SAT Reading & Writing · Transitions
A city's new streetlight program was expected to reduce nighttime crime by improving visibility. Crime statistics collected after…
A city's new streetlight program was expected to reduce nighttime crime by improving visibility. Crime statistics collected after installation showed a measurable decline in reported nighttime burglaries in the treated neighborhoods. ______, researchers found an almost identical decline in a nearby neighborhood that received no new streetlights at all, suggesting a citywide trend unrelated to the lighting program was already underway.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: However,
The second sentence undercuts the first: a result that looked like it supported the program (declining burglaries) turns out to be explainable by something else entirely (a citywide trend). That reversal in interpretation is exactly what however signals. Consequently would suggest the second finding follows logically from the first as a result, not undercuts it. For example would frame the second sentence as an illustration of the first's claim, not a challenge to it. Similarly would suggest agreement between the two ideas, but the second sentence is introduced precisely to complicate the first, not echo it.
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