SAT® · Reading and Writing: Expression of Ideas
Nonetheless and the Concession Trap
Nonetheless signals that a fact was true and still changed nothing. It links two statements where the second holds despite the first, not because of it.
Nonetheless looks like it belongs with words that pile on more information, because it sits at the start of a sentence the same way furthermore or in addition does. But its job is different. It takes the sentence before it, grants that sentence its full truth, and then says the thing that follows happened anyway, unaffected. One word does the work of a whole clause: 'despite what I just told you, here is what still stands.'
That is why nonetheless and furthermore are not swappable. Furthermore adds a second fact that points the same direction as the first, building the case higher. Nonetheless adds a fact that points the opposite direction, holding its ground against the first. Mixing them up reverses the logic of the paragraph: a reader expecting agreement gets contradiction, or the other way round.
The trap sharpens when the concession has already been made by a word like although, even though, or despite earlier in the sentence. That word has already set up the 'true but irrelevant' relationship, so a second contrast connector in the blank would just repeat a job that is already done. The blank then needs a connector that shows result or cause, such as for that reason or as a result, because the sentence has moved from conceding a fact to reporting its consequence.
Key terms
- Concession
- A statement that grants a fact is true before showing it does not change the outcome.
- Contrast connector
- A linking word, like nonetheless or however, that signals the next idea opposes or resists the previous one.
- Additive connector
- A linking word, like furthermore or moreover, that signals the next idea reinforces the previous one in the same direction.
- Result connector
- A linking word, like for that reason or as a result, that signals the next idea is a consequence of the previous one.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow does 'nonetheless' say that something was true and changed nothing, in a single word?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't 'nonetheless' interchangeable with 'furthermore' when both carry a paragraph forward?
- Worked exampleWalk me through a pair where 'The funding was cut' meets 'The survey finished on schedule'.
- Going furtherWhat happens when a clause already opens with 'although' and a connector would only repeat it?
Check yourself
End of topic.