Analyze the Relationships Between Ideas in Written Material

Identify Cause-and-Effect Relationships

Some of the questions in the NMTA EAS Reading test require you to identify connections between two or more sentences. These "sentence relationship" questions challenge you to do some critical thinking about how one idea relates to another.

One type of relationship you might identify between two ideas is Cause and Effect.

Cause and Effect

In cause and effect relationships, the second sentence typically states an effect that is caused by the first sentence. Test for this option by adding the words “As a result,” between the sentences.

For example:

Engines with greater horsepower work harder than low-powered ones, causing components to incur greater stress and wear out faster.

AS A RESULT,

Cars with greater horsepower incur higher repair costs.

What does the second sentence do?

A. It repeats the idea in the first sentence.
B. It provides an example.
C. It presents a solution.
D. It states an effect.