s not allowed when connecting two
ideas.

The Boxcar Method

Now, I want to teach you an advanced method I use myself to handle tricky transition questions
on the SAT & ACT. 99% of students never learn to do this, so they continually lose points to
challenging Conjunctions & Transitions questions. Hope you’re paying attention!

I call this method “the Boxcar method.”To get the idea, first picture a line of boxcars - train cars
- connected on both sides to other boxcars, forming an unbroken, connected chain of boxcars.
There are little hooks on both ends of every boxcar, used to hook together with the previous
and next boxcars in line so that the whole line of cars all connect.

Now, think of a Transition question as a set of three “idea boxcars” - each boxcar is one idea in
a three-idea sequence, and each idea hooks together on both sides, just like a chain of boxcars.
Our job is to transition from one idea to the next, so all three boxcars must hook together
smoothly and firmly on both sides: Boxcar A into Boxcar B into Boxcar C. Notice that Boxcar B,
in the middle, has the hardest job to do: it has to bridge between two connections, one on each
side.

So, to appropriately use the Boxcar Method, you should identify and focus on what I call
“Boxcar B” in the middle. Find this middle idea in the sequence of three ideas, and then split it
into “first half” and “second half,” which you should then summarize and write down on paper.

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Now, use your summaries to eliminate any answer choices that do not link up the end of Boxcar
A to the first half of Boxcar B. By link up, I mean “show a logical connection.” (Remember,
you’re visualizing a line of connected “idea boxcars” from Boxcar A to Boxcar B to Boxcar C.)

Then, use your notes on the second half of Boxcar B to eliminate any options that don’t link up
the back end of Boxcar B to the start of Boxcar C.

Once you’ve patiently taken these methodical steps, it should become much easier to make
your final answer selection for any Conjunctions and Transitions question.

This is much faster and less work than it sounds, but only if you practice the method carefully
before the test. It was specially designed for SAT & ACT Transition & Conjunction questions, and
is extremely effective, although it takes practice to work efficiently.

Conjunctions & Transition Quick Reference

 A “junction” is where two things join, like a railroad junction. A “conjunction” is a
word that joins two ideas.

 “Conjunctions” connect two ideas within a sentence. “Transitions” connect larger

ideas between sentences or paragraphs.

 Identify these questions by their answer choices: you are given various choices for
conjunctions, connecting or transition words & phrases.

 There are two “flavors” of Conjunctions & Transitions: connecting and diverging.

 There are two “strengths” of Conjunctions & Transitions: stronger and weaker.

 Look at the “big picture” – the grammar may be fine, but does the logic make sense?
Does Idea A properly flow into Idea B?

 Use the “Boxcar Method” to narrow down to a single conjunction with the correct
“flavor” and “strength.”

 Only use one single conjunction between two ideas/clauses.

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Note: We’ve been looking at Conjunctions that transition between halves of a single sentence -
but you should also be aware that the concept of Transitions and “boxcars” can be applied to
multi-sentence situations. Many questions on both the SAT and the ACT will demand that you
choose the optimal transition between two sentences, or even between two paragraphs.

The best way to approach these multi-sentence Transition questions is exactly the same as your
standard Conjunctions questions: Analyze the first half and the second half with the “Boxcar
Method,” taking written notes as you go. Next, consider if a “Connector” or a “Diverger” would
be more appropriate. Then eliminate your way down through the answers (don’t forget to
weigh “stronger” vs “weaker” transition options).

For now, we’ll continue to focus on Conjunctions and single-sentence situations. Once you’ve
mastered these situations and the “Boxcar Method,” you can use Official SAT and ACT practice
tests to identify and practice multi-sentence Transition questions.

Let’s look at another example from the Pretest:

Although deforestation is extremely detrimental to the planet’s delicate

ecology, yet many timber companies continue to harvest lumber for large
corporate profits.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) and
(C) but
(D) [DELETE the underlined portion]

The two ideas (“Boxcars”) are: 1) Deforestation is harmful. 2) Many companies continue to
harvest lumber.

Is this a direct cause-and-effect relationship, or is it contradicting? Definitely contradicting. The

dangers of deforestation are contrasted with the continued timber harvesting. However, the
sentence is already using the conjunctions “although” and “yet,” both of which are diverging
conjunctions - so that seems good….

Wait a second - the sentence is using two conjunctions?! No way – only one single conjunction
is ever allowed to connect two ideas.

We can’t mess with the conjunction “although,” because it’s not underlined. The second
conjunction, “yet,” is underlined, so we should take this opportunity to remove it. Choice D is
the correct answer.

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