SAT® · Reading and Writing: Expression of Ideas
Example Transitions
Example transitions work only when the second sentence narrows the first down to one specific case. For example and for instance introduce an instance; specifically introduces an exact figure or detail that measures a claim already made.
These words all do the same job: they zoom the reader in. A general sentence makes a claim about a group, a pattern, or a trend. The next sentence has to drop down one level and hand over a single case, a member, or a measurement that fits inside that claim. For example and for instance work when the second sentence names one instance of the category the first sentence described. Specifically works when the second sentence pins down a number or detail that makes the first claim exact rather than naming a new case.
The test for whether 'for example' belongs is simple: does the second sentence get narrower, or does it stay at the same altitude? If sentence two makes another general statement about the same subject, nothing has narrowed, so the right connector is addition, not example. If sentence two gives one case inside the group, example fits. If sentence two gives the precise figure that the first sentence already gestured at, specifically fits better than for example, because specifying is one notch tighter than exemplifying: it measures the claim rather than illustrating it with a new instance.
This sits right next to the addition and contrast transitions in the same question type. All of them get tested by checking the logical distance between two sentences, so the same read-both-sentences-first habit that catches a wrong 'however' also catches a wrong 'for example.'
Key terms
- Example transition
- A connector such as for example or for instance that introduces one specific case of a claim just made.
- Specification
- A transition like specifically that narrows a claim with an exact figure or detail rather than a new case.
- Logical distance
- How much more specific or general the second sentence is compared to the first.
- Addition transition
- A connector like in addition used when two sentences make separate claims at the same level of generality.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow do for example, for instance and specifically each zoom the reader in by one level?
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't 'for example' fit when the second sentence is another general claim, not an instance?
- Worked exampleWalk me through why 'specifically' beats 'for example' when a sentence names the exact figure.
Check yourself
End of topic.