GTR

Grammar

Transitions

Rhetorical synthesis

Grammar

Transitions

100

What is the correct pronunciation of Kiribati? In the Gilbertese language spoken by residents of the island nation, the letter combination -ti makes the -s sound; as a result, the country’s name _____ pronounced “Kiribas.”

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. is
B. are being
C. have been
D. are

A. is

100

Researchers have successfully created “synthetic” mouse embryos without using any paternal or maternal gametes or structures. The “synthetic” embryos are identical to natural mouse embryos up to about nine days post-fertilization. This discovery opens up many new areas of research for humans. ________ scientists hope to use this technology to create synthetic human embryos for research in the future.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Regardless,

B. Specifically,

C. Similarly,

D. In short,

B. Specifically,

100

The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Researchers obtained a soundscape at Port Noarlunga Reef to help in the restoration of oyster reefs in Australia.

B. Researchers now know that the soundscape of a healthy marine ecosystem can attract baby oysters to attach to submerged limestone boulders.

C. After they measured the number of oysters attracted to boulders in the soundscape area compared to no soundscape, researchers determined that the soundscape attracted more baby oysters.

D. Researchers wanted to know whether a soundscape of a healthy marine ecosystem could encourage baby oysters to attach to submerged limestone boulders.

100

Astronaut William Anders was a member of the Apollo 8 mission, the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon and orbit it. During the mission, Anders took a photo of Earth rising above the lunar surface, an __________ was later named Earthrise.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. image, that

B. image

C. image that

D. image

C. image that

100

Berenice Alice Abbott was a photographer from the US who captured a wide variety of subjects with her camera. ________ she photographed cultural figures, architectural structures, and scientific discoveries throughout her career. Some of her photos were used in physics textbooks and helped to improve high school physics classes.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Otherwise,

B. By contrast,

C. For example,

D. For these reasons,

C. For example,

200

In addition to her research into the effects of hormones, ultraviolet light, and chemotherapy agents on cell __________ Jewel Plummer Cobb served as dean at Connecticut College and Rutgers University and as president of California State University, Fullerton, where she led many projects expanding the school’s facilities.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. division: biologist

B. division. Biologist

C. division biologist

D. division, biologist

200

In 2009, the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles hosted a special exhibition, Sueños/Yume, showcasing the works of local sculptor Dora de Larios. As suggested by the show’s title (sueños and yume mean “dreams” in Spanish and Japanese, respectively), de Larios’s art reflects a mix of cultural influences. ______ her work is grounded in the artistic traditions of both Mexico and Japan.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. In addition,

B. In contrast,

C. Specifically,

D. Therefore,

C. Specifically,

200

The student wants to present the study and its findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. In a 2022 study, Catalina Pimiento and colleagues used both records of ancient fossils and scans of modern sharks to determine that the megalodon was around 50 feet long, could travel across multiple oceans, and could consume an orca.

B. In 2022, Catalina Pimiento and colleagues studied rare megalodon fossils as well as scans of contemporary great white sharks in order to learn more about the megalodon’s life.

C. Megalodon fossils and scans of modern great white sharks were the focus of a 2022 study.

D. In a 2022 study, Catalina Pimiento and colleagues analyzed fossils of the megalodon, an ancient shark that lived up to 23 million years ago.

200

A recipient of both the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the Robert A. Welch Award, chemist Ahmed Zewail expanded the limits of measurability when he devised a novel technique in optical spectroscopy that allows researchers _____ chemical reactions occurring within molecules at a quadrillionth of a second, or one femtosecond.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. to study
B. will study
C. who study
D. studying

A. to study

200

In a photo taken in 1921 at the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory, several male scientists are easily recognizable, including physicist Albert Einstein and astronomer Edward E. Barnard. ________ the eight women in the photo were unknown to present-day researchers until librarian Andrea Twiss-Brooks and her team uncovered the women’s stories.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Similarly,

B. By contrast,

C. In fact,

D. Thus,

B. By contrast,

300

In 1956, American physicists Clyde L. Cowan and Frederick Reines determined that _______ exist by observing the neutrinos’ interactions with protons in water.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. neutrinos—subatomic particles that have no electric charge, very small mass, and a spin of one-half—

B. neutrinos, subatomic particles that have: no electric charge, very small mass, and a spin of one-half,

C. neutrinos—subatomic particles—that have no electric charge, very small mass, and a spin of one-half,

D. neutrinos, subatomic particles that have no electric charge, very small mass, and a spin of one-half

A. neutrinos—subatomic particles that have no electric charge, very small mass, and a spin of one-half—

300

In her poetry collection Thomas and Beulah, Rita Dove interweaves the titular characters’ personal stories with broader historical narratives. She places Thomas’s journey from the American South to the Midwest in the early 1900s within the larger context of the Great Migration. ______ Dove sets events from Beulah’s personal life against the backdrop of the US Civil Rights Movement.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Specifically,

B. Thus,

C. Regardless,

D. Similarly,

300

The student wants to describe Nettle and Bone to an audience unfamiliar with Ursula Vernon. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Marra is a character in Vernon’s Nettle and Bone who is trying to rescue her sister.

B. In Nettle and Bone, a 2022 fantasy novel by American writer Ursula Vernon, the character Marra must undergo a series of trials to rescue her sister Kania.

