SAT® · Reading and Writing: Expression of Ideas
Specifying and Restrictive Transitions
Specifying transitions such as 'in some instances' or 'in some cases' tell you the next sentence carves out an exception to the claim before it, rather than adding more support for it.
A restrictive transition signals that the sentence coming up shrinks the sentence before it. If sentence one makes a broad claim, and sentence two describes only part of what that claim covers, you need a word that marks the narrowing: 'in some instances,' 'in some cases,' 'in certain situations.' These phrases tell the reader: what follows is not the whole picture, just a slice of it.
The mechanism is about scope, not tone. A general statement covers every case by default. A restrictive connector reaches into that statement and pulls out a subset where the numbers, conditions, or outcomes differ. That's why 'in some instances' works when a broad average gets followed by a specific exception with a different number attached. It is easy to mistake this for addition, since the second sentence does add new information to the passage. But addition words like 'furthermore' or 'in addition' signal that the new sentence backs up or extends the same claim. A restrictive word signals the new sentence limits it. The test is whether sentence two still describes everything sentence one described, or only some of it.
This sits right next to its mirror image: widening transitions like 'in general' or 'overall,' used when the specific cases come first and a broad rule follows. The two question types train the same skill from opposite directions, so the real work is reading which sentence is the broad one and which is the narrow one, then picking the connector that matches the direction of travel between them.
Key terms
- Restrictive transition
- A connector showing that the next sentence narrows a prior claim to specific cases or exceptions.
- General claim
- A statement meant to hold across an entire category, before any exceptions are introduced.
- Addition transition
- A connector like 'furthermore' that extends or supports a claim rather than limiting its scope.
- Scope
- How much of a category a statement is claiming to describe, from all cases to just some.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow does a restrictive connector carve an exception out of a general statement?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't 'in some cases' a form of addition when it plainly follows a general claim?
- Worked exampleWalk me through choosing between 'in some instances' and 'in general' for a sentence naming three exceptions.
Check yourself
End of topic.