Lesson: Text Completion - 06

Find The Logical Connections

As you probably figured out based on the preceding examples, the blanks in paragraphs often call for “connectors”—words and phrases that link ideas together. To fill in these blanks, you must choose the word or phrase that provides the most natural and sensible flow of ideas.

Tips for Spotting Connections Between Ideas in the Text

A connecting word or phrase should steer the reader in the right direction by signaling a conclusion, an opposing or contradictory idea, or an elaboration. It’s like a good directional sign that shows which way the next sentence is headed. Earlier in the chapter, we examined the connectors used to link two parts of the same sentence. Here, we’ll review the connectors most often used as the “glue” between sentences to create a cohesive, rhetorically effective paragraph:

• Similarity
• Contrast
• Continuation (description, definition, or illustration)
• Cause and effect
• ?Premise and conclusion
• Rhetorical emphasis

The following examples focus just on appropriate connecting words and phrases; wrong answer choices are omitted. Keep in mind that a Complex Text Completion might focus on other issues as well—and will, of course, require a choice from among three options for each blank.

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