Question

Read the following passage:

Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. Birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.
Choose the option that effectively uses a transition to create coherence.

A. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. In fact, birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.
B. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. As a result, birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.
C. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. But birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.
D. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. Then again, birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.

Answer 1

B. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. As a result, birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.

Option B effectively uses the transition "As a result" to link the two sentences and indicate that the changing animal behavior mentioned in the first sentence leads to birds becoming more social in the fall, as described in the second sentence.

Answer 2

B. Another sign of fall is changing animal behavior. As a result, birds become especially social during the beginning of autumn; they flock together to prepare for migration instead of pairing off for mating, as they do in the spring.

The transition "As a result" effectively links the idea of changing animal behavior in the fall to the behavior of birds becoming social in preparation for migration. It helps to create coherence and clarify the relationship between the two ideas, making it easier for the reader to follow the author's train of thought. Option B is the best choice for this reason.