C. Vernon’s 2022 novel Nettle and Bone, which is a fantasy book, is about Marra rescuing her sister Kania.

D. Ursula Vernon’s novel Nettle and Bone was published in 2022.

B. In Nettle and Bone, a 2022 fantasy novel by American writer Ursula Vernon, the character Marra must undergo a series of trials to rescue her sister Kania.

300

Art Deco architecture, which rose in popularity in the 1920s, represented an optimistic and forward-looking style that utilized modern materials such as stainless steel and aerodynamic lines inspired by the latest technology. Other influences were much ________ many of the decorative elements found on Art Deco façades were drawn from the art of ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilizations.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. older, however;

B. older, however,

C. older, however

D. older; however,

A. older, however;

300

In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there are those who argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species’ distribution, and those who insist that vicariance (separation due to geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts herself among neither.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Furthermore,

B. By contrast,

C. Similarly,

D. That is,

400

Moroccan-French visual artist Bouchra Khalili’s works include The Seaman, a digital film about the port of ________ a trio of videos about immigrants’ experiences in three different cities; and The Typographer, a 16mm film about French poet Jean Genet.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. Hamburg; The Speeches Series

B. Hamburg, The Speeches Series:

C. Hamburg; The Speeches Series,

D. Hamburg, The Speeches Series,

C. Hamburg; The Speeches Series,

400

Iraqi artist Nazik Al-Malaika, celebrated as the first Arabic poet to write in free verse, didn’t reject traditional forms entirely; her poem “Elegy for a Woman of No Importance” consists of two ten-line stanzas and a standard number of syllables. Even in this superficially traditional work, ______ Al-Malaika was breaking new ground by memorializing an anonymous woman rather than a famous man.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. therefore,

B. in fact,

C. moreover,

D. though,

400

The student wants to highlight a dispute about te lapa to an audience familiar with the phenomenon. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. While it is unknown what causes te lapa, many phenomena have been ruled out as the causes of te lapa.

B. Te lapa, flashing light on or under the surface of the ocean, is used by Polynesian sailors to navigate by following the light towards an island.

C. Polynesian sailors use te lapa to navigate by following the light towards an island, but Kent State professor Richard Feinberg has expressed skepticism about the usefulness of te lapa for that purpose.

D. Kent State professor Richard Feinberg has expressed skepticism about the usefulness of te lapa—flashing lights on or under the surface of the ocean—for navigation.

400

Unlike those of the white-bodied peppered moth, ________ they allowed the moth to better camouflage in industrial environments with high levels of air pollution.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. the black-bodied peppered moth’s colors provided an advantage during the Industrial Revolution:

B. an advantage during the Industrial Revolution was the black-bodied peppered moth’s colors:

C. the black-bodied peppered moth has colors that provided an advantage during the Industrial Revolution:

D. the black-bodied peppered moth had an advantage during the Industrial Revolution because of its colors:

A. the black-bodied peppered moth’s colors provided an advantage during the Industrial Revolution:

400

When soil becomes contaminated by toxic metals, it can be removed from the ground and disposed of in a landfill. ______ contaminated soil can be detoxified via phytoremediation: plants that can withstand high concentrations of metals absorb the pollutants and store them in their shoots, which are then cut off and safely disposed of, preserving the health of the plants.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Alternatively,

B. Specifically,

C. For example,

D. As a result,

A. Alternatively,

500

In 1986, after a 56-day expedition, Ann Bancroft became the first woman to reach the North Pole. Her experience as a physical education teacher and her leadership of the first all-female team to cross the ice to the South ______ her to create a foundation that supports girls in pursuing their dreams.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. Pole to inspire

B. Pole that inspired

C. Pole, inspiring

D. Pole inspired

500

In 1815, while in exile in Jamaica, Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar penned a letter praising England’s republican government and expressing hope that Latin American nations seeking independence from Spain might achieve something similar. The letter was addressed to a local merchant, Henry Cullen; ______ though, Bolívar’s goal was to persuade political leaders from England and Europe to support his cause.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. additionally,

B. ultimately,

C. accordingly,

D. consequently,

B. ultimately,

500

The student wants to make and support a generalization about sports-related concussions. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. There are short- and long-term consequences of a sports-related concussion on the brain: two weeks following injury there are biomarkers in the blood indicative of tissue injury, while six months following injury there is damage to the white matter deeper in the brain.

B. There are many effects of sports-related concussions on the brain, especially in participants with more than one sports-related concussion.

C. One example of a long-term consequence of sports-related concussions is the damage to white matter deeper in the brain found in participants six months following their last injury.

D. Many participants had more than one sports-related concussion, and blood biomarkers showed signs of tissue injury two weeks following their sports-related concussions.

500

Abuwtiyuw was an Egyptian royal hunting dog that lived in the Sixth Dynasty and is thought to have been one of the first domesticated animals. A stone depicting gifts donated for the dog’s funeral was discovered in 1935, and researchers _______ that these gifts provide evidence that Abuwtiyuw was mummified.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. to believe

B. believing

C. believe

D. having believed

C. believe

500

Magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are suspended above a track by powerful electromagnets, reducing friction and thus allowing for much faster speeds. Though maglev advocates in the US have long imagined these trains crisscrossing the country, their dream remains unrealized. ______ of the handful of maglev trains currently in operation, all are in Asia.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. In fact,

B. To that end,

C. Nevertheless,

D. That said,

A. In fact,